DMG Newsletter for September 4th, 2015:

Summer's Almost Gone But DMG is Here to Stay!
So Let's See What's Happening This Week in
The Wild, Weird World of Challenging Music!
Check Out the Assortment of Discs from These Fine Folks:

Mary Halvorson Solo! Fumio Yasuda/Uri Caine/Arditti String Quartet! ErstAeu Series: Kevin Parker/Vanessa Rossetto & Devin DiSanto/Nick Hoffman! Three from Cold Blue: Peter Garland, Michael Byron & Chas Smith! Chico Freeman & Heiri Kanzig!

Lydia Lunch Retrovirus! Alex Ward/Weasel Walter/James Sedwards! Joelle Leandre & Akosh S! Bill Horist! Four Plus from Dr. Chadbourne: Sunny Murray/Peter Kowald/Derek Bailey/Ed Cassidy/Charles Tyler/Toshinori Kondo..! Three More from Leap of Faith & The Great Divide!

8 + 8 Albums from Yusef Lateef! Bali 1928! Flora Purim & Airto Moreira! Willie Dixon! The Cramps! LPs from Paul Metzger! Francisco Lopez! Peter Brotzmann & Hamid Drake! Clifford Thorton! Roy Ayers! Blind Willie McTell! Fairport Convention! The Witch Box and Much More!

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The DMG FREE Weekly In-Store Concert Series Continues With:

Sunday, September 6th: No In-store as Bruce will be out of town At the Chicago Jazz Fest & Attending an Important Wedding!

Sunday, September 13th:
6pm: JOSEPH LITTLEFIELD - Solo Acoustic Guitar!

Sunday, September 20th - Hosted by Chris Pitsiokos
6pm: DANIEL LEVIN & CHRIS PITSIOKOS - Cello & Alto Sax!

Sunday, September 27th & Monday & September 28th:
FONT FEST Comes to DMG! FONT is The Festival of New Trumpet 2015

Sunday, September 27th - Triple-Header - $10 for the Night! Curated by Aaron Shragge & Featuring:
7pm: THE SPIN QUARTET: Chad McCullough/Geof Bradfield/Clark Sommers/Dana Hall!
8pm: MATTERHORN: John Blevins/Jeff McLaughlin/Marty Kenney/Nathan Ellman-Bell!
9pm: LEO HARDMAN-HILL Group!

Monday, September 28th - Triple-Header - $10 for the Night
Curated by Nate Wooley and Featuring:
7pm: ILLIONAIRES: Jaimie Branch/Anthony Pirog/Jason Ajemian!
8pm: JOE MOFFETT - Solo Trumpet!
9pm: BRANDON LEWIS/BEN CARR/KEVIN THEODORE/DAVID FRAZIER, JR.

DMG is located at 13 Monroe St. (between Catherine & Market Sts) in a basement below a Buddhist temple. Take the F train to East Broadway or the 4, 5 or 6 to Canal or the B or D to Grand, or the M-15 bus to Madison & Catherine


***** And for the New Treasures:

MARY HALVORSON - Meltframe (Firehouse 12 - 4021; USA) Mary Halvorson's "Meltframe" is the product of three years of gestation and refinement. Initially conceived as a solo guitar album made up of jazz standards, the final document is comprised of modern compositions long admired by Mary, the oldest being Duke Ellington's "Solitude." The remainder of the pieces date from the early 1960s, through to Tomas Fujiwara's contemporary "When." In a twist befitting a player with such an original voice, the compositions Mary chose to interpret are not exclusively from composers who have informed her playing and music from the beginning (such as Roscoe Mitchell, Ornette Coleman, and Oliver Nelson), but also by contemporaries: Chris Lightcap, Noel Akchote, and Fujiwara. Viewed as the personal - and often revealing - statement that solo documents often are, "Meltframe" traces Mary's path from the beginning to the present. Track Listing: "Cascades" (Oliver Nelson), "Blood" (Annette Peacock), Cheshire Hotel (Noel Akchote), "Sadness" (Ornette Coleman), "Solitude" (Duke Ellington), "Ida Lupino" (Carla Bley), "Aisha" (McCoy Tyner), "Platform" (Chris Lightcap), "When" (Tomas Fujiwara) and "Leola" (Roscoe Mitchell). Over the past few years, I've come admire Ms. Halvorson for making big strides in her guitar playing, composing and improvising in tricky situations. Whether playing in one of several bands with Ingrid Laubrock, Kris Davis, Tom Rainey and/or Tomas Fujiwara, she never ceases to amaze me. She has done a number of guitar duos with giants like Marc Ribot, Bill Frisell, Nels Cline and Elliott Sharp, and shines no matter what. A recent duo with Bill Frisell at The Stone and trio with John Zorn and Frisell, was one this year's highlights. I haven't heard Mary play solo guitar yet or even heard this disc, but I am excited as you should be. Find out why everyone who is anyone is talking about Mary Halvorson's guitar playing. - BLG/DMG
CD $14


FUMIO YASUDA/URI CAINE/ARDITTI STRING QUARTET/TEODORO ANZELLOTTI//MAURICIO KAGEL/LUCIANO BERIO/SAVATORE SCIARRINO/ARVO PART/HERB ABRAHAMSEN - The Rest is Silence: Music of Our Time (Winter & Winter 910226; Germany) Music of our Time is often said to be solely intellectual, inharmonious, and inaudible to human ears. It is due to ignorance and prejudice that contemporary classical compositions are living an unjustly shadowy existence. This new album offers the opportunity to get acquainted with music around the turn of the millennium. Mauricio Kagel, famous for his visionary sounds, condenses the atmosphere of our times into new sonorities in an enjoyable, humorous, and sometimes satirical way. A form of new romanticism is the keyword for Fumio Yasuda's work and Hans Abrahamsen is counted among the representatives of the new simplicity. This album is not made for specialists of new music; rather, it is an invitation to overcome a fear of the unknown! The other composers include: Arvo Part, Luciano Berio and Salvatore Sciarrino. Uri Caine and Fumio Yasuda take both roles here as pianists and composers. 30 years ago Stefan Winter recorded his debut production for JMT (Jazz Music Today). The early works were exactly at the transition point from analogue to digital recording techniques. Without digital technology the AudioFilms such as "Orient-Express", "Metropolis Shanghai" and "Wagner e Venezia" would have been unthinkable. Besides these AudioFilms, Stefan Winter developed artist editions with Teodoro Anzellotti, Theo Bleckmann, Uri Caine, Mauricio Kagel, Paul Motian (1988-2011), Ernst Reijseger and Fumio Yasuda to name only few. Kagel and Motian, two artists from entirely different worlds, inspired Winter again and again to dare new things. At the end of the 80s, Stefan Winter and Mariko Takahashi met in Japan. Under the direction of Mariko Takahashi the festival Taboo-Lu was initiated in Ginza in Tokyo, a notable presentation with live concerts, an art exhibition and recordings and with that the the idea of and for Winter & Winter was sown. Since the mid '90s Mariko and Stefan have managed and directed Winter & Winter together and Stefan continues to produce sound installations and 'sound art objects'. - Presto
CD $17


