DMG Newsletter for August 9th, 2019

“The Dolphins”
Written and Recorded by Fred Neil
Covered by Tim Buckley, Linda Ronstadt and many others

This old world may never change
The way it’s been
And all the ways of war
Can’t change it back again

I’ve been searchin’
For the dolphins in the sea
And sometimes I wonder
Do you ever think of me

I’m not the one to tell this world
How to get along
I only know the peace will come
When all hate is gone

I’ve been searchin’
For the dolphins in the sea
And sometimes I wonder
Do you ever think of me

You know sometimes I think about
Saturday’s child
And all about the time
When we were running wild

I’ve been searchin’
For the dolphins in the sea
And sometimes I wonder
Do you ever think of me

This old world may never change
This world may never change
This world may never change

FRED NEIL was much more than influential singer/songwriter throughout the 1960’s. He was a source of inspiration for a number of bands and songwriters. His songs were covered by a diverse crew of singers & bands: Jefferson Airplane (“The Other Side of This Life”), Harry Nilsson (“Everybody’s Talkin’”), HP Lovecraft (“That’s the Bag I’m In” & “Country Boy & Bleecker Street”). When I finally got around to buying his albums (five, all from the sixties), I realized how incredible he really was. That deep, dark cosmic voice and every song, a gem. Mr. Neil left New York in the early seventies and moved back to Florida, disappearing for decades and becoming a recluse/legend. I urge you to check out any of his albums, all are superb. Perhaps start with ‘Bleecker & MacDougal’.
The above song, “The Dolphins”, was one of Neil’s finest and remains once of those haunting songs that has a way of reaching us deep inside and resonating inexplicably. A more recent friend of mine, Jennifer N., has been hanging out with dolphins in the Bahamas. They have been communicating to her, so I have started to do some research about dolphins and find them to be fascinating. Got to find that book by I have about dolphin research by John C. Lilly somewhere in my collection. - BLG/DMG


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The Downtown Music Gallery 28th Anniversary Celebrations began on May 1st & Continues! Every In-store This Summer Helps Celebrate the Spirit of Creative Music Performed Live.

Sunday, August 11th:
6pm: ATLANTIC EXTRACTION: LOUNA DEKKER-VARGAS / LEDAH FINCK / TAL YAHALOM /
NICK DUNSTON / STEPHEN BOEGEHOLD - Flute / Violin / Guitar / Bass / Drums
7pm: CAROLINE DAVIS and KIM CASS - Alto Sax and Bass

Sunday, August 18th:
6pm: BEN GOLDBERG / SIMON JERMYN / RYAN FERREIRA - Clarinet Two Guitars
7pm: JACK WRIGHT / EVAN LIPSON / ZACH DARRUP - Alto Sax / Contrabass / Guitar

Sunday, August 25h:
6pm: AARON RUBINSTEIN / WILLIAM PARKER / KEVIN MURRAY -
Guitar / Bass / Drums!
7pm: CAMILLA NEBBIA / JOANNA MATTREY / VIOLETA GARCIA / DIANA ARIAS -
Tenor Sax / Viola / Cello / Double Bass!

Sunday, September 1st:
6pm: SAM WEINBERG / WEASEL WALTER / HENRY FRASER - Tenor Sax / Drums / Contrabass!

Sunday, September 8th:
6pm: KYLE MOTL / KEIR GoGWILT - Contrabass / Violin!
7pm: FEDERICO UGHI / DANIEL CARTER / PATRICK HOLMES -
Drums / Reeds & Trumpet / Clarinet!

DMG is located at 13 Monroe St. (between Catherine & Market Sts) in a basement below a small gallery. Take the F train to East Broadway or the 6 train to  Canal or the B or D to Grand, or the M-15 bus to Madison & Catherine. Come on Down, the Sunday Music Series is Always Free & the Vibes are Always Cosy. You can check the weekly in-store sets through our Instagram feed

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DMG Recommended Concert of the Week:

OLIVER BEER: Vessel Orchestra Live Performance:

JOHN ZORN with SARA SERPA / SAE HASHIMOTO / KENNY WOLLESEN / MICHAEL NICOLAS

Tomorrow FRIDAY / AUGUST 9 - 6:00–8:30 P.M. at the Met Breuer
Performances at 6 pm, 7 pm, and 8 pm
Free with Museum admission

Oliver Beer: Vessel Orchestra is the first sound-based installation commissioned by The Met. Hybrid by design, it is a musical instrument, a series of live performances, and an installation composed of thirty-two sculptures, utilitarian vessels, and decorative objects from the Museum collection. Selected for their natural pitches, which range from low C to high G on the chromatic musical scale, they form an arresting and unexpectedly versatile instrument, similar to an organ with multiple pipes. 

The Vessel Orchestra has two distinct modes. During Museum hours, a pre-programmed audio interface will play a new composition written by Beer, activating the vessels in real time—"player piano-style." On Friday evenings, the exhibition will feature a diverse group of guest artists who will perform new compositions and improvisations on this radical musical instrument in a series of intimate concerts.

Strictly limited capacity; first come, first served. Line will begin at 3 pm in The Met Breuer Lobby. No further admittance once maximum capacity is reached.


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This Week’s Dynamic Discs Begin with This Treasure:

EVAN PARKER / MATTHEW WRIGHT / TRANCE MAP - Crepescule in Nickelsdorff (Intakt 329; Switzerland) Featuring Evan Parker on soprano sax, Matthew Wright on turntable & sampling, Adam Linson on double bass & electronics, John Coxon on turntable & electronics and Ashley Wales on electronics. Trance Map is the duo of Evan Parker (saxes) and Matthew Wright (field recordings, cassettes & samples) and they’ve been around since 2008. Spring Heel Jack are/were the duo of John Coxon and Ashley Wales, who have been working together even longer (since 1994), morphing from techno/improv through an array of red musics like jazz, rock & electronics. For this quietly dynamic disc, we have both duos combined. Evan Parker did work with Spring Heel Jack on occasion in the past (‘Masses’ from 2001 & ‘Live’ from 2003), so it is Mr. Parker who has connected several scenes.
This disc was recorded live in Nickelsdorff in July of 2017 and it has superb sound. Since the turn of the millennium, UK free music sax master, Evan Parker, has been experimenting more & more with electronics musicians & sonic manipulators on both sides of the Atlantic. This seems to be the first time he has worked with (mostly) electronic musicians/sonic manipulators only, hence this session being a culmination of sorts. I realize that some folks (like free/jazz snobs) have a problem with electronic musicians. On this disc, the blend sounds seamless between the acoustic and electronic/sampled sounds. Mr. Parker’s soprano sax is at the center and is superbly recorded with selective use of echo devices. The various electric sounds and assorted samples slowly build in density and intensity. Rather than circular breathing for long periods, Mr. Parker varies his approach, working in spiraling fragments, rising above and below the swirling electronic/samples ocean of sounds. What I find most fascinating is this: while Mr. Parker’s soprano spins in the center, it is subtle, ever-evolving electronic soundscape that is constantly in flux, carefully crafted and adding to mysterious aura of a dreamworld which we are pulled inside of. Things rarely get too dense so that we are constantly captivated and never drowning. The equally mysterious artwork/cover photo from Evan Parker’s longtime partner, Carline Forbes, makes this disc exceptional on all levels. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $18 [In stock early next week]


* BEN GOLDBERG With NELS CLINE / RON MILES / DEAN YOUNG - Good Day for Cloud Fishing (Pyroclastic Records 05; USA) “In the summer of 2017 I was at Civitella Ranieri in Umbria writing music, where my main poetry was by the wonderful Gjertrud Schnackenberg and when I snapped out of it in Rome I sent Dean an email. A little nervous because of writing to your hero and described the idea but he wrote right back very enthusiastic and sent me his entire next book manuscript Solar Perplexus. I was sweltering in a little room in the Hotel Arenula and so happy to be reading Solar Perplexus.
In music these days it is a term of praise to say that someone “doesn’t give a _____.” It’s hard to say exactly what it means, but it doesn’t mean they don’t care. More like they’ll try anything. That’s a feeling I often have with Dean’s poetry: he might do anything. And if you might do anything, this brings up the question of what can be done, but you’ve kind of snuck up on it from behind or maybe it has snuck up on you.
I immediately imagined the record as a trio with Nels and Ron, and knew I wanted Michael Coleman to produce; the two of us were then working on our album Practitioner. When I sketched out the songs for this record they were all called Pastimes: “Pastime 1,” “Pastime 2,” and so on. Maybe because Dean is American and reminds me of baseball, and also Michael loves baseball and always wears an Oakland A’s cap. Or maybe not baseball at all. All my inspiration came from Solar Perplexus, I would read a poem out loud and then write down the musical phrases for the songs. The songs are modular and I made no attempt to motivically connect one section to another, or engage in development of any kind. Except for the two chorales (sequenced first and last), this music was basically composed monophonically–for me a kind of return to earlier practices, after a long period of contrapuntal extravagance.” - Ben Goldberg
CD $15

* BEN GOLDBERG will be playing several sets in NYC over the next weeks weeks, including his residency at The Stone (August 13th - 17th and a set here at DMG on Sunday, August 18th, at 6pm.


