2014 Starts Off with A BANG from these Musical Geniuses!


Steve Swell! Michael Jefry Stevens! Gebhard Ullmann! Ken Vandermark! Paul Flaherty! Mikolaj Trzaska! Kidd Jordan! Joelle Leandre! Gerry Hemingway! Gunter Hampel!

Chris McGregor! Joe Fonda! Peter Kowald! Rudi Mahall! Per-Ake Holmlander! C Spencer Yeh! Bushman's Revenge! Magnus Broo! Arve Henriksen! Steve Moore!

Haco! Michael Gordon! Yungchen Lhamo! John Luther Adams! David Lang! Z'ev! Ken Thomson! Julia Wolfe! David Grubbs! JACK Quartet!

Three Discs from Elliott Sharp! Gunter Hampel Euro-New York Quartet! Rangda: Richard Bishop/Ben Chasny/Chris Corsano! Ken Aldcroft Convergence Ensemble!

Konk Pack [Tim Hodgkinson/Thomas Lehn/Roger Turner]! Bernie Worrell! Tom Rainey Obbligato: Ralph Alessi/Ingrid laubrock/Kris Davis/Drew Gress! Irene Schweizer & Pierre Favre! Aki Takase/Louis Sclavis/Dominique Pifarely/Vincent Courtois!

Hans Hassler/Gebhard Ullmann QT! Sonny Simmons Trio! Alan Silva & Noah Rosen! Joachim Badenhorst/John Butcher/Paul Lytton! Daniel Carter/Daniel Levin/Satoshi Takeishi/Devin Brahja Waldman!

Thurston Moore/Anne Waldman/Clark Coolidge! Gary Panter! Gary Wilson! Les Rallizes Denudes! Psychedelic Tokyo Comps! Muslimgauze!

Another Half Dozen Dynamite Discs from the ForTune Label! Enrico Fazio's Critical Mass! Kelan Philip Cohran & The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble! Charles Cohen! Four Haino Keiji Rarities!

Limited CD reissues: Steve Swell! Henry Threadgill! Dave Douglas! Robin Holcomb! Jeanne Lee! Wayne Horvitz! Ronald Shannon Jackson! Golden Palominos 1st!




**********


ROY CAMPBELL, Jr, 1952-2014

Just as we are about to transmit this newsletter, we learned of sad passing of Downtown trumpet giant Roy Campbell, Jr. Mr. Campbell was born in LA in 1952 but raised in New York. Besides trumpet, Mr. Campbell played flugelhorn, pocket trumpet and flutes. Roy was a longtime friend and collaborator with William Parker, both are founding members of Other Dimensions in Music as well as members of Mr. Parker's Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra. Mr. Campbell led several bands of his own including the Akhenaten Ensemble, who were always a highlight of the Vision Festival. Other high points for Mr. Campbell's playing include his work with Matt Shipp, Jemeel Moondoc, Charles Tyler, Whit Dickey and Dave Douglas' Triple Trumpet Band. More recently, Mr. Campbell soared with work in Marc Ribot's Spiritual Unity and a co-led band with Burton Greene. My favorite group that Roy Campbell has long worked with is the Nu Band with Mark Whitecage, Joe Fonda and Lou Grassi. Each of their half dozen discs are extraordinary.

One of the things I dug most about Roy is when he would emcee at the Vision Fest or even at his own gigs. He had a wonderful sense of humor and his occasional political rants were always charming. I am shocked at hearing of his passing since I just saw him a couple of months ago and he looked the picture of health. I would like to raise a toast to Mr. Roy Campbell, Jr., one of Downtown's most distinguished musicians and sweetest spirits.

- Bruce Lee Gallanter, Manny 'Lunch' Maris, Chuck Bettis, Mike Panico


**********


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

Sunday, January 12th Double-Header:
6pm: TATSUYA NAKATANI - Solo Percussion!
7pm: GUILLERMO GREGORIO & STEVE SWELL - Clarinet & Trombone!

Sunday, January 19th:
6pm| AIMEE NORWICH / IAN COOK!

Sunday, January 26th:
6pm: RAS MOSHE/KYOKO KITAMURA/ANDERS NILSSON/ANDREW DRURY!

Sunday, February 2nd:
6pm: JUAN PABLO CARLETTI & DANIEL LEVIN - Drums & Cello!

Sunday, February 9th:
6pm: JEFFREY SHURDUT's CRISIS OF A DREAM with: KEVIN SHEA/SEAN SONDEREGGER/HARVEY VALDEZ/LESTER ST. LOUIS/NANA NAGANO/PETER BLASSER!

Sunday, February 16th:
6pm: MICHAEL LYTLE!

Sunday, February 23rd:
6pm: DISSIPATED FACE REUNION: DANIEL CARTER/KURT RALSKE/STEPHEN POPKIN/ROBERT MUSSO/WILL DAHL! In Support of the Release: "Live at CBGB 1986"


**********




KONK PACK [TIM HODGKINSON/THOMAS LEHN/ROGER TURNER] - Doing The Splash (Megaphone 26/Knock Em Dead; USA) The Megaphone & Knock 'em Dead labels present the fifth release from improvising trio Konk Pack. Konk Pack are a two-thirds British and one-third Austrian "organic" improvisational group. Their music can be very delicate and light but when they get hot and bothered, it's like being inside of a hurricane, an earthquake and an electrical storm, all at the same time. All three members of Konk Pack have been improvising for decades with musicians like Lol Coxhill, Cecil Taylor, Tom Cora, Alan Silva, Evan Parker, Marcus Schmickler, Fred Frith, and Charles Gayle. The way that they improvise together is like a swarm of bees or a school of fish (sometimes piranhas). This is not intellectual music. Konk Pack draws from deep reserves of experience and expertise: from Tim Hodgkinson's prog roots in Henry Cow to his post-punk RIO reinvention with The Work, from Roger Turner's roots in the UK's experimental scene working with improvisational music legends like Derek Bailey, Cecil Taylor and William Parker, and from Thomas Lehn's analog explorations with German electronic music composer Markus Schmickler and his work with the Ex. Despite their incredible resumes, Konk Pack's work is still singular among all electro-acoustic improvisation occurring in our present reality. Their music is an exercise in extreme dynamics that range from spacious and semi-silent tonal streaks to full out onslaughts that open doors to vast tidal waves of static, set to crash straight into the audience. Thomas's synthesizer sometimes crackles like an old AM radio in a hurricane amidst the shrieks and shudders Hodgkinson tears from his lap steel. Roger Turner's percussion could be anywhere from thrashing out a crying anarchy as though he is drowning in his band's own conjured undertow to pulling gentle creaks and whistles from the stretched membranes before him. For sheer depth of sound, breadth of vision and raw skill, practically any given American Underground or Japanese noise outfit could right now be eating their dust. In their second decade as a trio, they have honed a solid psychic connection and are thus capable of cohesive and fully improvised performances that captivate audiences in the UK, Japan, the United States and beyond. The live visceral experience abounds on Doing the Splash, which showcases Konk Pack as masters of ambience and discipline. Lehn pulls strands of sizzle and rumble from his synthesizer while Hodgkinson thwacks away at his lap steel, culling squeaks, moans, slips and squawks. Turner weaves in and out of Hodgkinson's pokes, filling space with quiet clatters, staccato cymbal ripples, subtle snare rushes and rapid tom blasts. His drumming style is from the same school as Rasheid Ali, occupying a sublime space between common time and total freedom, with no tempo and yet still evoking an intuitive groove. Dryer, quieter moments often yield to Turner's momentum and from there, Lehn will very precisely expand out the edges. Everything fits. Tim Hodgkinson (lap steel guitar); Thomas Lehn (analog synthesizer), Roger Turner (drumset & percussion). Recorded at Cafe OTO, London on December 18, 2012.
CD $14



Debuting..Wei Zhongle!

These days, its not that often that I go to a show and am wowed by band I have never heard of before. Yet, this is exactly what happened when I saw Wei Zhongle, a band as strange and beautiful as their name. You MUST hear these wonderful discs! - Chuck Bettis One of the joys of working at DMG is when we discover a new band or composer before they get some recognition. Chuck Bettis recently attended a gig in Brooklyn to hear some friends of his and was talked into sticking around to see a band named Wei Zhongle. Nope, neither of us had heard of them before. Lo and behold, they turned out to be the great discovery of the week or month. Both of their discs are highly recommended. - BLG

WEI ZHONGLE [ROB JACOBS/JOHN McCOWEN/CARLY LAPPIN/JON GOODMAN/SAM KLICKNER] - Raised High/Brought Low (private release; EEC) [ltd ed CD-R]. The second release by Rob Jacob's [vocals, prepared guitar, violin, synth] group Wei Zhongle, here as a quintet. Blending elements of traditional eastern vocal melodies, dueling clarinets [John McCowen, Jon Goodman], minimal guitar [Jacobs] and bass [Carly Lappin], with a hefty dose of strong yet scattered polyphonic drum [Sam Klickner] freak outs. A very potent concoction put together by this band from Carbondale, Illinois. For lack of better words, imagine if HENRY COW was heavily influenced by traditional Chinese music. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! - Chuck Bettis/DMG
CD $10

WEI ZHONGLE [ROB JACOBS/JOHN McCOWEN/CARLY LAPPIN/MARCUS MADER/MICHAEL LIGHTY/MATT McGUIRE] - Wei Zhongle (private release; EEC) [ltd ed CD-R]. [ltd ed CD-R]. "The first ever Wei Zhongle release, back when they started off as a sextet. With the line-up of Rob Jacobs (vocals, violin), John McCowen (clarinet, flute), Carly Lappin (vocals), Marcus Mader (percussion), Michael Lighty (prepared guitar), and Matt McGuire (fretless bass); the music sounds so familiar yet so foreign at the same time. The pieces seem to be based around the flow of meditative breathing, calming while challenging the listener. An enchanted sonic architecture that hints at Pop but is truly Prog in disguise. These complex structures will stand the test of time. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!" - Chuck Bettis/DMG "If Henry Cow were Chinese and not British, they might just sound like this. Sort of. Both the twisted wordless vocals and bent strings give this an oriental sound that is rather hard to describe. The music here features mostly clarinet or flute, guitar and violin with strange vocals, all of which are stripped down without any devices to alter the instruments. The vocals are in English when there are words involved but they are used minimally. The violin and clarinet often play their difficult parts with a refreshing gleefulness, sometimes completing each other's lines. The drummer often plays just tambourine and knows how to lay back, just adding the occasional rhythmic spice when it is needed. The voices have a childlike quality, like munchkins at times and are consistently charming no matter how weird they get. This music is actually impossible to categorize since it is not really rock but does have some sort of progressive tendencies. There are some quirky call and response vocals and unpredictable arrangements. Could this be a Chinese shadow play performed by Slapp Happy if they were Martians? Hmmm. Forget it, I can't really do this one justice. No matter. I hope to catch Wei Zhongle live as soon as as I can, in the meantime you should grab both of their discs and improve your life.. Right Now!" - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $10

JOHN McCOWEN - Works For Clarinet (private release; EEC) [ltd ed CD-R]. The composer as well as performer, John McCowen, starts the disc off with two solo clarinet compositions.The steady concentration of circular breathing, harmonic dissonance, and smooth transitioning between notes reminds this listener of early Evan Parker (if he played the liquorice stick). There is an underlying tension in his music, one which pulls the listener in. As the disc progresses, the last two tracks are for a clarinet quartet which consist of McCowen, Derek Emch, Tim Fitzgerald, and Jon Goodman; all of whom seem to beautifully execute the musical intentions of the composer and dance in your head like a Terry Riley piece. Looking forward to hearing more! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! - Chuck Bettis/DMG
CD $8


KIRK KNUFFKE QUARTET With RUSS LOSSING/MICHAEL FORMANEK/BILLY HART - Chorale (Steeplechase 31769; EEC)Featuring Kirk Knuffke on cornet & compositions, Russ Lossing on piano, Michael Formanek on acoustic bass and Billy Hart on drums. Over the last few years, Kirk Knuffke, has been concentrating on the cornet and placing it in a variety of contexts: duos with Steve Swell & Jesse Stacken as well as working with the bands Ideal Bread & Sifter and collaborating with Matt Wilson, Jeff Davis, Max Johnson and Federico Ughi. As a leader, Mr. Knuffke has a handful of discs on the Clean Feed, 577 Records and NoBusiness. This is his fourth disc for Steeplechase and he has chosen a solid quartet of Downtown all-stars, each a leader on their own. The opening song, "Wingy" (for Wingy Manone, an early trumpet legend) is a sublime, dreamy piece which floats on the air. It is one of the most elegant, touching works I've heard in recent memory. Knuffke has a unique way of keeping things somewhat off-balance by keeping everyone's lines crisscrossing carefully. On "Made", the cornet, piano and rhythm team seem to be sailing around one another yet remain connected on a more subtle level. The theme for "Kettle" swaggers in a slightly Monkian or drunken way when it begins, Knuffke, Lossing & Formanek all take strong solos here without unnecessary fireworks. The magic ingredient here is the consistently solid, never pushy playing of Billy Hart, one of elderly statesmen of jazz drumming who always listens and navigates like the captain of a ship who knows exactly how to get to where he is going without a fuss. Over the past few years, pianist Russ Lossing, has also been turning up in a myriad of diverse situations. He also surprises us since he draws from many unrelated (and related) undercurrents. "Madly" begins freely yet slowly weaves its way into more fixed terrain or at least the way it is assembled becomes more apparent, with certain connected fragments. This is a fine quartet of master musicians and the outcome is splendid on all fronts. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $17


New with Michael Jefry Stevens - Just Arrived Today, Reviews Next Week

THE FONDA/STEVENS GROUP [HERB ROBERTSON/MICHAEL JEFRY STEVENS/JOE FONDA/HARVEY SORGEN] - 20th Anniversary Tour: Live From Spielboden (Artist Recording Collective; USA)
CD $14

EWALD HUGLE QUARTET With MICHAEL JEFRY STEVENS/CHRISTIAN WEBER/DIETER ULRICH - Hop-Frog (Unit Records 4444; EEC) Ewald Hugle - soprano, alto & tenor saxophone, Michael Jefry Stevens - piano, Christian Weber - bass and Dieter Ulrich - drums and bugles.
CD $16


New from Not Two!

CONFERENCE CALL [GEBHARD ULLMANN/MICHAEL JEFRY STEVENS/JOE FONDA/GEORGE SCHULLER] - Seven: Live @ Firehouse 12 (Not Two 905; EEC)Featuring Gebhard Ullmann on soprano & tenor saxes & bass clarinet, Michael Jefry Stevens on piano, Joe Fonda on bass and George Schuller on drums & percussion. This is the seventh disc from Conference Call whose personnel has remained the same except for their drummer, although Mr. Schuller has been with them for the last four releases. This all-star quartet has been around for more than a decade with each member involved in a variety of other projects, with Mr. Fonda and Stevens leading their own band for more than three decades now, there is an obvious bond between all the members here. This fabulous two disc set was recorded live at Firehouse 12 in New haven, Connecticut with each member contributing to the writing. Firehouse 12 is a performance place, recording studio and label. Hence, the sound here is superb. Joe Fonda's "As I Wait" has a strong repeating theme with squirrel-like tenor sax and piano weaving tightly up front. The inner vibe of this song in immensely uplifting as if the quartet is saying welcome, come on in. On "Poetry in Motion" the quartet play free yet tightly connected with Mr. Ullmann's voice-like bass clarinet at the center, the playfulness here is infectious as it sounds like these fellows are old friends. George Schuller's masterful drumming is at the center of "29 Shoes" which also features some fine soprano sax (great solo!) from Ullmann as well as much tight-knit playing from the entire quartet. "The Path" has a fine, laid-back middle-eastern sort of vibe, like riding through the desert at night with a slight breeze blowing. This leads into "Bald Eagle", which features some superb bowed bass and intricate piano interplay, the piece stretches through different sections like a long story. Each disc here contains one entire set and each set unfolds in bold, striking ways. Conference call are one of the best and most consistent of all current modern jazz units. Grab this quick before well sell out and have to sell future copies for more. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
[Ltd time price; normally $30]
2 CD set for $22

DRAGONFLY BREATH [PAUL FLAHERTY/STEVE SWELL/C SPENCER YEH/WEASEL WALTER] - Dragonfly Breath (Not Two 890; EEC)Featuring Paul Flaherty tenor & alto sax, Steve Swell on trombone, C. Spencer Yeh on violin & voice and Weasel Walter on drums. This dynamo quartet set was recorded live at Issue Project Room in Brooklyn on May 6th of 2011. In case you haven't heard the sad news, Weasel Walter is bringing his great, longtime label UgExplode to an end as of the new year which just began. I am a big fan of just about everything that Weasel Walter has released on his label, from brutal to more cerebral free improv to No Wave and stuff beyond established categories. It seems that sales of CDs as well as attendance at gigs has reached a new low. Very sad indeed! Still new discs continue to be released so it is a good thing for those who need their New Music habit to be fulfilled. 'Dragonfly Breath' is a formidable quartet of well-seasoned improvisers, each of whom have worked within different (although related) circles. Wow, this sh*t is totally happening! Way intense and over-the-top at times yet still there are moments of restraint in between the colossal mountains of free eruptions. Both Mr. Flaherty on tenor or alto sax and the irrepressible Steve Swell on trombone are titans of the free fury which puts meaning into life itself. Weasel Walter, he of the powerhouse double bass drum pedal work, knows how to push his mates into high gear, as well as lay back and let the less furious sections connect and happen. The youngest member of this quartet is violinist C. Spencer Yeh, who also knows exactly where add his spicy string weirdness: sometimes in between bursts of frenzied activity, sometimes adding another ingredient to the blur. There is supposed to be a big snow storm hitting here tonight (1/2/14), this disc has that clarion call, storm approaching vibe that makes folks shudder at what is about to be released. As the big storm approaches, so does this powerful musical storm. I am ready, are you?!? - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
[Ltd time price; normally $20]
CD $18

RESONANCE ENSEMBLE [KEN VANDERMARK/DAVE REMPIS/STEVE SWELL/MAGNUS BROO/TIM DAISY/PER-AKE HOLMLANDER/MARK TOKAR/MIKOLAJ TRZASKA/MICHAEL ZERANG/WACLAW ZIMPEL] - Head Above Water [2 CD set] (Not Two 910; EEC)
2 CD set for $28


INNER EAR [MIKOLAJ TRZASKA/STEVE SWELL/PER-AKE HOLMLANDER/TIM DAISY] - Return From The Center Of The Earth (Bocian M1; EEC)Featuring Mikolaj Trzaska on saxes & bass clarinet, Steve Swell on trombone, Per-Ake Holmlander on tuba and Tim Daisy on drums. This disc was recorded live in Chicago on two different dates: 3/2/2011 and 8/30/12. Athough al four members of this international quartet come from different geographical backgrounds, each has worked with Ken Vandermark in his varied projects. Polish reedsman, Mikolaj Trzaska, can be found on more than two dozens discs and has worked with: Peter Brotzmann, Joe McPhee, Johannes Bauer. This is the second disc by Inner Ear and all but Mr. Daisy play with the Resonance Ensemble. Last Sunday (12/2913), we had our final in-store free gig with the Gunter Hampel/Cavanna Lee/Steve Swell trio at DMG and it was wonderful. Downtown trombone master, Steve Swell, plays here a few times a year and always knocks me out with his playing. He is a seasoned listener/improviser/collaborator and brings something special to each session he is involved in. The opening long track is called, "A Night Without Sleep" and any musician who has toured at length, especially by car and slept on lame hotel beds or on someone's floor, knows about the problems of sleeping on the road. The interplay between Trzaska (on sax or bass clarinet) and Swell ('bone) is especially tight and well-crafted. Since there is no bassist, Mr. Holmlander (on tuba) often switches between the role of a bassist as well as some spirited triple horn interplay. Chicago all-star drummer Tim Daisy has turned up a dozen discs over the past few years and is a shrewd and crafty percussionist. He knows when to lean in and push, support and/or shift dynamics when need be. There is a section about midway on the first piece where he plays by himself giving the horns a chance to slowly come in and add different lines: a somewhat funky tuba part, a greasy muted trombone thang and rather quaint talkative speech-like sax solo. The sound of the tuba and drums, plus the slurring notes of the trombone & sax, makes this session sound like it bridges the gap between Dixieland (swirling horns) and freer terrain at times. I really dig the spooky quieter parts on the third track with all three horns playing their ghost-like sounds together, slowly building into another tight flurry of activity. This is a most spirited date from a fine international ensemble. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $16


JUST IN! Five New Releases from Lithuania's NoBusiness Label!
[reviews next week]

KIDD JORDAN/PETER KOWALD/ALVIN FIELDER - Trio and Duo in New Orleans: April 28 2002 [2 CD set] (NoBusiness 64/65; EEC)
Disc 1: Trio Set: Edward "Kidd" Jordan - tenor saxophone; Alvin Fielder - drums, percussion; Peter Kowald - bass
Disc 2: Duo Set: "Kidd" Jordan & Alvin Fielder
2 CD set for $26

Also available..