Two Swell New Discs from the Grand Intakt Label in stock next week:

CHICO FREEMAN/HEIRI KANZIG - The Arrival (Intakt 251; Switzerland) This is a magical duo: Chico Freeman, 65, saxophonist, clarinetist, flute player, composer from Chicago, an eminent improvisor and Heiri Kanzig, 58, born in New York, the Swiss double bass virtuoso. A transatlantic dialogue between one of America's most versatile saxophonists and one of Europe's most "all-round" bass players. Freeman and Kanzig share that passion for the centre of gravity of the Jazz tradition, albeit with one precondition: that of transformation. And, with all their abilities for strong, heavy grooves, there is that preference for melody. I recall when AACM saxist first came to New York in the late seventies, sitting in the Art Ensemble of Chicago and being a member of Jack DeJohnette's Special Edition. Freeman's own records on India Navigation were also great and still sought after since they are long out of print. After a promising beginning, Mr. Freeman ended in playing in electric jazz groups which left many of us cold. I hadn't heard a record from Chico Freeman in many years until this disc arrived. It is a duo a bassist named Heiri Kanzig, who I know little about except for his playing with Franco Ambrosetti and Harry Sokal. Mr. Freeman and Mr. Kanzig wrote all of the songs here except for two standards by John Coltrane and Bobby Timmons. The songs here actually sound like standards and are warmly played. Mr. Freeman, who is now 65, has a robust, luxurious tone, playing with the warmth of a jazz elder. Mr. Kanzig also has a sublime, elegant sound on his contrabass, making each note count, ring true. He takes a couple of bass solos which are immensely enchanting. This disc is perfect for some late night listening with your loved one, sipping on some fine wine by candlelight. "After the Rain" by Coltrane is a favorite of many folks and has been covered by many musicians. This version is superb, touching and exquisite. This a wonderful, laid back and endearing disc that makes me feel good to relax and calm down before that free/jazz screaming starts again with me next review - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $18

CHRISTOPH IRNIGER TRIO - Octopus (Intakt 253; Switzerland) Featuring Christoph Irniger on tenor sax, Raffaele Bossard on bass and Ziv Ravitz on drums. After the acclaimed album "Gowanus Canal" in 2012, "Octopus" is Christoph Irniger's second release with his trio of Raffaele Bossard (double bass) and Ziv Ravitz (drums). The album is a studio recording from last autumn and shows the ensemble in fantastic shape. Irniger is a master of orchestration and rejects the hierarchy of soloist-plus-rhythm. Instead of using the compositions as springboards for solos, he finds interesting ways for the improvisations to underline the compositional characteristics. "Melody, arrangement, improvisation: the trio fuse them all into one tightly integrated and alluring package," writes American jazz critic Kevin Whitehead, and emphasizing the strength of Irninger's melodies he asks: "Why should pop bands (and their listeners) have all the fun?"
CD $18


Two from the Erstwhile Erstaeu Series:

KEVIN PARKS / VANESSA ROSSETTO - Severe Liberties (Erstaeu 004; USA) "Erstaeu is a new cd imprint, launched by Erstwhile records to help document the work of young american experimental musicians working in a post-electroacoustic vein. Kevin Parks originally hails from new york. he is a graduate of the conservatory of music at Brooklyn College, Cuny and received his m.a. degree from dartmouth college. he is currently pursuing his PH.D. in composition and music technologies at the University of Virginia. after working briefly at Rensselear Polytechnic Institute in Troy. NY, Kevin moved to Seoul, Korea for many years. there, he taught computer music at the Seoul institute of the arts and collaborated with the Sadari movement research group. Some areas of interest include: computer music and computer music performance, musique concrete, tuning and timbre, american experimental music, popular musics, and Korean musics, and improvisation. Vanessa Rossetto is an American composer, improviser and painter. she uses primarily chamber instrumentation, field recordings, electronics and a wide array of different objects exploring them through extended and traditional techniques and other methods of her own devising." - Penultimate Press This sounds like a soundtrack to a mysterious movie. Carefully placed, suspense-filled sounds floating and being cautiously manipulated. Soft, distant strummed guitar, rubbed surfaces, hushed drones, heartbeats, field recordings, all extremely well-crafted. It often sounds as if the sounds were recorded by (an audio) microscopic device. Exceptional, once again. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14

DEVIN DiSANTO / NICK HOFFMAN - Three Exercises (Erstaeu 005; USA) "Devin Disanto is a New York-based artist and composer currently focusing on labor-oriented approaches to performance. this work revolves primarily around functional uses of common/everyday objects in both solo and group situations, emphasizing the presence and impact of incidental sound. Nick Hoffman is an American composer/improviser born in 1985. He operates pilgrim talk." - Penultimate Press This disc was recorded in an elementary school in West Hartford, CT and uses two voices and electronic sounds generated in real time. The CD cover shows numerous boxes, empty and filled on a gym floor. There is also a table with various electronic devices, some of which are numbered. A male voice reads from a list from time to time. Like many newer disc on Erstwhile, the often stark sonic placement for us to listen closely to each carefully placed sound. Since I have this disc turned up due to having the AC on, the sounds are louder and more abrupt than the average Erstwhile release. Since the voices are kept to a minimum, aside from the occasional radio broadcast excerpt, it feels like we are in a school gym with some folks selectively moving rings around. It sounds as if a story is unfolding but we need our own imagination to fill in the particular sections of the story. Somewhat disorienting at times, yet most often captivating. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14


Three New CD/EPs from the Cold Blue Label:

PETER GARLAND//SARAH CAHILL - After The Wars (Cold Blue 44; USA) A beautiful and unusual four-movement piano solo performed by noted pianist and new music champion Sarah Cahill, who commissioned the work. Garland writes about the music: "Each of the transparent and self-contained movements takes as inspiration a Chinese poem or Japanese haiku, and like in haiku collections I arranged the movements in seasonal order.... More than in most piano pieces of mine, I explore the quality of resonance in the piano: not just the notes played on the keyboard, but the sense of echo and fade produced by a very deliberate use of pedaling, and the sustaining and release of piano keys after notes and chords are sounded. It creates a sense of timbral color and acoustic perspective (proximity and distance) that gives these pieces their own individual character and conciseness. Each movement is like a single image, simply stated with relatively little temporal or thematic development-very much like the poems they are based on."
CD $9