ROBERT LANDFERMANN / INGRID LAUBROCK* / ACHIM KAUFMANN / TOM RAINEY - Topaz (Klaeng Records #38; Germany) Featuring Ingrid Laubrock on tenor & soprano saxes, Achim Kaufmann on piano, Robert Landfermann on bass & production and Tom Rainey on drums. German bassist Robert Landfermann has recorded in a trio with Achim Kaufmann and Christian Lillinger, as well as with Portuguese guitarist Luis Lopes, mainly for the Clean Feed label. Besides a trio called, Grunen, German pianist Achim Kaufmann has worked with dozens of Europe’s finest: Michael Moore, Thomas Heberer, Frank Gratkowski and loads more. The Downtown couple of Ingrid Laubrock and Tom Rainey stay busy in numerous a duo, trios and diverse ensemble situations, collaborating with varied musicians from Anthony Braxton to Ab Baars & Ig Henneman to the amazing Tom Rainey Trio, who I saw last night at The Stone (8/6/19) and were astounding!
This disc was recorded in Topaz Studios in Cologne, Germany in August of 2018. This seems to be a completely improvised affair and sounds focused with several lines being tightly interweaved. The closer I listen, the more connected layers I hear, all swirling yet still tightly wound. The music here is often episodic, certain themes emerge and then submerge. At times a duo (like piano & drums) will erupt into an intense quartet section and then calm down to a more cerebral segment. All four members get to stretch out at length and each one excels when they are in the spotlight. Some of the interaction is subtle so we must listen closely for the rewards are well worth the time. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14

It is * INGRID LAUBROCK’S residency at The Stone this week: August 6th - 10th, one set at 8:30 every night. The personnel is different on each set. The first night with Mary Halvorson and Tom Rainey was outstanding!


JEB BISHOP / ALEX WARD / WEASEL WALTER* - “Flayed” (ugExplode; USA) "Flayed is a studio recording of the first time meeting of this particular combination, although I share a good amount of history and friendship with both musicians. The singular contrabassist and our mutual peer Damon Smith had the bright idea to make a quartet record with Alex Ward, Jeb Bishop and myself, since both of those guys were going to be around New York on the same dates. Jeb and Damon had been working together frequently in the Boston area and Alex was in town at the time touring with This Is Not This Heat. Damon ultimately had a schedule conflict and began recommending substitutes, but I posited that a trio sans bass would reveal a fresh, less idiomatic dynamic. Jeb Bishop spent some time as bass guitarist and trombonist in my ever-evolving unit The Flying Luttenbachers during 1993 and 1994. We worked together in numerous improvised music settings during that decade and we touched base periodically through the years while he roamed the planet with the Peter Brotzmann Chicago Tentet and interfaced with an endless array of esteemed international improvisers. Alex Ward cut his teeth as a precocious kid clarinetist performing adroitly with Derek Bailey. He worked prolifically in the improvised music scene and eventually revealed a penchant for articulate, noisy guitar playing. We finally got a chance to play and hang during a British jaunt I undertook back in 2011, which also resulted in the formation of our long running trio Deadly Orgone Radiation with guitarist James Sedwards. Most recently, Alex toured Europe in the guitar position with the latest Flying Luttenbachers lineup. The three of us are all longtime music fanatics/researchers/trivialists, and the intersection of our mutual obsessions and sensibilities in the areas of experimental rock and hardcore free jazz/improvisation bear most heavily on these eight tracks of diverse, spontaneous improvisation. I believe we achieved a good amount of sonic, timbral and structural diversity while retaining the tension and energy we all continually aspire to. Alex switched strategically between his axes and Jeb brought along a small, chaotic cracked electronics setup to contrast his virtuosic trombone displays. In these settings I try to approach my drum setup from a quasi orchestral perspective, focusing specifically on different combinations of components or using auxiliary percussion and preparations to extend the possibilities of my sound palette. "Flayed" is a spicy hot cut of high velocity free improvisation. Don't worry, dear listener - if you get close to it, I promise it won't cut you like a saber, but it might clean your ears out like a wire brush.” - Weasel Walter
CD $14

* WEASEL WALTER will be playing in a trio with Sam Weinberg and Henry Fraser here at DMG on Sunday, September 1st at 6pm!


ROBERT DICK & ADAM CAINE - The Damn THINK (Chant Records CR 1905; USA) Featuring Robert Dick on flutes and Adam Caine on electric & acoustic guitars. I have been checking out early Downtown flute master, Robert Dick, for some 40 years, since hearing play solo, in duos & games pieces with John Zorn and in New Winds with Ned Rothenberg & JD Parran. Mr. Dick’s writing and teaching on flutes, endless experimentation & flute design show him to in a class of his own. He is always searching out new musicians to work with: recently in a trio with Miya Masaoka and Joelle Leandre. Guitarist Adam Caine although less well-known, is a good match for Mr. Dick. You should the know name, Adam Caine, from his work with Federico Ughi, The Moon and Scurvy.
One of the things that has always fascinated me about Robert Dick is his ability to find gifted improvisers who can match his ultra-diverse array of unique sounds from his varied flutes. Adam Caine, is one of those Downtown musicians who seems to record and play live on rare occasion, yet is consistently experimenting which his sounds. Both players take their time, playing small fractured sounds at first, bending their notes around one another carefully, weaving and coming with all sorts of unexpected twists, turns and occasional vocalized (madman) sounds. At times, Mr. Dick plays his slide flute, hence bending notes inside out, while Mr. Caine also plays his own fractured sounds, a strange yet successful blend. Robert Dick once made an album inspired by Jimi Hendrix’s guitar playing/ i.e.: sonic textures like feedback & whammy bar bends. On a couple of sections on this disc, Mr. Caine uses some distortion giving his guitar an odd mutant sound, pushing Mr. Dick further out, bending his notes in similar ways. This is an immensely successful collaboration and it sounds like these two have worked hard to unleash many inner spirits. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14


FRANCESCO BEARZATTI With ROBERTO GATTO / BENJAMIN MOUSSAY - Dear John - Live at Due Terre Winery (CAM Jazz 7949; Italy) When the composer Arnold Schoenberg was told that many young composers were using his twelve-tone method, he replied "Yes, but are they making music with it?". The same might be said of John Coltrane's pervasive influence on modern jazz, and on saxophone playing in particular. Francesco Bearzatti is a Coltrane disciple and Dear John a love letter to the master, but Bearzatti doesn't just copy Coltrane's sound and signature techniques. Together with pianist Benjamin Moussay, who plays an electric instrument throughout, and drummer Roberto Gatto, they pay homage to the legacy even as they extend it. The music is mostly Bearzatti's own, but with an immaculately reimagined version of Coltrane's "Dear Lord" and the traditional "One Love" as the climax. There are hints of a Caribbean and modern electronic aesthetic which introduce a new and highly individual element to the music. Don't be in haste to file this one on the long shelf of "Coltrane tributes". Dear John is that, but much more, a vibrantly spiritual, warmly humane but deeply serious response to the universal challenge of the Coltrane discography. Sometimes, originality lies in sincere imitation and then in a respectful questioning of tradition”
CD $14


KOLLAPS - Mechanical Christ (Cold Spring CSR 269; UK) “Australian post-industrialists Kollaps are a three-piece creating a unique brand of primitive noise "intended for degenerates and outsiders". The band's distinctive primordial tones are created using appropriated waste materials like scrap metal, raw plastics, and steel plates combined with blistering percussion, bass, and vocals. This is no empty "industrial" gesture, for the band this process of creation facilitates the literal use of postmodern society against itself. Mechanical Christ, the band's sophomore release, is a conceptual continuation of its predecessor, Sibling Lovers (2017). This release sees Kollaps further their exploration of the inherent societal sickness of our times, one that manifests itself in the debasement of individual morality. Themes of exploitation, vengeance, drug addiction, paranoia, and slave labor are part of a dissonant, inverted morality play. Testament to the band's evolving conceptual depth are the overarching themes of love, life, and death that offer a sense of shared experience in the discomfort of the universal human experience. Known for their violent and nihilistic stage performances, this recording encapsulates with harsher clarity the visceral confrontation that is Kollaps' live act. Mechanical Christ was recorded and mixed over a two-month period at Aviary Studios by Mike Deslandes, and mastered by James Plotkin/Plotkinworks. A journey into the desperation and lack of resolve that is both the crux of modern social ills and at the very heart of the human condition. CD version comes in gatefold digisleeve.”
CD $16