KIDD JORDAN/PETER KOWALD/ALVIN FIELDER - Live In New Orleans, April 28 2002 [2 CD set] (NoBusiness 71/72; EEC) The trio set [contents of Disc 1] from the Double CD edition, spread over two LPs!
2 LP for $40


MIKOLAJ TRZASKA/DEVIN HOFF/MICHAEL ZERANG - Sleepless in Chicago [LTD Ed LP of 300] (NoBusiness 70; Lithuania) Studio recordings 2011-2012; Miko?aj Trzaska - alto saxophone; Devin Hoff - double bass; Michael Zerang - drums
LP $28

YAPP [BRIAN ROGERS/ALBAN BAILLY/MATT ENGLE/DAVID FLAHERTY] - Symbolic Heads [LTD Ed LP of 300] (NoBusiness 69; Lithuania) Bryan Rogers ?- tenor saxophone; Alban Bailly ?- guitar; Matt Engle ?- bass; David Flaherty ? Drums
LP $28

DAUNIK LAZRO/JOELLE LEANDRE - Hasparren: December 17 2011 (NoBusiness 62; Lithuania); Daunik Lazro - baritone sax; Joelle Leandre - bass, voice
CD $16

2 DEGREE ETAGE [CHRISTINE WODRASCKA/JEAN-LUC CAPPOZZO/GERRY HEMINGWAY] - Grey Matter: Live October 18 2012 (NoBusiness 63; Lithuania) Jean Luc Cappozzo - trumpet, bugle; Christine Wodrascka - piano; Gerry Hemingway - percussion
CD $16


KASPER TOM 5 [KASPER TOM CHRISTIANSEN/RUDI MAHALL/TOMASZ DABROWSKI/PETTER HANGSEL/JENS MIKKEL MADSEN] - Ost Bingo Skruer (Barefoot 31; EEC) Featuring Kasper Tom Christiansen on drums with Rudi Mahall on bass & regular clarinets, Tomasz Dabrowski on trumpet & Balkan horn, Petter Hangsel on trombone, Jens Mikkel Madsen on bass. No doubt you recognize the name of clarinetist Rudi Mahall from the more than three dozen discs he has recorded with Schlippenbach's Monk's Casino, Aki Takase projects and his own quartet Die Enttauschung. Polish trumpeter, Tomasz Dabrowski, has a great recent duo CD out on the ForTune label as well as other projects on the same label. The other three names here are new for me, which includes the leader. I would imagine that all the members except for Dabrowski are Danish since that is where this was recorded and where the Barefoot label is based. I got the promo for this disc a month ago and am most impressed. Six of the ten pieces were written by Kasper Tom, the others are group improvs. I dig the way Kasper Tom writes, keeping all three horns busy playing tight, circular parts on the theme, then letting each horn solo, often one at a time. While one horn solos, the other two play their quirky lines underneath, all coming together for the opening and closing themes. Considering that he is not very much recognized as of yet, Mr. Dabrowski is one of the best trumpeters that I've heard in recent memory. His solo on "Habt Ihr Lust Auf Ein Dreier?" is pretty amazing. What is even better is the way the three horns play those separate yet connected lines together in the second half with quick spinning rhythm team web underneath. On the free improv pieces, the horns gets a chance to stretch out, bend their notes in odd ways and interact in odd combinations while the bass and drums also wind their way around the horns in unpredictable ways. The balance between the written pieces and improvised is just right since it is as if we are aboard a ship, sometimes the sea is calm, sometimes we rock hard up and down. It forces us to focus or at least pay attention to way things around us move or change. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $16



New on Laswell's Method Of Defiance label!

BERNIE WORRELL - Elevation: The Upper AIr (MODT 11; USA) BERNIE WORRELL - keyboard legend, founding member and essential collaborator/composer/arranger in George Clinton's Parliament/Funkadelic, has worked with an extremely diverse array of artists, the amount of which is practically inconceivable -Talking Heads, Bootsy Collins, The Rolling Stones, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Black Uhuru, Fela Kuti, Burning Spear, Pharoah Sanders, Buddy Guy, Sly & the Family Stone, Mos Def, Albert King, Sly & Robbie and so many more. Without a doubt, the most influential and defnitely the most emulated and copied electronic keyboardist in modern music. His synthesizer work totally defned 80's and 90's West Coast Hip Hop and can still be clearly recognized in the pop hits of today. ELEVATION is his first solo acoustic creation. Intimate, personal, atmospheric and touching, a humble statement which is both vulnerable and surprisingly child-like at moments. This is clearly the most unexpected and uniquely unusual contribution from this musical icon to date. Songs and themes (some recognizable... some as dreams) will appear as flashbacks and memories, some conscious, some subconscious. Based upon simple themes by John Coltrane, Joe Zawinul, Bob Marley, Carlos Santana, Charles Mingus and others. With delicate impressions of classic soul music from his own history and three original ambient soundscapes, delivered with a strikingly minimalist touch. This Music has to be felt, not analyzed , compared, judged or even listened to. It exists in the distance... past and future. Produced by BILL LASWELL, with original artwork by Japan's modern master - Shinro Otake.
CD $14

also, last copies of this LP-only sister release:

BERNIE WORRELL - Standards (Scufflin 1613; USA) Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and founding member of the original Parliament- Funkadelic, Bernie Worrell returns with this slab of funk-drenched jazz standards. This traditional compilation effectively positions the Great American Songbook as the control in that grand democratic social experiment known as jazz. Featuring a variety of definitive songs like Take the 'A' Train, Take Five, and Moon River, Standards truthfully tells the story of song with the ultimate mixture of sonic flavor.
LP $16

Previously released on MODT:

METHOD OF DEFIANCE [BILL LASWELL/BERNIE WORRELL/GUY LICATA/DR ISRAEL et al] + GRAHAM HAYNES/DJ KRUSH/AIYB DIENG - Nahariama: 4th Column (MODT 10; USA)
CD $14
also available as LP for $20

JANO [MICHAEL HAILU/BILL LASWELL/DOMINIC JAMES/STEVEN BERNSTEIN/PETER APFELBAUM/ROB BURGER/ADAM RUDOLPH] - Ertale (MODT 09; USA)
CD $14

GARRISON HAWK With SLY & ROBBIE + BILL LASWELL/ROB BURGER/DOMINIC JAMES et al - Survive (MODT 08; USA)
CD $14
also available as LP for $20

LEE 'SCRATCH' PERRY With BILL LASWELL/JOSH WERNER/STEVEN BERNSTEIN/BERNIE WORRELL/HAMID DRAKE/SLY DUNBAR et al - Rise Again (MODT 07; USA)
CD $14
also available as LP for $20

METHOD OF DEFIANCE [BILL LASWELL/BERNIE WORRELL/GUY LICATA/DR ISRAEL et al] - Dub Arcanum Arcandrum: Jahbulon and Incunabula Remixes by Bill Laswell, Prefuse 73, Scientist, Dr. Israel, Mad Professor, Perdurabo 6, MRC Riddims, Sub Code (MODT 06; USA)
CD $12

PRAXIS [BILL LASWELL/BUCKETHEAD/BRAIN/BERNIE WORRELL] + MIKE PATTON/OTOMO YOSHIHIDE/TATSUYA YOSHIDA/RAMMELLZEE et al - Profanation: Preparation For A Coming Darkness [2 LP set] (MODT 05; USA)
2 LP set for $22

GIGI [EGIGAYEHU SHIBABAW] With MATERIAL [BILL LASWELL/ABEGASU SHIOTA/HAMID DRAKE/AIYB DIENG/DOMINIC KANZA/STEVEN BERNSTEIN/PETER APFELBAUM] - Mesgana Ethiopia (MODT 04; USA)
CD $14

METHOD OF DEFIANCE [BILL LASWELL/BERNIE WORRELL/GUY LICATA/DR ISRAEL] + TOSHINORI KONDO/DJ KRUSH/HERBIE HANCOCK - Incunabula (MODT 03; USA)
CD $14

METHOD OF DEFIANCE [BILL LASWELL/BERNIE WORRELL/GARRISON HAWK/GUY LICATA/DR ISRAEL] - Jahbulon (MODT 02; USA)
CD $14



New from Intakt!!

AKI TAKASE LA PLANETE With LOUIS SCLAVIS/DOMINIQUE PIFARELY/VINCENT COURTOIS - Flying Soul (Intakt 220; Switzerland) La Planete Quartet is one of Aki Takase's newest ensembles, arising from her partnership with the French clarinettist Louis Sclavis. Right from the start Aki Takase envisaged realising Flying Soul with an instrumental palette comprised of strings and Louis Sclavis recommended two of his long-term colleagues to her, the violinist Dominique Pifarely and the cellist Vincent Courtois. "On Flying Soul Aki Takase manages to shape the proportions in her music - of time, space and sound - with impressive ingenuity, without restraining the sounds", writes Julia Neupert in the Liner notes. "Defying gravity, breathing freely, transforming yourself constantly: this aim has undoubtedly been achieved."
CD $18

TOM RAINEY OBBLIGATO With RALPH ALESSI/INGRID LAUBROCK/KRIS DAVIS/DREW GRESS - Obbligato (Intakt 227; Switzerland) On the second CD on Intakt Records with his own band Tom Rainey surprises with standards like Dave Brubeck's In Your Own Sweet Way, Thelonious Monk's Reflections, Duke Ellington's Prelude to a Kiss. Tom Rainey has played in bands with Tim Berne and Craig Taborn, and his own trio with Ingrid Laubrock and Mary Halvorson. For this new ensemble he chose some of the finest players New York has to offer. Kevin Whitehead writes in the liner notes: "Within those forms, it's all fluid: density, dynamics, the focus shifting from one player to another, without the others getting out of the way, exactly. The players are pretty scrupulous about minding those forms. Melodic variation is the heart of their method - they acknowledge the changes, but are very much playing the tune not just the frame, making five-way counterpoint coherent. Think of the collective improvisations as multiple obbligatos, responses to a silent theme"
CD $18

HANS HASSLER With GEBHARD ULLMANN/JURGEN KUPKE/BEAT FOLIMI - Hassler (Intakt 212; Switzerland) Hans Hassler, born 1945 in Graubunden, East Switzerland, is the true Swiss king of accordion. For over 30 years he has developed a style which incorporates Swiss folk music, jazz, film music, free improvisation and classical interpretation. Hans Hassler inspires the listener with his playful virtuosity, a good sense of humour and a musical imagination without borders. This is his second album for Intakt. For serveral years Hassler has worked on this tribute to some of the giants of Swiss folk music: Paul Kollegger, Luzi Bruesch, Kasi Geiser and Hans Fischer, who playeda special type of swiss melodeon the so-called 'Schwyzerorgeli'. Hans Hassler celebrates his idols by taking their music and playing it in a new way. On the album you can hear Hassler with various musicians. He has played with some of them for many years: Saxophonist and bass clarinetist Gebhard Ullmann (a renowned German jazz musician), clarinet player Jurgen Kupke and percussionist Beat Follmi.
CD $18

IRENE SCHWEIZER/PIERRE FAVRE - Live In Zurich (Intakt 228; Switzerland) Irene Schweizer and Pierre Favre are two likeminded spirits. Since 1966 they play together on a regular bases. With their creative mind, artistic virtuosity and open attitude these two modern jazz pioneers represent the best of what Switzerland has to offer. Their concert in John Zorn's avant garde club 'The Stone' in New York as a part of the two week long 'Intakt'-festival there, was rated by the jazz magazine New York City Jazz Record as one of the best concerts in 2012. In spring 2013 Schweizer-Favre gave three performances on home ground in the cultural centre 'Rote Fabrik' (Zurich) in front of an enthusiastic audience. The best moments of the concerts are captured on this ultimate 'live'-album of these two titans of jazz.
CD $18


Joachim Badenhorst's new Ltd Ed label.. Klein!

JOACHIM BADENHORST/JOHN BUTCHER/PAUL LYTTON - Nachtigall [LTD Ed of 200] (Klein 01; EEC) On Nachtigall Joachim brings together British musicians extraordinaire John Butcher and Paul Lytton. Recorded both with and without an audience, the album is a culmination of two sessions on March 23 and 24 2013. Album artwork designed and screenprinting by Marijke Loozen (Smeraldina-Rima); complete with handmade stamping by jailbeit. "Joachim Badenhorst on clarinets & tenor sax, John Butcher on tenor & soprano saxes and Paul Lytton on percussion. Dutch reeds wiz, Joachim Badenhorst, stopped by to visit this week and played just one gig while he was in town with Kris Davis' new octet at Roulette on Monday (1/6/14). He left us with two discs from his own new label, Klein. Both discs are limited and have handmade covers, both are fabulous yet completely different in concept and results. 'Nachtigall' is an improvised trio offering with three strong musicians at their best. According to Joachim, this was the first time that these two British musicians, Butcher and Lytton, played together. The sound of the trio is extremely well-recorded and perfectly balanced. Although Mr. Badenhorst is a generation or so younger than either Mr. Butcher or Mr. Lytton, each member of the trio work with a focused, nearly microscopic attention to detail, it is this bond that unites their exquisite sonic manipulations. With both Badenhorst (on bass & regular clarinets & tenor sax) and Butcher (tenor & soprano sax) on reeds, it is difficult at times to tell who is doing what when they bend those notes in all sorts of odd ways. The combined effort of all three of these fine explorers makes for some captivating listening." - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $16

CARATE URIO ORCHESTRA [JOACHIM BADENHORST/PASCAL NIGGENKEMPER/SEAN CARPIO/NICO ROIG/FRANTZ LORIOT/EIRIKUR ORRI OLAFSSON/BRICE SONIANO] - Sparrow Mountain [LTD Ed of 200] (Klein 02; EEC) The CD comes with special handcrafted artwork: a foldout poster designed and screenprinted by the hands of Marijke Loozen at the Smeraldina-rima atelier. Inside the poster, the cd is held by a cardboard sleeve with a handmade stamp by Jailbeit. "The personnel for this disc features Joachim Badenhorst on clarinets, tenor sax and compositions, Eirikur Orri Olafsson on trumpet & flugelhorn, Nico Roig on guitar, Frantz Loriot on viola, Brice Soniano & Pascal Niggenkemper on double bass and Sean Caprio on drums & guitar, with everyone contributing to the vocals. Over the past month (December of 2013), I have been working on several of my best of/recommendation lists. Considering that I don't listen to very much vocal music (rock/roots/world), it has been hard for me to come with more than 25 discs that came out in 2013 that I dig. Strangely enough, in the past week I've heard a few discs that have knocked me out like Caleb Burhans (on Cantaloupe) and a newer band called Wei Zhongle. Now we can add the Carate Urio Orchestra, Joachim Badenhorst's unique project to the list of righteous recommendations. Although its starts out with freer sounding playing, a somber mood or structure slowly emerges with Joachim's clarinet leading the way. There are rich harmonies swirling together of the horns, strings and guitar building into a grand conclusion. Soon some fragile sounding vocals (Dutch or Spanish, hard for me to tell) with quaint Brian Wilson-like harmonies appear. Badenhorst has a gift for arranging as the reeds and/or trumpet lead the way, infectiously swelling above the sea of rich currents provided by the guitar, basses, drums and occasionally wordless vocals underneath. You just want to sing or hum along. Joachim's (?) sad voice is at the center of a few of these songs with solemn harmonies crying below touching our heartstrings subtly. Solos are relatively rare so that when they occur they reach above the tantalizing waves and swirling below, making us feel good to be alive and together with our friends. I hope that Mr Badenhorst and his fine ensemble get some credit for their hard work. This is a most enchanting endeavor that shouldn't be overlooked by those in the know." - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $16


New from Gunter Hampel's Birth label!

GUNTER HAMPEL/CAVANA LEE HAMPEL/STEVE SWELL - Holy Lights, Human Rights (Birth 131222; Germany)Gunter Hampel on vibes, flute & compositions, Cavanna Lee Hampel on vocals and Steve Swell on trombone. Last Sunday (12/29/13) here at DMG, we had our final in-store performance here at DMG. The twenty or so folks who showed up. knew that something special was going to happen and it certainly did! One of the very first European jazz avant/jazz musicians to move to New York (in 1969) and become an integral part of the very early Downtown scene was and is the legendary Gunter Hampel. Mr. had an early album on ESP (1968), moved here and started one of the first independent labels called Birth Records. It still remains today and has month than fifty releases. Mr. Hampel was married to the great singer, Jeanne Lee, they worked and recorded together for many years until Ms. Lee's passing in 2000. Their daughter, Cavanna, currently lives in Berlin and is a great vocalist in her own right. For most of the seventies and eighties, Gunter Hampel spent half of his time in New York, keeping a band together which went from a trio to a big band, selecting musicians from around the world and giving opportunities to many of Downtown's most creative musicians (Perry Robinson & Mark Whitecage are but two). Gunter now spends most of his time in Germany, where he works with a number of great, younger musicians and dancers, doing workshops, playing festivals and proving that truly creative music is not bound by age. Mr. Hampel does come back to New York, often just once a year and only does a handful of gigs at that time. This time (December of 2013), he did just two dates, one on the radio, WKCR-FM, from which this CD comes and here at DMG last Sunday. This is a marvelous trio, extremely tight and together. "Magic Touch" starts with flute, voice and trombone, three spirits weaving in sublime circles, completely connected as one. Cavanna does sound like her mother at times and this is a good thing since Jeanne Lee was one of most compelling of all (jazz) vocalists. I dig the way these three play so quietly yet they create so many layers of interconnected lines around one another. Mr. Hampel writes songs that sound like standards yet move beyond regular song structures. "Danilo Waltz" is actually a lovely waltz with Gunter on vibes and Steve on trombone. It is rare to hear Mr. Swell playing a ballad but here he does a splendid job to a song which is an exquisite gem, with dreamy vibes floating underneath. As these songs evolve, the trio creates their own magic by playing in a close-knit fashion, pushing each other and interacting on a mostly telepathic level. Mr. Hampel often writes thoughtful skeletal themes which the trio make their own when they begin and end and then take off together for stratospheric flights of fancy. Similar to the way(s) that Gunter on flute and Steve on trombone, stretch their notes out in unique ways, Cavanna also does a fine job of stretching her voice in ways that make this trio so well connected throughout this entire hour-long disc. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14

GUNTER HAMPEL EUROPEAN-NEW YORK FOUR - Open the Door to Gentleness [2 CD set] (Birth 130907; Germany) Featuring Gunter Hampel on vibes, bass clarinet, flute & compositions, Johannes Schleiermacher on tenor sax, Cavana Lee Hampel on voice and Bernd Oezsevim on drums. The legendary Gunter Hampel (German-born & longtime NYC resident, currently 76) continues to release new music every year and has more than seventy releases within his long discography. We just received this new one this week as Mr. Hampel is being interviewed on WKCR. For the last few years Mr. Hampel has added his daughter vocalist Cavana Lee whose mother was the great Jeanne Lee, the legendary avant/jazz vocalist who recorded with Gunter throughout the seventies and eighties. The other two members of this quartet are two fine German musicians, Johannes and Bernd, who have been with Mr. Hampel for more than a decade now. This two disc set was recorded live at Jazzclub Erfurt and is also available as a two DVD set. The first piece, "Turbulence" starts like a more inside old school jazz song that swings quietly and has a somber yet infectious melody. This is just the intro which soon erupts into a more intense, robust piece which has that great free swinging sorta groove. Both Johannes on tenor and Gunter on bass clarinet play together in tight lines with a great solo by Johannes before Gunter switches to vibes. Even without a bassist, drummer Bernd is the rhythmic heart of this quartet, keeping the flow happening from section to section. Not unlike her mother, Cavana Lee has a wonderful, warm and sensuous voice which is an integral part of this quartet but rarely takes over. She takes her time improvising sound which work well spinning a intricate web with her bandmates. You can tell that these players have been playing together for a while since there is constant connection between each member. "Smiling Energy" starts with a fine duo of tenor sax & drums, tightly sailing together until Gunter's swirling vibes come in and spin another web of tight interaction. When the quartet moves into a freer section, they do so in a most organic way, an extension of what has gone before. There is a long suspense-filled section in this piece with soft, mysterious vibes, spooky distant tenor, eerie ghost-like voice and skeletal drums. Each of the eight pieces from this double disc are long and go through a variety of inter-related sections. Mr. Hampel has a knack for organizing strong units no matter how many members so that each member is a part of what the entire group/sound so successful. This is yet another extraordinary gem from Gunter Hampel and his amazing European-New York Quartet. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $17


New on Improvising Beings!

Thanks to serious supporters like Julien Palomo of the Hello World and Improvised Beings labels, legendary jazz figures like Sonny Simmons are treated seriously, their legacies nurtured and preserved. I have long supported and admired Mr. Palomo's vision since everything he releases is important to him, no matter what recognition he gets from the outside world. We just got in two fine releases from avant/jazz legends Sonny Simmons and Alan Silva and both are great in their own ways. In the next two weeks, we will also be getting in all of the IB back catalogue. All of these releases are very limited, this will likely be the only time we get these in so grab them while you can! - BLG

SONNY SIMMONS With DELPHINE LATIL or THOMAS BELLIER - Beyond The Planets [2 CD set] (Improvising Beings 20; EEC) sonny simmons (cor anglais, alto sax) with.. delphine latil harp on CD1: Many Unseen Mysteries I~IV - Sacred Moments. thomas bellier guitar on CD 2: We Know The Distance Between The Planets - The Awesomeness Of The Universe - The Four Corners Of The Earth - The Vast Parameters - Then That. Featuring Sonny Simmons on Cor anglais & alto sax, Delphine Latil on harp or Thomas Bellier on guitar. A couple of years ago, Mr. Simmons recorded a duo disc with French harpist Delphine Latil, with whom I was not familiar. Disc 1 features four shorter solos from Ms. Latil, as well as a long (47 minute) duo with Mr. Simmons. Ms. Latil is a gifted harpist, her playing completely enchanting, most often restrained and exquisite. Mr. Simmons plays mostly the cor anglais for the duo, an oboe-like double reed instrument with a quaint yet mysterious, snake-charmerish sound. These two instruments, more often found in an older, classical setting, sound superb together. They create a dreamy ambiance that is often mesmerizing. When Sonny switches to alto sax, he still plays with a certain elegance although some of the darker jazz spirits do emerge. The second disc features mostly duos with the young French guitarist, Thomas Bellier. I was also not familiar with Mr. Bellier until hearing him with Mr. Simmons at the Vision Fest last year (2013). When the first duo begins, it sounds as if there is some echo (device) on Sonny's alto. The effect is most hypnotic and works well with Bellier's spacy guitar. It turns out that Mr. Bellier is an impressive jazz/rock guitarist who uses a variety of devices (wah wah, selective distortion and reverb). The sound is similar to early Gong when they were space-rock champions taking us on a journey to the stars. It seems hard to believe that Sonny Simmons would be involved in this excursion, due to his long history of modern jazz, but it does work well nonetheless. Whether Mr. Simmons plays the alto sax or the cor anglais (an oboe-like double reed), his playing Mr. Bellier is consistently sympathetic, the duo is strong, well integrated. This inexpensive double disc set features two duos, both of whom are wonderful and work together perfectly. Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
2 CD set for $14

ALAN SILVA/NOAH ROSEN - o.i.l. (orchestrated improvised lives) (Improvising Beings 21; EEC) Alan Silva is one of the last true heroes of free jazz and improvised music. He was at the right place, at the right time with his own powerful sound. He played, while still playing the double bass, on some of the formative recordings of the forefathers of the sixties free jazz as Albert Ayler, Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor, Bill Dixon, {[Andrew Hill}} and many others. Later on his own Celestrial Communication Orchestra and Sound Visions Orchestra, when he began to explore the sound of synthesizers, he assembled and united many of the leading figures in today's music - Anthony Braxton, William Parker, members of the Art Ensemble Of Chicago, Joe Morris and others. Silva will celebrate his 75th anniversary on January 2014. The album O.I.L. (Orchestrated Improvised Lives) marks the beginning of this celebration. It is a recording of Silva on orchestral synthesizer improvising with pianist Noah Rosen / Alan Siva, Brooklyn-native and a long- time resident of Paris (as Silva), a former student of Hill And Dixon.
The live, free improvised recording was done in November 2011 and April 2012. Rosen and Silva act as abstract painters, laying broad sweeps of concrete sounds, playing with massive orchestral textures, sudden changes of energy, colors, pulses and timbral depth. There are no clear structures in the three free-form improvisations tough the improvisations eventually gravitate unto distinct yet loose form and atmosphere. The focus is on deep listening, tight and supportive interplay, intense and nuanced exploration, the orchestral options, and patient and organic sound-oriented progression. The two create their own highly personal sonic universe. Silva's sonic vocabulary is always deep and fresh, accessible even with its otherworldly sounds and his playing is opinionated but free from any sonic attachments. Rosen's piano playing highlights the sense of space that Silva's synthesizer radiates but at times anchors Silva's flights with almost blues-based lines. Impressive demonstration of two free-minded masters in direct action. - Eyal Hareuveni
CD $12

and the entire backcatalog being offered by DMG for the first time..