MICHAEL BYRON//TASHA SMITH GODINEZ - In the Village of Hope (Cold Blue 43; USA) Michael Byron and Cold Blue Music have released a new CD of gorgeous music for the solo harp, commissioned and performed by Tasha Smith Godinez. "In the Village of Hope" contains a single 22 minute track that unfolds with such delicacy and grace that an hour of it would not seem too much. The composer writes: "With a sound reminiscent of wind chimes, it yields fields of harmonic stasis, that mysterious circumstance of individual notes diverging and merging to form a delicate fabric of sound. "In the Village of Hope" opens with a quiet serenity, full of sound, but gentle as a summer rainfall. The tempo picks up almost imperceptibly and we are soon awash in a lovely counterpoint that infuses the harmonies with a steady propulsive energy. The rhythm is constant, with a fluid feel that ebbs and flows in complex patterns that weave a tapestry of sound. There is no progression or sense of harmonic movement except when a key change occurs - and there are several of these - then a new set of tones takes up in the same manner as previously. The texture and density have an appealing consistency throughout. Towards the finish the tempo slows and the sound becomes quieter as the final notes slowly expire. Listening to this piece is like watching the sun slip slowly over the horizon as it illuminates the sky in ever-changing colors and shades. This music is perfectly suited to the harp providing just the right timbre for the complexity and hopefulness that are combined in this piece. There is an exotic and idealistic feeling to In the Village of Hope that is beautifully drawn out by the playing of Ms. Godinez, who negotiates the 22 minute shower of notes with assurance and perfect command of her instrument. This is an impressive work, both in concept and performance - In the Village of Hope perfectly captures the optimism and tranquility that seems so elusive in our busy lives. - Paul Muller, Sequenza 21
CD $9

CHAS SMITH - Twilight of the Dreamboats (Cold Blue 45; USA) Composed and performed by Chas Smith on metal sound sculptures from Bertoia, Que Lastas, Lockheed Mantis & Sceptre, several steel guitars and Cadillac bass. In the early 1980's, I used to watch/hear David Moss playing Bertoia sound sculptures amongst his arsenal of percussion. That was the last time I heard those instruments live although there has been a resurgence of interest in them due to recordings and a recent article in The Wire. It is rare to see or hear anyone using them so I used intrigued by their use on this disc. Mr. Smith builds his own instruments, hence the names of some of the above listed devices. This appears to be his sixth disc for the Cold Blue label. Although Mr. Smith uses mostly stringed instruments like steel guitars, bass and sound sculptures, the overall sound is rather orchestral. A sea of strings slowly moving in waves... long lost phantom planes soaring in the dark skies... hushed drones softly throbbing in the distance... shimmering metals resonating... most evocative... cutting the spirits loose and letting them roam freely amongst the living. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $9


LYDIA LUNCH RETROVIRUS With WEASEL WALTER/TIM DAHL/BOB BERT - Urge to Kill (Widowspeak/Brava 26; USA) No Wave iconoclastic Lydia Lunch, the big, sexy noise-queen of sonic brutarians along with Herculean guitarist Weasel Walter (Flying Luttenbachers), fret-destroying bassist Tim Dahl (Child Abuse) and legendary skins-basher Bob Bert (Sonic Youth/Pussy Galore) are about to unleash URGE TO KILL the follow up to last years face melting live recording by RETROVIRUS. Recorded live in the studio in early 2015 URGE TO KILL stomps new life into classics from Lydia's immense catalog. Included are the tracks "Snakepit Breakdown" and "Lock Your Door" from Lydia band 1313, "Fields of Fire" and "Three Kings" from "Honeymoon in Red", the Rowland S. Howard slow scorcher "Still Burning", "Some Boys from In Limbo", "Tied and Twist" from her classic album "Queen of Siam" as well as a gloriously manic reworking of Suicide's "Frankie Teardrop". - Rust Blade I am checking this out now and am impressed by brutal, intense and spirited versions of these classic punk songs. It turns out that No Wave expert & drum wiz Weasel Walter is pretty great on guitar as well! Plus the ubiquitous Tim Dahl and Bob Bert make a killing rhythm team to boot. Disturbing and amazing! - BLG, DMG
CD $14

DEADLY ORGONE RADIATION [With JAMES SEDWARDS/ALEX WARD /WEASEL WALTER] - (Copepod Records 08; UK) Featuring James Sedwards on guitar, Alex Ward on guitar & alto sax and Weasel Walter on drums. This is an odd combination of talents especially considering the resumes of each player. Mr. Sedwards plays bass in the great UK prog bands Guapo & Chrome Hoof (both have discs on Cuneiform) as well as being a member of with the Thurston Moore Band. Alex Ward plays both clarinet and guitar and is great on both, having worked with Derek Bailey, Duck Baker, Eugene Chadbourne and Joe Morris. Drum master Weasel Walter is getting more difficult to pin down since he is now playing guitar (?!?) in Lydia Lunch's Retrovirus as well as whipping up a storm behind Henry Kaiser, Peter Evans, Mary Halvorson and our own Chris Pitsiokos, when he isn't our tour with Lydia Lunch. Wow! This is an incredible power trio, tight and throttling! Although Alex Ward is more often known for his Euro style (insect music) improv on clarinet, he like to unleash those digits on the electric guitar. Although this music sounds free, Mr. Walter keeps both players focused and tightly wound. Weasel often sounds as if he is playing a double bass drum pedal and kicking up a furious storm, playing at a superhuman speed! There are moments when Weasel slows down and the trio sounds as if they are going to break into a song, but this never lasts for long. Both guitarist do a fine job of switching roles or shifting tempos as Weasel speeds up, slows down or throws in unexpected twists and turns. Sometimes the truth is brutal, this is the brutal truth! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14


BILL HORIST - Mutei - Music for Davida Monk's Dream Pavilion (Important 427; USA) Since the mid-'90s, Seattle-based guitarist Bill Horist has been making music within and without convention in a wide variety of settings and genres and has worked with many notables in rock, experimental, and new music. He has played on dozens of records and has performed throughout North and Central America, Europe, and Japan, collaborating with numerous leading lights in a beguiling range of genres. He delivers an idiosyncratic and richly emotive take on the world's most ubiquitous instrument; perhaps best known for his prepared guitar treatments, his work is widely regarded alongside masters like Fred Frith and Keith Rowe. He has cultivated a unique voice in a number of styles in the realms of jazz, rock, folk, and experimental music. Horist is also becoming known as a masterful acoustic fingerstyle player in the tradition of Leo Kottke and John Fahey, additionally incorporating elements from Asia, India, the Middle East, and West Africa. Mutei presents music composed and improvised by Horist for Calgary, Alberta-based choreographer Davida Monk's 2013 major dance work, Dream Pavilion. This is the second major work that Horist and Monk have created since their initial production, Lyric, and the resulting CD, Lyric/Suite (Accretions Records), were developed and released in 2003. Their longstanding collaboration has cultivated a highly integrated lexicon of sound and movement. Inspired by diminutive, carved Japanese statues called netsuke, Horist and Monk strive to bring this exquisite manifestation of humans, animals, fantastic creatures, and deities to life. With the basis of a prepared guitar score developed in-residence and augmented by percussion and dan nguyet (Vietnamese moon lute), Horist has created a mysterious and emotive sonic world, which two dancers embody. Despite the score being composed for live performance, Horist recorded a version with Scott Colburn and further augmented the work with conventional guitar, bass, and other electronics, thus creating a work that stands beautifully and strangely on its own in addition to being a powerful component of the choreographed work. Tracks on Mutei vary wildly from dark drone to plaintive and playful; from meditative ambience to squalls of visceral noise. Bill Horist: electric guitars, dan nguyet, bass, percussion, objects, electronics; Davida Monk: choreography; Helen Husak: dancer; Walter Kubanek: dancer.
CD $14