BUNNY “STRIKER” LEE / VARIOUS ARTISTS - Jumping With Mr Lee: Reggae Classics From The Vault Of Bunny "Striker" Lee (Kingston Sounds Kscd 083; UK) The period of 1967-1968 when rocksteady was in full flow, would also be a turning point for Bunny "Striker" Lee, when he became a producer in his own right. Many of the great tunes during this eventful year came out of his stable and initially saw the light of day on his own imprint label "Lee's". Jumping With Mr. Lee has been assembled from some of those fine tunes and tells the story of reggae in what was a stellar time for both reggae and Mr Bunny Lee. Edward "Bunny" Lee, later to become known as "Striker", got his introduction to the music business around 1962 when his future brother in law singer Derrick Morgan introduced Bunny to producer Duke Reid, who gave him a job as record plugger for his Treasure Isle label. 1966 saw Bunny Lee move on to working for producer Ken Lack who ran his own label Caltone. As stated earlier, by 1967 Bunny Lee was leading the way and his vast stable of singers, were producing hit after hit for him -- many of those artists are featured on this compilation. The Sensations' "Long Time Me No See You Girl", The Uniques which featured the great Slim Smith are here on some of their greatest cuts "Love and Devotion", "The Beatitude", and "Girls Like Dirt". "My Conversation", a song that would be a big hit for the Uniques, would also go on to be of the most covered songs and redone over rhythms, in the history of reggae music. The great singer Pat Kelly features on "Somebody's Baby" and "Little Boy Blue" all massive hits, when originally released. Bunny's love of jazz and the brass sections would also shine through with some of Jamaica's finest musicians featured here with the excellent tenor sax work of Val Bennett which provided the album title track "Jumping With Mr Lee" and "Jumping With Val". The alto sax work of Lester Sterling is featured on the timeless cut "Bangerang" and "Tribute To Scratch". The big sound of trombonist Vin Gordon features on "Sounds And Soul". Not forgetting the previously mentioned king of ska Derrick Morgan on "Hold Your Jack", a song that in a few years' time would provide the backbone for Mr Max Romeo's cross over and controversial hit "Wet Dream". A fine collection of tracks from the great producer Bunny "Striker" Lee. Also features Winston "Stranger" Cole, Pat Kelly, and Ken Parker. CD version includes four tracks featuring Slim Smith and The Uniques, Roy Shirley, Webber Sisters, and Glen Adams.
$14


Back in Stock after more than a year:

TOMEKA REID QUARTET With MARY HALVORSON / TOMAS FUJIWARA / JASON ROEBKE - Tomeka Reid Quartet (Thirsty Ear 57210; USA) Featuring Tomeka Reid on cello & (all but one) compositions, Mary Halvorson on guitar, Jason Roebke on bass and Tomas Fujiwara on drums. I had the good fortune to check out cellist Tomeka Reid twice in recent times: at the Vision Fest in July of 2015 with a string trio: Mazz Swift & Silvia Bolognesi and a recent CD from this all-star trio: Nicole Mitchell/Ms. Reid/Mike Reed. Both the sets and discs are/were fabulous! Besides collaborating with Roscoe Mitchell, Dave McDonnell and several Mike Reed projects, this is only Ms. Reid's second disc as a leader. For this disc, Ms. Reid has organized a spirited quartet with tow of Downtown's best: Mary Halvorson & Tomas Fujiwara plus Chicago bass great/bandleader Jason Roebke. It would seem this crew met when recording that swell Sun Ra tribute CD called Living by Lanterns (Cuneiform) last year. This is certainly a unique sounding quartet since the frontline of cello and guitar is pretty rare. Ms. Reid and Ms. Halvorson play extremely well together, swirling and bending notes around one another in a most distinctive way. What is interesting here is that Ms. Halvorson sounds more like a regular jazz guitarist, sounds like her quirky self and still plays inspired solos throughout. "Etoile" sounds like a standard and has that warm, memorable melody that had me whistling pretty quickly. "Billy Bang's Bounce" has a swell, earthy vibe with an incredible cello solo and amazing interplay the guitar led rhythm team. "Glass Light" is a calm, dreamy piece, with some hushed, ghost-like solos from the guitar and cello. I dig the way "Super Nova" has several tight interlocking parts going on at once, shifting together as they go. On "Improv #2", both Tomeka and Mary play some twisted notes which sound great together as odd as they are. It is as if they have arrived at a similar place where the reflections are cracked, yet the overall effect is some inexplicable magic. I must listen to this disc more times since I know more will be revealed as time goes on. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $16


Back in Stock After Nearly Two Months:

DEREK BAILEY / HAN BENNINK / EVAN PARKER - Topographie Parisienne - Dunois, April 3rd, 1981 (Fou Records 34/35/36/37; France) Featuring Derek Bailey on guitar, Evan Parker on tenor & soprano saxes and Han Bennink on drums & other instruments. This particular trio of European free/improv giants recorded just one studio album in June of 1970 which was called ’Topography of the Lungs’. It was released on the Incus label soon thereafter, a label co-founded by Derek Bailey, Evan Parker and another financial friend. The musical relationship between Mr. Bailey & Mr. Parker eventually soured and ‘Topography of the Lungs’ went out of print. It wasn’t until 2005 when Mr. Bailey passed away that Mr. Parker was reissued that gem oh his own label, Psi. These three musicians did collaborate with each other only on a few large group recordings: Manfred Schoof (‘European Echoes’), Misha Mengelberg (‘Groupcomposing’ - now on CvsD) and Globe Unity (1970). Eleven years after this trio recorded ’Topography of the Lungs’, they played at the Theatre Dunois in France for a long evening on April 3rd of 1981. This impressive 4 CD Set captures that night with two set long trios, five duos and two solos from Evan Parker. Jean-Marc Foussat’s recording is superb, al the music is well-captured, warm, clean and well-balanced. It is wonderful to hear this trio in all of their splendor. Besides drums, Mr. Bennink sounds like he is playing scissors and assorted odd objects. The first trio set works its way through trio and duo sections, from quiet sections to more explosive chatter. Much of the duo segments with Mr. Parker on soprano and Mr. Bennink on drums are just incredible. There is way too much great music here to comment on here and I have two more discs to get through. Thanks to Mr. Foussat and the Fou Records label for great opportunity to hear they trio, duos and solos at length. Truly an historic moment! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
4 CD Set $38

DEREK BAILEY / JOELLE LEANDRE / GEORGE LEWIS / EVAN PARKER - 28 Rue Dunois Juillet 1982 (Fou Records 06; France) Previously unreleased and outstanding! Two complete sets equaling 78 1/2 minutes in length.
CD $17

DAUNIK LAZRO / JOELLE LEANDRE / GEORGE LEWIS - Enfances 8 Janv. 1984 (Fou Records 18; France)Amazing to think that 30 years of Joëlle Léandre’s many collaborations with Daunik Lazro and George Lewis began with a recording we’ve never heard in full before now. As I’ve been soaking in all the writing this week, I revisited a couple of seminal albums also recorded in the 1980s, particularly the Intakt releases The Storming of the Winter Palace (the epic quintet featuring Léandre, Lewis, Maggie Nicols, Irène Schweizer, and Günter Sommer) and Paris Quartet (Léandre’s album with Lazro, Schweizer, and Yves Robert). A portion of this trio performance appeared on Lazro’s HatHut set, Sweet Zee, but if I’m not mistaken, this is the first release of the complete session. Thinking about how this is likely the first recorded meeting of these three, the clarity of the recording would be enough to recommend it, for its historical value. But the real prizes here are the vibrancy and ingenuity of three great improvisers in collaboration. The opening 30 seconds of “Enface 1” contain a scattering of percussive noises (think Art Ensemble of Chicago-style little instruments), Léandre’s voice, and the briefest tease of Lazro’s sax. A minute later, the trio is fully awoken. Lazro and Léandre have long been collaborating, and the genesis of their partnership illuminates how well matched they’ve been since the beginning. All three musicians boast tremendous talent and commitment to the moment, but there’s also sly humor and a passionate drive to urge listeners to out of their traditionally passive role. “Enfance 4” is a wonderful examples of this, with Léandre’s arco solo suddenly interrupted by Lewis and Lazro’s riffs and squaks. “Enface 5” is something of preview of the past 30 years in retrospect. Early on, Lazro takes a lyrical solo, which Léandre quickly picks up on bass. The two continue moving forward, somewhat hesitantly, before ceding the floor to Lewis for an extended solo. The three come together in a swirling passage of singing, bass, trombone, and sax, which contrasts staccato passages with brassy outbursts. Hearing it all hang together in synchrony, I was somewhat on edge, waiting to hear how long the passage would sustain itself. With most of the tracks clocking in at sub-4 minutes, the 20-minute “Enface 5” and 12-minute “Enface 6” form the centerpiece of the album. Toward the middle of “Enface 6” is a Lazro/Lewis duet, with the two weaving their lines together into a dense run. Gradually, Léandre joins, then quickly takes centerstage for a solo that sets the path forward for the piece’s conclusion. The final track, “Enface 10,” plays like a strident plea that could be a call for peace, a call to action, or a call simply echoing out into space, perhaps never to be answered.” - Lee Rice Epstein, FreeJazzBlog
CD $17