GIUSEPPI LOGAN/JESSICA LURIE/LARRY ROLAND/ED PETTERSEN - ..and they were cool (Improvising Beings 16; EEC) giuseppi logan (saxophone, piano), jessica lurie (saxophone, flute), larry roland (bass), ed pettersen (guitar, effects)
CD $12

SONNY SIMMONS/DELPHINE LATIL - Symphony Of The Peacocks (Improvising Beings 04; EEC) sonny simmons (cor anglais, alto sax), delphine latil (harp)
CD $12

BENJAMIN DUBOC/ITARU OKI - Nobusiko (Improvising Beings 01; EEC) benjamin duboc (double bass), itaru oki (trumpet, flugelhorn, misc.)
CD $12

ABDELHAI BENNANI/ITARU OKI/ALAN SILVA/MAKOTO SATO - new today, new everyday (Improvising Beings 13; EEC) abdelhai bennani (tenor sax), itaru oki (trumpet), alan silva (synths), makoto sato (drums)
CD $12

ALAN SILVA/KEIKO HIGUCHI/SABU TOYOZUMI/TAKUO TANIKAWA - Crimson Lip (Improvising Beings 08; EEC) alan silva (bass, piano, synth), keiko higuchi (vocals), sabu toyozumi (drums, perc), takuo tanikawa (guitar, electronics)
CD $12

TAKUO TANIKAWA With ALAN SILVA/SHOTA KOYAMA/SABU TOYOZUMI/JUN KAWAZAKI - music for contemporary kagura (Improvising Beings 18; EEC) alan silva (bass, piano, synth), keiko higuchi (vocals), sabu toyozumi (drums, perc), takuo tanikawa (guitar, electronics)
CD $12

SABU TOYOZUMI & FRIENDS - Kosai Yujyo (Improvising Beings 14; EEC) sabu toyozumi (drums, erhu) and friends: marjolaine charbin (piano), jean demey (bass), jean-jacques duerinckx (sax), jacques foschia (clarinets), joel grip (bass), audrey lauro (sax), luo chao-yun (pipa), pascal marzan (guitar), john russell (guitar), isabelle sainte-rose (cello), peer schlechta (pipe organ), guy strale (percussion), jean-michel van schouwburg (voice), kris vanderstraeten (percussion), ove volquartz (reeds), dan warburton (violin, piano)
CD $12

KEIKO HIGUCHI/YASUMUNE MORISHIGE - Awai (Improvising Beings 19; EEC) keiko higuchi (voice), yasumune morishige (cello)
CD $12

FRANCOIS TUSQUES - l'etang change (mais les poissons sont toujours la) (Improvising Beings 15; EEC) francois tusques (piano)
CD $12

FRANCOIS TUSQUES/NOEL McGHIE - Topolitologie (Improvising Beings 02; EEC) francois tusques (piano), noel mcghie (drums). Recorded live April 24, 2010 at the Triton in Montreuil (France)
CD $12

ISABEL JUANPERA/FRANCOIS TUSQUES - Tango Libre (Improvising Beings 06; EEC) Recorded January 17, 2011 (Paris, France). isabel juanpera (vocals), fran¨ois tusques (piano)
CD $12

SYLVAIN GUERINEAU/JEAN ROUGIER/DIDIER LASSERRE - ligne (Improvising Beings 12; EEC) sylvain guerineau (tenor sax), jean rougier (double bass), didier lasserre (snare drums, cymbals)
CD $12

THOMAS BELLIER/ANTOINE MOREL-VULLIEZ/TIMOTHEE GACON - Blaak Heat Shujaa (Improvising Beings 03; EEC) thomas bellier (guitar, vox), antoine morel-vulliez (bass guitar, vox), timothee gacon (drums)
CD $12

MARIO RECHTERN/ERIC ZINMAN - Zorn: Dedicated To Linda Sharrock (Improvising Beings 07; EEC) mario rechtern (saxophones), eric zinman (piano)
CD $12

JOE RIGBY QUARTET With CALUM MacCRIMMON/SCOTT DONALD/BILLY FISHER - For Harriet (Improvising Beings 05; EEC) joe rigby (tenor and sopranino sax, flute), calum maccrimon (bagpipes, penny whistle), scott donald (drums), billy fisher (perc.). Recorded November 16, 2009 at Showcase The Street in Dundee (Scotland)
CD $12

JEFF SHURDUT/GENE JANAS/MARC EDWARDS - Bound And Gagged (Improvising Beings 11; EEC) jeff shurdut (alto sax, e-tuning electric guitar, amplifier, vocals, etc), gene janas (acoustic and electric bass, vocals, etc), marc edwards (drums)
CD $12

MICHEL KRISTOF With JULIEN PALOMO - Other Matter (Improvising Beings 17; EEC) Other Matter: michel kristof (guitars), julien palomo (synthesizers, organ, tape manipulations)
CD $12

or..

MICHEL KRISTOF With JULIEN PALOMO - Other Matter: Limited Edition with MKF's Approach [2 CD set] (Improvising Beings 17 LTD; EEC) Other Matter (Disc 1): michel kristof (guitars), julien palomo (synthesizers, organ, tape manipulations); MKF's Approach (Disc 2): michel kristof (guitars, tape manipulations)
CD $14


JAMES ILGENFRITZ'S THE CURATORS With MIKKO INNANEN/JOE HERTENSTEIN - Thank You (Engine 54; USA) Featuring Mikko Innanen on alto, soprano & bari sax, James Ilgenfritz on contrabass and Joe Hertenstein on drums. Just in, review next week.
CD $14



New and Recent from Fast Speaking!

This label is run by Ambrose Eye, son of the famous and influential poet Anne Waldman. Ambrose just left us with a half dozen discs from this wonderful label, all listed below. A few of these discs feature Ms. Waldman's nephew Devin Brahja Waldman on sax.

DANIEL CARTER/DANIEL LEVIN/SATOSHI TAKEISHI/DEVIN BRAHJA WALDMAN - Say Hello to Anyone I Know (Fast Speaking Music; USA) Featuring Daniel Carter on reeds & trumpet, Devin Brahja Waldman on alto sax, Daniel Levin on cello and Satoshi Takeishi on drums & percussion. This fine quartet disc was just released and features three of Downtown's most notorious improvisers, each of whom can be heard on dozens of sessions, way too many to mention here. Saxist Devin Brahja Waldman is the nephew of the great poet Anne Waldman, who also produced this disc. The session was recorded in an apartment and it has an intimate, warm sound.There are six pieces on this disc with two dedicated to a couple of jazz giats who passed away last year (2013): Jayne Cortez and Butch (Morris). The session starts slowly with a somber, laid back vibe which feels just right. All though is no doubt free improv, the quartet is tight and the ideas flow back and forth like a good conversation. Devin has a rich, warm tone on his alto is often at the center, the quartet taking their time and building to a thoughtful, well-balanced conclusion. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $10

CLARK COOLIDGE/THURSTON MOORE/ANNE WALDMAN - Comes Through In The Call Hold (Fast Speaking Music; USA) Featuring Clark Coolidge on text, vocals & drums, Thurston Moore on text, vocals & guitar and Anne Waldman on text & vocals. This is certainly a unique trio of wide-ranging talents from different backgrounds. Both Mr. Coolidge and Ms. Waldman are famous poets often associated with the Beats, with dozens of books & collaborations under their belts. Mr Coolidge is also a jazz drummer. Thurston Moore is well known a guitarist & vocalist and founding member of the NY noise/rock band Sonic Youth. Mr. Moore is also a published poet, reader, a fine improvising guitarist and label head. This disc features a series of duos and trios and was recorded at the Harry Smith cottage in the Jack Keroauc School at Naropa University in Colorado in June of 2012. All three poets get a chance to recite their work with guitar and/or drums to accompany them. This entire disc works as one continuous piece, the constant flow of ideas and observations runs thoughtfully throughout and is consistently enhanced by the accompanying music/noise. Even the final nearly half-hour instrumental with Thurston on guitar and Clark on drums sounds like a spirited dialogue between two elder jazz heroes. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $10

HARRY'S HOUSE [V.A. Tribute to HARRY SMITH With AMIRI BARAKA/THURSTON MOORE/ANNE WALDMAN/AMBROSE BYE et al] - Harry's House (Fast Speaking Music; USA) Harry Smith was an influential filmmaker, archivist, anthologist and cosmologist. He put together the Anthology of American Folk Music in 1952 and it has remained one of the real treasures of recorded folk and international musics ever since. Mr. Smith had a cottage on the campus of the Naropa Institute in Boulder Colorado from 1988-1991. This disc features some twenty-two poets recorded at the Harry Smith cottage (now a recording studio) between 2009 & 2011. The poets include Amiri Baraka, Bob Holman, Thurston Moore, Anne Waldman and others. The poems that were read and selected fir this comp are well chosen and make a many interesting observations of food for thought. There a number of poets here with whom I was not yet familiar but everyone seems to fit. I am a longtime fan of important poetry and I found this anthology/compilation to be consistently fascinating. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $10

ANNE WALDMAN/AMBROSE BYE - The Milk Of Universal Kindness (Fast Speaking Music; USA) Featuring Anne Waldman - poetry & spoken word and her son Ambrose Bye - music & production plus Devin Waldman on sax (3 tracks). Anne Waldman is a well regarded poet, performer, professor and activist who has been active since the mid 1960's. She has dozens of books of her own, as well as collaborations with other artists & scholars, film work and recordings. This is her most recent recording and it was done with the help of her son Ambrose, who runs this label. Ambrose provided the samples, beats and music behind the poetry that Ms. Waldman speaks so eloquently. The music is often subtle, somewhat funky and never gets in the way of the words which are always worth considering. Ms. Waldman looks back from the future on "Fossil Fuel", pointing the finger at those who have ruined our planet with their greed and insensitivity. Great poetry is the essence of language, boiling all of the excess verbiage down to what is really needed or desired. Anne has a special way with words, using her understanding to help show what is necessary to exist without being held down by negative influences. Each of the eleven poems shows a different observation or view of life. Each one is worthy of consideration. Most impressive. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $10

BRAHJA WALDMAN'S QUARTET With SHADRACH HANKOFF/MARTIN HESLOP/DANIEL GELINAS - Brahja Waldman's Quartet (Fast Speaking Music; USA) Featuring Brahja Waldman on alto sax & compositions, Shadrach Hankoff on piano, Martin Heslop on acoustic bass and Daniel Gelinas on drums. Saxist Brahja Waldman is a nephew of the world renown poet Ann Waldman and currently lives in Montreal, QC in Canada. Brahja recently recorded a quartet disc with Daniel Carter, Daniel Levin and Satoshi Takeishi, which was released on the Fast Speaking Music label, which is run by Ambrose Bye, son of Ms. Waldman. Brahja recently left us with two self-produced discs of his own Canadian quartet which is distributed by Fast Speaking Music. Rather than go for the obvious school of free/jazz, that can be found all over the world at this point, this quartet sounds like they are coming from more of a cool school sound: often laid back yet still crafty. Mr. Waldman writes songs that sound like standards with memorable yet quirky melodies. Waldman has a quaint Lee Konitz-like tone yet writes songs with unexpected changes in direction. On "Body Asking Shadow, "How Do You Keep Up?", the theme has an angular but enticing melody which repeats in a most hypnotic way. Each song involves a different rhythmic scheme without resorting to unnecessarily complex nonsense. Although these players look young, they sound as if they have been playing together and trying out more mature ideas for a long while. On the surface, this disc sounds like a more laid back effort that might sound good on jazz radio, but underneath there is much more going on so dig deeper to discover the gold within. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $10

BRAHJA WALDMAN'S QUARTET With SHADRACH HANKOFF or ADAM KINNER/MARTIN HESLOP/DANIEL GELINAS - Cosmic Brahjas//Closer To The Tones [2 CD set] (Fast Speaking Music; USA) This two disc set features two different but related quartets led by saxist Brahja Waldman. Disc one is called "Cosmic Brahjas" and it features Mr. Waldman on alto sax & compositions, Sadrach Hankoff on piano, Martin Heslop on bass and Daniel Gelinas on drums. This is a Montreal-based quartet led by Mr. Waldman with no musicians that I've heard of previously. I reviewed another disc by this same group earlier today from a previous year (2012). Waldman writes songs that are playful with unexpected twists. At times, Brahja reminds me of Paul Desmond but not as refined. His writing often has the sax and piano playing separate yet related lines together, fun but never straining too hard. It sounds as if Mr. Hankoff is playing a thumb piano at times or maybe plucking the strings inside the piano or playing a glockenspiel perhaps. There is a kind of childlike innocence at the center of this music that is hard to describe. No one here plays loud or ever screams or erupts in any way. The inventive arrangements are done on a more subtle level so it takes some lowered expectations to appreciate the somber gems buried within. The second disc, called 'Closer to the Tones', features a second saxist (Adam Kinner on tenor) instead of the piano, which was integral to what made disc one so great. Mr. Waldman's writing is still charming with an eye of quaint melodies played by both saxes together with thoughtful harmonies. Again, Mr. Waldman does a fine job of writing quirky yet somber lines for both saxes, dreamy yet inventive at te he same time. It sounds as if this quartet were gliding in a dream-like a state at times, taking their time, never rushing anywhere. They finally hit their stride on "Pleistocene", nearly breaking into a west coast cool bopper of sorts, the tempo increasing quickly as both saxes spinning tightly around one another until the break into the theme. Lee Konitz meets Warne Marsh, maybe? Relaxing at Camarillo or just relaxing in general. Your choice...? - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
2 CD set for $12


Three Great Recent Recordings by Elliott Sharp:

STUDIO DAN & ELLIOTT SHARP - In the Pelagic Zone - Live at Porgy & Bess (JazzWerkStatt 03/13; Germany) Featuring Elliott Sharp on 8-string guitarbass & compositions, Daniel Riegler - conducting plus the 14-piece Studio Dan ensemble. " In The Pelagic Zone is a suite in eleven sections composed by Elliott Sharp for the Viennese ensemble Studio Dan, a 14-piece group led by conductor and trombonist Daniel Riegler. The group includes a string quartet, brass, reeds, two percussionists, piano, guitar, bass, and electronics - all virtuoso players equally adept in contemporary classical music, rock, jazz, improvisation, and noise and whose talents are fully utilized. Recorded "live" to multi-track at Vienna's famed Porgy & Bess club, it was later mixed and mastered to bring out all of the subtleties and power of the music.The suite is inspired by the ancient Greek notion of pelagos, the "open sea", a set of zones neither close to the bottom nor the top of an ocean. Most sections of the composition echo elements of each of the pelagic regions. The sounds range from aquatic stillness to tempestuous waves to the "Fata Morgana"'s hallucinatory images and "Flash Mob"'s wild currents. There are regions of polyrhythmic layered grooves including "On The Beach" which features a psychedelic guitar solo from E#." - Elliott Sharp "I wasn't quite sure what to expect after reading the above description by Mr. Sharp, but listening to it over the last few days really does the trick. "Flash Mob" opens and features quick, swirling waves of hypnotic horns. "Refracto"starts with a flute soloing over layers of bent strings, horns and eerie electronics. Each of the 11 sections features different instrumentation and a different vibe, none are more than seven minutes. The piano and marimba play criss-crossing parts on "Spin and Drift", until certain horns and/or strings add other colors and shades. Some passages are filled with suspense and we never know which combination of instruments (both acoustic and electronic) will lead into unexpected areas of exploration. Although this disc was recorded live, it is impossible to tell since the sound is breathtaking: clean, warm and well-balanced. The balance between the acoustic and electronic instruments is also seamless. 'In the Pelagic Zone' is one of the finest examples of New Music (a/k/a modern classical) I've heard this year. Superb on various levels." - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15

ELLIOTT SHARP AGGREGAT - "Quintet" (Clean Feed 288; Spain) "Featuring Elliott Sharp on tenor & soprano sax & clarinet & compositions, Nate Wooley on trumpet. Terry L Green on trombone, Brad Jones on bass and Ches Smith on drums. Elliott Sharp is a restless composer, bandleader, producer and musician (usually guitar) who always has several projects going on simultaneously. Sharp often produces some half dozen different discs a year with assorted projects: solo guitars (both electric & acoustic), guitar duos, modern classical and even more surprising areas. Although Mr Sharp is one of the most diverse of all Downtown pioneers, he hasn't really explored the jazz nebula at length. Since Clean Feed released his solo Monk on guitar disc a few years back, Sharp has veered closer to jazz for certain projects. After that Sharp organized his own Aggregat Trio with Downtowners Brad Jones and Ches Smith, both in demand rhythm team players who are also diverse in their approach. The Aggregat Trio CD was a sort of jazz guitar trio disc, yet it wasn't what anyone would expect since it didn't involve just one style or approach. It did feature moments of psychedelic surprises and was much more interesting than any jazz trio CD that I've heard in the same era. Which brings us to Sharp's new Aggregat Quintet in which he plays no guitar, just reeds like tenor & soprano sax & bass clarinet. As long as I've known E# (since 1980), he has played sax on occasion but rarely records his reeds at length. Until now. For this disc, Sharp wisely chose trumpeter Nate Wooley an equally diverse and unpredictable kindred spirit who has turned up on a number of important recordings and gigs over the past decade. I can't say that I am familiar with trombonist Terry L. Green before this, but he seems to be wisely chosen as well. This disc is not just "free jazz" excursion but partially written, partially improvised and difficult to pin to any one style. The opening piece, "Magnetar" does sound like the early Ornette Quartet (from the early 1960's) yet it keeps on twisting into something else. The rhythm team keeps shifting faster, slower, tighter, looser, yet always together. Mr. Wooley, Mr. Green and Sharp himself all take a number of impressive solos while the rhythm section shifts into different gears ever tight and supportive. Even the pieces that sound free are obviously well-scripted since they stop on a dime time and again. Each involves a different approach or combination of ideas. For, "Arc of Venus", the pace slows down to a suspense-filled landscape with Ches on mallets, Elliott on bass clarinet & Nate on especially eerie muted trumpet. Each piece involves a different challenge structurally as well as a combination of strong winds blowing together. Nate Wooley is the secret ingredient here that pushes things into the twilight zone by taking a number of amazing solos which are always an extension whatever difficult structure that Mr Sharp has set up to deal with. None of the eleven pieces too long (all under eight minutes), thus making each piece brief enough to include several great ideas. There are a couple of dedications here worth mentioning: "Blues for Butch" (Morris, I assume) and "Laugh Out Loud" (for Lol Coxhill), two heroes who passed away in the past year. Another buried treasure from the folks at Clean Feed!" - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $16

ELLIOTT SHARP - Incident - New Music for Film and Opera [LTD Ed of 200/signed & numbered] (Zoar ZPO 08; USA) In this latest limited-edition release from E# in the Portal Series on his zOaR label, the composer and multi-instrumentalist presents incidental music from recent film and opera projects. Though "incidental" when employed in the service of the film or drama, these pieces are complete on their own and easily enter the "foreground" for concentrated listening. The music ranges from rock songs to dense orchestral masses, Medieval chants to processed guitar noise, French chanson to industrial twang-noir. "This disc is comprised of music from three films and an opera: 'Lucid Possession', 'About Us', 'More Places Forever' and 'Trinity'. Mr. Sharp composed and produced all the music here, each work features Elliott on guitars or bass or synthesizers or electronics, as well as a few guests like Hai-Ting Chin & Bora Yoon on vocals, Joe Trump or Lance Carter on drums. 'Lucid Possession' is a multi-media film by Toni Dove. Sharp uses the soprano voice on Hai-Ting Chinn to good effect while adding layers of hypnotic guitars and synth. In some way the songs with Ms. Chinn remind me of more serious side of a rock chanteuse like Grace Slick from the early seventies with Sharp's psychedelic guitar adding mesmerizing swirls. 'About Us' in an opera performed by the Orchestra of the Bayerische Staatsoper with Mr. Sharp adding some synths. The sound of the orchestra is often quite harrowing with waves of swirling strings and synths creating a truly spooky ambiance. Although this piece is called an opera, I don't hear any voices just bent strings carefully mutated to into a most effective blend. 'More Places Forever' is a science-fiction semi-documentary by Michael Benson. Sharp uses guitars, synths & electronics (plus drums on one track) to create a fascinating yet somewhat off-kilter vibe. I dig the way Mr. Sharp plays that spy scene/post-surf guitar twang on for this film. The final piece is for Jo Andres' film 'Trinity' performed on electro-acoustic guitar and electronics. Sharp uses an e-bow (stimulating the strings) adding a somber, psychedelic haze, kind of a flock of alien birds chirping. Sharp is a master on the electro-acoustic guitar, something well-documented on a couple of his solo offerings from recent years. This disc is about 60 minutes long and shows Elliott Sharp's prowess as a diverse composer of film and opera works. The music is cinematic and engaging on its own terms as well. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $20