JOELLE LEANDRE & AKOSH S - Gyor (Reqords 001; France) From 2005 and featuring Joelle Leandre: double bass, voice; Akosh Szelevenyi: tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet, flute. Recorded live during the Festival Mediawave in a synagogue in Gyor, Hungary, on May 1, 2003, by Peter Toth. Mastered by David Mascunan at DM Studio, Limoges, France. Liner notes by Gerard Rouy.
CD $17


4 New Ones from Dr. Eugene Chadbourne, In-Stock Next Week:

EUGENE CHADBOURNE With ED CASSIDY/SUNNY MURRAY/PETER KOWALD/DEREK BAILEY/WALTER MALLI - The Sounds of Genius (Chadula; USA) "Without bothering to examine the entire mystery that is and was Eddie Chatterbox (a/k/a Dr. Chad), suffice to say the long languishing, one moment vanished, the next reappeared orchestral project might be at once the greatest puzzle of them all. For years Chatterbox put in careful work on tributes to master musicians he had the opportunity to work with. Documentation existed of these encounters and Chatterbox had in each case been given free rein to deal with the results in whatever manner he saw fit. As the years went on with no final outcome and inevitably not even a Chatterbox, at least some of these pieces developed into memorial tributes as the geniuses passed on for greater realms." excerpt of blurb from Chadula website
CD $12

EUGENE CHADBOURNE With CHARLES TYLER/WARREN SMITH/ et al - Docademonic "Hate" Set (Chadula; USA) Charles Tyler and Warren Smith are on only one track each. The other musicians include Rogier Smal on drums, Walter Daniels on harmonica, Earl Poole Ball on piano, Redd Volkaert on guitar and Ernie Durawa on drums. Cover songs include "The Red Telephone" by Arthur Lee's Love, "Compared to What" (Eugene McDaniels), "Sooner or Later" by Sir Doug Sahm and "Wishin' All These Old Things were New" by Merle Haggard.
CD $12

EUGENE CHADBOURNE With CHARLES TYLER/LESLIE ROSS/WALTER MALLI/ et al (Chadula; USA) Legendary free/jazz bari saxist Charles Tyler is on 2 tracks on this disc plus Ernie Duraraw & Rogier Smal on drums, Walter Daniels on harmonica, David Stilley on contrabass clarinet and Earl Poole Ball on piano. Cover songs include "I'd Come Back to Me" by Roger Miller, "Yesterday" by Paul McCartney, although most track were written/created by Doc Chad himself.
CD $12

A Few Historic Restocks from the Great Dr. Eugene Chadbourne & at Cheaper Prices:

EUGENE CHADBOURNE & THE CHADBOURNES With KRAMER/DAVID LICHT/TOM CORA/JOHN ZORN et al - Torture In The Eighties: The LSDC&W Kitchen Concert (Chadula 1981B; USA) Of all the projects Eugene Chadbourne put together, the "LSD C&W" (as in "country & western") was arguably one of his zaniest, most satisfying musical propositions -- and this CD is simply one of his best albums, if you are willing to overlook sound quality. Kitchen Concert is a lo-fi quality recording of a concert at New York's Kitchen in 1981. It sounds fairly good, but a few parts are muddy and there are a couple of irritating tape cuts, yet the performance is so fantastic that these become very small details in comparison. For this concert, Chadbourne was accompanied by the Chadbournes: drummer David Licht, cellist Tom Cora, saxophonist John Zorn, and keyboardist Mark Kramer playing what sounds like a cheap combo organ. They rush through a set of country & western standards and originals, even scorching John Lennon's "Starting Over" along the way (country & western style, you'll never listen to it the same way again). Chadbourne's guitar playing is particularly sharp, witty, and focused. The band is tight throughout, well-rehearsed, and totally in sync with the multiple breaks and spontaneous segues. The listener follows medleys that sequence "Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young" or "Gone Gone Gone" with pockets of free improvisation -- in these moments, Cora simply shines. The show ends with the delightfully croony "Slips Away," a last circuit of the ring performed straight but with tongue firmly placed in cheek. For Chadbourne fans, Kitchen Concert is an essential; for newcomers or those especially interested in his singer/songwriter side, it makes a good place to start -- but be warned that, like all releases on House of Chadula, it comes on CD-R in homemade, self-designed packaging. - Francois Couture, AMG
CD $12


EUGENE CHADBOURNE/TOSHINORI KONDO - Where Is Kondo [2 CD set](Chadula), This is a double CD that includes the first ever duet concert with Toshinori Kondo and myself as well as a lengthy excerpt from our first Greensboro gig, where we are joined by eventual Chadbournes and Shockabilly drummer David Licht and a New York City improv set where multi-instrumentalist Steve Beresford joins in.
2 CD Set $16

EUGENE CHADBOURNE & CHARLES TYLER - Ghost Legends (Chadula 1977B; USA) Ghost Legends, originally on LP, was recorded live in New York on September 17, 1977. It features Eugene Chadbourne on acoustic 12-string and electric six-string guitars, and Charles Tyler on (mostly) baritone saxophone and clarinet. Sound quality is muffled but otherwise good. This is the complete tape of the performance, including "Amber," during which the tape ran out (after only a minute). The title refers to Albert Ayler whose classic tune "Ghosts" closes the set. This duo worked pretty well, better than Chadbourne's association with Frank Lowe. Tyler's free jazz background and tendency to flirt with contemporary music completes the guitarist's Derek Bailey-like inclinations. The saxophonist's "Legend of the Lawmen" and Chadbourne's "In Between Comme C and Comme Saw" stand worlds apart, and yet their coming together sounds perfectly normal. Tyler blows a beautiful clarinet solo on "Improvisation," one of the album's highlights; his colleague remains rather discreet throughout the show, leaving a lot of breathing room. "Usually Not the Case" describes pretty well how the listener feels hearing this delicate soft-spoken piece where the guitarist shows an impressive level of restraint recalling Roger Smith during his days with the Spontaneous Music Ensemble. All in all a very nice early session, Ghost Legends was reissued on CD-R by Chadbourne's House of Chadula label. - Francois Couture, AMG.
CD $12


Three More Dynamite Discs from the Ever-Prolific Leap of Faith Gang!

