DMG Newsletter for May 22nd, 2015

Post-Victo Festival Cornucopia of New Discs from Your Faves:

Fred Frith & Evan Parker! Two from Tzadik: Mycale & Jason Eckardt! Two from Intakt: Frith/Katharina Weber/Fredy Studer! Marilyn Crispell & Gerry Hemingway! Two Books from Stuart Broomer: Time & Anthony Braxton!

Arrivals/Departures: 50 Profiles New Horizons in Jazz! Two Books from William Parker! Dawn of Midi! Acid Mothers Temple! Jim O'Rourke! Two Quartets from Jeff Platz! Thomas Brinkman!

Plus Archival Discs from: The Cocoon with Gunter Hampel! Townes van Zandt! Radio Birdman! Durutti Column! More from ESP: Frank Lowe! Marzette Watts & Pharoah Sanders! Miles Davis & Sun Ra LPs! Spider John Koerner! Robbie Basho and More..!

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The DMG Free In-Store Music Schedule Continues with:

Sunday, May 24th:
6pm: SHAYNA DULBERGER - Solo Contrabass
7pm: CRAIG FLANAGAN / HAJNAL PIVNICK - Guitar / Violin

Rare Thursday Set on May 28th:
6:30pm: KAZE Special Solos & Duo Set

Sunday, May 31st:
6pm: OMAR TAMEZ/ANGELICA SANCHEZ/EMILIO "MILO" TAMEZ
7pm: The Velocity Duo: LAUREN LEE & CHARLEY SABATINO

Sunday, June 7th Double-Header:
6pm: CHRIS WELCOME / SAM WEINBERG - Guitar & Tenor Sax!
7pm: NICO SOFFIATO / JOSH DEUTSCH - Guitar & Trumpet!


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Two Gems from Tzadik:

MYCALE [SOFIA REI/AYELET ROSE GOTTLIEB/MALIKA ZARRA/SARA SERPA] - Gomory: The Book Of Angels Volume 25 (Tzadik 8332; USA) One of the most beautiful of all Book of Angels ensembles, Mycale is an evocative a cappella vocal quartet featuring four of the most creative voices in New Music. In their second CD release they are tighter than ever and approach the Masada music with a sensitive ear, an open heart and a creative imagination. Using a variety of texts in Portuguese, Berber, Hebrew, French and Spanish, they fashion lush harmonies and strong rhythmic drive to bring Zorn's lyrical and elusive melodies to life like never before. A transcendent follow up to their debut recording, Gomory is truly Music of the Angels. TZADIK ARCHIVE SERIES
CD $14

JASON ECKARDT - Subject (Tzadik 9006; USA) Jason Eckardt began as a heavy metal guitarist, and turned to contemporary music after hearing Webern. His music is highly complex and retains the energy and intensity of his heavy metal roots. Challenging and highly virtuosic, his compositional language embraces both uptown and downtown. Tzadik has chosen a program of some of his most extreme and intense works performed by JACK, ICE and the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble. TZADIK COMPOSER SERIES
CD $14


Two Wonderful Discs Featuring FRED FRITH:

FRED FRITH / EVAN PARKER - Hello, I Must Be Going (Victo 128; Canada) Featuring Fred Frith on guitar and Evan Parker on soprano & tenor saxes and recorded live in concert at FIMAV 2014 (Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville). Although Fred Frith and Evan Parker are both British and come from around the same scene/generation of Europe's finest free improvisers, this set was only the their third duo performance. Both of these men are master improvisers and this disc/set captures them at their best. He are is excerpt from my review of the concert, "Evan played mostly soprano sax and Fred often had his guitar on his lap with a table filled with objects: an e-bow, chopsticks, an ashtray, paintbrush, etc. Each of these men have their own vocabulary of sounds so they took their time to work their way through a variety of sounds and textures. It helps to actually see what Mr. Frith is doing since he has so many odd/unique ways to play his guitar. At one point, Fred repeatedly tapped on his strings, using his fingers and/or a chopstick shoved between the strings on the neck. The effect was most hypnotic with Evan also playing circular lines, both men weaving their strands together. As Fred would alter his approach to his guitar being held in his hands or on his lap. Evan, who is one of the masters of circular breathing, would also alter his sound to bring the two closer together into a similar exploratory zone. As the set progressed, the exchange got quicker and closer as if they were finishing each other's sentences. This was one of those magical sets where everything works just right, the blend of ideas seamless." - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15


KATHARINA WEBER / FRED FRITH / FREDY STUDER - It Rolls (Intakt 248; Switzerland) Featuring Katharina Weber on piano, Fred Frith on guitar and Fredy Studer on drums. This is a studio recording done in July of 2014. This is the fourth disc that classically trained pianist Katharina Weber has appeared on from the Intakt label over the past few years: solo, trio with Barry Guy, and as a guest for Fred Frith with the Arte Sax Quartett. The great Swiss drummer, Fredy Studer, once worked with Om and is still a member of a great trio with Hans Koch and Martin Schutz. This is the first time that Mr. Frith and Mr. Studer have recorded together. Ms. Weber is a formidable pianist who has specialized in contemporary composed music. The trio sound especially well tuned to each other's abilities and explorations. Mr. Frith uses a variety of objects and devices to alter his guitar which is often placed in his lap. Although it is easier to pick out the acoustic piano and percussion, Mr. Frith's unique sounds often shift through different textural areas. The trio do a wonderful job of casting spells and combining forces. On the first long piece, it sounds as if Ms. Weber is a wind-up jewelry box while Frith and Studer weave an intricate tapestry around her, quietly creating a soft dream-like haze together. Mr. Frith has been playing more acoustic guitar on occasion over the past decade and gets a chance to play some excellent acoustic here as well. There are a number of intense, explosive moments as well, the balance of extremes is always just right. This is an amazing trio that covers a lot of ground together, never knowing where they will end up. It does roll indeed. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $18