RANGDA [RICHARD BISHOP/BEN CHASNY/CHRIS CORSANO] - Live in Krefeld [10" EP] (Unrock 001; Germany) Featuring: Richard Bishop: guitars, Ben Chasny: guitars, Chris Corsano: drums. Rangda is an underground supergroup consisting of Chris Corsano (Bj�rk), Ben Chasny (Six Organs Of Admittance) and Richard Bishop (Sun City Girls). Complex, exotic, instrumental rock with an exotic taste. Rangda came to Krefeld in the Lower Rhine area twice (2010 & 2012) and the golden nuggets of each performance are now available on a limited edition 10". The eight-minute epic "Silver Nile," the centerpiece from their album Formerly Extinct, is accompanied by a bone-dry version of "Night Porter." "Serrated Edges," an exploding wall of noise, comes close to heavy free-jazz at times. Limited edition of 400 copies.
10" EP $22


KEN ALDCROFT'S CONVERGENCE ENSEMBLE - Saskatoon Bassment 2007 (Trio Records 017; Canada) The Convergence Ensemble features Ken Aldcroft on guitar & compositions, Evan Shaw on alto sax, Scott Thomson on trombone, Wes Neal on bass and Joe Sorbara on drums. This set was recorded live at the Bassment in Saskatoon in January of 2007. Toronto-based guitarist, Ken Aldcroft, plays here at DMG a couple of times per year (with William Parker & Andy Haas), and often leaves us with or sends us his self-produced discs. He often collaborates with a number of Toronto's best musicians and here has put together a fine quintet. Ken has been using the same musicians for a while as he has three previous discs with the same quintet. His two rhythm team mates, Wes Neal and Joe Sorbara, worked with Evan Parker last year for a fine trio disc on the Barnyard label. Starting with sparse sounds, the quintet eventually work their way into more of groove with the trombone soloing heatedly over interlocking guitar and sax led lines. Mr. Aldcroft has a way of crafting quirky melodies which seem to emerge from freer sections and involve subsections of the band to connect on different levels. You can tell that these musicians have been playing together previously since always interact and work their way through Ken's shrewd charts so well. I dig that much of this is stripped down and rarely chaotic or too free. There are a handful of duo and trio sections that I particularly like since they give certain members a chance to shine or just combine their talents on a more intimate or intricate level. There is a section of "X Marks the Spot" which recalls a melody by Eric Dolphy before it jumps into a more hard swinging section with a great, fast guitar solo. I used to think that balancing the in and out with lots of unexpected twists and turns was more of a Downtown phenomena but I have come to realize that mature music explorers from around the world find their own way to explore and connect. This is a prime example of strong exploration at it best! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14


ENRICO FAZIO CRITICAL MASS - Shibui (Leo 678; UK) Featuring Luca Campioni on violin, Alberto Mandarini on trumpet & flugel, Gianpiero Malfatto on trombone & euphonium, Francesco Vigone on soprano & alto saxes, Adalberto Ferrari on clarinets, Gianni Virone on tenor & bari sax & flute, Enrico Fazio on double bass & compositions and Fiorenzo Sordini on drums & percussion. I recognize the two rhythm teams mates (Fazio & Sordini) from playing in a quartet with Carlo Actis Dato for many years. Trumpeter Mandarini can also be found on handful of discs from the Splasch label. This is a strong octet date with some wonderful composing and arranging by Mr. Fazio. On "Tempus Fugit", the violin solos first above some tight swirling horns. Contrabassist Fazio seems to be at the center of the band holding it together with a strong muted trumpet and then a fine, laid-back tenor sax next. Fazio has a unique way of blending inside and outside playing, folk & jazzy melodies with alot of unexpected twists and turns. Songs often start off one way and then turn inside-out with short, inspired solos from the violin, reeds and brass. Soloists are often just backed by the (lead) bass and drums before another section erupts and then another soloist appears. When a soloist goes on for a longer period, another section or passage will occur. It reminds me of the way great Dixieland works with several lines swirlingtight around one another but this music is not really like Dixieland either. There is certain playfulness here that makes this disc infectious in part and then it turns into something else quite unexpected. There sections of this that sound like modern classical, complex in one way yet not too difficult to figure out. It seems as if Enrico Fazio has spent a great deal of time putting this entire long disc together since it does cover alot of diverse ground. There are a few solos (like a contrabass clarinet) that occur in odd places yet this entire disc is still a marvel construction, arranging and playing. Only a label like Leo would release this gem on the unsuspecting world at large. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $17



More releases on ForTune!

Last month we received our first bunch of releases from the great Polish label ForTune. Since then we have nearly sold out of their CDs from Mary Halvorson Trio, Anthony Braxton, William Parker Qt, the Tomasz Dabrowski/Tyshawn Sorey Duo, the Mazolewski/Dennis Gonzalez Quintet and the Bester Quartet. I must admit that ForTune is a consistently amazing label as each release I've reviewed and is great!

OBARA INTERNATIONAL - Komeda (ForTune 007; Poland) Obara International is Maciej Obara on alto sax, Dominik Wania on piano, Ole Morten Vagan on double bass and Gard Nilssen on drums. Obara International is, without question, the most distinct ensemble in the improvised music scene in Poland nowadays. It was enough for Maciek & his team to play together for only 16 months to reach the level of empathic communication and develop their own peculiar style and sound. The concert they played in April at the Manggha Museum in Krakow was a part of the 19th International "Masters and Youngsters" Jazz Festival, and a part of the concert tour the band made in spring. Due to the adventurous journey to Krakow, the musicians arrived at the venue only an hour before the concert. It is highly likely that this inconvenience provided a greater stimulation for the band, and the audience, filling the hall to capacity, actually witnessed - says Obara - one of the best performances given by the ensemble.
CD $17

HUNGER PANGS [MAREK KADZIELA/TOMASZ DABROWSKI/KASPER TOM CHRISTIANSEN] - Meet Meat (ForTune 008; Poland) Hunger Pangs are Marek Kadziela on guitar, Tomasz Dabrowski on trumpet, Balkan horn & Microkorg and Kasper Tom Christiansen on drums. The three musicians first met as students at the Carl Nielsen Academy of Music in Odense,Denmark. Their longstanding acquaintanceship finds a common denominator in their musical activity which was initiated in 2006 and has lasted until this day (also within other formations, such as K.R.A.N., OFF-QUARTET, or Kasper4). The material for this album was created in the years 2010-2012. It was registered during three recording sessions: one in Berlin (with Frank M�bus) and two in Odense. The band plays music inspired by the works of Der Rote Bereich and Hyperactive Kid. The presence of Marek K?dziela as a leader has resulted in elaborate, multi-layered compositions which are diverse in character and full of contradictions: from punk-style expression, through jazz imaginativeness, to elements of the ballad and contemporary classical music. Playing with sounds and tones tinges the music with the colors typical of harmonies found in sonorism, like dissonant chords, rustles and crackles. This musical journey goes beyond any defined areas of specific genres; it is largely based on emotions and the artistry of world-class musicians.
CD $17

DOMINIK WANIA TRIO With MAX MUCHA/DAWID FORTUNA - Ravel (ForTune 0012; Poland) Featuring Dominik Wania on piano, Maz Mucha on double bass and Dawid Fortuna on drums. Maurice Ravel considered himself a composer of reason rather than heart; to him, the creative process was an intellectual charade and not the fruit of inspiration. With the precision of a Swiss clock-maker (his father was Swiss), he wrote pieces - some devilishly difficult to perform - which left players with hardly any room for their own interpretation, still less for improvisation. Ravel must have kept an immense distance towards his own work; on his opus magnum he commented thusly: "Bolero is the only remarkable piece of art I have managed to create. Alas, it contains no music. It is but an elaborate symphonic tapestry." Dominik Wania's debut album is cut from the same cloth. It has been awaited by all those keeping track of this excellent young pianist's musical development. It is not by chance that his phonographic debut revolves around Ravel. It is also probably not by chance that it refers to a single composition by the French impressionist, namely to Miroirs - a miniature written for piano between 1904-1905 and dedicated to members of Sociˇtˇ des Apaches, the famous French avant-garde group of whom Ravel was one. Yes, there is jazz in Ravel, and Wania's playing dissipates any doubts we might have had about it, even though his bravura will not hide from an observant listener certain motives, phrases, harmonies, or structures we know from Ravel's scores. These, however, serve only as a pretext, an inspiration, a point of departure and a component of his musical erudition. They fortunately direct the pianist towards a dazzling and daring performance. No quotes or paraphrasing involved.
CD $17

PIOTR DAMASIEWICZ PROJECT - Imprographic 1 [CD+DVD] (ForTune 006; Poland) Featuring Piotr Damasiewicz on trumpet, Gerard Lebik on tenor sax, Jakub Mielcarek on double bass and Gabriel Ferrandini on drums. Piotr Damasiewicz is a visionary and arts coordinator, band leader, conductor, arranger and composer, multi-instrumentalist (trumpet being his instrument of choice), participant in the Take Five Europe program, and winner of numerous awards and honorable mentions. All that in a single person. This unity is not artificial, in fact it provides room for much more. "Damas" is also a good friend, a prudent, romantic and talented organizer. People revolve around him like eager satellites. As a naturally born leader he is involved in many projects: Hadrony (with the participation of a chamber orchestra), Mnemotaksja (contemplative music), VeNN Circle (experiment), Quintet, and Power of the Horns. The album contains material from three concerts played by ImproGraphic in September 2012 with only few-days' intervals. Despite such short breaks in between performances, various facets of the ImproGraphic's music have been captured on this album. The recordings from Alchemia Club in Krak—w and Falanster Clubof Wrocaw give us solos centered on sound textures, revealing the musicians' inspiration in sonorism as well as making references to experimental ensembles of Anthony Braxton and EAI traditions. The moments of collective improvisation sound mighty and bring out riffs originating from the radical free improv that is characteristic for Europe (Machine Gun, Spontaneous Music Ensemble). Nevertheless, it is a well-organized concept album bringing to mind the artistry of Eric Dolphy at the time of his "Out to Lunch!" release. Pieces recorded at Cofeina Cafe in Sucha Beskidzka sound quite different; here, the spirit of Albert Ayler shines through the rough, folksy aesthetics of impetuous improvisation. The often ebullient drumming of Ferrandini reveals his southern origins (his father was born in Mozambique, his mother is Brazilian), its trans-like quality seems related to minimalism or even krautrock. The experience which both wind instrumentalists have gained in the Power of the Horns project can be heard in their mutual improvisations - those dynamic, zippy passages reach wayback to the African roots of the free Chicago-style jazz. - Daniel Broek
CD+DVD $24

MAGNOLIA ACOUSTIC QUARTET - Boozer (ForTune 003; Poland) The Magnolia Acoustic Quartet includes two guests and features: Szymon Nidzworski on soprano & tenor saxes, Kuba Sokolowski on piano, Mateusz Dobosz on double bass and Patryk Dobosz on drums plus guests Maciej Obara on alto sax and Tomasz Dabrowski on trumpet. The magnolia is a wild, uncanny plant. Man has learnt to cultivate it, but it blooms most beautifully when left unattended. Perhaps that is how the Magnolia Acoustic Quartet has come to blossom, even though the laments of New Orleans jazz bands inspired its name rather than delight in botany. The quartet sprouted somewhere between Cracow and Warsaw as a hybrid of musical craft and free expression, tradition and a glance into the future. It's coming into existence was duly recognized and appreciated: Taking second place in the famed Jazz Juniors 2009 Competition led up to a debut album financed by grants from The Fryderyk Chopin University of Music and Sociˇtˇ Gˇnˇrale. On the one hand, Magnolia Acoustic Quartet's music resounds with echoes of jazz from its most glorious era, when Andrew Hill, Sam Rivers, or Eric Dolphy were creating. On the other hand, it embraces the most contemporary jazz idiom which marries the M-Base ferment of the 1990's with a breeze of Scandinavian sensibility that surged a decade later. An attentive look at modern music is blended with an awareness of decades-long meandering of "the third current", the strengths and weaknesses of which are well understood by the musicians. All of this is tucked away in here, alongside an unswerving certainty that whatever is essential in music, comes to pass in compositional frameworks which accommodate improvisation. - Maciej Karowski
CD $17

OLES BROTHERS & JORGOS SKOLIAS - Sefardix (ForTune 013; Poland) Featuring Jorgos Skolias on vocals, Marcin Oles on double bass and Barteomiej Oles on drums. In the aftermath of the exodus of the Sephardic Jews, expelled first from the 15th century Spain and soon after from Portugal, their music was dispersed throughout Europe, then reached North Africa and Turkey, transforming local culture and music and undergoing a transformation itself. Over time it became a vital component of the European musical landscape and its influence spread across the ocean. Where then did the idea originate that the music of the Sephardim could be played in a novel way and sung in Greek Did it spring from the urge to redefine this music again, or maybe from a somewhat postmodern desire to violate yet another canon. The idea was the brainchild of Miron Zejfert, head of the New Jewish Music Festival in Warsaw, who commissioned the Sefardix Project for the festival's second edition in 2011. The premise of the undertaking, as well as one of the main goals of both the organizer and the musicians, was to create pieces which would tell the story of the music instead of focusing solely on its reinterpretation. The disc would be incomplete without improvisation, which in Sephardic music can be traced to the legacy of the 800-year long Arab presence in Spain and to the solo pieces which in the form of accapella songs were an essential element of this music. Although the instrumentation here is resolutely unconventional, it conforms to Sephardic norms since it includes vocals, plucked and bowed strings (the bass fulfilling here a dual role) and also percussion (with augmented instrumentation). Marcin Oles
CD $17


Last Copies of Four Haino Keiji Rarities:

ZEITKRATZER/CARSTEN NICOLAI/TERRE THAEMLITZ/KEIJI HAINO - Electronics [3 CD Set] (Zeitkratzer 003; Germany) The Zeitkratzer label releases a limited 3CD box documenting international avant-garde soloists ensemble Zeitkratzer, and their collaborations with groundbreaking electronic musicians spanning nearly a decade. This set collects all three previously-released Electronics recordings (ZKR 004CD/ZKR 005CD/ZKR 006CD), made in Germany, Spain, France, Italy and Austria with non-academic electronic musician Carsten Nicolai (aka Alva Noto), electro-acoustic composer Terre Thaemlitz, and legendary Japanese noise artist Keiji Haino: three heroes of electronic music. This package includes a special 34-page textbook in German and English containing essays about the consequences of the ensemble's radical work: Diedrich Diederichsen on authorship, Elliott Sharp's "Zeitkratzer and the Myth of the End of Instruments," and Michael Iber on Zeitkratzer's unusual musical notation. Other essays by Tony Herrington (Wire), and Stefan Fricke. Zeitkratzer are: Frank Gratkowski (bass clarinet); Hayden Chisholm (bass clarinet); Franz Hautzinger (trumpet) Melvyn Poore (tuba); Reinhold Friedl (piano, inside-piano); Maurice De Martin (percussion); Burkhard Schlothauer (violin); Anton Lukoszevieze (cello); Ulrich Phillipp (double bass); Marc Weiser (analog electronics); Ralf Meinz (sound). Directed by Reinhold Friedl.
3 CD Set for $55

ZEITKRATZER/KEIJI HAINO - Electronics (Zeitkratzer 006; Germany) Presenting a third volume of collaborative works between European avant garde ensemble Zeitkratzer and modern electronic composers. On this release, Zeitkratzer cooperates with legendary Japanese noise artist, Keiji Haino. The Berliner Zeitung had the following to say about this mind-melting collaboration: "They had only rehearsed for three days, but the result was mind-blowing. Haino made music on the guitar and on the drums, on electronic devices, on two Theremins and with his wonderfully changeable tenor; Zeitkratzer infolded him, pushed him away, embedded him in noise and carried him through the sound space like on atomizing waves. Only one thing did not exist: the reconciliation between the soloist and his ensemble, which would have denied the differences in traditions and styles; the greatness of the sound, the richness of his textures was a result purely of the contrast and its dynamic."
CD $17

DOO-DOOETTES/KEIJI HAINO - Free Rock (PSF 131; Japan) "Long-awaited archival collaboration from 1982." The Doo-Dooettes, mainstays of the LAFMS, were: Dennis Duck (drums), Fredrik Nilsen (bass), Tom Recchion (home-made instruments: mock cello & strungaphone), with Rick Potts (guitar) and Haino (guitar). Keiji Haino was visiting LA shortly after the release of his first solo album on Pinakotheca Records and this impromptu session was recorded on August 3, 1982. The first ever release of this one thirty-five minute piece (titled by Recchion: "Blueprint For The Shimmering Quivers Of The Deep Purple Ultraviolet Tuning Fork"), recently discovered in the cassette collection of Dennis Duck, unheard for 18 years. Liner notes & cover artwork by Tom Recchion.
CD $20

KEIJI HAINO & YOSHIDA TATSUYA - Hauenfiomiume (Magaibutsu 034; Japan) "The controversial work which stepped into the forbidden territory of editing the performance of Haino Keiji. Yoshida breaks up their studio session boldly and restructures it from the unacceptable tune reproduced by extreme editing to the pop song thing that it is surprised. From the irregular hard core to heavy tune. From the modern music short piece, to the lyricism acoustic number. This album shows new possibility with union/condensing the music of Haino & Yoshida. This time they made 2 different (but similar) albums." 16 tracks, 50 min.
CD $19


HACO + TOSHIYA TSUNADA - TramVibration (Skiti 07; Japan) Featuring Haco on stereo bugscope system and Toshiya Tsunoda on contact & stethoscope microphones. I had not heard anything from the quirky Japanese vocalist Haco in many years so I was surprised to get copies of her new duo offering a couple of weeks ago. Many years back, Haco was the lead singer for the After Dinner, an odd yet charming sort of progressive band from Japan who recorded for Recommended Records. Since then Haco has collaborated with Otomo, Zeena Parkins, Ikue Mori, Diane Labrosse and Uchihashi Kazuhisa as well as a trio called Hoahio with Yagi Michiyo and Sachiko M who have a couple of fine discs on Tzadik. I am not so sure what is a "stereo bugscape system" that Haco plays but Mr. Tsunoda does use a stethoscope mic to pick up physical vibrations. The results here are a somber electronic soundscape which is slowly being manipulated, similar to grains of sands or granular sounds gradually being altered or shifted as they expand or contract. The sound is both eerie and somewhat soothing at the same time. The overall sound and gradual change require a quiet background and patience. It sounds a like a distant (electronic) storm with the wind moving and occasional thunder in the distance. I like the way the static-like sound is manipulated causing its texture to slowly change or evolve into something else. Although Haco is known as a vocalist, I really don't hear anything voice-like here although placing a (stethoscope) mic on someone's throat might just get a similar sound source to start with. Fascinating but never distracting or too difficult to deal with. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $18



New and Recent from Cantaloupe!