WILLEM BREUKER KOLLEKTIEF with ROY RAAYMAKERS / WILLEM VAN MANEN / BERNRAD HUNNEKINK / BOB DRIESSEN / MAARTEN VAN NORDEN / HENK de JONGE / ARJEN GORTER / ROB VERURMEN - Angouleme 18 Mai 1980 (Fou Records 09 & 10; France)“Recorded live at a crucial period of its existence, this Angouleme May 18, 1980 is a splendid testimony of the Willem Breuker Kollektief, a flagship of the new European jazz orchestra. Founded in 1974 to set to music the musical and social ideas Willem Breuker, the WBK brought together musicians that were somehow his students, and he had leverage their individual qualities although initially many of them were not properly improvisers as could be colleagues such as Bennink, Mengelberg, Maarten Altena, Evan Parker, Derek Bailey, Fred Van Hove, Brötzmann and co. Digging in the aesthetics of Kurt Weil, whose work on WB was authoritative, curiously summoned his arrangements, popular music (circus marches, tango), innovations minimalist and expressionistic free jazz, combining power and subtlety. In May 1980, the pianist Henk de Jonge replaced Leo Cuypers and hornist January Wolff had left the ship, but the trumpeter Andy Altenfelder had not yet joined. Also the music is a little closer to jazz with more elaborate arrangements and the group has earned a reputation explosive. Not less than 4000 people attended these concerts Angoulême and made them public rampaging reminders.” - SoundOhm.com
2 CD Set $24

URS LEIMGRUBER & JEAN MARC FOUSSAT - Face to Face (Fou Records 32/33; France)Featuring Urs Leimgruber on soprano & tenor saxes and Jean-Marc Foussat on AKS synth & voice. Last week (5/31-6/3/19), I had the opportunity to hear Swiss saxist, Urs Leimgruber, play live on three separate occasions, playing solos & duos with Jessica Pavone & Brandon Lopez. Each set was superb, but in very different ways. I have long followed & enjoyed the work of Mr. Leimgruber whose career reaches back to the mid-seventies with the great quartet Om, as well as working with John Wolf Brennan, Joe McPhee and Quartet Noir. Mr. Leimgruber has recorded a number of solo sax discs throughout his evolution and it seems as if he has recorded/performed even more in the duo context: Fritz Hauser, Thomas Lehn, Evan Parker and Vinny Golia.
For this 2 CD set, Mr. Leimgruber collaborates with the French recording engineer/producer/archivist Jean-Marc Foussat. Mr. Foussat plays an AKS synth here, uses his voice and recorded these two sessions in two towns in Switzerland, Zurich and Lucerne, on October 19th & 26th of last year (2018). After hearing Mr. Leimgruber play in three very different settings, I see/hear how he adapts to the room & person he is playing with. On Disc one, ‘Rive de Reves’, the duo take their time with breath-like radiator hissing sounds, the rhythmic tapping of the keys, subtle electronics, squeaks and other carefully bent notes. Mr. Leimgruber twists those notes inside out, the tension ever expanding. Mr. Foussat sounds as if he has sampled voices (a suspenseful chorus) and other odd sounds, also bending the samples to work well with variety of sax & mouthpiece sounds. Eventually it sounds as if Mr. Leimgruber’s sax is being played through the synth and manipulated in part. Mr. Foussat is a fine collaborator and consistently finds ways for adding a variety of haunting or disorienting sounds to Mr. Leimgruber’s sax playing. When Mr. Leimgruber switches to tenor sax, his sound is even more impressive, expansive, intense and explosive at times. The second was recorded in another hall, a week earlier. Again, we hear the way Mr. Foussat adds right amount of sonic seasoning to the solo sax work of reeds wiz Urs Leimgruber. If you are patient and listen closely, you will hear layers of subtle electronics, samples and sax explorations. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
2 CD Set $24


DAVE DOUGLAS & OTHER GREENLEAF Discs Recently Reissued:

DAVE DOUGLAS With JIM McNEELY/FRANKFURT RADIO BIGBAND - RADIO BIG BAND A Single Sky (Greenleaf 1011; USA) On his first big band recording, award winning trumpeter, composer, bandleader, and Greenleaf Music label founder Dave Douglas is joined by the Frankfurt Radio Bigband, conducted by composer/arranger Jim McNeely, with whom Douglas studied in the mid-1980s. Presenting a previously unheard facet of Douglas' artistry, A Single Sky features new compositions written expressly for big band, as well as McNeely's nuanced arrangements of a few of Douglas' older tunes, which sheds new light on his earlier work without obscuring the subtlety of his original vision. Three new pieces, "The Presidents," "Campaign Trail," and "Blockbuster" are culled from Douglas' first original work for big band - a nine part suite originally titled Letter From America, later renamed Delighted States following the 2008 American Presidential election. McNeely conducts these new works using Douglas' original arrangements, drawing the four remaining tunes from the trumpeter's extensive songbook. On the surface, the differences between the new and old pieces are slight - a testament to both Douglas' consistency as a composer and McNeely's talents as an arranger. Despite subtle shifts in tone and style, the tunes are spacious and uncluttered, allowing individual soloists ample room for expression. Largely eschewing the pneumatic riffing of the swing era, and the dissonant collectivism of the New Thing, Douglas and McNeely embrace a sober, lyrical approach. Making the most of the band's multihued sonorities and scintillating textures, they side-step tired traditions, favoring the effervescent expansiveness pioneered by Gil Evans, Gary McFarland, Gunther Schuller, and other Third Stream advocates. Exuding an impressionistic air, the album brims with lush melodies and soaring themes while maintaining a regal sense of classicism. The majestic fanfare of "The Presidents" is emblematic, opening the program with a chorale-like mosaic of interlocking horns and ethereal accents suggesting Ellington's sumptuous voicings and Mingus' stately drama. Digging deep into the opulent theme, Douglas demonstrates the breadth of his instrumental prowess with a series of sublime variations. An acknowledged master, Douglas' thematic improvisations transcend technique; his vocalized tone and emotive phrasing reveals a soulful earthiness that blends traditional virtuosity with avant-garde expressionism. Though he solos often, he never dominates the proceedings, enabling his singular writing to stand on its own. The moody tone poem "Bury Me Standing" conveys pensive introspection, while the brief "Tree and Shrub" and bittersweet opus "Persistence of Memory" soar with timeless, heartrending lyricism. The fittingly titled "Campaign Trail" is a lighthearted romp bolstered by wry commentary, while the circuitous solos and careening rhythms of the title track are an ebullient highlight. Drifting into vanguard territory, the muscular "Blockbuster" closes the session with an undulating barrage of swelling horns, similar to Butch Morris' co-improvisation techniques. A sophisticated exploration of the big band tradition, A Single Sky opens a new chapter in Douglas' discography, providing fresh perspectives on his oeuvre. - Troy Collins, All About Jazz
CD $12

DAVE DOUGLAS & KEYSTONE [MARCUS STRICKLAND /ADAM BENJAMIN / DJ OLIVE/ BRAD JONES / GENE LAKE] - Moonshine (Greenleaf 06; USA) Dave Douglas' Keystone band emerges again with their follow-up to 2005's Grammy-nominated Keystone album. Moonshine is a hybrid recording combining the raw blowing, eye-popping, ear-bending live experience that this band is known for, and neo-psychedelic post-production. The end result is a masterwork of improvised electro-jazz that features 9 new Douglas compositions. This is a very special studio release-multiple different ways that you can interact with the music including free movies, bonus tracks, alternate live versions, and much more. "Keystone is comprised of Dave Douglas on trumpet, Marcus Strickland on saxes, Adam Benjamin of Kneebody on Fender Rhodes electric piano, DJ Olive on turntables, Brad Jones on the Ampeg Baby bass and Gene Lake on drums. Although this music was inspired by the unfinished Buster Keaton/Fanny Arbuckle film, "Moonshine" and was recorded live at the Bray Jazz Festival in Ireland, the music takes off and is wonderful on its own. Dave consistently puts together dynamic all-star bands that sound as if they have been playing together for a long time. The title track features an infectious funky groove that is most uplifting and makes me want to jump up and get down (and dance!). For those of us that still love that 70's (Fender Rhodes) electric piano sound, Adam Benjamin has it down and sounds swell whether soloing or just spinning lines underneath either horn solos. Adam also likes to alter the sound of his electric piano to fit the different directions the quintet takes. DJ Olive is perfect at adding sonic spice here and there, knowing just when to drop in the right samples/sounds to add colors and/or twisted voices. On "Married Life," the sextet works its way through a series of interconnected sections that flow nicely and still provides surprising changes of direction. Although this was recorded live, it was reworked in the studio and does have a superb studio-like sound and is perfectly balanced. Dave's writing in strong throughout, both horns always sound like they were made to play together. "Scopes" is an amazing uptempo scorcher that features an incredible hard-blowing solo from tenor saxist, Marcus Strickland. "Flood Plane" has a fine, laidback, dreamy sort-of vibe with some mysterious sampled sounds from DJ Logic. "Kitten" erupts into an intense more rockin' groove with an over-the-top blast of fuzz-bass (?) to push it higher. "Tough" brings things to a close with a Stevie Wonder-like groove (influenced by "Too High"), which has another infectious groove that just feels so good! Once again, Dave Douglas, has put together a potent batch of new songs that are both adventurous and fun-filled simultaneously. - BLG
CD $12