MARILYN CRISPELL / GERRY HEMINGWAY - Table of Changes (Intakt 246; Switzerland) Featuring Marilyn Crispell on piano and Gerry Hemingway on drums, percussion & vibes. This disc was recorded live on tour in Austria, the Netherlands and France in May of 2013. Considering the Ms. Crispell and Mr. Hemingway played together in the second outstanding Anthony Braxton Quartet for nearly a decade as well as in duo, trio & other formations, there is a true sense of camaraderie going on throughout this superb offering. The music hear is consistently enchanting, focused and balanced just right. Even when they bring things down to a more minimal landscape, every sound, every nuance counts. This is as good as it gets! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $18


Two Fine Books Written and/or Edited by Stuart Broomer:

TIME and ANTHONY BRAXTON - STUART BROOMER [175 Page Book](Mercury Press ISBN 978; Canada) Saxist/composer/multi-bandleader /philosopher, Anthony Braxton, has produced a vast body of work since his emergence in the mid-sixties, which will take any serious listeners years to fully absorb. As each release, both new and old show, he has evolved through many periods while reinventing himself and his music/view time and again. With upwards of 300 recordings as a leader, soloist or collaborator, new listeners often ask me/us where to begin. With this book, Stuart Broomer has done a marvelous job of unraveling the enigmatic music/view of Anthony Braxton. In eight concise chapters, Mr. Broomer explains the different periods that Mr. Braxton has evolved through. Broomer utilizes (excerpts of) interviews with Mr. Braxton as well as writing clearly and thoughtfully about Mr. Braxton's often complex layer of ideas that make his philosophy of his music and its place in the world. As I read each chapter, I then listen to a Braxton disc from the discussed period to help shed some light on my own understanding of Mr. Braxton's incredible universe. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
BOOK $20

ARRIVALS/DEPARTURES - NEW HORIZONS IN JAZZ - Stuart Broomer/Brian Morton/Bill Shoemaker [240 page BOOK] (Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation; EEC) This most impressive book contains 50 profiles, of many of the important figures & bands of modern jazz from the US, Europe and Japan. What is so great about this book is this: each profile is relatively short and concise (generally 2-6 pages) and provides an excellent overview what makes each of these musicians or bands unique and important. A great of care was taken in the printing with easy-on-the-eye beige pages and superb poster reproductions and pictures of the musicians. The large line-up of musicians includes: Muhal Richard Abrams, Han Bennink, Tim Berne, Ornette Coleman, Dave Douglas, Peter Evans, Barry Guy, Mary Halvorson, Steve lacy, Misha Mengelberg, The Necks, the New York Art Quartet, Matt Shipp, Cecil Taylor, Otomo Yoshihide, Sun Ra, John Zorn, Ingrid Laubrock and Butch Morris. - BLG/DMG
BOOK $20

2 Books from William Parker:

WILLIAM PARKER - Scrapbook: Notes and Blueprints [200 Page Book] (Self-Published; ISBN 978; USA) This book is a journal of sorts by William Parker, the influential Downtown icon, bassist, composer, multi-bandleader and Vision Festival organizer/collaborator. It is comprised of poems, sketches and essays on music, philosophy and aesthetics. Whenever Mr. Parker speaks from the stage, especially for his Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra gigs, he usually tells stories or anecdotes which help us to understand the underlying meaning of whatever project is at hand. The fictitious character Little Huey is someone we all would like to know. I would hope that Mr. Parker does a novel on the character in the future. This charming and provocative book is full of sketches, stories, questions on the meaning of music, lists of Mr. Parker's compositions with details about many of them, liner notes written by Mr. Parker, poems and diary/journal submissions. I dig this book since it is an honest reflection of William's life, thoughts and journeys. Every page has something or several things to consider. It reminds me that we are all struggling to make sense of this crazy world where so little justice and fairness take place. Great work, Mr. Parker!
BOOK $20

WILLIAM PARKER - Voices in the First Person: Art and Language of Lois Eby, Anne Humanfeld, Jo Wood-Brown, and Marilyn Sontag [119 page Book] (Centering 1010; USA) William Parker has written a new book of interviews. Voices in the First Person: Art and Language of Lois Eby, Anne Humanfeld, Jo Wood-Brown, and Marilyn Sontag is chance to hear words from four visual artists whose work has inspired and informed that the greatest art is the art of living. While their work is quite distinct, what they have in common is a shared belief that art belongs to all people and is integral or even essential to a well lived life. Art exist to teach us how to live and how we treat each other, which is the foundation for human progress. Visual, art, music and poetry is a reflection of these concepts or rituals. In addition to William Parker's in-depth interviews with these four women, the book includes beautiful images representative of each artist's work.
BOOK $25


Two Fine New Discs from Matana Roberts Listed Over the Last Few Weeks:

MATANA ROBERTS - Always (Relative Pitch 1036; USA) Featuring Matana Roberts on solo alto sax. This superb disc was recorded in a darkened studio in Brooklyn and is one of tastiest gems of the year. Ms. Roberts closed her eyes and dug deep within to provide us with some sublime, heartfelt sonic medicine. This disc consists of two long "Untitled" pieces, both about 20+ minutes. Ms. Roberts' tone is especially warm, each phrase thoughtfully constructed with jus a hint of real room reverb. The weight of the world seems to weigh on all of us, especially artists who then transform their feelings into something that reflects our plight. For me, this music is like a candle burning which can't be easily extinguished. In the center of the flame is hope for a better day. Ms. Roberts sounds like she is working with fragments of prayer-like melodies at times. Ms. Roberts does a beautiful job of telling a story here with her lone sax, creating characters and scenery as well. "Always" is one of today's most enchanting jewels. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14