JOHN LUTHER ADAMS - Inuksuit [CD + DVD] (Cantaloupe 21096; USA) Some musical events encourage a community to take stock of its surroundings, but very few fold so seamlessly into the environment itself that they become part of a community's memory and imagination. John Luther Adams' Inuksuit is one of those works. Scored for 9 to 99 percussion players who are meant to be widely dispersed in an outdoor area (although the piece has also been performed indoors), Inuksuit has been described by the New York Times as "the ultimate environmental piece," while the New Yorker's Alex Ross hailed it as "one of the most rapturous experiences of my listening life." The title refers to the Stonehenge-like markers used by the Inuit and other native peoples to orient themselves in Arctic spaces. Adams structured the rhythmic layers in the score to mimic these stone shapes, but there's an open-endedness to how the music is performed that reflects the sense of freedom behind it. "Each performance of Inuksuit is different," Adams explains, "determined by the size of the ensemble and the specific instruments used, by the topology and vegetation of the site -- even by the songs of the local birds. The musicians are dispersed throughout a large area, and the listeners are free to discover their own individual listening points, which actively shapes their experience."
Inuksuit has been performed numerous times, and in various spaces, since Adams first composed it in 2009. This recording, made in the forest surrounding Guilford Sound in Guilford, Vermont, and produced by percussionist and composer Doug Perkins, marks the first time that the piece is available on CD. Adams also sought to capture the experience of the performance in a surround mix, which unlike most commercially available 5.1 mixes, is full-range in every channel. "We wanted to make this feel as live as possible," Adams says. "When I originally composed Inuksuit, I wasn't prepared for the strong sense of community the piece seems to create. I'm glad to be able to give some of that back with this recording." "I am a big fan of Alaska-based composer, John Luther Adams. I dig each of his dozen+ discs for the New World, Mode, Cold Blue and New Albion labels and look forward to each new one as they released. 'Inuksuit' is something else, most different from everything previously. The piece was scored for up to 99 percussion players who are meant to be widely dispersed in an outdoor area. Each time is performed, it sounds different, depending on the environment. Chuck Bettis and I listened to this disc the other day, relatively loud with the front door open since it can often be too hot in our basement space. The piece sounds rather tribal and unfolds in a most organic way. This version was recorded in a forest in Vermont and we can hear the bird singing at points. This is the first time this piece has been captured on CD. Mr. Adams also sought to capture the experience of the performance in a surround mix, which unlike most commercially available 5.1 mixes, is full-range in every channel. This is one of the most intense, throttling musical experiences I've heard in along while." - Bruce Lee Gallanter
CD + DVD for $18

CALEB BURHANS//ALARM WILL SOUND - Evensong (Cantaloupe 21094; USA)Ask composer, singer, violinist and multi-instrumentalist Caleb Burhans about his relationship to the Christian tenets of faith, and he'll give you a thoughtful but conflicted answer. "Despite the fact that I've sung in church choirs for almost twenty years, I'm agnostic," he says. "So a lot of my music deals with my struggles with religion." 'Evensong' is Burhans' defining statement of his complex connection to the church -- an "emo-classical" epic where sacred meets secular in a pure, dynamic expression of musical influences that range from classical to ambient to post-rock. While the album presents motifs from the Christian church service (book-ended with the opening "Magnificat" and the closing "Nunc Dimittis," recorded with the Trinity Wall Street Choir), it refracts them through the modern lens of new music and the avant garde. This is Burhans' debut as a lead composer and recording artist, though he has long been recognized as a vital presence on the NYC new music scene. The New York Times has lauded him as "animated and versatile," a "sweet-voiced countertenor," and a "new music virtuoso." He is also a regular member of several groundbreaking groups and ensembles that have helped reshape modern classical music -- among them ACME, Alarm Will Sound, Beyondo, Bleknlok, Escort, itsnotyouitsme, Newspeak, Ensemble Signal and the Wordless Music Orchestra. Alarm Will Sound, in fact, takes up the secular portion of Evensong, performing three pieces that test the very limits of a large ensemble's expressive capabilities. "oh ye of little faith" is the arguable centerpiece, described by none other than Steve Reich as "a lovely homage to Arvo Part's In Memorium Banjamin Britten." Further on, the Tarab Cello Ensemble infuses "The Things Left Unsaid" with contemplative longing. With whimsical and incisive liner notes by longtime friend, collaborator and guitarist Grey Mcmurray, Evensong marks Burhans' arrival as one of the most promising young composers to emerge from NYC's trial-by-fire proving ground.
CD $15

DAVID LANG - Death Speaks (Cantaloupe 21092; USA)In 2012, David Lang spent so much time racking up awards -- from Carnegie Hall's 2013-14 Debs Composer's Chair to Musical America's Composer of the Year -- that it's a wonder he was able to wrangle a project of the size and scope of death speaks. Commissioned by Carnegie Hall and Stanford Lively Arts to go on a program with his piece the little match girl passion, death speaks draws its initial inspiration from the work of Schubert -- specifically the song "Death and the Maiden." As Lang describes it, "I went alphabetically in the German through every single Schubert song text (thank you, internet!) and compiled every instance of when the dead sent a message to the living. All told, I used excerpts from 32 songs, translating them very roughly and trimming them in the same way that I adjusted the Bach texts in the little match girl passion." For the next step in the process, Lang sought to recruit an ensemble of successful indie composer/performers who had training in classical music, and invite them back into the fold. "I asked rock musicians Bryce Dessner (The National), Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond) and Owen Pallett (Final Fantasy) to join me, and we added Nico Muhly. He's not someone who left classical music, but he's known and welcome in many musical environments. All these musicians are composers and they can write all the music they need themselves, so it's a tremendous honor for me to ask them to spend some of their talent on my music." As a companion to the five-part "death speaks," Lang also composed "depart," the second piece on the CD. Featuring four solo vocalists with Maya Beiser on multi-tracked cellos, the music offers a life-affirming meditative ambience intended to help family members deal with the death of a loved one. The piece currently plays as part of a permanent installation at a hospital morgue just outside of Paris. For more about the making of "depart," listen to the fascinating Radiolab podcast, with excerpts from an interview with David Lang.
CD $15

YUNGCHEN LHAMO & ANTON BAGATOV - Tayatha: Tibetan Voice Meets Russian Piano (Cantaloupe 21090; USA)Tibetan singer Yungchen Lhamo and Russian pianist Anton Batagov first met through their mutual friendship with famed choreographer Bill T. Jones, so it's only natural that their first musical collaboration would be based on movement and improvisation. "Some things that we spend years planning never come to pass," Lhamo says philosophically, "while other unexpected flashes leap out of the moment and show us new ways to learn and grow. Meeting Anton through my dear friend Bill T. Jones was one such discovery that I did not plan. Not only is Anton a very talented musician, but even though he comes from Russia and does not speak my language, he still intuitively grasps my music." A native of Lhasa, Lhamo has emerged as one of the world's leading Tibetan singers, known for her hypnotic a cappella performances and her deep spiritual commitment to Tibetan history and culture. She has released three critically acclaimed albums with Peter Gabriel's Real World label -- Tibet, Tibet (1996), Coming Home (1998) and Ama (2006) -- and has collaborated with a diverse range of artists including Natalie Merchant, Philip Glass, Annie Lennox, Michael Stipe and Billy Corgan. Loosely translated, Tayatha is a Tibetan Buddhist term that means "it is like this." This particular recording marks an unprecedented foray for Lhamo into post-minimalist improvisation with Batagov, a graduate of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory who has been described by the L.A. Times as "a Russian Terry Riley." Intimate and unusually personal, Tayatha traces a journey of spiritual transformation, invoking the universal themes of love, family, faith and renewal. "The point where East meets West in this story is not where they usually meet," Batagov says. "It's definitely closer to the world of chamber post-minimalist music than to the world of pop arrangements. That's why we called the album Tayatha. Buddhist mantras usually begin with tayatha -- that's why we hope people will play the whole album without interruption. It's a trip that has its special trajectory, like a modern vocal cycle."
CD $15

KEN THOMSON//JACK QUARTET - Thaw (Cantaloupe 21095; USA)When Brooklyn-based clarinetist, saxophonist and composer Ken Thomson prepared to sit down and write the music for THAW -- his Cantaloupe Music debut -- he literally needed to "thaw out" by leaving town. "One of the hardest things to do in New York City is compose," he writes in the CD's liner notes. "In the winter of 2011, I decided at the last minute to find a cabin in New York state, hole myself up there, and start writing. I spent days writing music, watching the snow and ice fall around me. I didn't complete the quartet there, but the impetus behind all the movements started then." What he ended up with was a four-part suite that melts, liquifies, re-freezes and realigns the composer's demands on the traditional string quartet, making THAW (which pairs the title composition with "Perpetual," for string quartet and bass clarinet) a project that only the famed JACK Quartet could tackle. Known for their ability to lend a palpable sense of electricity to the most complex pieces by such composers as Iannis Xenakis and Georg Friedrich Haas, the four members of JACK have built up a mind-meld of instinctive communication over the years, drawing the attention of everyone from Derek Bermel to Vijay Iyer to John Zorn and more. Although this is Thomson's debut album as a composer for Cantaloupe Music, he has released as a leader with his composed/jazz project Slow/Fast, and has released five recordings worldwide with his collaborative punk/jazz band Gutbucket. His relationship with JACK Quartet began on a tour with Ensemble Signal in early 2010, when they performed the music of Helmut Lachenmann. THAW is the first full-length CD recorded by JACK Quartet to focus solely on the music of a single living composer.
CD $15

MICHAEL GORDON/DAVID LANG/JULIA WOLFE//ENSEMBLE SIGNAL - Shelter (Cantaloupe 21083; USA)Over the past 25 years, Michael Gordon, David Lang and Julia Wolfe have changed how composers think about writing, commissioning and presenting music. Since the founding of Bang on a Can in 1987, these three artists have defined their own landscape in modern music, fusing classical tradition with pop techniques in ways that continue to inspire an emerging generation of young artists. Shelter is the third in a trilogy of collaborative works that began with 1999's The Carbon Copy Building, followed by 2001's Lost Objects. Shelter taps into the various meanings and connotations of the word, from basic protection from the elements to the building of an American home. Commissioned in 2005 by the Cologne-based musikFabrik ensemble and BAM's Next Wave Festival, the project reunited Gordon, Lang and Wolfe with Deborah Artman, who wrote the libretto for Lost Objects. Artman notes that Shelter "evokes the power and threat of nature, the soaring frontier promise contained in the framing of a new house, the pure aesthetic beauty of blueprints, the sweet architecture of sound and the uneasy vulnerability that underlies even the safety of our sleep." Like Lost Objects, Shelter is an oratorio, but with smaller forces: three sopranos and a large, mixed ensemble. Ensemble Signal first performed the work in 2010 at the Bang on a Can Marathon in New York City. This premiere recording--conducted by Brad Lubman and featuring vocal soloists Martha Cluver, Mellissa Hughes and Caroline Shaw--was produced by Michael Riesman. On Shelter's American premiere at BAM in 2005, which was also conducted by Lubman, the Wall Street Journal's Barbara Jepson wrote, "The pursuit of shelter is as old as humanity itself. But these forms of refuge can be shattered in an instant, as events like the terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina have all too recently reminded us."
CD $15



New on Feeding Tube!

DEVIN FLYNN/GARY PANTER/ROSS GOLDSTEIN - Honeycomb of Chakras [2 LP set] (Feeding Tube 134; USA) This trio -- Devin Flynn, Gary Panter and Ross Goldstein -- has delivered one of the most blinding psychedelic listening experiences of the last several anna. Only one of these darlings -- Ross Goldstein -- is known primarily as a musician. Gary Panter is one of our era's premier visual artists, and Devin Flynn is among the age's most berserk animation stars. But they have nonetheless managed to blast their way into the very center of a psych-specific cosmos that will make your fingers feel like sausages and your ears wobble as though they're on stalks. The band has one prior record, the excitingly primitive Four Corners Bounce on Pete Nolan's Arbitrary Signs label, but they truly arrive with Honeycomb. Opening with a gorgeous bloot through West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band's "Smell of Incense," they set a high bar, which they manage to hit every leap, no matter how cartoonish Gary's voice sounds at times. They also manage to burn through killer versions of Family's "See Through Windows," Henske & Yester's "Farewell Aldebaran" and a bunch of other monster '60s brain ticklers, as well as coughing up their own material in a way that makes you think you've heard it somewhere before. It's a totally whacked effort, ending with a piece of spoken spuzz that demonstrates what it would be like to go to a Star Trek Convention, very high on bad acid, wearing cartoon hand puppets. Completely befuddling! Comes in an eye-toasting full-color gatefold cover, with insanely tricky graphics. You will be so glad you got this album, you'll be thanking everyone on your street. For days.
2 LP set for $30

GARY WILSON - You Think You Really Know Me (Feeding Tube 124; USA) Finally a new vinyl issue of Gary Wilson's monumental 1977 LP, with extra pics galore, and the original cover art (c/o Owen Maercks' well-loved copy). Owen also wrote liner notes describing what it was like for the first Gary Wilson fan on the planet. You Think You Really Know Me (also the title of Michael Wolk's 2005 documentary about Gary) was Wilson's second LP, but the first he recorded as a vocalist, hewing to his own bizarre vision -- a syncretic collision of romance, new-wave cocktail-jazz, heartbreak, disco-porn soundtrack music, and experimental tape manipulation. Home recorded in Endicott, NY, the album found a few fans when released, but subsequently became the exclusive purview of record collectors and the women who tolerate them. Beck name-checked Gary in '96, which made a few new people scratch their heads. And the album was reissued in '02. Rediscovery followed, and records, the documentary, and some odd live shows followed. Most of Gary's moves are stamped with his unique aesthetic, and we particularly commend Gary's other two Feeding Tube LPs -- Lisa Wants to Talk to You and Forgotten Lovers. But as bodacious as these two albums are, the real root of Gary's muse is most obvious on You Think You Really Know Me. It is the sound of a 23 year-old oddball from upstate New York, wrestling with his demons and actually winning. There's nothing quite like it. And it offers a story of hope to every weirdo who hears it. Hallelujah!
LP $20


JEFF MILLS - Chronicles of Possible Worlds [CD + DVD] (Axis US 01; USA) "The theme for Chronicles of Possible Worlds is exo-planets: new planets discovered starting in 1995, which revolve around stars outside our solar system. Mixing music, dance, and visuals, this creative work testifies to the advances of science and hints at the existence of other possible worlds. Following a period of investigation, and a meeting with researchers from the Marseille Astrophysics Laboratory, Mills chose to focus on six planets (Wasp 12b, 13b, 14b, 15b, 16b and 17b). Their specific physical and structural properties were then translated into music, sound, images, and dance. Together with Mills, the choreographer Alexandre Roccoli created a roaming choreography spread out across the Vasarely Foundation that explores the correspondence between the physical properties of these planets and choreographers own body states. The soundtrack, composed by Mills, is broadcast by the dancers costumes (designed by Berlin designer Anke Bruns), which are equipped with speakers." Comes as a 22 page, 8" x 8" booklet (no spine). CD and DVD are attached inside the booklet.
CD + DVD for $35


DAVID GRUBBS - Borough of Broken Umbrellas [10" Ep] (Blue Chopsticks 24; USA) "Strange to say, but Borough Of Broken Umbrellas is actually David Grubbs's first record of solo guitar improvisations, a profoundly unhurried probing (sometimes worrying, like a tongue and a tooth) of a handful of gorgeously spare themes. It divides its sides between two long (c. 12') tracks for electric guitar and nylon-string guitar. Comparisons are unnecessary and perhaps misleading. On the surface, the Guitar Roberts (Loren Connors' former nom-de-guitar) albums on St. Joan? Tetuzi Akiyama in his more lyrical mode? Jozef van Wissem's mirror-image melodies for lute? Japanese koto and Korean kayagum sanjo music? Borough of Broken Umbrellas is living-room music in real time, with the windows open."
LP $18


New from Cold Spring:

Z'EV - A Handful of Elements (Cold Spring 182; UK) With A Handful of Elements industrial music pioneer Z'EV returns to the "dense, carefully laid and deep drone works" (Adnoiseam.net) of Sum Things (CSR 101CD). However, for this release, he has drawn deep from his 40 year-old sonic archive (from live performances both instrumental and vocal, to a range of soundscapes from around the world), producing soundtracks to accompany you to the other side of ambient, through the door between your eyes.
CD $17

TUNNELS OF AH [STEPHEN AH BURROUGHS] - Lost Corridors (Cold Spring 184; UK) Tunnels Of Ah is the new project from former Head Of David vocalist Stephen Ah Burroughs. Lost Corridors is the first Tunnels Of Ah release and features Burroughs' "industrial esoteric," evoking the spirit of the pioneering underground experimental scene in the new dark age. This is psychick war.
CD $17



New on Rune Grammofon

ARVE HENRIKSEN - Places of Worship [LP + CD] (Rune Grammofon 3147; EEC) LP VERSION WITH BONUS CD COPY. Worship can come in many forms, and can happen in many different kinds of place. Music can make its church anywhere. With Places Of Worship, Arve Henriksen moves into the front rank of world class musicians. The Norwegian trumpet player has made his mark over many years, not only as the horn player with the consistently challenging and long lived group Supersilent, but also as the purveyor of exquisite and distinctive solo work that stretches to four solo albums since 2001, which Rune Grammofon repackaged as a career-spanning box set, Solidification (RLP 2137LP). Deeply rooted in the sublime geology of his Norwegian homeland, Henriksen's music has developed into something beautifully at one with natural habitats and reflecting the hybrid, cosmopolitan environments of the twenty-first century. On Places Of Worship, he inhabits the space between these two worlds, in a series of tone poems and mood pieces located around religious buildings and ruins. These still, silent quarters and abandoned houses of the holy can be where we experience our deepest moments of reflection, silence and occasionally fear. Making the aura of these places audible, Henriksen's haunted horn and idiosyncratic treble vocals carry an air of treading on forbidden territory, stirring up the dust of forgotten spirits. As well as suggesting the creaking timbers and salty tang of North African ports ("Alhambra") and the whiff of Gallic scirocco ("Le CimitiIre Marin"), it stirs fond memories of fellow musical souls, both alive and dead: the Miles Davis of Sketches Of Spain and Aura; the Fourth World exotica of Jon Hassell. Henriksen's music has reached a new intensity on Places Of Worship. It will leave you becalmed, bewildered, bewitched...And full of praise.
LP + CD for $24

BUSHMAN'S REVENGE [EVEN HELTE HERMANSEN/GARD NILSSEN/RUNE NERGAARD] - Thou Shalt Boogie! [LP + CD] (Rune Grammofon 3151; EEC) LP VERSION WITH BONUS CD COPY. Formed in 2003, the Oslo-based trio Bushman's Revenge (named after a type of mouth-searing hot sauce) are upfront about their love for the progressive rock of Cream and Jimi Hendrix, the galactic jazz of Sun Ra, Ornette Coleman, Sonny Sharrock and Alice Coltrane, plus the raw power of Black Sabbath and The Pixies. Thou Shalt Boogie! is their sixth album for Rune Grammofon, a relationship that began with 2009's You Lost Me at Hello (RCD 2083CD/(RLP 3083LP). Its velvety, warm sound was captured at Athletic Sound in Halden, Norway, close to the Swedish border -- a legendary tape-only studio with a 30-year history. Although there are three rooms separated by glass, they kept all the doors open "so essentially what you are hearing is everybody in one big room," says guitarist Even Helte Hermansen. Even. Superbly-paced, and poised in the indefinable zone between composing and improvisation, Thou Shalt Boogie! achieves a fine balance between brute heaviosity and meditative bliss. Even Hermansen brought various ideas for chord sequences and melodies into the studio, but the group collectively make them their own, adopting an "everybody solos, nobody solos" approach. One of the two long set pieces on the record is the 17-minute "Baklengs Inn i Fuglekassa," which includes the shimmering drone of an Indian sruti box halfway through -- an innovative touch that transports the track to an unearthly plane. The working title of Thou Shalt Boogie!, Hermansen reveals, was Yoga. "The idea was to do a more meditative record than we previously have," he admits. "The drone is a small tip of the hat to Alice Coltrane. Her Journey in Satchidananda is one of my favorite records of all-time. I wanted to have some kind of tribute to her on there." Although Bushman's Revenge is essentially a trio (with Rune Nergaard, bass, and Gard Nilssen, drums), they were joined by keyboardist David WallumrXd, whose Hammond organ tones provide silky washes of background color. The band included him on a tour in early 2013 and he stuck around. "The band has never been tighter and we're having more fun than ever," says Even. "The point is to keep moving -- forwards, backwards, sideways, up or down, it really doesn't matter as long as you're in motion."
LP + CD for $24

and, previous Bushman'sRevenge titles..

BUSHMAN'S REVENGE [EVEN HELTE HERMANSEN/GARD NILSSEN/RUNE NERGAARD] - Electric Komle - Live! [LP + CD] (Rune Grammofon 2144; EEC) Recorded during a show at the Storyville jazz club in Molde in May 2012, this could very well be Bushman's Revenge's finest recorded effort during their 10 years as a band. Bringing new meaning to the concept of loose but tight, they blend the freedom of jazz with the energy of rock in the most convincing of ways as they race through numbers from all their previous four Rune Grammofon albums, taking no prisoners along the ride. Drummer Gard Nilsen and bassist Rune Nergaard are just as comfortable with laying down a thundering rock-steady beat as with moving freely within jazz terrains, while guitarist Even Helte Hermansen, in some of his most ecstatic soloing, seems to get into a state where the guitar itself takes over all control. Impressive stuff all around and a glowing testament to why this band have become a very attractive live act. Bushman's Revenge was founded by Even and Gard back in 2003 in their hometown of Skien, a couple of hours south of Oslo, while Rune joined from the northern town of Bodo. Even was a member of "blackjazzers" Shining and grew up listening to Kiss, Pantera, Sepultura, Faith No More, Frank Zappa, and John Coltrane, while Gard and Rune met at the Jazz Academy in Trondheim -- breeding ground for musicians like Arve Henriksen, Stale Storlokken, Nils Petter Molvaer and many more. Gard also plays with pop sensation Susanne Sundfor and in Puma with Oystein Moen (Jaga Jazzist) and young guitar experimentalist Stian Westerhus.
LP + CD for $24

BUSHMAN'S REVENGE [EVEN HELTE HERMANSEN/GARD NILSSEN/RUNE NERGAARD] - Never Mind The Botox (Rune Grammofon 2125; EEC) This is the companion to the Bonanza album, recorded and mixed during the same sessions in Athletic Sound in summer 2011. Here they cover some of their personal favorites, fully showing the diversity of artists that is so typical for the listening habits of young Norwegian musicians not subscribing to specific genres. Meaning, you will find Black Sabbath and Pixies side-by-side with Ornette Coleman and Sun Ra. And with "Bushman Rock," they also cover themselves. This song was left off the Jitterbug (RCD 2097CD/ RLP 3097LP) album, but they recorded a vastly improved version for this album. And their take on Sabbath's "War Pigs" is absolutely blazing. This is a vinyl-only release and comes with a free mp3 download of the whole album.
LP $24

BUSHMAN'S REVENGE [EVEN HELTE HERMANSEN/GARD NILSSEN/RUNE NERGAARD] - A Little Bit Of Big Bonanza (Rune Grammofon 3123; EEC) LP version. This is the fourth album from Bushman's Revenge, and their third on Rune Grammofon. It's no secret that the label has a soft spot for this fabulous group and would wish nothing less than world domination for them. What they do seems to be an almost lost art when it comes to making records. Basically, meaning great musicians playing together in a proper recording studio, interacting and playing off each other. The tracks are mostly first or second takes, there is no editing and just a couple of overdubs on the whole album. And while guitarist Even Helte Hermansen is the natural focal point, there are no big egos at work here -- this is a solid unit where all members are equally important for the end result. Just listen to the "loose but tight" interplay on the opening track, an energetic and joyful interpretation of Sonny Sharrock's "As We Used To Sing." Bushman's Revenge was founded by Even and Gard back in 2003 in their hometown of Skien, a couple of hours south of Oslo, while Rune joined from the northern town of Bodo. Even was a member of Shining and grew up listening to Kiss, Pantera, Sepultura, Faith No More, Frank Zappa and John Coltrane, while Gard and Rune met at the Jazz Academy in Trondheim, breeding ground for renowned musicians such as Arve Henriksen, Stole Storlokken, Nils Petter Molvaer and many more. Gard also plays with pop sensation Susanne Sundfor and in Puma with Oystein Moen (Jaga Jazzist) and guitar experimentalist Stian Westerhus. It was recorded and mixed in Athletic Studio in Halden, Norway in summer 2011
LP $24
also available as CD for $17