DAVE DOUGLAS BRASS ECSTASY With VINCENT CHANCEY / LUIS BONILLA / MARCUS ROJAS / NASHEET WAITS - Spirit Moves (Greenleaf 1010; USA) Douglas' first studio album in three years and the debut recording of his project Brass Ecstasy, Spirit Moves features Douglas alongside Vincent Chancey (French horn), Luis Bonilla (trombone), Marcus Rojas (tuba) and Nasheet Waits (drums) paying homage to the brass instrument with eight new original compositions and three arrangements of classics by such disparate artists as Otis Redding, Hank Williams and Rufus Wainwright. Over the past several years, Douglas has steadily honed his work with Brass Ecstasy with appearances at the 2008 Chicago Jazz Festival, which commissioned new music from the group, Willisau Festival, Reggio Calabria Jazz Festival, and The Festival of New Trumpet Music. Informed by the evolving spirit of brass music and by his multi-faceted career as the director of The Festival of New Trumpet Music, label head of Greenleaf Music, a renowned composer, artist, and record producer, Douglas pens an ambitious collection of lyrical songs with impressions of folk, pop and soul music.
CD $12

DAVE DOUGLAS QUINTET With JON IRABAGON/MATT MITCHELL/LINDA OH/RUDY ROYSTON AOIFE O'DONOVAN - Be Still (Greenleaf 1027; USA) Featuring Dave Douglas on trumpet & most compositions, Jon Irabagon on tenor sax, Matt Mitchell on piano, Linda Oh on bass, Rudy Royston on drums and Aoife O'Donovan on voice & guitar. You can tell that Dave Douglas takes his time with creating each and every release as all aspects of this disc are perfectly aligned. Dave has organized an all-new, all-star quintet with a superb cast of musicians. Each member of the quintet is a leader and/or an essential collaborator of their own. Monk award winner Jon Irabagon is a member of MOPDTK, Matt Mitchell has been working with Tim Berne & Claudia Quintet, Linda Oh has two fine discs of her own (one on Greenleaf) and Rudy Royston keeps extra busy playing with Bill Frisell, JD Allen and Ben Allison. This is the first time that Mr. Douglas has featured a vocalist in his band so he had to choose someone special. That person is Aoife (pronounced EEF-ah) O'Donovan, a Boston-based singer who has sung with the Wayfaring Strangers, Crooked Still and Jerry Douglas. Ms. O'Donovan is featured on the first five songs on this disc. Her voice is a pure delight - exquisite, lovely and subtly enchanting. Mr. Douglas does a wonderful job of using her voice as an integral part of the quintet. Aoife sings "High on a Mountain", a traditional sounding song written by Ola Bell Reed, with a charming soulful, bluesy tinge with some seamless arrangement which blends jazz and bluegrass in a unique. Besides Ms. O'Donovan's strong and often haunting voice, both Mr. Douglas and Mr. Irabagon play the most lyrically I've heard from either. One of things that makes this album special is the way Dave has blended jazz, pop and bluegrass influences into something new that is in between any established categories.Although the second half of this disc is mostly instrumental, the vibe remains the same with the trumpet, tenor sax and piano all taking some elegant, soulful and/or dreamy solos. The interplay between both horns is especially well done, near fireworks at times. The title of this disc, "be still..." seems befitting as this is what one must do in order to appreciate the more restrained, elegant side of things to appreciate this fine disc. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
CD $12 / LP $16

DONNY McCASLIN TRIO With HANS GLAWISCHNIG / JONATHAN BLAKE - Recommended Tools (Greenleaf 1008; USA) Recommended Tools is the 7th release for Donny McCaslin, and also his first for Dave Douglas' Greenleaf Music label. (McCaslin has been performing with Douglas' highly publicized Quintet since 2005.) His latest release, Recommended Tools finds McCaslin for the first time working in a trio setting. With bassist Hans Glawischnig (Ray Barretto, Steffon Harris, Miguel Zenon) and drummer Johnathan Blake (Tom Harrell, Jaleel Shaw, Russell Malone), McCaslin has made this highly emotive format a vehicle for his virtuosic blowing and distinct compositional voice. Trenched in free-flowing arrangements with dynamic interplay between the band, this work harkens back to the classic trio recordings of Sonny Rollins and Joe Henderson. And while a classic format, McCaslin retains his progressive approach and inventiveness, citing Bill Frisell, Hermeto Pascoal, Stravinsky and Messiaen as inspiration for these compositions.
CD $12

KNEEBODY [ADAM BENJAMIN/SHANE ENDSLEY/KAVEH RASTEGAR/BEN WENDEL/NATE WOOD]- Kneebody (Greenleaf 1002; USA) Kneebody feature Shane Endsley on trumpet & pedals, Adam Benjamin on acoustic & electric pianos, Kaveh Rastegar on electric bass, Ben Wendel on tenor sax (mostly) and Nate Wood on drums & percussion. Kneebody is/are L.A. based, but you probably wouldn't know it from their unique, post/jazz sound. The only musician here that I was vaguely familiar with is Shane Endsley who is on a Ralph Alessi disc and was involved in Dave Douglas' trumpet fest last year. Kneebody are a fun-filled band, move between jazz, rock, funk and even some fusion/prog effortlessly. There is little or now guitar, although their bassist uses some fuzz-bass at times and both the keyboards and horn use some distortion and/or echo devices in just the right places. I am reminded of some of early 70's British jazz-rock bands (Alan Bown, Steamhammer) that used to put their horns through various devices to come up with their own sound. Inventive without overdoing their more serious side. Hard to believe that these young (?) dudes produced themselves, since they did such a swell job of altering their sound(s) and keeping their group sound so well focused. A most impressive first effort that would've sipped through my fingers had not trumpeter Shane Endsley wandered into the store and laid this promo in my hand. - BLG
CD $12


First Times Listings for a Several Seminal Collections from the Acrobat label:

CHARLES MINGUS With WOODY SHAW / GERRY MULLIGAN / RICKY FORD / JACK WALRATH / PAUL JEFFREY / DANNIE RICHMOND - The Unique - The Last Session (Acrobat 704; UK) Issued on the import Acrobat label, The Unique was originally released in at least two earlier incarnations, first as an LP entitled Lionel Hampton Presents Charles Mingus on Hampton's Giants of Jazz label, and in 2002 as Lionel's Sessions on the Universe imprint. Many of these tracks were released on subsequent postmortem recordings on Atlantic. These sessions were recorded in 1977, with Charles Mingus at the beginning of a serious decline in health that would result in his death in 1979. Hampton assembled a band that included not only himself, but Ricky Ford, Gerry Mulligan, Dannie Richmond, Jack Walrath, Woody Shaw, and Paul Jeffrey, with Mingus holding down the bass chair. Here are new versions of "Fables of Faubus," "Duke Ellington's Sound of Love," and "So Long Eric." In addition, "Farewell, Farewell" and "Peggy's Blue Skylight," along with the two-part "Just for Laughs," are included, giving this a wonderful big-band feel. The problem is that Hampton is so prevalent on these sessions, in both his instrument and personality, that they feel like recordings from his prime in the '40s and '50s rather than as current works and re-workings of Mingus classics. The playing is expert but dry and the charts are certainly brilliant, but they feel watered down, more accessible, and less challenging; they lack the spark that is Mingus' alone.
CD $13


DUKE ELLINGTON with JOHNNY HODGES / BARNIE BIGARD / COOTIE WILLIAMS / REX STEWART / et al - The Small Bands 1937-1941 (Acrobat 179; UK) Duke Ellington was no exception when it came to small band recordings featuring musicians from his touring and recording orchestra. Unlike most of his contemporaries, though, Ellington chose to design his small bands around one or more soloist and instead of using his own name as leader had the recordings released under the soloist's own name. This selection features five major players from the Ellington Orchestra and the 25 tracks on this compilation represent only a fraction of the many small band recordings Ellington produced during the 1930s and '40s. Tracks include "Tea And Trumpets" (Rex Stewart and His Fifty-Second Street Stompers), "C-Jam Blues " (Barney Bigard And His Orchestra ), "Echoes Of Harlem" (Cootie Williams And His Rug Cutters) , "The Jeep Is Jumpin" (Johnny Hodges And His Orchestra) and "Cherry" (Rex Stewart's Big Seven).
CD $12