MATANA ROBERTS - Coin Coin Chapter Three: River Run Thee (Constellation 110; Canada) Most artists end up looking cautious and blinkered when put next to Matana Roberts and her utterly epic 12-album project Coin Coin, which has now reached its third chapter. She's jokingly described it as "my Ring Cycle", and it's just as weighty. It's an exploration of black history, femininity and American identity, reaching back into the horrors - and moments of glorious emancipation - of the antebellum era and the civil rights struggle. In Chapter One: Gens de Couleur Libres, she used a jazz orchestra, contracting to a smaller ensemble for Chapter Two: Mississippi Moonchile. In chapter three, subtitled river run thee, Roberts strikes out solo, threading her saxophone, improvised song and spoken word through multiple layers of field recordings, in a gorgeously dense journey to the past. - The Guardian
CD $15


ALISTER SPENCE / MYRA MELFORD - Everything Here is Possible (ASM 002; Australia) Featuring Alister Spence and Myra Melford on piano and prepared pianos. Ms. Melford had copies of this disc for sale at The Stone when she did her residency in March of this year (2015). I hadn't heard of Australian pianist Alister Spence before this date, but it turns out that he has more than a half dozen discs out with his own trio plus 3 collaborations with Raymond MacDonald (from Scotland). This disc/set was recorded live in Goossens Hall in Sydney in November of 2012. Both pianists work quite well together and it is hard to tell them apart, whether playing on the keyboard or inside the piano. The longest of five tracks, "A Bird Translates", both pianists move together, creating a web of waves, speeding up and slowing down, yet consistently as one spirit. This is Ms. Melford's second recording with another pianist, the first was with Satoko Fujii. This one is equally amazing and should be heard by all who dig improvised piano at its best. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14


JEFF PLATZ/DANIEL CARTER/FRANCOIS GRILLOT/FEDERICO UGHI - Past & Present Futures (Glitch Records 01; USA) Featuring Jeff Platz on guitar, Daniel Carter on reeds & brass, Francois Grillot on contrabass and Federico Ughi on drums. Boston area-based guitarist, Jeff Platz, played here at DMG a couple of Sundays ago (5/10/15) and left us with a couple of discs on his own Glitch Records label. Each one of these two discs features a different quartet, this is one is his Downtown quartet. According to the notes, this was the first time that bassist Grillot and drummer Ughi played with Mr. Platz. It is hard to tell this from the results here. The quartet sounds very relaxed when they start out, calmly building as they go, free yet focused. Daniel Carter takes his time on each of his half dozen instruments, alto & tenor saxes, flute, clarinet & trumpet, and explores each one at a time. Mr. Platz also changes the sound of his guitar, using occasional devices to manipulate the sound as the quartet evolves. The playing gets more spirited and connected as it evolves and starts to soar about halfway through, higher and higher. This is similar in doe ways to the Bern Nix CD which came out last year and includes some of the same personnel. Be patient and give this some time to unfold, the rewards are within. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $12

JEFF PLATZ/JIM HOBBS/LUTHER GRAY/TIMO SHANKO - Sour Grapes (Glitch Records 003; USA) Featuring Jeff Platz on guitar, Jim Hobbs on alto sax, Timo Shanko on electric bass and Luther Gray on drums. This is Jeff Platz's Boston area-based quartet. You should recognize all of their names from their work with Tim Berne, the Fully Celebrated Orchestra and (for Mr. Hobbs) certain Taylor Ho Bynum and/or Mary Halvorson projects. This quartet kicks things off with a more explosive free sound and remains this way throughout most of this disc. Jim Hobbs is one of the most creative and distinctive saxists to emerge from Boston and is in fine form here, burning and soaring. It does sound like this quartet has played together for a long time as they seem to deal in somewhat structured or directed improv. The music here sounds more organic and unfolds in a most natural way. On a couple of these pieces, the quartet launches into some powerful jazz/rock excursions with spirited alto sax and electric guitar interplay up front. A strong & spirited date from Jeff Platz and his fine quartet. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $12


DAWN OF MIDI [With AMINO BELYAMANI/AAKAASH ISRANI/QASIM NAQVI] - Dysnomia (Erased Tapes 068; UK) Channeled madness - the sound Dawn of Midi spent years shaping culminates in their most mesmerizing work yet. With Dysnomia, the Brooklyn-based group abandons improvisation in favor of composition, utilizing sophisticated rhythmic structures from North- and West-African folk traditions to weave a sonic tapestry of trance-inducing grooves. "We didn't want to create anything cerebral," says pianist Amino Belyamani, "we wanted something visceral, something that would awaken our instinctive dance impulses." The manner by which a trio of solely acoustic instruments ends up sounding like electronic music has to do with the unconventional ways the group play their instruments on Dysnomia. The record comes to life in the trio's critically acclaimed live shows, a test of endurance and trust that involves performing their hand-looped acoustic minimalism note for note, just as the compositions were recorded. Dawn of Midi's sets are as energetic and rhythmic as a seamlessly mixed DJ set, mesmerizing fans in the same way the group's favorite experimental and electronic acts have for decades. The album was recorded to two-inch tape at Waterfront Studios in Hudson, New York, a former church that was purchased and transformed into an analog recording playground by the great engineer Henry Hirsch. Rusty Santos then mixed the album to make sure it would hit as hard as the group's favorite electronic albums do in spite of being entirely acoustic. "We wanted to make a record that sounded both musically futuristic and sonically vintage," explains bassist Aakaash Israni, "and since the album never saw a proper international release, it is very exciting to see what might happen when more people are exposed to it. And to be aligned with Erased Tapes, whose enthusiasm for the music they release has done a lot for exposing unique instrumental and electronic music, makes it that much more interesting." Swiss artist Fabian Oefner created the cover image by placing paint on a spinning drill bit and firing it at a canvas, then capturing it with high-speed photography. Formed in 2007, the band happened upon their name after drummer Qasim Naqvi casually uttered the phrase in reference to the improvised music the trio was making at the time; they had no idea that years later they would make an album like Dysnomia that would make their name appear fateful.
$15 CD
$25 2-LP Set


ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE & THE MELTING PARAISO U.F.O. - Benzaiten (Important 425; USA) Another smoker from Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O., in typically fine form. Benzaiten is an In C-style homage to the classic Osamu Kitajima record Benzaiten (1973). Acid Mothers Temple covers the title-track and reprise using Kitajima's original composition as a departure point to explore the outer realms of AMT territory. Further instrumental explorations reveal textures of the original composition while launching out further into the cosmic domain. Numerous Acid Mothers originals are scattered in between. Benzaiten!
CD $15


JIM O'ROURKE - Simple Songs (Drag City 620; USA) "Yes, Simple Songs is an album of songs sung by Jim O'Rourke all the way through! It has been ten years since Jim's voice rang out from a new album. Ah, when James Michael was just a wee lad, he sang all the time, with a lovely little lilt to his voice, like all the children do. But the songs he sang gave his parents no end of consternation: 'Great Decei-verrr! Cigarettes, ice cream, figurines... of the Vir-gin Mar-eeee!' Aye, if only we'd-a been there -- little Jimmy's career would have started much sooner. Child labor laws be damned! It's hard to believe it has been nearly fourteen years since Insignificance. When that album hit in late 2001, we heard once or twice how it was too bad that it wasn't Eureka Part 2. Sissies! Then in 2009, when The Visitor returned Jim to the orchestrated instrumental feel of Bad Timing, people wondered when we'd have another album like Insignificance! Grrrr.... now, has the world caught up with Jim? Maybe -- but only because he let us. What Simple Songs sounds like.... At this point, the range of sounds and songs that have turned Jim's head are numerous enough to have crushed together into something that is unmistakably his -- the vast, glossy and glittering O'Rourkian (yes, like Kervorkian) wall of sound. The music's got OCD quality, played so immaculately by so many instruments, and most of them by the creator's hand. This time's really the widest screen yet for Jim's popular song-style, truly breathtaking! As for the songs themselves, one may have to resist the urge to skim the lyrics to try and guess who the target of each ditty might be -- but this ain't 'You're So Vain,' okay kids? And you're definitely NOT Warren Beatty. Simple Songs was worked over, from source material to finished mix, for five years or more now. Jim's writing is kinda rooted in the approach of Insignificance -- frosted pop tarts that leave a darkly bitter aftertaste. So bilious not even Jim can listen to it all the way through! Fine, it's not for him to listen to anymore -- WE can't stop from listening. It's like a beautiful car wreck we can't look away from or stop feeling AMAZING about. Super fun stuff."
CD $14


THOMAS BRINKMANN - What You Hear (Is What You Hear) (Editions Mego 204; Austria) Thomas Brinkmann is renowned for audio works that hover among forms such as techno, minimalism, and ambient. Alongside such pioneering works as Klick (2000), Studio 1 - Variationen (1997), and 2012's duo with Oren Ambarchi, The Mortimer Trap (BT 006CD), with What You Hear (Is What You Hear) Brinkmann moves further to separate his art, not only from descriptive musical terms that oppress creative output, but also from the notion of an author in the act of creation. The 11 tracks on display form a series of self-perpetuating rhythms that exist more as sound structures than as any kind of traditional sound forms. Any associations, emotions, and reactions are purely in the reasoning of the listener as the artist makes a strong and deliberate move away from intent. This is a strident development in the conceptual thinking of Brinkmann's solid career, one that places the listener simultaneously inside and outside objective parameters. Dedicated to Zbigniew Karwkowski. Design by Stephen O'Malley.
$16 CD


MORT GARSON - Mother Earth's Plantasia (Fifth Dimension 5003; Germany) Mort Garson is well known as one of the pioneers of electronic music in the late '60s; some may have heard of his contributions to quite a few pop hits back in the day, when he wrote and conducted orchestral arrangements for one or another popular artist. During the second half of the 1960s Mort Garson and his sidekicks Paul Beaver and Jacques Wilson, among others, discovered Robert Moog's synthesizer and made it an integral part of their future-pop music even before Wendy Carlos released her famous and fabulous Switched-On Bach album in 1968. Garson recorded and released Mother Earth's Plantasia a few years after his albums The Zodiac: Cosmic Sounds (1967), The Wozard of Iz: An Electronic Odyssey (1968), and Lucifer: Black Mass (1971). Every fan of unique psychedelic (The Zodiac) and mind-bending electronic music (the two others) should certainly lend an ear to these three masterpieces, but there was more to come. Plantasia, originally released in 1976 and not reissued since until now, is subtitled "warm earth music for plants... and the people who love them." As you can imagine, it's a rather bright affair, far from the dark and seething atmosphere of the earlier electronic pieces. A shining diversity of stylistic devices creates dreamy and colorful compositions, warm yet haunting, with a rather sinister vibe in their most playful and surreal moments. It's a feeling that, despite the apparent peace and relaxation, something utterly dire is about to rise up. Still, these are only a few passages, and when Mort Garson and his mates move on from lush orchestral soul arrangements to more tribal sounds, you will drift with them from one scene of your inner mind-movie to the next. The technical options had improved since the late '60s, and the album features electronic percussion that conjures up memories of records by German electronic pioneers from the same era such as Cluster, Kraftwerk, and Tangerine Dream. And despite the twinkle-toed harmonies and big arrangements that point at the big band music and orchestral pop from which Mort Garson originated, the whole work is futuristic and intriguing. Rather like an old science fiction movie than a horror film, though its identity is open to interpretation. The best way to enjoy this masterpiece of synthesizer music is to lay back and close your eyes while drifting away into a territory still unknown to man.
$16 CD