BUSHMAN'S REVENGE [EVEN HELTE HERMANSEN/GARD NILSSEN/RUNE NERGAARD] - Jitterbug (Rune Grammofon 3097; EEC) LP version. This is the third album by Norway's Bushman's Revenge (Even Helte Hermansen, Gard Nilssen, Rune Nergaard). Like great records from Elephant9, Scorch Trio, Supersilent, In The Country, Spunk, Fire! and others, Jitterbug was recorded in the old fashioned way, meaning the musicians played together and interacted live in the studio with few or no overdubs. With classic recording studios closing down all over the world, this way of recording could indeed soon be a thing of the past, and the world of music would be a poorer place for it. As with players such as John Coltrane, Albert Ayler and John McLaughlin, there's a fine line between chaos and spiritual ecstasy, one that Bushman's Revenge tread with great success; however, there's still an untamed, raw and punky energy at play. But since the release of You Lost Me At Hello (RCD 2083CD/RLP 3083LP), they have matured as individual musicians and as a collective, coming across more focused, with plenty of great interplay and instrumental skills. There's even room for a couple of beautifully reflective ballads, showing a sensitive side to this otherwise hard-hitting, energetic trio. While their previous album was somewhat lazily described as a mix of Black Sabbath and Albert Ayler, the band is more inclined to agree with the Jazzwise review who likened them to Jeff Beck being backed by Elvin Jones. Jimi Hendrix and Mitch Mitchell also springs to mind, same with Red-period King Crimson. Bushman's Revenge was founded by Even and Gard back in 2003 in their hometown of Skien, a couple of hours south of Oslo, while Rune joined from the northern town of Bodo. Even is also a member of Shining and grew up with groups and musicians like Kiss, Pantera, Sepultura, Faith No More, Frank Zappa and John Coltrane, while Gard and Rune met at the Jazz Academy in Trondheim, breeding ground for musicians like Arve Henriksen, Stale Storlokken, Nils Petter Molvaer and many more. Gard also plays with pop sensation Susanne Sundfor and in Puma with Oystein Moen (Jaga Jazzist) and young guitar experimentalist Stian Westerhus. Most of the track titles are references to popular culture, some more obvious than others, and there's a furious instrumental version of Motorhead's "Damage Case." Even Helte Hermansen: guitar; Rune Nergaard: bass; Gard Nilssen: drums; Stale Storlokken: Hammond organ on track 2 and 3.
LP $24
also available on CD for $17

BUSHMAN'S REVENGE [EVEN HELTE HERMANSEN/GARD NILSSEN/RUNE NERGAARD] - You Lost Me At Hello (Rune Grammofon 3083; EEC) LP version. This is the second full-length release by Norway's Bushman's Revenge (Even Helte Hermansen, Gard Nilssen, Rune Nergaard). You Lost Me At Hello shows a distinct development from their debut Cowboy Music (Jazzaway, 2007). Founded by Hermansen and Nilssen in 2003 in their hometown of Skien, a couple of hours from Oslo, the trio aim to combine the jazz/improv background of the rhythm section with the rock/metal background of leader, composer and guitarist Hermansen to create their own expressive music inspired by names like Black Sabbath and Jimi Hendrix as well as Ornette Coleman and Albert Ayler. Hermansen is also a member of such diverse groups as Shining and Solveig Slettahjell's Slow Motion Quintet. Nergaard is from the northern town of Bodo and also plays in Humvee and the Eirik Hegdal Quartet, while Nilssen can be found in Puma, Humvee and Lord Kelvin. Both have a background at the Jazz Academy in Trondheim, breeding ground for musicians such as Arve Henriksen, Stale Storlokken, Nils Petter Molvar, and many more. Musically, You Lost Me At Hello has an untamed energy, showing a looser and rougher side than the debut, yet with a more focused road-map towards free exploration. The production is quite heavy with a dark and dirty side to it, and within the Rune Grammofon catalog, this record is probably most comparable to Scorch Trio and Motorpsycho. Metal crunch, bass meanderings, free jazz space-drums, anthemic riffs, and bursts of scrawl and fire, Bushman's Revenge will lay to waste all other contenders.
LP $20
also available as CD for $17


Finally Reissued.. AND Expanded!

PHILIP COHRAN & THE ARTISTIC HERITAGE ENSEMBLE With PETE COSEY et al - On The Beach: Expanded Edition [2 LP set] (Tizona 12; USA) "More than just a reissue, this is one of Cohran's most sought after spiritual jazz records from the Afro Arts Theater-era, now available as the complete, original concert. Scattered over two LPs, the complete live versions of all the songs are finally available for the first time ever. The artwork has been restored to reflect the original release from 1968. It features an intense pedigree of Chicago musicians including Pete Cosey (Miles Davis/Muddy Waters), Henry Gibson, Louis Satterfield, Donald Myrick (all of Earth Wind & Fire) and members of the Spencer Jackson Family. This expanded issue is a must own." "First released in 1967 on Zulu records, Cohran's own label, On The Beach has been effectively unavailable. This is a shame, because it is a work of disarming revelation, finding unity in material as diverse as the singing of Yma Sumak, the writings of 'Bucky' Fuller, and the thoughts and practices of ancient African cultures. Effortlessly melting novel instrumentation (such as the Frankiphone, an electric kalimba invented by Cohran, and the Chinese musette) into a mix using modality, alternate tunings, and rhythmic cycling, the pieces project the feel of a processional -- a spiritual viscous sound field of undeniable substance. Drawing from Sun Ra, a former employer, Cohran's musical ideas and structures foreshadow Earth, Wind & Fire, the AACM, electric Miles, and, arguably any group that has attempted to find a larger sonic palette to explore cultural self-awareness. This is a landmark attempt to actualize cultural identity and heritage through music, a seed of what later germinated into the black arts period of 20th Century American history. Amiri Baraka sites Cohran in one of his works, as did the late Gwendolyn Brooks. Musically advanced, yet accessible, On The Beach is required listening for anyone interested in the history of postmodern music and its relation to who we are."
2 LP set for $24

and, still available..

KELAN PHILIP COHRAN & THE HYPNOTIC BRASS ENSEMBLE - Kelan Philip Cohran & The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble (Honest Jon's 065; UK) Approaching his eighty?fifth birthday, legendary jazz musician Phil Cohran lives a couple of blocks from the lake on the north side of Chicago. His modest apartment is filled with a palpable richness. His cornet and trumpets, zithers, French horn, harp and frankiphones (an electric kalimba of his own invention); his beloved telescope; African art; a mural of the Chinese monastery where Muslim monks bestowed on him the name "Kelan" ("holy scripture"); hand?printed posters from the culture wars of 1960s Chicago; all reflect a life dedicated not just to music, but also to science and astronomy, to history and activism. In its range of subject matter, the track?list of Kelan Philip Cohran & The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble embodies this invigorating and all?embracing curiosity: a Mexican hill?town filled with perfume and flowers, an Illinois state prison where Cohran taught inmates in the 1960s, heavenly dancers in the temples of Cambodia, a tribute to a 16th?century Venetian musicologist. Welcome to the musical world of Kelan Philip Cohran. Cohran was born in Mississippi and grew up in St Louis. In the immediate postwar years, St. Louis was a jazz heartland, home of stalwarts like Clark Terry and Oliver Nelson (both of whom he played with), not to mention Miles Davis. In 1950, Cohran moved to Kansas City, where he played trumpet in one of the hardest swinging swing?groups, led by Jay McShann (who famously had given Charlie Parker his first job). With McShann he toured as far as Mexico and played proto?rock'n'roll in Texas with the likes of Big Mama Thornton on vocals. Back in St. Louis, Cohran led his own group, the Rajas Of Swing. Then in the mid?'50s he moved to Chicago. He had a small group with a friend, the legendary tenor saxophonist John Gilmore. And in 1959, through Gilmore, he was invited to join Sun Ra's Arkestra, at a crucial period in the evolution of that extraordinary group. Effortlessly wrapping traditions as divergent as boogie?woogie and electronica in an Afro?centric, intergalactic mythology of his own making, Sun Ra casts a huge shadow across conventional narratives of jazz history. You can hear the emergence of Cohan's artistic voice on the LP Angels And Demons At Play, recorded in 1960 -? Sun Ra's masterpiece from the period. On the track "Music From The World Tomorrow," against the urgent, whipped and chopped percussion of the Arkestra, it is Cohran's zither, initially bowed and then plucked and strummed, which is the track's magic ingredient. More profoundly, it was Sun Ra's example -- his defiant self?confidence and sense of purpose -- that set Cohran on his own "pathway to unknown worlds." Indeed, this spirit of self?belief led Cohran to turn down the invitation to accompany the Arkestra when Sun Ra moved east in 1961. Staying in Chicago, Cohran founded the Affro?Arts Theater and performed with the Artistic Heritage Ensemble, recording the group for his own Zulu Records imprint. The AACM, a musicians' collective of immense influence and importance, had its first meeting in Cohran's front room. He taught music tirelessly in schools and prisons. His studies into music theory and history led him to the discovery of a key book in his life, Gioseffo Zarlino's treatise on harmony, published in Venice in 1558. Astronomy is another passion and another area of expertise. One of the gems of the Cohran discography is African Skies, with its lovely harp playing, commissioned by the Chicago Planetarium in 1993. In Chicago he also raised a large family. Many of his children have gone on to become professional musicians; eight of them are the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble. For the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, the voyage to where they are now -- whether tearing up festivals from Glastonbury to Melbourne, or touring with Gorillaz, or recording their first album on Honest Jon's -- has involved a necessary stepping away from their father's shadow. Phil Cohran is the first to recognize this, happily allowing their sound -- heavy on the funk, with the urgency of hip-hop never far away -- to blossom. But likewise this album is for all of them a natural step. Recorded in Chicago in June 2011, the idea was beautifully simple -- "my music and their band." This is music that plumbs the depths and rings with joy.
CD $11
also avaialble as 2 LP Set for $22



Last copies of these KEY Chris McGregor Recordings!

CHRIS McGREGOR With DUDU PUKWANA/MONGEZI FEZA/RONNIE BEER/JOHNNY DYANI/LOUIS MOHOLO [aka THE BLUE NOTES] - Very Urgent (Fledg'ling 3059; UK) FIRST ISSUE ON CD! In 1968 the Chris McGregor Group - essentially The Blue Notes, but with Ronnie Beer instead of Nick Moyake - and with an enlarged vision that embraced free jazz - were riding high on the London jazz scene, playing and hanging out with all the rising stars of British out-jazz. Very Urgent, their eagerly awaited debut recording, was a joyful call of intent. The album mixes simple but utterly unstoppable tunes and exhilarating horn charts - immediately establishing a vitality and exuberance that would continue to define the group. Forty years later, Fledg'ling Records are very proud to bring this splendid album back into print. The passing years have not diminished its impact. Re-mastered from the original master tapes. "First track is like 60's Blue Notes - but with track two Free Jazz Outness takes over for the rest of the record. Absolutely AMAZING!" - MannyLunch
CD $17

CHRIS McGREGOR SEPTET With DUDU PUKWANA/MONGEZI FEZA/EVAN PARKER/JOHN SURMAN/LOUIS MOHOLO/BARRE PHILLIPS or DANNY THOMPSON - Up To Earth (Fledg'ling 3069; UK) In 1969 the Chris McGregor Group were riding high on the London jazz scene, playing and hanging out with all the rising stars of British free jazz. Sessions for the PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED Up To Earth brought together a dream team of South African exiles and some of the finest young players on the British scene - Chris McGregor piano, Dudu Pukwana alto saxophone, Mongezi Feza trumpet, Louis Moholo drums, John Surman baritone saxophone and bass clarinet, Evan Parker tenor saxophone with Barre Phillips or Danny Thompson on double bass. Up To Earth was produced by Joe Boyd and engineered by John Wood at Sound Techniques studio in London, during the same months they were also working with several other luminaries of the Witchseason stable - Fairport Convention, Nick Drake and the Incredible String Band. The album was mastered and test pressings produced before the project was shelved. The group morphed into the spectacular big band - the Brotherhood of Breath - and all energies were transferred to recording the Brotherhood's debut album. Fledg'ling Records are very proud to release this remarkable album as part of our campaign to reissue Chris McGregor's wonderfully creative recordings from the late '60s and early '70s.
CD $17

CHRIS McGREGOR TRIO With BARRE PHILLIPS/LOUIS MOHOLO - Our Prayer (Fledg'ling 3070; UK) Another PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED gem from South African pianist/composer Chris McGregor and his cohorts in '60s UK free jazz. Our Prayer was culled from the same sessions that produced the also never-released Up To Earth in 1969 and was produced by Joe Boyd and engineered by John Wood at Sound Techniques studio. The previous year they had signed to Joe Boyd's illustrious Witchseason production company alongside Fairport Convention, John and Beverley Martyn, Nick Drake and the Incredible String Band. Our Prayer comprises a magical trio set, focusing on McGregor's piano playing, accompanied by the Blue Note's Louis Moholo on drums and Barre Phillips on double bass. Both Our Prayer and Up To Earth records were planned for release in 1969 before being shelved as the McGregor group morphed into the spectacular big band, the Brotherhood of Breath, and all energies were transferred to recording the Brotherhood's debut album.
CD $17

CHRIS McGREGOR'S BROTHERHOOD OF BREATH With DUDU PUKWANA/MONGEZI FEZA/MIKE OSBORNE/JOHN SURMAN/ALAN SKIDMORE/HARRY BECKETT/MARC CHARIG/NICK EVANS/MALCOLM GRIFFITHS/HARRY MILLER/LOUIS MOHOLO et al - Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath (1st album) (Fledg'ling 3062; UK) FIRST BROTHERHOOD ALBUM. "Fledg'ling Records proudly present the long-overdue release on CD of a classic title from 1971 by Chris McGregor's magnificent big band - Brotherhood Of Breath. Arguably one of the most influential albums to emerge from the London jazz scene of the early 1970s. The Brotherhood of Breath was an exuberant big-band created by South African born pianist and composer Chris McGregor. In South Africa, McGregor had formed the racially mixed Blue Notes in the early 1960's. By 1964, finding it very difficult to work at home, they left for Europe, finally settling in London in 1966. The Blue Notes -- Chris McGregor, Dudu Pukwana, Mongezi Feza, Johnny Dyani and Louis Moholo -- made a huge impact on London's jazz scene and befriended many in London's emerging avant-garde jazz community. The Brotherhood Of Breath was essentially the expatriate Blue Notes augmented by a large number of their friends from the British jazz community. The ensemble played an energetic mixture of Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus and Sun Ra but retained a unique feel due to the South African influences and the intelligent arrangements. McGregor dreamed of keeping the band together 'not as an institution, but as a community.' Unfortunately the economics of touring with such a large ensemble made that impossible. The group with a varying line-up continued to perform and record sporadically until McGregor's untimely death in May 1990."" Joe Boyd-produced first album originally released in 1971 by the RCA subsidiary Neon. South African McGregor formed the racially mixed Blue Notes in the '60s and later settled in London where soon formed a big band to work with on a regular basis called The Brotherhood Of Breath (essentially the Blue Notes augmented by musicians they befriended in the British jazz community). One of the truly legendary modern jazz big bands, the Brotherhood Of Breath had a tremendous impact on future European big bands. They incorporated the true spirit of Afro music into an ecstatic trance of jazz and rock stylings. The culmination of the explosive group's sound reaches a majestic peak of the 20 minutes 'Night Poem'. This is a great studio release with excellent compositions (particularly 'The Bride'). Featuring John Surman, Dudu Pukwana, Harry Miller, Louis Moholo, Harry Beckett, Marc Charig, Alan Skidmore, Mongezi Feza, Mike Osborne, Ronnie Beer, Nick Evans and Malcolm Griffiths.
CD $17

CHRIS McGREGOR'S BROTHERHOOD OF BREATH With DUDU PUKWANA/MONGEZI FEZA/MIKE OSBORNE/JOHN SURMAN/ALAN SKIDMORE/HARRY BECKETT/MARC CHARIG/NICK EVANS/MALCOLM GRIFFITHS/HARRY MILLER/LOUIS MOHOLO et al - Brotherhood (2nd album) (Fledg'ling 3063; UK) SECOND BROTHERHOOD ALBUM, FIRST ISSUE ON CD! "The long-overdue release on CD of Brotherhood - the classic 2nd album from 1972 by Chris McGregor's magnificent big band Brotherhood Of Breath. Never before officially reissued this wonderful album continues the ground-breaking music of their debut album (now on FLED 3062). Mighty music for the head, the heart and the feet." The Brotherhood of Breath is the kind of band you want to tell people about. It's not for private enjoyment, or for worship by an elitist cult. The Brotherhood's music is for sharing with the world, and that's what makes its name so apt: the musicians and the audience are brothers (and sisters), and they share the same breath, becoming merely parts of the same giant metabolism. Chris McGregor came out of South Africa in 1964, leading a band called the Blue Notes. Three of those Blue Notes can be heard on this record, and the fact that Mongezi Feza, Dudu Pukwana and Louis Moholo are still with Chris is some tribute to the fantastic empathy they share, both personally and in the music they make together. -- From Richard Williams contemporary sleeve note
CD $17

CHRIS McGREGOR - Sea Breezes: Solo Piano - Live in Durban 1987 (Fledg'ling 3081; UK) FIRST ISSUE ON CD! Fledg'ling Records proudly presents the long-overdue CD release of this remarkable solo performance from 1987 by Chris McGregor. Sea Breezes was recorded during an emotional visit to his homeland by the great South African composer and pianist. McGregor played "an energetic mixture of Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus and Sun Ra, but always retained a unique feel due to his South African influences and the intelligent arrangements." Over the last four years, Fledg'ling has been collaborating with the Chris McGregor estate to reissue his most important albums and, through a series of unreleased recordings, help to reveal the full extent of his musical activities: from the small-scale trio improvisations through to the majestic large ensemble works of the mighty Brotherhood Of Breath. Carefully mastered from the original master tapes, Sea Breezes is an exciting opportunity to hear McGregor's solo readings of repertoire familiar from the acclaimed final Brotherhood Of Breath album Country Cooking.
CD $17


THE TRIO [JOHN SURMAN/BARRE PHILLIPS/STU MARTIN] - The Trio [2 LP Set] (Klimt 367; France) "Featuring two American ex-pats on bass (Barre Phillips) and drums (Stu Martin), and English saxophonist (John Surman), The Trio is a monster 2LP of avant-garde and free jazz originally released on the Dawn label in 1970. By the time this double album was recorded, the various band members had developed quite a pedigree having played with the likes of Archie Shepp, Paul Bley, Bob James, Mike Westbrook, Attila Zoller, Gong, Marion Brown, and others. Their experience and expertise are visible here as the group steams through four sides with not a dud in sight. An absolutely fiery set of classic free-jazz reissued on vinyl by the folks at Klimt."
2 LP set for $36

THE MIKE WESTBROOK CONCERT BAND [JOHN SURMAN/MIKE OSBORNE/PAUL RUTHERFORD/HARRY MILLER/et al] - Celebration (Klimt 368; France) "Originally released on Deram in 1967, Celebration is one of the most important albums of the 1960s British progressive and avant-garde jazz scene. The Mike Westbrook Concert Band included some of the UK's most important jazz figures of the time, including John Surman, Mike Osborne, and Harry Miller. These recordings, culled from two days of studio work, are equal parts swinging and experimental, boundary pushing and accessible. Original copies on Deram now fetch a hefty sum, thankfully the folks at Klimt have made it available once again on LP for the first time in over 40 years."
LP $26



New on Bamboo!

LES RALLIZES DENUDES - Naked Diza Star [Ltd 3 CD set] (Bamboo 7014; UK) Various live tracks assembled circa 1973-1987. As news of the new rock music made it to Japan from the UK and the USA, mostly via rock magazines and music papers, with most LPs tough to find even on import, something was lost in translation that allowed it to mutate well beyond its original remit. Les Rallizes Denudes took rock music at its word while visioning it as both unnecessarily complicated and too stupid by far. In doing so they formulated an inspirational blueprint that would go on to have a marked effect on everything that came after them in Japanese underground music. It's a music that's as loose as it is uptight, as sophisticated as it is punk-primitive, as radical as it is simplistic. As the old ESP-Disk banner used to promise, truly, you never heard such sounds. Digitally remastered. Includes an 8-page booklet in English and Japanese.
3 CD set for $30

PSYCHEDELIC TOKYO [V.A.] - Vol 3: Slitherama! - Teen Trash From Psychedelic Tokyo '66-'69 (Bamboo 7016; UK) Under the influence of The Beatles, the Group Sounds movement swept Japan in the mid-1960s. This compilation -- out of print for well over 20 years -- collects some of the finest cuts made by several of the leading bands of the time, and makes its long-awaited CD debut here, together with background notes. Artists include: Outcast, The Spiders, The Mops, The Savage, The Jaguars, The Sharp Hawks, The Sharp Five, The Voltage, and The Golden Cups.
CD $17

PSYCHEDELIC TOKYO [V.A.] - Vol 2: Big Lizard Stomp! - Teen Trash From Psychedelic Tokyo '66-'69 (Bamboo 7015; UK) Under the influence of The Beatles, the Group Sounds movement swept Japan in the mid-1960s. This compilation -- out of print for well over 20 years -- collects some of the finest cuts made by several of the leading bands of the time, and makes its long-awaited CD debut here, together with background notes. Includes artists such as The Golden Cups, The Beavers, The Mops, The Spiders, The Carnabeats, D'swooners, and The Jaguars.
CD $17

also available..