BOOKER ERVIN - The Good Book: The Early Years 1960-62 (Acrobat 7121; UK)He's more of my school," bassist Charles Mingus said of his then sideman, tenor saxophonist Booker Ervin in 1961, "I mean he goes for himself." The assessment was spot-on; arriving on the US jazz scene at the time when the twin tenor peaks of John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins were at the very apex of their powers, Ervin had the remarkable distinction of belonging to neither man's stylistic school, instead proffering a highly individual and distinctive blend of the blues-driven "Texas tenor" tradition - which, born in the Lone Star state city of Denison, was his birthright - and a diamond-hard, spearing tone that enabled him able to hold his own with such cutting-edge talents as Mingus, Eric Dolphy and Jaki Byard. "Heat, energy, raw emotion and relentless sense of swing are [his] characteristics," wrote one contemporary observer, "plus his straight-from-the-soul sincerity." Nevertheless, despite these ear-grabbing qualities and his almost evangelistic faith in his art, Ervin's career played out much like a tragedy - socio-political anxiety and lack of work forced him to relocate to Europe in 1964, the beginning of an eventually thwarted attempt to broaden his art, while his return to the core of the New York jazz scene was cut short by ill-health, resulting in his early death, aged only 39, in 1970. The terms "unsung hero" and "musicians' musician" were all too frequently appended to Ervin's name during his short lifetime, yet in spite of these inhibiting labels he recorded no fewer than fifteen albums as a leader, as well as appearing as a sideman on over a dozen others. This new Acrobat anthology celebrates the early years of his recorded career at the dawn of the 1960s, a juncture in which Hard Bop, Soul Jazz and the Avant-Garde all jostled for primacy, and which found Ervin a player perfectly equipped for the times. Featuring all three of his initial albums as a leader - The Book Cooks, Cookin' and That's it! - together with selected appearances with bands led by vibraphonist Teddy Charles, pianists Horace Parlan and Mal Waldron and fellow-tenor Bill Barron (the rare Hot Line album), this 4-CD retrospective is accompanied by an extensive booklet note by award-winning saxophonist and author Simon Spillett, carefully re-examining Ervin's work, and uncovering much hitherto unknown information about his early life, alongside period photographs. Featured players include saxophonist Zoot Sims, trumpeters Tommy Turrentine and Richard Williams, guitarist Grant Green, pianists Kenny Barron and Tommy Flanagan, and drummers Andrew Cyrille, Charli Persip and Dannie Richmond.”
4 CD Set $24


ART BLAKEY & THE JAZZ MESSENGERS - Live At The Cafe Bohemia November 1955 (Acrobat 3289; UK) “Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers were a major influential creative force in modern jazz for over three decades, with Blakey actively leading different incarnations of the band through to his death in 1990. They were legendary as representing the archetypal hard bop school of jazz, with a driving blues-flavoured approach. These performances came from early in the development of the Messengers soon after drummer Art Blakey and pianist Horace Silver had formed the group with tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley, trumpeter Kenny Dorham and bassist Doug Watkins, and these recordings were the first 'live' performances by this line-up to be recorded and released, and so represent something of a landmark. This set comprises the performances which were subsequently released on the Blue Note label. In addition, by way of a bonus, we also feature three studio tracks which this line-up had recorded at their first session together in November 1954, which were released by Blue Note as The Horace Silver Quintet. Including several extended performances where the full range of the group's skill and style can be fully appreciated, this is a great showcase for one of the most admired ensembles in modern jazz, capturing the modern jazz zeitgeist of those years.”
2 CD Set $16



ZOOT SIMS QUINTET - Featuring Bob Brookmeyer - Buried Gold: The Complete 1956 Quintet Recordings (Acrobat 3173; UK) “Tenor saxophonist Zoot Sims and valve-trombonist Bob Brookmeyer were musicians made for each other. Weaned on the classic sound of the late-1930s Count Basie band, they nevertheless cut their jazz teeth in the heady days of Bebop, emerging with a novel jazz language, one informally marrying the best of both old and new: mainstream. Although they were to share the stage in bands led by many celebrated leaders, the music these two players made on a series of studio recorded quintet sessions during 1956 represented the epitome of their synergistic, swing-to-bop approach. Released on several different labels, this music has never previously been compiled in one collection. Not only does this new Acrobat release contain the contents of the three original quintet albums - The Modern Art of Jazz, Tonite's Music Today and Whooeee - it features two rare bonus tracks taken from obscure, long-deleted, anthologies. The album also comes complete with period photographs and an extensive booklet essay by saxophonist and author Simon Spillett, telling the fascinating story of the men who made this timeless music. CD 1 Zoot Sims (tenor sax); Bob Brookmeyer (valve trombone); John Williams (piano); Milt Hinton (bass); Gus Johnson (drums) New York City, January 11th and 18th 1956 1-8 originally issued on Dawn DLP 1103 - Zoot Sims - The Modern Art Of Jazz, 9 originally issued on Jazztone J 1245 - Modern Jazz Festival, 10 originally issued on Harmony HL 7196 - Modern Jazz Festival CD 2 Tracks 1-8 Zoot Sims (tenor sax, vocal*); Bob Brookmeyer (valve trombone); Hank Jones (piano, celeste); Wyatt Ruther (bass); Gus Johnson (drums) New York City, January 31st 1956 1-8 originally issued on Storyville SLP 907 - Zoot Sims and Bob Brookmeyer - Tonite's Music Today Tracks 9-16 Zoot Sims (tenor sax); Bob Brookmeyer (valve trombone); Hank Jones (piano); Bill Crow (bass); Jo Jones (drums)New York City, February 8th 1956 Originally issued on Storyville SLP 914 - Zoot Sims and Bob Brookmeyer - Whooeeee”
2 CD Set $16


TONY KINSEY with JOE HARRIOTT / TUBBY HAYES / RONNIE SCOTT / DON RENDELL / et al - Collection: 1953-61 (Acrobat 6001; UK) “Drummer Tony Kinsey is one of the true godfathers of British post-war modern jazz, and even now in 2012, well into his eighties, is still playing gigs and writing innovative music. We have worked with Tony to put together this almost complete anthology of his recordings during the frenetic decade from the early 50s through to the early 60s, when his skill and influence in putting together successive influential line-ups of small groups, especially during his lengthy residency at London's legendary Flamingo Club, gave him a unique role in the genre. This 6-CD set pulls together a remarkable range or material, and features a veritable who's-who of top jazz names from the era, including the likes of Joe Harriott, Tubby Hayes, Bill Le Sage, Tommy Whittle, Ronnie Ross, Don Rendell, Lennie Bush, Jimmy Deuchar, and many more, in the various groups he led during that time. It's not only a hugely entertaining selection of music, but also a great showcase for Tony's understated but always swinging and grooving drum technique, and a tribute to his huge influence on British jazz.
6 CD Set $30


MUDDY WATERS - Complete Aristocrat & Chess Singles A's & B's 1947-62 (Acrobat 7072; UK) “No other Muddy Waters anthology provides such a comprehensive collection of his singles for the Aristocrat and Chess labels from his first release releases for the Chess brothers in 1947 right through to 1962, making for an excellent value 98-track 4-CD set. In providing both A and B sides of every release, it gives an excellent, instructive and entertaining overview of his recordings aimed at the commercial market, especially in the context of an R&B scene which was changing rapidly during a decade and a half of musical evolution and revolution. It's a fabulous showcase for his talents as innovative guitarist singer and songwriter, tracing the development of his style from acoustic solo work through to his creation of the classic electric blues group line-up. It will find a market both with committed fans, and those wanting to discover the music and the unique style of one of the most influential and important figures in blues.”
4 CD Set $24


JOHNNY CASH - Complete Sun Releases And Columbia Singles 1955-62 (Acrobat 9054; UK) “Johnny Cash occupies an unusual niche in popular music as an artist who was able to straddle the genres to encompass not only the country idiom with which he is most identified but also rockabilly, blues, rock 'n' roll, gospel and folk, to the extent that he was inducted into the Hall Of Fame in country, rock 'n' roll and gospel. He was one of the artists who came to fame on Sam Phillips' Sun label alongside Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis, and during his time with Sun, and later with Columbia, during the period covered by this collection he had over 40 entries in either the pop or country charts, including iconic songs such as "I Walk The Line", "Folsom Prison Blues", ""Ballad Of A Teenage Queen", "Get Rhythm" and "Don't Take Your Guns To Town", most of which were among his five country No. 1s. This great value 85-track anthology represents a substantial overview of his key early career, which set the tone for his several decades of across-the-board stardom, including movie roles, network TV shows and high profile recognition. It comprises all of the tracks released by Sun either on singles, EPs or LPs during this period, plus all the A & B sides of his singles for Columbia from this era.”
3 CD Set $18