SACRI CUORI With EVAN LURIE/MARC RIBOT/STEVE SHELLEY/ et al - Delone (Glitterbeat 24; Geremany) The music of Sacri Cuori is a kaleidoscopic road trip through imaginary '60/'70s soundtrack music and post-folk sonics from Italy, Europe, and beyond. Sacri Cuori only half-jokingly call themselves the bastard children of Fellini. Their sound palette is defined by a moody, Adriatic twang, falling somewhere between the old-time dance music of their native Romagna and Lynch's Mulholland Drive; between Santo & Johnny and Ry Cooder (or Brian Eno). Of course Ennio Morricone and Nino Rota are also present, as are Riz Ortolani, Piero Piccioni, Piero Umiliani, Armando Trovajoli, and other maestros of Italian film music's golden age. Delone was crafted over two years in a series of sessions in which the band consciously stretched their identity. Core personnel Antonio Gramentieri (guitars and more), Francesco Giampaoli (bass and beyond), and Diego Sapignoli (drums and percussion) recorded the album with Francesco Valtieri (baritone saxophone), Denis Valentini (percussion, horns, and more), Christian Ravaglioli (keys and horns), and Enrico Bocchini (drums and percussion). While still primarily an instrumental affair, the album introduces the resplendent voice of Carla Lippis, the last Italian diva, whom Sacri Cuori met in Australia and brought back to her ancestral homeland (and language). She sings in both English and Italian. Other vocalists include French chanteuse Emmanuelle Sigal, Howe Gelb of the famed American cult band Giant Sand, and Adam Gladyszek (Snake Charmer). As always, Sacri Cuori is more like an enlarged family than a fixed ensemble, and other guests include Evan Lurie (The Lounge Lizards, soundtracks for Roberto Benigni's films) on keyboards, guitar pioneer Marc Ribot (Tom Waits), drummer Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth), and members of the Mexican Cumbia sensations Sonido Gallo Negro. While certainly beholden throughout to its Italian musical roots, Delone collides in unpredictable ways with a variety of global sound transmissions. The breathless rush of the surf-driven opener "Bendigo" cuts hard to the sultry romanticism of the second song "Una Danza," which in turn, slyly gives way to the nostalgic twang of "La Marabina." The album flows like this for the duration, brilliantly touching upon disparate sound-worlds that range from the pastoral ("Billy Strange") to the cosmopolitan (the Gainsbourg-influenced "Serge") to the classically pop ("Delone"). There is passion and adventure, excitation and sadness. There is a magnificent sense of wonder. Delone plays like a treasured notebook full of restless dreams and nostalgic sketches, all of it edited together like an old, suspenseful TV movie.
$17 CD


Archival & Historic Section:

TOWNES VAN ZANDT - Whole Coffeehouse, Minneapolis MN 9 November 1973 (Echoes 2023; UK) "Townes van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world, and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that" --Steve Earle, 1995. Townes van Zandt was at the peak of his career in 1973. Fresh off releasing two of his finest albums a year earlier (High, Low and In Between and The Late, Great Townes Van Zandt), his celebrated appearances also grew in stature. Likewise, as a number of his other live performances demonstrate, the Whole Coffeehouse set features nothing but the man and his guitar, something that could stand at odds with a number of his cherished studio recordings. For a man whose own battles with the bottle were notorious (and made for an unpredictable on-stage career), his focus here is acute and laser-sharp, every syllable perfectly placed with each ephemeral note carefully conveying their purpose. This performance at the Whole Coffeehouse in 1973 is an essential addition to the late, great van Zandt discography. Whether singing a quiet, introspective country-folk song or a driving, hungry blues riff, van Zandt's lyrics and melodies were filled with the kind of haunting truth and succulent beauty that were instinctive. This was soul music; it came straight from his soul by way of a kind heart and an honest mind. Melancholic, reflective, and always pure and devout, his story is our story. This is the complete original FM broadcast of Townes van Zandt's landmark appearance at the Whole Coffeehouse in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1973. Digitally remastered sound; includes background liners and rare photos.
$17 CD


THE COCOON With GUNTER HAMPEL/THOMAS KEYERLING/JURGEN GLEUE/ et al - While the Recording Engineer Sleeps (Staubgold 138; Germany) First reissue of While the Recording Engineer Sleeps, the first album by The Cocoon, recorded in 1985 and originally released in 1989. The Cocoon was a kind of psychedelic supergroup featuring legendary figures of the German music scene of the 1960s, '70s, and '80s: Gunter Hampel (vibraphone, piano, flute, bass clarinet, lead vocals), Jurgen Gleue (lead vocals, bass, guitar), Matthias Arfmann (guitar, bass organ, electric piano, lead vocals), Rudiger Klose (drums, vocals), and Thomas Keyserling (flute, alto saxophone). Most songs were written by Hampel and Gleue with Gleue providing the lyrics. The legendary jazz composer, bandleader, vibraphonist, bass clarinetist, flutist, and baritone saxophonist Gunter Hampel is one of the most influential musicians, composers, and pioneers of the worldwide jazz evolution. He is the major instigator of the European jazz movement since 1958. On his own Birth Records label he has recorded more than 200 albums, most of them together with his Galaxie Dream Band. Jurgen Gleue was a founding member of the infamous neo-psychedelic band 39 Clocks, with whom he released four albums between 1981 and 1987. Under the moniker Phantom Payn, he later recorded another six albums of acid-driven psychedelia, and, together with Rudiger Klose, he also played in the psychedelic rock band Exit Out. Klose also contributed to 39 Clocks, Phantom Payn, and avant-garde group Die Kastrierten Philosophen. First known as a founding member of Die Kastrierten Philosophen, Matthias Arfmann later became famous as the producer of German hip-hop/reggae star Jan Delay. And Thomas Keyserling, also a member of Hampel's Galaxie Dream Band, played with Agitation Free and was a guest musician on two legendary 1970 German krautrock albums: Tangerine Dream's Electronic Meditation and Amon Duul II's Yeti.
CD $17