LEAP OF FAITH [PEK/GLYNIS LOMON/STEVE NORTON] - Philosophie Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Evil Clown 9046: USA) Featuring PEK [Dave Peck] - tenor & alto sax, clarinets, double reeds, Glynis Lomon - cello & voice and Steve Norton - sopranino & alto saxes, contra-alto clarinet. This disc features just 2 tracks, one with just the core trio (Pek, Glynis & Steve) and a rare, near-27 minute solo alto sax piece by PEK himself. Having had the opportunity to witness Leap of Faith live twice a few weeks ago (Aug 15 & 16/2015), as well as reviewing more than a dozen of their assorted discs, I am getting a better appreciation/understanding of what they do and do well. Listening to the core trio makes it easier to hear the contribution of each member. The trio set is less busy than the usual quartet or quintet versions. The sound of the two spiraling reeds and cello sound especially great together, bending and twisting their notes in a similar fashion. They sound son what relaxed and keep a certain calm, thoughtful vibe at the center. Often one player will start a line and another will complete the line. Hearing PEK by himself is also unusual and revealing as he takes his time and concentrates al length on his alto sax rather than the dozens of reeds he often plays at most Leap of Faith sessions. PEK starts slowly and builds in speed and intensity as he goes. PEK like to stretch out notes from time to time and sounds as if he is about to break into a ballad at one point but doesn't. Nice to hear Leap of Faith on the slow burn side. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $10

LEAP OF FAITH [PEK/GLYNIS LOMON et al] - Linear Combinations And Transformations: The Alternative Takes (Evil Clown 9037; USA) Featuring: PEK [Dave Peck] - saxes, clarinets, bassoon, Glynis Lomon - cello, voice, Mark McGrain - trombone, brass, Craig Schildhauer - bass (2 tracks), Rob Bethel - cello (1 track), Forest Larson - viola (1 track) and Sydney Smart or Laurence Cook - drums (1 track each, 1 track with no drums). This disc consists of three long pieces recorded in October of 1996 at Killian Hall at MIT in Cambridge, MA. This is an altered version of Leap of Faith with brass man Mark McGrain taking the place of reedman Steve Norton who is another longtime and current member. The original core members, PEK & Glynis Lomon remain with 2 strings added on one track and one of two drummers on one track each, a bassist on two tracks as well. Three long pieces make up this 70+ minute disc. Elder Boston drummer Syd Smart, who once worked with Sam Rivers and Ted Daniels plays on the first track and adds his own rhythmic flourishes, making this piece the most jazzy in sections when they are soaring quickly. The second piece, "Subspace Part 2" is just the trio (PEK, Lomon & McGrain) with no drums or strings. This piece is more restrained and cerebral with some spirited interaction between the reeds, cello and trombone. The third piece, "Orthogonal Projection", includes bass, two strings and another elder Boston-based drummer named Laurence Cook (for Bill Dixon, Burton Greene & Paul Flaherty). The drums are often at the center of this septet version of LoF. PEK is playing some low-end reed, bari sax or (contra?) bass clarinet which sounds great with the cello and trombone. The group soars through a long section with the bass and drums pushing the cello, reeds and trombone higher and higher. The other strings don't enter til midway, adding their flurries as the piece evolves through more somber and more frenetic interludes. Even in their early days, Leap of Faith have worked their way through an organic method of improv which works well no matter who is playing with them, both core members and guests. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $10

LEAP OF FAITH [PEK/GLYNIS LOMON/JAMES COLEMAN/YURI ZBITNOV] - Hierarchies (Evil Clown 9038; USA) This disc features two long pieces: a quartet with PEK on clarinets, saxes & bassoon, Glynis Lomon on cello & voice, James Coleman on theremin and Yuri Zbitnov on drums plus a rare duo just PEK and Glynis Lomon. It was recorded in April of 2001. If the name James Coleman sounds familiar, it is because he has worked with a number other Boston-area based players like Greg Kelley, Tatsuya Nakatani and Bhob Rainey. He also appears on a few discs from this, the Evil Clown label with Leap of Faith or Equilibrium. This quartet version of Leap of Faith is in fine form, especially since they were sharing the bill with the legendary free/jazz trio, The Fringe, who have been around for some forty-plus years! Intense, focused and consistently spirited. Since Pek, Ms. Lomon and Mr. Zbitnov, have played together for so long they sound completely connected from the start. Mr. Coleman takes his time to finally enter the fold. One of the highlights of both Leap of Faith sets in New York was the consistently strong playing by their drummer, Yuri Zbitnov. He sounds equally amazing here. The long opening piece evolves organically which includes some those wacky vocals which always make me smile. There are sections when the band lays back and slowly builds to a grand conclusion. Another bizarre and outstanding trip from the unstoppable Leap of Faith. - Bruce Lee Gallanter
CD $10

GLYNIS LOMON/BLAISE SIWULA/ERIC ZINMAN - The Great Divide (Studio234 002; USA) Featuring Glynis Lomon on cello & voice, Blaise Siwula on alto & tenor saxes and Eric Zinman on piano plus two guest percussionists: William Buchanan and Hugo Manuschevich. It is rare to see the great Boston-area cellist Glynis Lomon's name outside of the dozens of discs she has done with the legendary Leap of Faith. This trio also features New York saxist Blaise Siwula, who has long run the ABC-No Rio Series and worked with many players known & little-known. Another Boston-based great is pianist Eric Zinman who has become more visible in the last few years due to some fine CDs with Linda Sharrock, Francois Tusques and Mario Rechtern. This is a well-recorded studio session from 2002 and sounds strong and spirited. The trio starts off quietly, slowly building but not too far out as of yet. As this piece evolves the tempo and intensity increases with a number of lines criss-crossing into a near-dizzying array. All three musicians seem very well matched since they work together so tightly, lines swirling around one another always connected on some level. I don't know either percussionist here and either one is one all but one track. Both drummers work well with the trio, never overwhelming the proceedings but listening and responding well. All three main members of the trio get their chance to stretch out and connect with each other. Mr. Zinman occasionally plays inside the piano and adds some mysterious sounds. You know something special is going on when the music starts to levitate and move into another dimension. It always makes me smile when an improv disc by lesser known players hits their stride and takes us away of a cosmic journey. This is one such gem. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $12


THIGHPAULSANDRA - The Golden Communion [2 CD Set] (Editions Mego 207; Austria) Thighpaulsandra presents his seventh full-length album and his first since 2006's The Lepore Extrusion. Well over a decade in the making, The Golden Communion is his debut for Editions Mego. It comprises ten songs and runs well over two hours, with individual pieces clocking in between four and 28 minutes. Featured musicians on the album include regular collaborators Martin Schellard and Sin Orgon, plus the odd guest/ghost from bands with which Thighpaulsandra has worked in the past. Listeners who have heard any of Thighpaulsandra's previous albums will know that it's best to approach this work with no fixed set of expectations; once again, Thighpaulsandra changes genres and defies easy classification, sometimes more than once within one song. Drawing on his long-time background as a key member in such diverse groups as Coil, Spiritualized, and Julian Cope's band (in each case arguably at the height of the group's creative prowess) and his work as producer and sound engineer for an even larger variety of customers, he offers classical passages next to hard rock riffing; krauty experimental work-outs turning into super-catchy, almost radio-friendly songs; and more. Many adjectives have been used to describe Thighpaulsandra's work -- "epic," "challenging," "timeless," "idiosyncratic" -- but certainly never "predictable" or "boring." Possibly his most rewarding album yet and a welcome and unusual entry in the Mego catalog, The Golden Communion will entertain and astonish listeners who are fond of having their minds severely altered by sound.
2 CD Set $24