THE STAPLE SINGERS - Collection 1953-62 (Acrobat 9073; UK) “The Staple Singers are one of the most celebrated and respected groups to have graced the gospel landscape in the post-war era, their music transcending the boundaries of the genres so that they became equally successful and admired across gospel, soul and R&B in a career that spanned six decades. The patriarch of the Staples family, Roebuck 'Pops' Staples, formed the group in Chicago with his children Cliotha, Pervis and Mavis, in 1948 when Mavis was just nine years old, and by 1952 they had signed their first recording deal with United. Over the next decade they recorded for various labels, most notably after United for Vee-Jay, Gospel and Riverside, their music already displaying a commercial bluesy edge which differentiated from much of the mainstream gospel of that era. This 3-CD anthology brings together just about all the records they released on both singles and albums during that formative part of their career when the younger members were maturing and they were honing the style which would bring them classic R&B and pop hits in subsequent decades. As well as the A and B sides of their singles, including one or two on lesser known labels, it includes all the tracks from their albums during that era - "albums "Uncloudy Day", "Will The Circle Be Unbroken", "Swing Low", "Gospel Program" and "Hammer & Nails". It's a marvelous introduction to the group at the start of their glittering career.”
3 CD Set $21


DUSTIN E PRESENTS… CORNFLAKE ZOO - Episode 19 (Particles 4106; UK) Dustin E's intrepid foray into the European pop landscape brings forth unknown pleasures and untold treasures from Sweden, France, Portugal, Holland, Germany, England, Denmark, and Norway, and a lovely, scruffy bunch from Argentina. For some rock n' roll innovation or plain old psychedelic power pop, Episode 19 provides a one-way ticket to a loved-up, fuzzed-up universal party. 20 songs release between 1967-1969. Includes 20-page full-color booklet with comprehensive liner notes and rare color photographs. Features Steampacket, Objectivo, The Holly Guns, The Eddysons, De Maskers, Cops & Robbers, Shocking Blue, The Hep Stars, The Hounds, Incredible, Adam & Eve, The Deejays, The Barbarians, Lord Knud, Christopher K, The Nicols, The Sonics, Mojo Blues, and The Defenders.
CD $17


PRURIENT - Garden Of The Mutilated Paratroopers (Profound Lore 228; Canada)
"Presenting Prurient's Garden Of The Mutilated Paratroopers, a limited 2xFAN CD EP of airborne electronics for the 75th anniversary of Screaming Eagles Radio and 82nd Neptune Death Row. Adrenaline drones, memorial distortion, windy feedback, loud speaker vocals with a heavy influence from the naked and neither fact-nor-fiction black humor drama forgotten style of Aquifer Sodality and Slaughter Productions."
2 CD Set $17


Last week we got six new discs from the Clean Feed & Shhpuma labels, which is about half as many as they usually release every couple of months. Now that we’ve listened to each of these several times, I realized that each one is great! After more than 500 (!) releases, the Clean Feed/Shhpuma empire remains perhaps the largest creative music label around and their batting average is way above any other standard. If you can afford the time and money, I urge to grab all six new ones! One thing to consider is this: if you are not into that No Wave-like tortured post-punk sound, then you might want to check out Trigger and Cat in the Bag. I will do my own reviews of the lesser known entities:

CAT IN A BAG - self/titled (Clean Feed 531; Portugal) Cat in a Bag features Bruno Figueira on sax & effects, Joao Clemente on guitar & devices, Joao Lucas on bass & effects and Duarte Fonseca on drums. Three of these four members of this quartet are/were members of an earlier Clean Feed band known as Slow is Possible. The bassist is the only name here with whom I am previously familiar. This disc of three suite-like pieces. On ”Part I”, things are stripped down to almost No Wave-like stark, spikiness. The tension increases as the quartet slowly launch into a great, post-punk like throbbing beat. Electric bassist, Joao Lucas, plays those Laswell-like throbbing bass lines at the center of the storm. The music here is often quite intense and explosive, tight yet brutal with bent note guitar & fractured sax up front. The band turns down to a disorienting simmer on ‘Part II’ showing another side to their sound. There seems to a resurgence in current bands who sound like they are coming from the No Wave era of the elate seventies/early eighties: Trigger, CP Unit, Bloor and now Cat in a Bag. Strong, spirited and sturdy, but not for the faint-hearted. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15


LP Section:

DUOLOGY with TED DANIEL / MICHAEL MARCUS With HENRY GRIMES - With Henry Grimes (Ujamaa 1005; USA) Featuring Ted Daniel on trumpet & french hunting horn, Michael Marcus pn B-flat & A clarinets and Henry Grimes on contrabass and violin. Duology is the duo of Ted Daniel (on trumpets) and Michael Marcus (on clarinets). This is the third release from Duology after one on Boxholder (long out-of-print) and another with guest drummer, Andrew Cyrille, on JazzWerkStatt (allegedly in print but hard-to-find in the US). This album was actually recorded live at Columbia University in June and July of 2009, but not released until now. Duology is joined by legendary bassist Henry Grimes who has had health problems in recent years.
The first thing I noticed about this album is how well it is recorded, mixed and mastered: perfect! The sound is superb, warm, sublime, consistently enchanting. Mr. Grimes contrabass is at the center, keeping the bottom throbbing, flowing while the clarinet and trumpet slowly interweave on top. Mr. Marcus’ “Spiral Landscapes” features some somber, hypnotic harmonies for both horns, tender muted trumpet and delicate clarinet as one sly sound, a soft bass drone underneath. Longtime Downtown free/jazz saxist, Michael Marcus, who has worked for many years with Sonny Simmons in the Cosmosamatics, shows another side to his playing by playing clarinet with restraint, clarity and poignancy here. Elder trumpet wiz, Ted Daniel, who has long been associated with freer/loft jazz scene, released a disc a couple of years ago (2017), inspired by King Oliver, also shows another side by playing rich harmonies which draw on much older styles of jazz. “Reparations” kicks off Side B with Mr. Grimes on violin and the trio playing freely, quietly yet intensely, a short yet succinct start. On Mr. Marcus’ “Sonic Corridors” the clarinet and trumpet trade lines and swirl tightly, furiously around one another while Mr. Grimes walks quickly underneath. The trio play a righteous sounding blues/gospel song called “Truth Telling”, I swear a should chorus singing in the background (in my head at least). It is the last song a perfect way to bring this wonderful, well-balanced treasure to a grand close. 5 stars on every level. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
LP [only / LTD Edition] $18


MERZBOW & VANITY PRODUCTIONS - Coastal Erosion (Ideal Recordings 184; Sweden) On their riveting debut collaboration, Merzbow (Masami Akita) and Posh Isolation's Vanity Productions (Christian Stadsgaard) transmute worries about ecological disaster into a torrent of spirit-gnawing, experimental noise that surpasses the sum of its parts. Both hailing from places with a lot of coastline vulnerable to sea level rises, Masami Akita from Japan, and Stadsgaard in Denmark, Coastal Erosion sees them grasp the nettle of impending doom with typically gauntleted grip and an unswerving intensity that speaks to clear and present concerns. While perhaps not the most obvious bedfellows for collaboration, the artists patently share an emphatic empathy for the situation that resonates through their music, where human forces of emotion intersect elemental chaos in a pair of poetically tempestuous, even harrowing works. Merzbow's visceral, primal roar sustains a perpetual force of attrition that constantly threatens to overwhelm VP's widescreen, panoramic pads on both of the LP's monolithic tracts. But it's due to their democracy of vision that they speak as one, rather than over each other. In the A side's 18 minutes of "Erosion Japan", they connote the frothing might of the Pacific tide encroaching and destroying towering walls of steel and glass with an arrestingly Ballardian quality to their instrumental description of violence and anguish. The B side's 17 minute "Erosion Denmark" follows with a more pensive arrangement of low-lying, unyielding drone frequencies smeared to stereo extremes and overlapped with spirit-penetrating shards of distortion, limning the prospective submergence of the Danish peninsula and its archipelagoes with a Thunbergian seriousness and intractable logic. Taken as a profound warning or as an elegy for Anthropocene extinction, Coastal Erosion is a frighteningly powerful statement that leaves its message like the murky stain of flood waters inside the mind. Mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at Dubplates & Mastering. Edition of 300.
LP $24