D.R. HOOKER - The Truth (PSI 002-01; Germany) D.R. Hooker was a musician from the Connecticut scene of the early '70s who gathered a bunch of willing hired guns to back him up instrumentally for his debut hard psych/prog album, The Truth, which was originally released in an edition of 99 copies in 1972. There may be more obscure records (like Stonewall's sole album (KIS 4004CD/LP)) with print runs of even smaller sizes, but D.R. Hooker's The Truth is definitely one of the most iconic records in the field of US hard rock. Despite a somewhat rough and unpolished sound, the music is definitely intriguingly composed, well executed and backed with feelings of peace or passion, depending on the song. The fervid opener "The Sea" is one of the best testaments to the brilliant songwriting ability of hippie singer/songwriter Donald R. Hooker. A pulsating rhythm of regular drums and obsessively beaten percussions, held together by an ever-pumping bass guitar, is the background for an epic, picturesque vocal melody riding on a guitar stampede with excessive leads. The following tracks include a gentle pop tune, a steaming funky rocker with an easy and relaxed vocal line, and another quite progressively structured composition of crushing heaviness. Each note here is captivating and will inspire you down to the bare bones. Hard to compare this music but it ranges from pop psych of the highest order in the vein of the Strawberry Alarm Clock, to powerful late '60s rock with a funky attitude as played by so many rock bands those days, to thought-provoking singer/songwriter tunes in the vein of Neil Young, Nick Drake, or even Donovan, with alternately lush and sparse arrangements. And there's way more than that. Haunting synthesizer lines on powerful guitars build an epic beginning for a fuzzed-out yet relaxed garage rocker that could be a lost outtake of a Jefferson Airplane session with The Seeds. The whole album bears a homemade feeling and creates a very imaginative atmosphere. Next to the ten original tracks of The Truth, this reissue also includes six of eight songs that were recorded in 1974 and released in 1979 as Armageddon, coming on with the same power as The Truth. '60s psychedelia, dramatic pop, progressive power rock, and great folky bits and pieces flow into each other. The result is music in full blossom, colorful and thrilling.
CD $15


YAMASUKI - Le Monde Fabuleux Des Yamasuki (Far Eastern Sunshine 002; Italy) The weirdest exploito-pop attempting to fuse western popular music with folkloristic elements of different origins came from the '60s and early-to-mid-'70s. Among tons of more or less entertaining releases a few diamonds could be found and Le Monde Fabuleux Des Yamasuki (1971), the brainchild of French composers Jean Kluger and Daniel Vangarde, is definitely a stand-out production in this field. "Yamasuki" is a fictional Japanese person about whom Kluger and Vangarde created a musical concept story with a black-belt judo-master doing all the battle-shouts and a female choir, the so-called Yamasuki Singers, taking the lead vocal duties. All-Japanese-language lyrics, of course, with strange grammar. At least, it sounds Japanese -- that's all that matters. The music itself is a simmering mixture of typical bloomy late '60s pop music with a psychedelic edge, elements of funk in the rhythmic department, and some fuzzed-out acid rock tunes thrown in for good measure. The Eastern flavor might just be an illusion due to the language but all in all Yamasuki is a beautiful western pop art vision of Japanese music. In fact it sounds and feels like many contemporary bands and projects that combined colorful power pop with a heavier guitar sound and regional peculiarities, resulting in a simmering sound cocktail with fresh and exciting melodies. Yamasuki comes close to Omega (Hungary), AKA (Indonesia), and San Ul Lim (South Korea), even as an exploito-pop project. Fans of rich melody patterns will have their minds blown by this album. With Latin-based funk and samba rhythms flowing beneath a lush vocal arrangement, as in "Okawa," Yamasuki is made to abduct you from reality and lead you into some exotic dreams. Well produced and well executed. Close your eyes, drink some sake, and find yourself transported to an ancient Japan as it exists only in your dreams.
CD $16


RADIO BIRDMAN - Radios Appear (1972 IF 055; USA) "Deniz Tek moved from Ann Arbor, MI, to Australia and founded Radio Birdman in 1974 with Rob Younger and the rest of The Rats' rhythm section. By the time Radios Appear was recorded in 1977, the group was already legendary with a cult-like following and an ascetic devotion to the fierce 1960s rock 'n' roll Tek assimilated as a Michigan resident. Homage to these influences is one aspect of Radios Appear. It boasts a fiery cover of 13th Floor Elevators' 'You're Gonna Miss Me,' the lyrics to 'Do the Pop' wax nostalgic for The Stooges and MC5, and 'Radio Birdman' was, of course, taken from a misheard lyric in The Stooges' '1970.' However, Radio Birdman's maverick performances and songwriting on this debut elevate them far beyond pure pastiche. Opener 'What Gives?' kicks the record off at an alarmingly fast pace inspired by punk's new up-tempo glee, but the trotting bass lines and savage guitar solos that follow reveal a staunch rejection of punk's then-hip ineptitude. Hyperactive riffs underpin vocalist Younger's assertive, clear delivery, and Pip Hoyle takes a brilliant keyboard solo. Each instrument is separate in the mix--the production highlights Birdman's technical proficiency honed for years in Sydney's few rock clubs with open doors to the uniformed sect of elitist rockers."
CD $17

THE DURUTTI COLUMN - LC (1972 IF 51; USA) "After debut album The Return of the Durutti Column was released, Vini Reilly decided to record its follow-up himself on a four-track cassette deck at home. Teaming up with drummer and fellow Manchester native Bruce Mitchell, the second Durutti Column album LC (named after Lotta Continua, a far-left radical Italian group) was another inspired musical collaboration. Though self-produced, the album retained traces of Reilly's earlier work with Martin Hannett. This second set of evocative electric guitar compositions features a melding of Reilly's urbane, contemplative style with Mitchell's crisp, deliberate drumming. LC opens with 'Sketch for Dawn (1)', incorporating Reilly's unadorned spoken / sung vocals. The duo syncs up perfectly on album highlights such as the up-tempo 'Jacqueline,' the intimate 'Messidor,' and 'The Missing Boy,' a tribute to Reilly's friend Ian Curtis of Joy Division."
CD $17