PSYCHEDELIC TOKYO [V.A.] - Vol 1: Monster A Go-Go - Teen Trash From Psychedelic Tokyo '66-'69 (Bamboo 7013; UK) Under the influence of The Beatles, the "Group Sounds" movement swept Japan in the mid-1960s. This esteemed compilation -- out of print for over two decades -- gathers a dozen of the wildest tracks in the genre, spanning surf-rock, fuzzed-up R&B and even psychedelia. It's presented here complete with a full-color booklet offering background notes on each artist, and is sure to thrill fans of the further reaches of garage rock. Artists: The Beavers, The Carnabeats, The Spiders, The Voltage, The Mops, D'swooners, The Bunnys, The Golden Cups and The Savage.
CD $17

SIXTIES JAPANESE GARAGE-PSYCH SAMPLER [V.A.] - Banzai! 14 Songs! 12 Gloovy Gloups! (Bamboo 7012; UK) Finally available on CD, this pioneering compilation gathers a dozen of the best bands in the "Group Sounds" movement that swept Japan in the 1960s. Featuring plenty of frantic songs with wild guitar and intense vocals, it's proof that rock and roll was truly an international language, and includes early material by musicians who went on to perform with legendary bands such as the Flower Travellin' Band, Speed, Glue & Shinki, Les Rallizes Denudes, and Foodbrain. It's presented here complete with a full-color booklet and detailed background notes. Artists: The Golden Cups, The Dynamites, Outcast, The Carnabeats, The Tempters, The Beavers, The Bunnys, The Mops, The Spiders, D'swooners, Zoo Nee Voo, and Fingers
CD $17

MARU SANKAKU SHIKAKU [SAHURO 'KANT' WATANABE et al] - Maru Sankaku Shikaku (Circle Triangle Square) [3 CD set] (Bamboo 7010; UK) The group's name is literally the icons for a "circle", "triangle" and "Square", with "Maru Sankaku Shikaku" substituting as a translation for those images. Circle Triangle Square were a painted bunch of commune rockers and percussion tribe second to none, whose random bells, flute and remedial tea-tray flailings were still more like the Godz or Nihilist Spasm Band than the deep theta-space obliterations of Taj Mahal Travellers. Led by future Murahatchibu drummer Sahuro "Kant" Watanabe, CTS were part of an elite bunch Shinjuku Futen bands who actually made it onto record. Includes full-color booklet with notes by Watanabe.
3 CD set for $30

JAPROCK SAMPLER [Complete Albums by SPEED GLUE & SHINKI/FLOWER TRAVELLIN' BAND/LES RALLIZES DENUDES/FAR EAST FAMILY BAND/J A CEASAR] - Vols 1-5: Eve/Satori/Heavier Than A Death In The Family/Parallel World/Kokkyou Junreika [Ltd 5 CD Box set] (Bamboo BOX 2; UK) Bamboo presents Julian Cope's top five Japanese rock albums assembled here in an essential 5CD Japrock set. Never before available as a box set. Comes with a 36-page illustrated booklet with extensive sleevenotes, rare photos, and band bios. This is not a sampler of music -- it includes the following full albums: Speed, Glue & Shinki's Eve (1971), Flower Travellin' Band's Satori (1971), Les Rallizes Denudes' Heavier Than A Death In The Family (recorded mostly in 1977), Far East Family Band's Parallel World (1976), and J A Caesar's Kokkyou Junreika (1973)
5 CD box for $60

MAGICAL POWER MAKO [MAKOTO KURITA] - Hapmoniym [Ltd #d 5 CD Box set] (Bamboo BOX 1; UK) Magical Power Mako is the Japanese underground legend who made a batch of amazingly dusted psych LPs for the Japanese Polydor label in the 70s, sometimes referred to in terms of "the Japanese Faust". His first 2 records in particular, the Magical Power debut from 1973 & Super Record from 1975 are as good as it gets. This box reissues the first 5 volumes of the proposed 15 volume Hapmoniym series that Mako recorded in the early 70s (the Japanese Mom'n'Dad label originally issued these 5 volumes in 1993 as individual CDs; they are still working on getting around to volumes 6-15). With booklet of liner notes (English and Japanese language), photos. Extremely well done overall. "The 5 CD's set named Hapmoniym was created between 1972 and 1975 in Mako's private studio, while he was working on his second album, Super Record. Hapmoniym is Mako's best piece recorded in these years. It's composed of a few magnificent ideas and sounds and recorded in a very free atmosphere with friends and colleague musicians. Encompassing psychedelic folk, Krautrock, electronica and fuzz guitar, the music's effect is frequently astounding, and absolutely essential for all fans of Japrock. The music Hapmoniym is offering consists of progressive rock, psychedelic, avant-garde & experimental sounds. Hapmoniym box set number one is the first part of a trilogy of pure experiments that has mostly bnever been published. The 5 CDs contained in this box were released in a very limited edition in 1993, then again by the defunct MIO in Israel, then becoming unavailable."
5 CD box for $60


MUSLIMGAUZE [BRYN JONES] - Drugsherpa (Staalplaat ARCHIVE 21; Germany) The provenance of bonus tracks can often be tangential or suspicious; in this case, it's more like a homecoming. When Bryn Jones turned in the master for what would become 1994's Drugsherpa mini-CD, Staalplaat selected the 20-minute title-track, truly one of Muslimgauze's most distinct and awe-inspiring tracks, to fill the release. The sinuous, doom-haunted "Drugsherpa" still sounds fresh today, but in 1994 it was so far ahead of its time, that the rest of us wouldn't catch up until a decade or more later; only now does it really sound like it has contemporaries. But it wasn't alone on that tape; and with the mini-CD long since sold out, this reissue releases its siblings into the world for the first time. Unlike "Drugsherpa" itself, now restored to its original place as track three on the reissue, the other six tracks on this now 56-minute album are all remixes of other Muslimgauze material. As usual for Jones, those remixes take the songs in all sorts of directions, subtle or otherwise; shorter, longer, backwards, dubbed-out, less dubbed-out, and so on. The result shows anew the infinite variety, multiplicity, and complexity of Jones' work, and functions as a kind of ad hoc compilation of material from several recent-at-the-time Muslimgauze releases as well (plus a remounting of "Gulfwar" from 1987's Abu Nidal). But the darkly brooding "Drugsherpa" itself remains, justly, the center of attention here. Less directly political than much of Jones' work, it builds up to an immense, slow groove until finally shaking itself to pieces in your ears by the end. Muslimgauze is always evocative. With Drugsherpa, Jones practically gives the listeners visions. He always intended these tracks to go together (as shown by the seamless segue into "Jerusalem Knife (Wail Mix)," but in a way Drugsherpa is sui generis, even for Muslimgauze.
CD $18

MUSLIMGAUZE [BRYN JONES] - Turkish Berlina (Staalplaat ARCHIVE 17; Germany) Some might say that the continued stream of releases from Bryn Jones aka Muslimgauze is beginning to beggar belief. But Jones was always prolific, creating not just song after song but variant version after version of his existing work. And so Muslimgauze continues to reach out from the last century into this one. Although an intensely dedicated and creative producer and composer, Jones could be a little cryptic when it came to keeping his massive body of work organized. The recently unearthed Turkish Berlina dates back to 1997, shortly after Muslimgauze played Berlin; the master was labeled, simply, "remixes." As with many of Jones' remixes of his own work, these 10 untitled tracks range from hauntingly familiar to strikingly new versions of already extant Muslimgauze material. Surely we've heard some form of the haunting vocal loop on the first track before? The dense, busy, distorted break that takes over the second track, that's new, isn't it? Or maybe we have it backwards, maybe what feels new here should be familiar and vice versa. Even for dedicated Muslimgauze fans, these 10 remixes hover tantalizingly on the border between the known and the unknown. Here the balance between Jones' source material, the music of the Middle East and elsewhere, and his own electronic, sometimes abrasive additions and distortions slides over much closer to techno than usual, whether on the extended dubby pulse of the third track or the headspinning broken beats of the eighth and ninth. Jones had mentioned in the past being uneasy trying to represent the breadth of Muslimgauze's music live, preferring to emphasize percussion and backing tracks. These versions, then, coming on the heels of live performance, might just offer a glimpse at what Muslimgauze was like live.
CD $18

MUSLIMGAUZE [BRYN JONES] - Islamic Songs (Staalplaat ARCHIVE 16; Germany) The sun always shines bright, very bright in the Middle East. Windows open up and we hear music. Not the music by Muslimgauze, but traditional music. We hear the Adhan, the call for prayer, the souk and people talking. Music comes from all directions -- rhythmic, mysterious, monotonous perhaps, but swirling like a dervish, round and round it goes. The music of Islam was such an inspiration for Bryn Jones (1961-1999), although perhaps "inspiration" probably doesn't justify the seemingly endless flood of material he recorded during his life. Islamic Songs is a previously-unreleased album which now sees the light of day. Although albums by Muslimgauze were usually not thematically based, it's perhaps possible to see Islamic Songs as a thematically organized album, not set in a specific surrounding, but moving along inside the busy city of the occupied Palestinian land. Jones produces his beats with considerable force on the opening piece "I Shall Sing Until My Land Is Free" and on the sixth track, which has a nice, deep bass thump. It's the sound of a low-flying drone, spying on us. A female voice is singing, guided by a tribal dance beat -- a classic Muslimgauze opening move. From then on it's down to the Kasbah, and we hear tablas, samples of stringed instruments, and obscured vocal samples. There is a moment of rest on "Sahara Head Dress," and we wake up back on the airplane, back home, with "System Virus Abuse 1, 2 and 3," a short piece on digital failure. Noted as such by Jones on the tape, this 17-second piece is the sound of a drone crashing -- one down for the enemy.
CD $18

MUSLIMGAUZE [BRYN JONES] - Tandoor Dog (Staalplaat ARCHIVE 13; Germany) In 1998 Staalplaat and Muslimgauze were in a conquering spirit. Bryn Jones (1961-1999), the man behind Muslimgauze, delivered new works almost on a weekly basis and was more than happy to see them released straight away. Unlike others, Staalplaat was never shy to release larger works, lumping them together, such as the 9CD Box of Silk & Dogs. Allowing free reign in editing, the 4LP box set Tandoori Dog contained an LP called Tandoor Dog, which included only eight out of the 11 original pieces. Now the whole Tandoor Dog album is released on a limited CD, spanning in total 60 minutes of music. Muslimgauze didn't fail in this highly productive period. Peaking as never before, his music here carries all that makes Muslimgauze the unique artist he is. Taking his influences from what can be loosely called the Middle East, but extending that to as far as Pakistan, Jones freely samples percussion, instruments and voices and adds these to his own sequences and instruments, such as the tabla. The melting pot that is the studio blends this together in hypnotic pieces of music. Captivating, minimal, and groovy, this is the roughly-shaped electronic world of Bryn Jones. All of this was motivated and inspired by events in the Middle East -- a strong pre-occupation with the fate of the occupied people in the Palestinian lands and an unashamed love for such controversial groups as Hezbollah, as reflected through the titles Jones picked for his work. With the re-issue of Tandoor Dog another keystone work by Jones is finally available again.
CD $18


BARIS MANCO - Yeni Bir Gun (Guerssen 50; EEC) The late '70s found Turkey in an economic slump, and there was a huge rise in political violence. Baris, who so often put out collections of singles, rose to the occasion by spending six months holed up with his long-time backing band the Kurtalan Ekspres. The result was this studio album of Anatolian bummer psychedelia, often unfairly overlooked because it came out in the rather un-cosmic year of 1979, but also considered his best work by many. Yep, there are still electrified versions of Turkish folk songs, and the spaceshot ARPs and Korgs of 2023 (GUESS 038CD/106LP) are here too, but don't expect a happy swing around the ceiling of a planetarium. The real star of the album is the keyboard player, whose name translates to "Sword Agent." Yeni Bir Gun is viciously funky and brilliantly arranged, with tidbits stolen out of the latest disco hits, and lean, mean synthesizers that emerge from the beats like carbonated bubbles. First time ever reissue, this release comes in the same gorgeous gatefold cover as the original, has a repro of the original poster as well, and includes an extra insert with extensive liner notes.
CD $17

JAN DUINDAM - Thoughts (Guerssen 49; EEC) After cutting his teeth in several rock and folk bands in the late '60s (Hush, Tail Toddle), Dutch singer/songwriter Jan Duindam released his first solo album in 1978 for the tiny Munich label. With help from local musician Guus Willemse of progressive band Solution, who played bass, drums and synth, Jan created Thoughts: psychedelic folk-rock/acid-folk with stunning guitar-playing and fragile, dreamy vocal harmonies. Features "Happiness and Tears," a track selected by modern neo-folk/indie-rock stars Midlake for their Late Night Tales mix. Remastered sound, gatefold sleeve, insert with photos and detailed liner notes.
CD $17


GRAIL - Grail (Prog Temple 8016; UK) Born from the dying embers of the psychedelic dream, Grail's only glimpse of success was revealed in their stand-alone salute to psychedelia in 1971, a testament to both acid-folk and inspired heavy rock. This CD edition offers a valuable opportunity to rediscover this obscure British outfit's sole album, now an ultimately rare collector's item and previously made available in Germany and France only. Produced by celebrated rocker Rod Stewart in 1971, Prog Temple's fully remastered, retrospective reissue throws light on the band, its history and its place in the world of psychedelic and progressive rock. Includes detailed liner notes.
CD $17


MAKO SICA - Essence (La Societe Expeditionnaire 27; USA) "'Mako Sica' is a translation of what many Native American tribes called 'land bad'; hence the moniker of dusty mazes, buttes and spires created by millions of years of erosion in poisoned deserts. Taking on a phrase from an extinct language for a band name certainly carries a fair share of social metaphor, political baggage and spiritual darkness. The band lives and works in Chicago (also a Native American term meaning 'wild onion'), where the city's rich jazz history and punk ideals give Mako Sica, containing two ex-members of avant/experimental band Rope, the complete freedom to create music which reflects the spirit of their chosen name. Primal and earthen, Essence is by far their most expansive work to date. The second full-length effort from the band ventures deep into the avant garde, citing influences like the Art Ensemble of Chicago and Sun Ra, but also maintains a nervous punk energy."
LP $20


KOUDEDE: GUITARS FROM AGADEZ - Vol 6 [12" Ep] (Sublime Freq 084; USA) In October 2012, the Tamashek community lost one of its most luminous voices when Koudede's life was cut short by a car crash during his trip home to Niger from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Koudede was a leading light among the myriad musical groups that have recently proliferated in Niger and Mali to voice the Tuareg struggle against exploitation and to exalt their proud but waning nomadic heritage. His outstanding reputation and corpus of songs garnered the respect of his contemporaries, and his altruistic persona made him a formidable conduit for younger generations of musicians; he was always eager to foster dialog by spreading the music and message of his people. These recordings were captured in an atmosphere of tumult as the 2012 Tuareg insurgency led to a series of battles in the northern Sahara between the government of Mali and the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA). In a misbegotten alliance, the MNLA was drawn together with a rogue movement of dogmatic fundamentalists who were bent on destabilizing West Africa's generally symbiotic relationship with a peaceful, centuries-old Afro-Islamic culture. Three of these four tracks were recorded on location at Toumast -- the Tuareg headquarters in Mali's capital city of Bamako -- shortly after Koudede appeared as a featured artist at the Festival au Desert in Timbuktu. In February 2012, as conditions worsened for the Tuareg in Mali, Koudede's peers advised him to flee the country. The remaining track was recorded in Ouagadougou, after Koudede and his group left Bamako for the safer soil of Burkina Faso. These recordings showcase Koudede's mastery of song and emotion, and memorialize his tragically short tenure as one of the Tuareg's most venerable prophets of the Kel Tamashek message to the outside world. Sublime Frequencies is honored to perpetuate Koudede's extraordinary legacy with this four-song, 45-rpm 12" EP. Recorded and compiled by Hisham Mayet.
12" Ep $16


STEVE MOORE - Pangaea Ultima (Spectrum Spools 32; USA) Pangaea Ultima, Steve Moore's debut record on Spectrum Spools, is an epic musical achievement, not simply for its sonic sophistication and compositional mastery, but also because Moore has crafted here an album that has come as close to any in transcending the boxed human logic of time and place. The album title refers to the name which geologists have given to the future super-continent that is suggested may form on earth in the next quarter-of-a-billion years. Over the course of the nine pieces on Pangaea Ultima, Moore meditates upon the realization of this new land mass in an uncharted part of the world's moment. How will this continent come to be formed? What forces and what processes create it? What is this continent's terrain of "Endless Mountains" and "Endless Caverns," and on what kind of planet will it be? These are all speculative questions that alight the listener as they are subsumed into Steve Moore's synthscapes which unfurl with equal amounts of delicacy and meticulous detail. In some respects, the attitude and ambition of Pangaea Ultima places this work in a similar canon as the mythic territory of Tangerine Dream's Phaedra or the cosmic imaginations of Michael Stearns' Planetary Unfolding, and yet it evades both comparisons as easily. There is something mysteriously self-contained, urgent that pervades these assemblages of tracks. "Logotone" exhibits Moore's ability to stretch the sensibilities of melodic and chordal phrasing to limits that Schulze or Alan Hawkshaw wouldn't have gone. The compositions on Pangaea Ultima, like "Planetwalk" and "Nemesis" are more tightly coiled even in their constant straining to explode outwards to the stars beyond. And when Moore plays with rhythms, they resemble the idiosyncratic mould of his releases for Long Island Electrical Systems, Future Times and Kompakt, and yet seem to push even further towards an eerie sparseness yet to be fully tapped. If there are 4/4 kicks on Pangaea Ultima, like on "Deep Time" and the title-track, it's for a world skewed on a bent axis. Musically, this is a record of both microscopic and macroscopic reward, an absorbing listen that betrays the album's 60 minutes of length. Which again returns us to the question of time and how so expertly Moore has managed to avoid it. Or more so, how he has managed to find a fold in time -- an atemporal space -- here this album anomalously nestles by itself. Moore reaches out to the moment of genesis of Pangaea Ultima and slips into its imaginary logic of time and place. He does not intrude or indulge there. Nor are there any "retro" homages or "sci-fi" tropes/ambitions on Pangaea -- we cannot even be sure whether humans have a history they can call a future on this continent. Yet just as easily, as geologists concede, this future super-continent may never end up eventuating, which would mean this imminently possible reality will melt into fantasy. But this too, is not a bad place for Steve Moore's masterpiece to end up, either.
CD $15
also available as 2 LP set for $30


ALESSANDRO ALESSANDRONI - Inchiesta (Sonor 02; Italy) Seriously wicked and really hard to find in its original edition, this superb sound-library bears the mark of the great, eclectic maestro Alessandro Alessandroni. The songs on this LP were originally composed for the broadcast of eight episodes made by RAI Italian TV called "Open Window." Many mid-'70s jazz-funk/scat themes full of samples, breaks and funky tunes. Merged in this record you'll find heavy funk-drama tracks devoted to 1970s poliziottesco's grooves interfering with slow lounge-funk arrangements featuring sweet scat vocals. Great brass, a sure winner. Originally issued in a limited edition series for collectors, this gem has been repressed on HQ 180 gram vinyl with improved sound quality for the joy of audiophiles. Originally released in 1970, and reissued under license by Cometa Edizioni Musicali. Edition of 500 copies.
LP $25


CHARLES COHEN - Music for Dance and Theater [2 LP Set] (Morphine 021; Italy) Final part in the Charles Cohen trilogy on Morphine Records. Featuring various works made for dance and theater productions between 1976 and 1988. Eleven tracks in total -- lovingly spread over a double LP and featuring some of the most beautiful material of the series. While in the process of recording and optimizing the old reel tapes for the initial track list, Cohen discovered a master tape that was originally prepared for an extremely limited cassette release on the Generations Unlimited imprint in NYC. This collection, preserved in the original order of its initial release, contains some of Cohen's collaborations and performances in theater pieces and art installations by Jeff Cain, Tonio Guerra, Group Motion, and more. A 2LP document, Music for Dance and Theater shows Cohen's extremely sensitive and creative integration of sound into these theatrical performances and visual art installations. Issued in three parts, this vinyl series will culminate in a full CD release. 2 LP Set $25

CHARLES COHEN - Group Motion (Morphine Records 20; Italy) Morphine Records continues to unearth recordings from Philadelphia's synth pioneer, Charles Cohen. Two beautiful drone/ambient/jazz pieces on this one (recorded live in 1989), exposing the sonic genius and dexterity of Cohen alongside the astounding possibilities of that highly-desirable synthesizer of his. Group Motion is a dance theater in Philadelphia founded by Manfred Fischbeck with whom Cohen collaborated and performed. The "Group Motion Performance" is a live recording with the dance company made on the Buchla Music Easel and the Buchla 700 series; the latter, one of the rarest synthesizers on earth. "Generator" was performed and recorded at the Generator Sound Art Gallery, NYC, with the same instrument set-up. Apparently, these are the only known recordings using the Buchla 700 synthesizer to be formally released, making the Group Motion album the only living proof of this incredible-sounding machine. Issued in three parts, this vinyl series will culminate in a full CD release.
LP $20



**********


Limited Edition Reissues of RARE DOWNTOWNER MUSICS!

on CDR with deluxe packaging!