Historic & Archival Recordings:

YUSEF LATEEF - The Complete Recordings 1957-1959 [4 CD Set] (Enlightenment 9050; EEC) Grammy Award-winning multi-instrumentalist, composer and educator, Yusef Abdul Lateef was without doubt, via his incorporation of other cultures music into his own, one of the most adventurous jazz musicians in the history of the genre, as well as a man way ahead of his time. Whilst primarily a master of both tenor saxophone and flute, Lateef was famed too for his heavy use of Eastern instrumentation - including shanai, shofar, argol, sarewa, and taiwan koto. Peter Keepnews, in his New York Times obituary of Lateef, wrote that the musician "played world music before world music had a name.". Mr. Lateef began recording in 1957 for both Savoy Records and for New Jazz (a subsidiary of Prestige). Even at this early stage in his career, Lateefs grasp and implementation of Eastern influences was a central theme within his music. This is clear from the very first composition on his debut album Jazz For The Thinker (Savoy, 1957), where the use of North African instruments and unique vocal phrasing alongside more traditional arrangements were quite unlike anything else then available. With his album The Sounds of Yusef (Prestige, 1958), he included Turkish finger cymbals, balloon and even an empty 7 Up bottle as instruments. Throughout this period, Yusef recorded and performed with a quartet, featuring Wilbur Harden (trumpet, flugelhorn), bassist Herman Wright, drummer Frank Gant, and pianist Hugh Lawson. Lateef was then among the hardest-working jazz musicians on the circuit, producing no fewer than eight albums during this period and even finding the time to study oboe under Ronald Odemark of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Demonstrating clearly the ambition and complex musical mind of Yusef Lateef, these first eight records are collected across the four discs making up this boxed-set, serving as they do to immortalize this majestic and unique talent as one of Jazz's very finest, and as a pioneer of what we have come to know as World Music. - Chrome Dreams
4 CD Set $16

YUSEF LATEEF - The Complete Recordings 1959-1962 [4 CD Set] (Enlightenment 9051; EEC) As the new decade approached, Yusef Lateef's 1950s output had established him as one of jazz musics most prominent innovators. His use of Eastern instrumentation alongside his signature saxophone and flute had aided him in crafting a sound that was purely his own, and not only would the coming years see Lateef produce an extraordinary catalogue of work as bandleader, but he would equally and generously lend his talents to recordings credited to other highly respected players. Yusef's mastery of musical fusion came to a head with his final two Prestige albums: Eastern Sounds and Into Something (both 1961, released on Moodsville and New Jazz respectively). Although many of the recordings featured, blending jazz standards with blues and soundtrack formats alongside his own compositions, with a piano, bass and drums backing group, were in a commonplace format for jazz of the era, Lateef's own skill at improvisation and arrangement combined these elements into something entirely unique. The early 1960s also saw him appear as sideman on albums by the likes of Charles Mingus and Art Blakey and as a permanent member of Cannonball Adderleys group between 1962 and 1964. This four disc collection contains all eight albums recorded by Yusef Lateef as bandleader between the years 1959 and 1962, documenting as it does the period considered by cognoscenti and enthusiasts alike to be the defining era of this master musicians career. Capturing all at once the form, skill and genius that was Yusef Lateef, this boxed-set serves as unique testimony to a truly visionary artist.- Chrome Dreams
4 CD Set $16


BALI 1928 - Vol. III: Lotring and the Sources of Gamelan Tradition / Various Artists (World Arbiter 015; USA) Vol. III of World Arbiter's complete 1928 Balinese recordings, the first republication since 1928 of lost shellac recordings, opens with the only known recordings of a lost gamelan. Heard in three tracks, Gamelan Semar Pagulingan, an ensemble known as "Love in the Bedroom Chamber," played instruments that no longer exist, and performed whenever requested by a Rajah who relaxed nearby with his wife. The major artist in this CD is I Wayan Lotring, a composer who was tormented at night by sounds that emerged into fully structured compositions that he taught orally to musicians in his gamelan, and shadow puppet ensembles. An extensive text by Edward Herbst is included as a PDF on the CD (accessible by computer) and hosted online by World Arbiter. Some of these recordings come from discs that existed in only one known copy, and now their erotic, subtle, incendiary styles are available for everyone to experience. Also includes performances by Gamelan Palegongan of Banjar Tegal, Kuta; Gamelan Gender Wayang of Banjar Tegal, Kuta; Gamelan Gender Wayang of Kaliungu; Gamelan Palegongan of Kelandis; Gamelan Gambang; Gamelan Gambang of Pura Kawitan Kelaci, Banjar Sebudi; and Gamelan Pajogedan (Gandrung) of Pagan.
CD $13


KOSMOSE - Kosmic Music from the Black Country (Sub Rosa 394; Belgium) Never-before-released recordings of mythic Belgian kosmische band Kosmose (1973-'78). Kosmose can be approached as a collective without a specific leader. The line-up fluctuated quite a lot around a rock-solid core formed by Alain Neffe and Francis Pourcel. As this release demonstrates, their sound evolved from something deeply influenced by kosmische music to a purely improvised form of noisy free jazz. The whole adventure took place in the heart of the '70s, almost under wraps, though most rehearsals were taped by Neffe. RIYL Hawkwind, Can, Musica Elettronica Viva.
2 CD Set $18


FLORA PURIM & AIRTO MOREIRA - Live at the Hollywood Bowl 1979 (Hi Hat 013; UK) Brazilian singer Flora Purim and her husband, the drummer and percussionist Airto Moreira, dominated magazine jazz polls in the 1970s. This superb live set was recorded for broadcast on WBUR-FM at the first Playboy Jazz Festival, held at the Hollywood Bowl in 1979, and also features percussionists Laudir de Oliveira (from Chicago) and Bayanu (from Caldera), Raul de Souza (trombone), Milcho Leviev (keyboards), and Keith Jones (bass), as well as an introduction by Billy Taylor. Joyous and infectious, the complete broadcast is presented here in digitally remastered sound with background notes and images.
CD $17

WILLIE DIXON - Live in Chicago - 1984 (Hi Hat 015; UK) Willie Dixon is one of the fathers of modern American blues, and had a profound influence on Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, and countless others. This superb 1984 performance was recorded for FM radio broadcast at a tiny club at 7644 North Sheridan Road on Chicago's north side, and captures the great man in fine form performing a selection of self-penned classics. The complete broadcast is presented here in digitally remastered sound with background notes and images.
CD $17