Essential RESTOCKS from ESP-Disk:

FRANK LOWE With JOSEPH JARMAN/RAYMOND LEE CHENG/WILLIAM PARKER/RASHID SINAN] - The Loweski (ESP-Disk 4066; USA) This disc contains a track that is the unreleased beginning portion of this 1973 Frank Lowe concert which was released as the "Black Beings" album. This incredible performance is filled with the fire and drive Frank Lowe was projecting on his tenor sax in 1973. This extended track titled "The Lowesky" is set in a five part suite form. Each performer is allowed ample time to express his individual contributions to this phenomenal group. The Band: Frank Lowe-tenor sax, Joseph Jarman -soprano, Raymond Lee Cheng (The Wizard) - violin, William Parker - bass and drummer Rashid Sinan perform admirably on this 38 minute performance.
CD $12

MARZETTE WATTS & COMPANY With SONNY SHARROCK/BYARD LANCASTER/CLIFFORD THORTON/KARL BERGER/ et al - Marzette Watts & Company (ESP-Disk 1044; USA) In 1966, Marzette Watts recorded, engineered and produced his first and only album. The music reflects the turbulence of 1966 at the height of the Civil Rights Movement and the growing war in Vietnam. The Alabama born saxophonist/clarinetist had a short lived career as a member of the sixties avant-garde, but achieved legendary status for the company he kept in his Cooper Square loft where the likes of Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor, Don Cherry, Archie Shepp, and Pharoah Sanders often congregated. This debut date is best known for the presence of players, who like Watts, were to become renowned for the rareness of their recorded output, including Sonny Sharrock, Byard Lancaster, Clifford Thornton, Karl Berger and Henry Grimes.
CD $12

PHAROAH SANDERS With DON CHERRY QUINTET or PAUL BLEY QUARTET or SUN RA ARKESTRA And HIS SOLAR ARKESTRA - In the Beginning 1963 - 64 [4 CD Set](ESP-Disk 4069; USA) This four-CD set documents the first recordings of the iconic tenor saxophonist, prior to his well-known association with John Coltrane. Beginning with two previously unreleased sessions with Ornette Coleman alumni Don Cherry and Paul Bley, followed by Pharoah's debut date as a leader for ESP-Disk', and concluding with the first issue ever of the complete December 30 and 31, 1964, concerts with Sun Ra at Judson Hall, Sanders's only known recordings with the Arkestra. The set also includes rare recorded interviews with Sanders, Cherry, Bley, and Ra by project producer Michael D. Anderson. Personnel: Don Cherry, Paul Bley, Sun Ra, David Izenzon, Paul Motian, Jane Getz, Marshall Allen, Alan Silva, Ronnie Boykins, and many more!
4 CD Set $40

TIGER HATCHERY - Sun Worship (ESP-Disk 5003; USA) Chicago power-jazz trio Tiger Hatchery proudly comes out of the ESP-Disk' free jazz tradition, as saxophonist Mike Forbes's playing makes clear, but there's an added noise-rock edge, especially in Ben Billington's aggressive drumming, that keeps the sound modern. Bassist Andrew Scott Young does much more than lay down the bottom, emerging as a fully equal member of their glorious cacophony. This is one of the most powerful albums in the storied history of ESP-Disk', and that's saying something! Liner notes by John Olson of Wolf Eyes. Mike Forbes, saxophones; Andrew Scott Young, basses; Ben Billington, drums.
CD $12


LP Section:

MILES DAVIS QUINTET With WAYNE SHORTER/HERBIE HANCOCK/ALBERT STINSON/TONY WILLIAMS - Harmon Gymnasium, University of California, Berkeley CA, April 7th 1967 (Keyhole 9034; UK) This remarkable 1967 concert finds Miles Davis playing with his second quintet: Wayne Shorter (tenor saxophone), Herbie Hancock (piano), Albert Stinson (bass), and Tony Williams (drums). Recorded for broadcast on KALX radio, it features the only live recording of "Dolores" by this group, and their last known recording of "Stella By Starlight." An incendiary document of a great artist at the peak of his powers, it's presented here with background notes and images. Digitally remastered.
LP $24


SUN RA & HIS INTERGALACTIC MYTH SCIENCE SOLAR ARKESTRA - Sleeping Beauty (Art Yard 3N-LP; Netherlands) One of the more delicate recordings of Sun Ra's 28-strong Arkestra, Sleeping Beauty drifts in on a cloud of cosmic dust, sounding unlike anything before or after. With drummer Luqman Ali keeping the narcotic funk, but with dreamy solos from other key Arkestra players like John Gilmore, Michael Ray, and Marshall Allen, no Sun Ra collection is complete without this LP. Inspired space-age lullaby music, originally released on Saturn Records in 1979.
LP $16