STEVE SWELL'S FIRE INTO MUSIC With JEMEEL MOONDOC/WILLIAM PARKER/HAMID DRAKE - Fire Into Music [ltd ed CD-R] (private release CDR; USA) Featuring Steve Swell on trombone, Jemeel Moondoc on alto sax, William Parker on acoustic bass and Hamid Drake on drums. This live set was recorded at Ballroom Marfa in Texas in October of 2004. This was initially a limited edition LP that has long since gone out of print. Now it is a limited edition CD-R. I caught this fine downtown all-star quartet up at the Guelph Fest a couple of years ago and was knocked out by their performance. This disc was recorded at a performance space (bar?) with an occasionally boisterous crowd. There are just two long pieces here, "Junka Nu" is first. This piece has one of those infectious William Parker grooves with Hamid's joyous, ever-propulsive drumming. Steve Swell takes the first long and inspired solo with that great rhythm team locked in together along with him. Jemeel is next and starts slowly and builds quickly into a great, hard swinging conclusion. What is most amazing is the way William and Hamid play together, accelerating and then slowing down, always organically linked. Rhythm teams just don't get any better than this one. I swear I hear a train going by during William's fine first solo, as well as some folks in the audience talking quietly and occasionally howling. The second piece is called "Space Cowboys" and it starts freely but soon kicks into high gear. Although I wish that the two horns were a more up-front in the mix, the spirit still soars throughout. The first solo on this piece is William's dynamic bowed bass with Hamid burning underneath. I love the way William's bass seamlessly blends elements of free, funk and swing into his effervescent style. Hamid takes a great Art Blakey-like solo which the folks screaming for more. This piece also includes another couple of inspired soolos by Jemeel and Steve before its grand conclusion. Steve Swell never sits still, hence we have yet another strong offering from him and his powerful Fire Into Music quartet. - BLG
CD $16

STEVE SWELL'S NATION OF WE With ROB BROWN/SABIR MATEEN/ROY CAMPBELL Jr/PETER ZUMMO/RAS MOSHE/LEWIS 'FLIP' BARNES et al - Live At The Bowery Poetry Club, January 15th 2006 (Ayler 05 CDR; EEC) Limited edition CD-R. Featuring a stellar cast: Saxes: Rob Brown, Will Connell, Saco Yacusma, Sabir Mateen, Ras Moshe; Trumpets: Roy Campbell, Lewis Barnes, Matt Lavelle; Trombones: Dick Griffin, Peter Zummo, Steve Swell, Dave Taylor; Piano: Chris Forbes; Bass: Matt Heyner, Todd Nicholson and drums Jackson Krall. This is Steve Swell's extraordinary downtown all-star large band (16 piece) and they are truly something else, quite a powerful presence. Steve writes in the notes that he hoped to bring together musicians from different camps or communities. The title of this four-part work is "Declaration of Interdependence" and it is an hour-long suite of heavy, interdependent playing. Everyone in the ensemble except for drummer Jackson Krall gets a chance to solo and the solo order is listed in the notes. Roy Campbell takes the first high-flying solo while the band swirls quickly and tightly around him. Ras Moshe burns on tenor for the next solo while the layers of horns crash light waves around him. Like the Little Huey Orchestra, it sounds as if Steve has written particular harmonies and parts for the rest of the band while each soloist does his or her thing. At times, I am reminded of Brotherhood of Breath with the way that the band sounds as if it is about to explode, yet somehow the various layers of lines remain connected. There are too many amazing solos here to mention, but I was blown away time and again throughout this phenomenal effort. What is surprising is when the band mellows down to a simmer during a few sections, like when Chris Forbes solos on electric piano and the band plays these somber sounds in the distance. By the way, this is a download only release that we were able to get just these copies into the hands of the few who order it in time. So please don't hesitate. (11/13/07) - BLG
CD $16

HENRY THREADGILL & VERY VERY CIRCUS With BRANDON ROSS/MARK TAYLOR/MASUJAA/MARCUS ROJAS/EDWIN RODRIGUEZ/GENE LAKE + LEROY JENKINS/SIMON SHAHEEN/JASON KAO HWANG et al - Too Much Sugar For A Dime (private release CDR; EEC) [CD-R] Henry Threadgill: alto saxophone w/ Very Very Circus (Brandon Ross, Marcus Rojas, Gene Lake, Masujaa, Edwin Rodriguez, Mark Taylor) and guests Simon Shaheen, Leroy Jenkins, Jason Hwang, Dorian L Parreott II, Johnny Rudas, Miguel Urvina, Mossa Bildner, Arenae, Larry Bright. Absolutely Stellar recording [NOT included in either the Mosaic or CAM box sets] Imagine writing for an instrumentation of two electric guitars, two tubas, French horn, drums and Henry Threadgill's alto. Threadgill was up to the challenge and his four avant-garde originals utilize the odd combination of tones to great advantage. Two additional songs feature Threadgill, just one tuba, drums, a few exotic instruments and three strings to create some particularly unusual music. Some say it's for the open-eared adherent only, but the brilliance here is that any listener will be knocked out! This was the first of four albums in a row [ONLY the other three are in the Mosaic Box] produced by Bill Laswell and Henry Threadgill!
CD $16

HENRY THREADGILL & VERY VERY CIRCUS With BRANDON ROSS/MARK TAYLOR/MASUJAA/MARCUS ROJAS/EDWIN RODRIGUEZ/LARRY BRIGHT - Live at Koncepts (private release CDR; EEC) [CDR] A live recording from the Koncepts Cultural Gallery in 1991 [NOT included in either the Mosaic or CAM box sets], this album captures a typically diverse and enjoyable set by Threadgill's Very Very Circus ensemble, the tuba and guitar-driven band he led for several years in the late '80s and early '90s. The pieces range from the fine, hard-driving opener, "Next," with the leader's searing, bitter alto, to the quasi-rockish "Snakes Don't Do Suicide," all martial beats and fusion-inspired guitar, to his lugubrious ballads, all steamy and off-kilter. Those listeners unfamiliar with Threadgill's approach may find both his composing style and his instrumentation a bit baffling. The former matches bluesy, though often acerbic melodies with stop-and-start rhythms that do groove, just not in the ways that one might anticipate. His conjunction of low horns with dual guitars and percussion certainly creates a unique overall sound, one that lends itself to the march-like cadences he favors but also leads to a lushness not often encountered elsewhere. It makes for a thick, throbbing matrix over which Threadgill can soar and, like his ensemble, his own alto and flute work sounds like no one else's, a sharp blues-tinged sound with heady romantic overtones... Any Threadgill fan will want to hear this! ~ Brian Olewnick, AMG
[NOT included in the Mosaic Box]
CD $16

AIR [HENRY THREADGILL/FRED HOPKINS/STEVE McCALL] - 80 Degrees Below '82 (private release CDR; EEC) [CD-R] This was Air's seventh studio album [NOT included in either the Mosaic or CAM box sets] and the final one of nine, including two live albums, to feature the late drummer Steve McCall (after this, they were called New Air, with drummer Pheeroan AkLaff), and originally released on LP by Antilles The avant-garde trio stretches out on three of the saxophonist's originals and Jelly Roll Morton's "Chicago Breakdown." This blues-oriented set is more accessible than many of Air's previous recordings without watering down the explorative nature of this always-interesting group. ~ Scott Yanow, AMG
[NOT included in the Mosaic Box]
CD $16

DAVE DOUGLAS - El Trilogy [Limited Edition] (RCA/BMG 63736 CDR; USA) [re-edition CD-R pressing] An exclusive for DMG, not sold anywhere else on the planet. Although contracted by RCA/BMG, BMG chose not to release/distribute this, but instead allows Dave to privately market the copies made ..through us! This is modern dance music composed and played by Dave for three different Trisha Brown choregraphed dances. The players include Mark Feldman, Guy Klusevsek, Greg Cohen, Susie Ibarra, and Gregory Tardy. One of the most interesting Douglas items, both compositionally and playing-wise! "This is Dave Douglas' music composed for Trisha Brown's choreography and premiered at Lincoln Center just last week. This release is broken into three sections for three different dance performances first done in July of 1999 through June of 2000. The three different ensembles include the collective personnel of Dave on trumpet, Mark Feldman on violin, Guy Klucevsek on accordion & Greg Cohen on bass (a/k/a Charms of the Night Sky) in the first section plus Greg Tardy on clarinet & tenor sax and Susie Ibarra on drums - in the second and third sections. The first section is called "Five Part Weather Invention" and can also by found on Dave's last Charms of the Night Sky cd 'Thousand Evenings' - a different version. The first section is quite a charming mix of eastern-European gypsy-like melodies with some modern classical flourishes. All of this music is completely acoustic, which is an impressive endeavor - the balance is perfect. Mark Feldman takes one of his amazing solos on "Bounding Lines" which is quite the marvel while the quartet play those great fractured themes for splattered notes and coughing just right on the same piece. The second part is "Rapture to Leon James" for Dave, Greg Tardy, Greg Cohen & Susie Ibarra. It begins with Susie's splashing cymbals, mysterious mallads and ethnic percussion work followed by the delicate rustling of tenor sax and trumpet - soon playing Dave's haunting then quick paced theme. This piece moves through a few evolving episodes from a swinging section with a classic solo from Dave, the rhythm team ever tight and focused. The second part of this section has those wacky fragments which remind me of animals speaking amongst themselves - natural and connected. The third section is called "Groove and Countermove" and it is performed by the entire sextet in five parts. "Prairie" begins this section with an elegant and lovely theme - Dave plays exquisite muted trumpet with the violin, accordion, clarinet and subtle rhythm team providing quaint support. "Escher" starts with Susie's rustling and refined percussion with small clouds of accordion and violin floating through. "Spring" has an odd, melancholy theme which seems slightly twisted, evolving in unexpected directions with a marvelous solo violin section. "Anton" is more difficult and very short, with its complex lines spiraling as one instrument completes the other's lines. "Fin", the last part, spins in quick lines with the tenor, violin, trumpet and accordion ascending together as the bass and drums push the energy from below. A powerful ending for superb disc. " - BLG
CD $16

GUNTER HAMPEL & JEANNE LEE - Oasis [2 CD set] (private release CDR; EEC) [CD-R with all the original artwork] Gunter Hampel-fl,cl,bcl,vib; Jeanne Lee-voc. Originally a double LP on an obscure European label, this is a fabulous duet, recorded in Rome on July 12th and 13th, 1978!
2 CD set for $25

JEANNE LEE With SAM RIVERS/GUNTER HAMPEL/STEVE McCALL et al - Conspiracy (private release CDR; EEC) 1975 recording with Hampel, Rivers, McCall, Jadk Gregg, Perry Robinson, Mark Whitecage, Marty Cook, Allan Preskin. CD-R with all cover art.
CD $16

WAYNE HORVITZ With ELLIOTT SHARP/CHRIS BROWN/DOUG WIESELMAN - Dinner At Eight [aka This New Generation] (private release CDR; EEC) CD-R with all the original artwork of the Dinner At Eight cover, not the el train This New Generation cover! Before joining John Zorn's Naked City and long before leading such relatively popular bands as Zony Mash and Pig Pen, keyboardist Wayne Horvitz released several albums in Germany only, this being the first. While entirely instrumental and deceptively minimalist, Horvitz' tunes tend to have a sugary sweetness that is surprisingly poppish and catchy, as though he'd taken the tasty nubbins from a Top 40 number and elaborated on them. Guitarist Elliot Sharp is on hand to leaven the proceedings with enough acerbity to counteract any saccharine quality, however, along with Chris Brown on two Sharp-designed instruments. The pieces are fairly percussive in nature, but all percussion sounds are generated electronically. While Horvitz and crew do this better than most, it still lends a slightly trite quality to the sound, one that pegs the period a bit too precisely. But the thematic material, often soulfully stated by Doug Wieselman on reeds, generally rises to the forefront and makes this difficult-to-locate album worth searching out. You'll find that several of the compositions tend to linger quite pleasantly in one's memory. - Brian Olewnick, AMG
CD $16

WAYNE HORVITZ/THE PRESIDENT With BILL FRISELL/ELLIOTT SHARP/DOUG WIESELMAN/DAVID HOFSTRA/BOBBY PREVITE - The President (private release CDR; EEC) CD-R with all the original artwork. Following his 1986 album Dinner At Eight, keyboardist Wayne Horvitz released the first album from his performing group The President. The President follows several precepts of the earlier album, especially with regard to Horvitz' penchant for writing tasty, almost poppy (and often funky) melodies and fleshing them out with slightly off-kilter instrumental elaborations. Here, he adds guitarist Bill Frisell, who contributes a nice sweet and sour combo with Elliot Sharp, the latter providing enough grit and tang to ward off any creeping sugariness. For all Horvitz' beguiling compositional ability, one of the real highlights is drummer Bobby Previte's surging piece, "Short of Breath," the kind of propulsive number he would develop further in bands under his own name.. This is a very enjoyable, buoyant, ofttimes explosive, and catchy release that fans of Horvitz' more popular work with Pig Pen and Zony Mash should certainly attempt to hear. -Brian Olewnick, AMG
[Four cuts from this album were on the out-of-print CD 'This New Generation']
CD $16

WAYNE HORVITZ/LAWRENCE 'BUTCH' MORRIS/ROBERT [BOBBY] PREVITE - Nine Below Zero (private release CDR; EEC) CD-R with all the original artwork. Nine Below Zero is a relatively early recorded example of all three of the players involved and, interestingly, one of their freest and most rewarding. Horvitz and Previte, in particular, would go on to much more thematic music, drawing heavily from rock, jazz, and fusion, though hints of those borrowings certainly show up here. These pieces are somewhat closer, in miniature form, to the "conductions" which Butch Morris would champion in oncoming years, striking a delicate balance between composition and free improvisation. The general mood is subdued and introspective, Horvitz' signature keyboard sound playing very nicely off Morris' lovely, melancholy cornet. The pieces, with the exception of two typically gorgeous numbers by Robin Holcomb, are all by Horvitz and, when the melody eventually surfaces, have his sense of off-kilter, slightly poppy feel to them, as though rescuing the lone delicious kernels from an otherwise forgettable Top 40 ditty. A couple of tracks feature the unfortunate sound of mid-'80s drum machines, prevalent at the time among with a number of musicians experimenting with new technology, but sounding shallow and trite 15 years hence. Still, as Horvitz and Previte especially have garnered larger followings in the ensuing years, Nine Below Zero is a very worthwhile picture of one aspect of the roots and a fine recording in general. - Brian Olewnick, AMG
CD $16

WAYNE HORVITZ/LAWRENCE 'BUTCH' MORRIS/ROBERT [BOBBY] PREVITE With BILL FRISELL/DOUG WIESELMAN//ROBIN HOLCOMB - Todos Santos: The Music Of Robin Holcomb (private release CDR; EEC) CD-R with all the original artwork. Explosive, animated session from the late '80s with the HMP trio engaging in spirited dialogues that were sometimes nearly chaotic, but always impressive, exclusively playing the compositions of Robin Holcomb, which was geared towards this stripped-down outfit
CD $16

ROBIN HOLCOMB With MARTY EHRLICH/DOUG WIESELMAN/WAYNE HORVITZ/DAVID HOFSTRA/BOBBY PREVITE - Larks, They Crazy (private release CDR; EEC) Actual 1st Holcomb album (pre-Nonesuch/Elektra) is instrumental with Robin on piano except vocal on title track; CD-R with all the original artwork. Actually the very 1st Robin Holcomb album (pre-Nonesuch/Elektra), this is primarily instrumental with Robin on piano except for one vocal on the title track; w/ Wayne Horvitz (also prod.), Marty Ehrlich, Robert [Bobby] Previte, Dave Hofstra, Doug Wieselman
"A graduate of the University of Santa Cruz, Robin moved to New York with her husband, Wayne Horvitz, and co-founded Studio Henry ca. 1980, a performance outlet where she gave poetry readings and concerts. She also wrote big band pieces for the New York Composers Orchestra, which she co-founded with Horvitz. This recording marks a venture into composed and improvised creative music for Holcomb. Her musical ideas are for the most part solemnly focused, but there is a big difference in the approach, which is much more expansive and developmental. While her acoustic piano playing is center stage, she is surrounded by some brilliant improvisers, including multi-reedists Marty Ehrlich and Doug Wieselman, electric keyboardist Wayne Horvitz, tubaist/bassist David Hofstra, and drummer Bobby Previte. High drama is the basis for Holcomb's 11 compositions, only one of which she vocalizes on. At its most extreme, "Silence in the Square" is hardly quiet, with wistful piano and Horvitz's keyboard dementia contrasting pining dirge horns. "Continuity" has so many elements that it's difficult to describe the myriad of motifs present in the song's four-and-a-half minutes. Wieselman's ribald clarinet and Ehrlich's alto glide over march drums and tuba on "Dixie," which is entertaining and funny. The most intricate piece, "Thirds," goes from peaceful to squeaky to reverential, and the hilariously titled "Larks, They Crazy" features Holcomb's raspy vocal, a free mezzo piano section, and religious overtones. "The Natural World," with its slow, heavy piano in a funeral setting, showcases Ehrlich's lush soprano and Wieselman's soulful tenor. Holcomb's piano is more prominent on the Kurt Weill-like intro to "Tala/Davenport," with tuba oom-pah-pah leading to minimalistic piano and deeper bass clarinet motions by Ehrlich. Holcomb adopts a Cecil Taylor stance for her wild solo during "March," a hard-swinging, full-bodied ensemble chart, and goes it alone on the delicate "Solo." The first piece, "New," is perhaps her definitive work, featuring a challenging mix of call-and-response horns, swing rhythms, and an Irish/Scottish flavor. Graced by some truly ambitious music, this project deserves a lot of attention" - Michael G Nastos, AMG
CD $16

RONALD SHANNON JACKSON & THE DECODING SOCIETY With BILLY BANG/BYARD LANCASTER/CHARLES BRACKEEN/BERN NIX/VERNON REID/MELVIN GIBBS - Eye On You (private release CDR; USA) [CD-R reissue by RS Jackson] 1st recording - circa 1980 -from this stellar group with a young Vernon Reid and Melvyn Gibbs, as well as Billy Bang, Byard Lancaster, Charles Brackeen, Bern Nix, and Erasto Vasconcelos.
CD $16

RONALD SHANNON JACKSON & THE DECODING SOCIETY With VERNON REID/MELVIN GIBBS et al - Taboo [aka Mental Holiday] (private release CDR; USA) [CD-R reissue by RS Jackson] transitional recordings - 1982-1986 - various lineups of the Decoding Society with Vernon Reid, Melvyn Gibbs and Bruce Johnson on all tracks, along with Zane Massey, Robin Eubanks, Akbar Ali, Robin Eubanks, Eric Person, Lee Rozie, Henri Scott, David Gordon, and Onaje Allan Gumbs. Produced by Bill Laswell. Note: This collection is not very forthcoming with infomation about the recording dates, but judging entirely from personnel and studios, this appears to be a collection of outtakes from Man Dance, Barbeque Dog and Decode Yourself. In fact, saxophonist Eric Person has confirmed for me that "Mental Holiday" was definitely recorded during the Decode Yourself sessions. Most likely the only things recorded at RPM were Laswell's production embellishments [for tracks other than Mental Holiday, for which he was the original producer], some time closer to 1990. Shannon's band would be significantly different on his next release, thus leading to the conclusion that this material was already recorded well before Taboo's 1990 release date. One further clue comes from the inner sleeve of the Live at the Caravan of Dreams LP recorded in 1986 with Twins Seven Seven for Caravan of Dreams: it lists a recording called Mental Holiday as "soon to be released," but no such record ever appeared. Presumably the suite "Mental Holiday" on this album was recorded for this abandoned album.
CD $16

RONALD SHANNON JACKSON & THE DECODING SOCIETY With VERNON REID/ZANE MASSEY/MELVIN GIBBS et al - Decode Yourself (private release CDR; USA) [CD-R reissue by RS Jackson] Monster album produced by Bill Laswell; last of the original core lineup's studio albums circa 1985 [not counting the transitional album Taboo] Ronald Shannon Jackson - voc, dr; Vernon Reid - e-g; Zane Massey - tenor, alto, soprano saxes; Henry Scott - trumpet, flugelhorn Melvin Gibbs - e-b; Bruce Johnson - e-b
CD $16

POWER TOOLS [RONALD SHANNON JACKSON/BILL FRISELL/MELVIN GIBBS] - Live In London (self released CDR; USA) [CD-R] Powertools were a great and rather unlikely jazz/rock power-trio from NYC that made only one album on Antilles in 1987, long out of print and, until recently [Shannon Jackson's upcoming CD-R reissue] no longer available in any format. They also toured Europe, and I caught a fine set of theirs at the old Knit here in the U.S. This is the first of three live Powertools discs that we will be carrying and it is an auspicious disc to savor. Each player composes 2 or 3 of the seven long pieces here. Commencing with an exquisite, laid back song on track 1, they start to take off on Frisell's "Strange Meeting" with Bill's guitar buring and twisting those notes inside-out in his own distinctive way. Melvin and Ronald make an immensely powerful rhythm team, they are truly explosive, ever-tight and resourceful here. Track 3 starts with a most impressive electric bass solo from Melvin and then turns into one of those lovely, mellow Frisell-like tunes from the mid-nineties. On track 4, Ronald is playing some sort double-reed called a "schalmai", while the guitar and bass swirl around him. Melvin plays at his most majestic with Bill building into a frenzy. Melvin takes a fine finger-popping bass solo, as Bill & Ronald then swirl around him. Track 5 is one of those great super-quick, intense pieces, bound to keep all those fusion freaks smiling. If I didn't know better, I would think that this was written by Zorn for Naked City a short time later. What is most impressive about this trio is that there is no leader, each member's abilities are well-balanced and used just right. It is sad that the band didn't last long enough to record a second album, no doubt another great one. Frisell soon left and was replaced by Miles Davis alumni Pete Cosey, another odd choice. We can't to hear the two next Powertools live discs, soon to be released as well. - BLG
CD $16

POWER TOOLS [RONALD SHANNON JACKSON/BILL FRISELL/MELVIN GIBBS] - Strange Meeting (self released CDR; USA) [2nd edition CD-R] Experimental, hard-edged and intriguing trio that links surging rock, free-form jazz and funk. Power Tools was a one-off semi-supergroup that, if it didn't quite fulfill expectations, at least offered up this enjoyable album. It's an odd mixture; drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson was in the midst of his time with the free-metal-noise band Last Exit, bassist Melvin Gibbs was involved with various avant funk bands (including that of Arto Lindsay), and the pre-Naked City Bill Frisell was beginning to delve into that hazy area between country/Americana, jazz, and noise. Things don't gel so well when the band gets closer to free improv, as Frisell's inherent gauziness conflicts and deadens the impact of Jackson's more rambunctious approach. Things work better with the more song-oriented pieces, particularly those penned by Gibbs. His "Wadmalaw Island" and "Howard Beach Memoirs" both strike an appropriate balance, allowing Frisell to build on more solid structures while at the same time leaving room for Jackson to embroider freely. Much of the recording ping-pongs between these two poles: pleasant, if overly languid pastoral songs and higher-energy pieces that never quite rev up high enough. The closing rendition of "Unchained Melody," a song dear to Frisell's heart, is very effective. Strange Meeting, an apt title, is worth checking out for Frisell fans who only came to hear his work in the following years. ~ Brian Olewnick, AMG
CD $16

GOLDEN PALOMINOS [ANTON FIER/BILL LASWELL/JOHN ZORN/ARTO LINDSAY/JAMAALADEEN TACUMA/FRED FRITH/NICKY SKOPELITIS et al] - Golden Palominos [Peter Blegvad Cover] (private release CDR; EEC) CD-R with all packaging. First album; This edition sports the rarely seen UK LP graphics done entirely by Peter Blegvad at the behest of Anton Fier! This was the first downtown super-group (from 1983), led by master drummer/composer Anton Fier and featuring an incredible cast/double band - John Zorn (alto sax & bird calls), Arto Lindsay (skronk guitar & vocals) up front, Bill Laswell & Jamaaladeen Tacuma on electric basses and Anton & David Moss on drums & percussion. Guests include Fred Frith on guitars & violin, Nicky Skopelitis on guitars, Michael Beinhorn & Mark E. Miller on assorted things. They were without a doubt the NY's finest progressive/avant/jazz/rock/noise outfit of that era, but that only lasted for a year or so - a revised lineup was cast by Anton to take the Palominos in yet another new direction.
CD $16




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


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!