THE CRAMPS - Teenage Werewolf... Live (Orbit 103; UK) The larger-than-life figures who graced the stage of New York's legendary Club 57 on the night that this performance was recorded stood on the brink of a wider stage -- the world. The Cramps quickly became one of America's finest subculture manifestations, bred from the madness of '50s and '60s B-movie trash at the turn of punk. On this night, Lux Interior and his motley crew of proto-gothic punks tore off heads with a slew of Dick Dale and Sonics salutes amid sordid contortions. Above all, The Cramps were a live band, a cabaret of B-movie histrionics and debonair pursuing a lurid sexual gratification. Lux Interior, in particular, personified and externalized what lurked behind the snarl of every rockabilly hero. The original radio broadcast of this performance is presented here in its entirety, with digitally remastered sound and background liners.
CD $14


WITCH - We Intend To Cause Havoc! [4 CD Set](Now Again 5091; USA) "The complete works of Zambia's legendary garage, psych, prog, funk, Afro-rock ensemble. 1972-1977. Witch's five albums and rare 7" tracks presented as a 4CD (5 3/4"X10") box set, restored and remastered from the original tapes. Contains a twenty-four page booklet with never before seen photos and ephemera; extensive liner notes and annotation; an interview with bandleader 'Jagari' Chanda. By the mid 1970s, the Southern African nation known as the Republic of Zambia had fallen on hard times: self-imposed, single party rule; a decline in prices for the country's largest natural resource, copper; conflict in other countries on Zambia's borders. This is the environment in which the Zamrock scene that flourished throughout that decade emerged... fuzz guitars were commonplace, driving rhythms as influenced by James Brown's funk as Jimi Hendrix's rock predominated, musical themes were often bleak and bands largely sang in the country's constitutional language, English. Although Witch is the best known Zamrock ensemble and although they succeeded in releasing five albums in Zamrock's golden years -- they never made an impact on the global scale in, say, the way afro-beat maestro Fela Kuti did. Travel to and within Zambia is expensive, and the markers for the Zamrock scene are now few. Only a small number of the original Zamrock godfathers survived the AIDS epidemic that decimated this country. Witch's musical arc is contained to a five year span: The band's first two, self-produced albums, released in unison with the birth of the commercial Zambian recording industry, are exuberant experiments in garage rock, and are as influenced by the Rolling Stones as they are James Brown; their third albun, Lazy Bones!! is the band's masterpiece, a dark, brooding psychedelic opus that makes equal use of wah-wah and fuzz guitars, that relies as heavily on the stomping feel of hard rock as it does the syncopation of funk; the band's last two albums, recorded after the band toured with Osibisa, make use of traditional Zambian rhythms and folk melodies and are the most 'afro-rock'of Witch's oeuvre."
4 CD Set $38


Last Copies Found in a Buried Treasure Chest Below DMG:

MAX NAGL/HERWIG GRADISCHNIG/PETER HERBERT/MICHAEL VATCHER - A Day In My Life (Cracked An Egg 50; EEC) Featuring Max Nagl on alto sax, Herwig Gradischnig on tenor sax, Peter Herbert on bass and Michael Vatcher on drums. This is Peter Herbert's most recent effort having been released this year (2014). I know of Austrian saxist Max Nagl through his many discs on the Rude Noises and Hatology labels. American-born drummer Michael Vatcher has been living in Amsterdam for many years and has worked with many of the best Dutch (& Dutch-based) players like Maarten Altena, Michael Moore and Michel Braam. Three of the four members of this quartet (not the drummer) each contributed two pieces along with one group improv and one cover of a Beatles song ("A Day in the Life"), of all things. All but one song was recorded in a studio in Vienna. The music here is all consistently free and very varied. "Dragged a Comb Across My Head" has one of those Tristano like double sax themes with the bass at the center. Very familiar sounding and pretty cool. On the next piece, "Unterwegs", the two saxes sound quite like Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh, both of whom worked with Lennie Tristano. Both Mr Gradischnig (on tenor) and Mr.Nagl (on alto) takes some fine, laid-back, slow-burning solos. I dig the way this quartet take the Beatles classic closer for 'Sgt Pepper's' and turn it inside-out. The song always a quirky structure and it fits the way this band plays just right. What this disc interesting is the way these tunes are arranged with somber yet unexpected twists and turns. The sax solos are consistently strong without ever having to scream or erupt. Most impressive in its own way. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $12

MAX NAGL/OTTO LECHNER/BRADLEY JONES - Flamingos (Hatology 609; Switzerland) Featuring Max on alto, bari & soprano saxes, Otto on accordion & piano and Brad Jones on double bass. I am both a fan and an old acquaintance of Austrian saxist Max Nagl, from when he lived in NY during the nineties. He is certainly not under-recorded with a dozen diverse releases on his own label - Rude Noises, six on November Music (all out-of-print), one on Leo Lab and three on Hatology. Can't tell you much about keyboardist Otto Lechner, but Brad Jones is one of the best and busiest bassist from the downtown network. There always seems to a concept or thread to each of Max's releases, including his wonderful Edward Gorey collaboration/tribute which included Julie Tippetts and Lol Coxhill. Max composed all but two of the songs on 'Flamingos', both covers are from Charles Mingus. "Bowling" opens and is rather tango-like with some festive accordion and tasty alto sax. Max has written some charming, folky melodies and each one is a delight. There is a consistently balanced well-woven sound between the sax and accordion, with Brad's bass as the entire rhythm section. Mingus' "Weird Nightmare" is filled with suspense, Max's hushed, squeaking sax and Otto's piano flutter together in an eerie, drifting haze as Brad outlines the skeletal work with elegant glee. Max plays Mingus' solemn melody with sly restraint. The other Mingus cover is "Work Song" which turns into "Haitian Fight Song", the trio doing a splendid job with Brad's powerful bass at the center with Max's steamy sax and Otto's ominous accordion evoking layers of spirits/emotions. Max plays some dreamy bari sax on the title tune, while Otto also plays some eerie accordion with a minimum of notes. The final track, "Bat Chain" is the most ominous one, with Otto growling/scatting to his accordion and the song weaving between slow and quick swinging sections. Max's superb trio does a wonderful job throughout, taking us on a thoughtful journey. Perfect for some late night listening with you loved one.
CD $10


LP Section:

MASTER MUSICIANS OF BUKKAKE - Further West Quad Cult (Important 411; USA) Prefigured by the inclusion of a secret extra pocket in the original packaging of Far West (IMPREC 386CD/LP, 2013), this painstakingly crafted complimentary LP is intended for synced playback with that release. With two turntables or other playback devices, the listener can experience fully unique quad playback. Further West Quad Cult LP offers deeper journeys into the cave where the self dissolves. It also stands alone as an inverted Far West universe, and the listener is invited to enjoy it by itself as well. Liquid synth journeys into the void. All tracks dubbed and manipulated from Far West source material. All music by Master Musicians of Bukkake. Additional sound design and synths by Randall Dunn and Timm Mason. Produced, recorded, and mixed by Randall Dunn at Avast!, Seattle, WA. Includes fold-out poster by photographer Alison Scarpulla.
LP $24