ZEITKRATZER - Column One: Entropium (KarlRecords 20; Germany) Five compositions by the Berlin-based electroacoustic/industrial collective Column One in stunning interpretations by zeitkratzer, recorded live at Berghain during MaerzMusik 2012. Since their inception in 1997, zeitkratzer have built a reputation for their unique approach, their outstanding and internationally acclaimed members, and their adventurous projects that include collaborations with noise musicians like Merzbow and Zbigniew Karkowski, rock 'n' roll experimentalists like Lou Reed and William Bennett (Whitehouse), electronic musicians like Carsten Nicolai and Terre Thaemlitz, reinterpretations of Schonberg and Bach, as well as performances of music by composers such as Helmut Lachenmann, James Tenney, and Karlheinz Stockhausen. Column One and zeitkratzer first worked together in the late '90s at Podewil, which was at that time the most influential and vanguard location in Berlin. For these compositions, presented here for the first time, Column One's mastermind Robert Schalinski developed five scores for acoustic instruments based on electroacoustic sound files. These scores were transcribed by Reinhold Friedl and the zeitkratzer musicians, refining and working them out together, using the complexity and sensuality of their amplified instrumental sound that matches perfectly the "industrial musique concrete" of the Berlin-based artist collective (which Rashad Becker joined in 2013) who cite Dada and the Surrealists as important influences. Pressed on 180-gram vinyl; presented in gatefold sleeve; includes download code. Limited to 300 copies.
LP $21


VITO RICCI - I Was Crossing a Bridge [2 LP Set] (Music from Memory 005; Netherlands) On the leading edge of NYC's underground music scene, Vito Ricci produced only a handful of self-released cassettes and one LP between 1983 and 1985, with most of his work recorded for experimental theater and performance art pieces. Taking their label name from Ricci's only LP, Music From Memory brings together a compilation of works by one of the unsung heroes of New York's downtown music scene. Starting out as a percussionist, Ricci's early musical journey led him to improvised and experimental jazz; working alongside such luminary musicians as Rashied Ali, Byard Lancaster, Peter Zummo, and Yousef Yancey. He quickly became involved in the avant-garde scene with spoken word performances, film scores for independent movies, and even performances with punk bands at venues such as CBGB's and the Mudd Club, and his compositions drew on all of these influences while channeling them through his experiments with synthesizers and drum computers. Drawing comparisons with New York's downtown no-wave scene, Vito's compositions blend his unique use of intricate percussion with a wide sphere of musical influences to create a world of hypnotizing ambient, meditative minimal-synth, dubbed-out electronic funk, and even left-field boogie. With most of Vito Ricci's music remaining previously unreleased, the compilation I Was Crossing A Bridge unveils Ricci's unique and visionary take on electronic music.
2 LP Set $30


ROBBIE BASHO - The Falconer's Arm Vol. 1 (No Label 1017) First reissue of Robbie Basho's The Falconer's Arm, Vol. 1, originally released by John Fahey's Takoma label in 1967. The Falconer's Arm pair of LPs (this record and the simultaneously reissued Vol. 2 (C 1018LP)) is widely considered Basho's best work; monumental pieces of folk guitar invention from the pioneer, fusing the drones of Indian raga with flamenco and traditional folk. Fully remastered with excellent sound. Limited edition pressing of 500 copies.
LP $19

ROBBIE BASHO - The Falconer's Arm Vol. 2 (No Label 1018) First reissue of Robbie Basho's The Falconer's Arm, Vol. 2, originally released by John Fahey's Takoma label in 1967. The Falconer's Arm pair of LPs (this record and the simultaneously reissued Vol. 1 (C 1017LP)) is widely considered Basho's best work; monumental pieces of folk guitar invention from the pioneer, with guitar lines in unusual tunings influenced by both blues and Indian music. Fully remastered with excellent sound. Limited edition pressing of 500 copies.
LP $19


SPIDER JOHN KOERNER - Some American Folk Songs Like They Used To (Nero's Neptune 019; USA) After moving to Denmark in 1972 and abandoning music for a spell, the legendary Spider John Koerner returned to the U.S. in 1974 to record an LP for Dave Ray's Sweet Jane label. The resulting record is one of the finest of his 50-plus-year career. As its title implies, the album displays a conscious move away from the folk-blues stylings of earlier recordings and toward an embrace of traditional American folk music. The enduring quality of its songs is evidenced by their continued inclusion on Koerner's set lists over 40 years later. This first-ever reissue of Some American Folk Songs Like They Used To is the fourth release by Koerner on Nero's Neptune. Available in a limited artist's edition of 300 numbered copies, the record is mastered from remarkably well-preserved first-generation reel-to-reel tapes. The lacquers were cut by Ralph Karsten at Atma-Sphere, and the LP pressed at RTI. There is no digital technology used at any point in the process. Not only is the sound better than on the original 1974 release, but the beautiful, hand-printed covers feature new and improved artwork from a woodblock designed by Nero's Neptune art director and recording artist Paul Metzger.
LP $24


ALVARO - Drinkin My Own Sperm (Feeding Tube 174; USA) "Beautiful reissue of the 1977 debut solo LP by Alvaro -- the Chilean with the Singing Nose. Alvaro Pena-Rojas was an advertising exec who ended up living in a squat in London when he chucked his professional career to fulfill his dream of being a musician. Rooming with he-who-would-become Joe Strummer, Alvaro was a founding member of the squat's pub-rock band, The 101ers. After the Pistols opened for The 101ers at the Nashville Rooms, Strummer felt like he was destined to become a punk, and founded The Clash. Alvaro took his own trio into the studio (along with singer Cathy Williams, then in Red Balune with her boyfriend, Geoff Leigh) and used his savings to record Drinkin My Own Sperm, which he then had pressed up on his own Squeaky Shoes label. The music is a mad melange -- like Andean lounge music in parts, like berserk early Eno in others, and filled with the strange joy of Alvaro's keyboard inventions throughout. The album's title-track -- which Alvaro has long claimed was an ode to his lonely existence in London -- strikes us more like the move of a canny marketer. Because of its title, the record was banned on the BBC and often noted in contemporary mainstream journals as yet another sign of the disgrace that was punk. Of course, we leave the ultimate decision to you, but one has to wonder. This new release has both the lyric insert that accompanied the second pressing back in '78, as well as an historical booklet penned by Brian Turner (of WFMU) and Byron Coley. 800 copies were pressed." - Byron Coley, 2015
LP $18




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