PAUL METZGER - 1300 (Nero's Neptune 028; USA) Paul Metzger's choices of instruments involve strings and necks, but he is not content to leave them in their original state. On 1300, his ninth solo album and third for Nero's Neptune, Metzger performs on modified guitar and 23-string banjo. The first of the album's two side-long improvisations, "Meend for Shaista," displays the earliest of Metzger's experiments in modification, a revamped Yamaha guitar first displayed on his 2005 debut. The instrument has evolved considerably since then. The neck is now covered in fretless steel, many sympathetic strings have appeared, and a ride cymbal has been attached to the bottom. Metzger applies a percussive string technique and an unorthodox flamenco approach with his right hand, while his gliding left reveals the hidden beauty between the notes. As the piece unfolds, Metzger accompanies himself on tabla while simultaneously playing the guitar; it is at times hard to believe the recording is a one-pass live improvisation made by a single player. On the second side, "Death's Other Kingdom," Metzger breaks out his 23-string banjo. The banjo has extra strings added (including a zither-like spray of 13 fanning out over the drum head), with the skin and sides of the banjo utilized for percussive effect. The piece begins with a slow-burning bowed section. Metzger's bowing has evolved from single-note glissandos into a full-neck chordal style, showing impressive strides in development and refinement. Echoes of North Indian classical music, 12-tone music, and Asian musical forms inform his work. Once the bow is set aside, Metzger's dexterous finger-work and flat picking bring forth a thematic arc, building to blinding velocity as the piece comes to a climax. The cover of the album features the artwork of Metzger's paternal great-grandfather Max Kleiter, whose drawings appear in early issues of the German art nouveau publication Der Jungend. The piece dates from 1901, but is as timeless and singular in style as the music contained within.
LP $20

PETER BROTZMANN & HAMID DRAKE - Solid And Spirit (Nero's Neptune 023; USA) Repress & limited to 300 copies. Recorded on April 18, 2010 at Clemente Velez Center, New York City. German free jazz saxophonist and clarinetist Peter Brotzmann: alto and tenor sax, B-flat clarinet, tarogato. American jazz drummer/percussionist, Hamid Drake: drums and percussion.
2 LP Set $30


FRANCISCO LOPEZ - La Selva (Sub Rosa 346; Belgium) Full-length original audio piece on 24-bit/48kHz digital USB flat memory-card with non-audio blank etched vinyl. Edition of 500 copies numbered and signed by Francisco Lopez. La Selva is an immersion into the sound environments of a tropical rain forest in the Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica. An astonishing natural sonic web created by a multitude of sounds from rain, waterfalls, insects, frogs, birds, mammals, and even plants, through a day cycle during the rainy season. A powerful acousmatic broadband sound environment of thrilling complexity. And above all, a tour de force of profound listening. Original recordings done at La Selva Biological Station during the rainy seasons of 1995 and 1996. La Selva was premiered in an acousmatic performance at Teatro Fanal of the Fanal Contemporary Art Center in San Jose, Costa Rica, in August 1997. Originally released as a CD by V2_Archief in 1998. "After two years of failed attempts with multiple test pressings from the best plants and cutting engineers in Europe, the inherent constraints of vinyl led to an unavoidable conclusion: this audio piece cannot be released on vinyl... many of the naturally intense sections of 'La Selva' with insect and amphibian calls were rendered awfully distorted, with filtering solving virtually nothing at the expense of dramatic dullness... That is why this 'natural' sound piece has been finally reissued digitally, in its entirety, and with the best possible sound." - Lopez
LP $21


CLIFFORD THORNTON With ARCHIE SHEPP/GRACHAM MONCUR III/ ARTHUR JONES/DAVE BURRELL/SUNNY MURRAY/et al - Ketchaoua (BYG Records 323; USA) 23rd volume in the BYG Actuel series; gatefold sleeve, 180 gram vinyl. "This album was recorded in Paris on August 18, 1969 by Clifford Thornton (cornet and conga drums) with Grachan Moncur III (trombone), Archie Shepp (soprano saxophone), Arthur Jones (alto saxophone), Dave Burrell (piano), Sunny Murray (drums), Beb Guerin (bass), Earl Freeman (bass) and Claude Delcloo (drums)." "'Clifford Thornton was a player and a composer whose obscurity was offset by the high esteem in which he was held by his fellow musicians... like Shepp, Thornton was actively involved in advancing the ideology of the black nationalist movement... and all of his recordings are intense and important about those matters that were close to his heart -- liberation, communication and unity." - Thurston Moore and Byron Coley.
LP $14


ROY AYERS With CHARLES TOLLIVER/JOE HENDERSON/HAROLD LAND/REGGIE WORKMAN/BUSTER WILLIAMS/ et al - Virgo Vibes [2 LP Set] (Atlantic 1488; USA) Exact repro of jazz vibraphonist Roy Ayers' 1967 album for Atlantic, featuring Charles Tolliver (trumpet), Joe Henderson (tenor sax), Ronnie Clark (piano), Reggie Workman (bass) and Bruno Carr (drums). On "Glow Flower," Ayers is joined by Harold Land on tenor, pianist Jack Wilson, bassist Buster Williams, and drummer Donald Bailey.
2 LP Set $16


BLIND WILLIE McTELL - The Early Years 1927-1933 (Yazoo 1005; USA) 180 gram exact repro reissue of Yazoo's 1968 compilation of rare 78 rpm recordings from Blind Willie McTell. A record that put Yazoo on the map as an essential archival label of roots music. The very best of the magnificent Willie Samuel McTell -- aka Blind Willie aka Hot Shot Willie aka Georgia Bill -- exploring spiritual, ragtime, hillbilly, and above all, the blues.
LP $18


FAIRPORT CONVENTION - Unhalfbricking (Simply Vinyl 164; UK) 2000 reissue of Fairport Convention's 1969 album, on 180 gram vinyl and housed in a poly sleeve. "By Unhalfbricking Fairport had already redrawn the arbitrary lines that divided folk and rock in the same way that their heroes, The Band, had done in the States. Thompson, by now, was a fully-fledged master of his craft (at the age of 20!): 'Genesis Hall' being the first of his really melancholy masterpieces. Yet, such was the wealth of talent in the band that only one other of his contributions was featured. Denny provided her signature tune 'Who Knows Where The Time Goes', and 'A Sailor's Life' (featuring future long-serving member Dave Swarbrick on violin) proved conclusively that a traditional song leant itself perfectly to the kind of extended jamming normally reserved for more testosterone-fueled blues workouts by the likes of Cream." This is the only version of this classic album that is currently available.
LP $19




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