JULIE DRISCOLL, BRIAN AUGER & THE TRINITY - Live On Air 1967-68 (London Calling 5031; UK) Quality live recordings of Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger and The Trinity have been notoriously thin on the ground for some time. In recent years however, surviving material has emerged through various collectors worldwide and with significant advances in audio restoration being made, London Calling can now present this prized edition. Boasting superbly re-mastered original broadcast recordings from their London shows and European television appearances, London Calling present The Trinity, live in 1967/68. With extensive liners and rare original memorabilia in a 12-page booklet, this is a golden opportunity to witness one of the era's most iconic and groundbreaking acts to emerge in the British '60s rock underground. White color, 180 gram vinyl; includes insert; hand-numbered fold-over sleeve.
LP $28

WIM WENDERS’ with RY COODER / RADIOHEAD / CRIME & CITY SOLUTION / LOU REED / ROXT MUSIC / BRYAN FERRY / MICK HARVEY / PATTI SMITH / IRMIN SCHMIDT / BONNIE PRICE BILLY / et al - Driven By Music (Wenders Music 008; Germany) “2015 has been a year of anniversaries and honors for Wim Wenders, a year full of photography exhibitions and film retrospectives, a year with a big round birthday milestone right at its center, and Wim's 70th birthday. A group of admiring co-conspirators threw in together to make him a very special birthday gift, a triple-LP record album on time-honored vinyl, full of songs that harbor a deep connection to Wim Wenders, to his life and his work. The album bears the title Wim's - Driven By Music and is a compilation featuring many of Wim's musical companions and friends. The idea arose out of Wim Wenders's circle of friends and immediate family to give the filmmaker, notorious for his passion for music, a very special gift for his birthday, by presenting him with a record on vinyl produced especially for him. To make this idea a reality, various bands, musicians, and artists, friends of Wim's, were asked whether they would like to contribute one of their songs to this birthday album. Among these pieces there are some that have already appeared on soundtracks to several Wenders films, though there are also new mixes of songs or entirely new ones here, which can only be heard on the album Wim's - Driven By Music. Over the entire time, his friends had to go to great lengths to make sure our little project remained top secret. Wisely avoiding the project name "Operation Birthday Album", they opted instead to fly under the radar with the purposely snore-inducing tag "Music Rights Clarification III" -- the only thing that may not have escaped his notice entirely, though a phrase that was meant to communicate as much ennui as possible, in order not to arouse any curiosity in case someone left a file lying around somewhere. Inner sleeves in gold embossed triple gatefold; Liner notes from Nick Cave, Calexico, Bonnie Prince Billy, Bono (U2), Irmin Schmidt (Can), Mark Oliver Everett (The Eels), Jun Miyake, Laurent Petitgand, amongst others.
3 LP Set $40

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Bruce Lee Gallanter’s Recommended Gig List for August of 2019:

THE NEW STONE
Is Located at the New School’s Glass Box Theatre
55 West 13th street - just east of 6th ave

THE STONE RESIDENCIES - INGRID LAUBROCK - AUG 6–10

8/9 Friday
8:30 pm - New Music for Quartet with Nels Cline, Hank Roberts and Ches Smith - Ingrid Laubrock (tenor and soprano saxes) Nels Cline (guitar) Hank Roberts (cello) Ches Smith (drums, percussion)

8/10 Saturday
8:30 pm- Music by Anthony Braxton for Quintet with Nate Wooley, Adam Matlock, Brandon Lopez and Tom Rainey - Ingrid Laubrock (tenor & soprano saxes) Adam Matlock (accordion) Brandon Lopez (bass) Nate Wooley (trumpet) Tom Rainey (drums)

THE STONE RESIDENCIES - BEN GOLDBERG - AUG 13th – 17th

8/13 Tuesday
8:30 pm - INVISIBLE GUY - Ben Goldberg (clarinet) Michael Coleman (keyboards) Hamir Atwal (drums) Eli Crews (live electronics)

8/14 Wednesday
8:30 pm QUINTET - Ben Goldberg (clarinet) Ellery Eskelin (tenor sax) Mary Halvorson (guitar) Michael Formanek (bass) Tomas Fujiwara (drums)

8/15 Thursday
8:30 pm - NONET - Ches Smith (xylophone) Kenny Wollesen, Will Shore (vibraphone) Allison Miller (drums, percussion) Kirk Knuffke (cornet) Steve Cardenas (electric guitar) Ryan Ferreira (electric guitar) Ben Goldberg (clarinet) Andrew Conklin (electric guitar)

8/16 Friday
8:30 pm - QUARTET - Ravi Coltrane (tenor sax) Chris Lightcap (bass) Gerald Cleaver (drums) Ben Goldberg (clarinet)

8/17 Saturday
8:30 pm - TRIO - Nels Cline (electric guitar) Tom Rainey (drums) Ben Goldberg (clarinet)

THE (NEW) STONE is located in The New School’s Glass Box Theatre  
All Sets at The New Stone start at 8:30pm Tickets: $20
There are no refreshments or merchandise at The Stone. 
Only music. All ages are welcome. Cash Only at the door. 
A serious listening environment.
The Stone is booked purely on a curatorial basis

The Stone Series at HappyLucky No.1 - Curated by John Zorn

ANTHONY COLEMAN - Solo Piano
Friday & Saturday, August 2nd & 3rd, 2019
8:00 PM 9:00 PM

The Pavone-Mendoza Summer Series Also at HappyLuckyNo.1:

August 7 at 8PM
Du.O = Aimée Niemann and Charlotte Munn-Wood
Weston Minissali

August 14 at 8pm:
Jessica Pavone's String Ensemble
Ava Mendoza - a solo set

August 21 at 8pm:
MV Carbon and Cygnus X-1

HappyLuckyNo.1 is located at
734 Nostrand Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11216
Phone: 646 623 0414
by subway: Take 2, 4, or 5 trains to Franklin
Take 3 train to Nostrand Ave.
Take A or C to Nostrand Ave.

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THE JAZZ GALLERY Presents:

Friday, August 16th:
TAYLOR HO BYNUM 9-TETTE
Taylor Ho Bynum -cornet, compositions
Jim Hobbs -alto saxophone
Ingrid Laubrock -tenor & soprano saxophones
Bill Lowe –bass trombone, tuba
Mary Halvorson -electric guitar
Tomeka Reid -cello
Ken Filiano -acoustic bass
Stomu Takeishi -electric bass
Tomas Fujiwara -drums
sets at 7.30pm 9.30pm

Wednesday, August 21st:
KRIS DAVIS JULIAN LAGE!
sets at 7.30pm 9.30pm

The Jazz Gallery is located at:
1160 Broadway, 5th fl
between 27th 28th streets
New York, NY 10001
info@jazzgallery.org

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Bushwick Improvised Music Series Continues:

Monday August 12th

7pm Lisanne Tremblay – violin/electronics
David Leon – alto saxophone
Jon Elbaz – keyboard
Jessie Cox – drums
8pm Stephen Gauci – tenor saxophone
Adam Lane – bass
Kevin Shea – drums

9pm Eli Wallace – synth
Ben Cohen – tenor saxophone
Drew Wesely – guitar
Kevin Shea – drums

9:45pm Andrew Schiller – bass
Josh Sinton – bari sax/bass clarinet
Stephen Boegehold – drums

10:45pm Nicolás del Aguila – drums
Jonah Udall – guitar
Igszulga Nacio – bass
Yuma Uesaka – tenor saxophone

11:30pm Rick Cutler – drums
Vinnie Zummo – guitar

Downstairs @ Bushwick Public House
https://bushwickpublichouse.com/ gaucimusic.com
1288 Myrtle Avenue in Bushwick, Brooklyn
(Across the street from M train Central Ave stop)

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BEN GOLDBERG 60

Monday August 12, 8 pm
Threes Brewing (333 Douglass St., Brooklyn)
Andrew Conklin Group (with BG, Sam Ospovat)
with Michael Rocketship, Matt Nelson

At The Stone august 13-17 2019
8:30 pm  |  The Stone at The New School
55 West 13th Street, Manhattan

Tuesday August 13
INVISIBLE GUY
Michael Coleman - keyboards
Hamir Atwal - drums
Ben Goldberg - clarinet
with Eli Crews - live electronics

Wednesday August 14
VISIBLE QUINTET
Ellery Eskelin - tenor saxophone
Mary Halvorson - electric guitar
Michael Formanek - bass
Tomas Fujiwara - drums
Ben Goldberg - clarinet

Thursday August 15
VIBRAPHONICAL UTILITARIAN TETRAHEDONIST ORCHESTRA
Ches Smith - vibraphone
Kenny Wollesen - vibraphone
Will Shore - vibraphone
Allison Miller - drums percussion
Gerald Cleaver - hitting things
Kirk Knuffke - cornet
Ryan Ferreira - electric guitar
Andrew Conklin - electric guitar
Steve Cardenas - electric guitar
Ben Goldberg - clarinet

Friday August 16
THE QUARTET WITH RAVI
Ravi Coltrane - tenor saxophone
Chris Lightcap - bass
Gerald Cleaver - drums
Ben Goldberg - clarinet

Saturday August 17
TRIO WITH NELS AND TOM
Nels Cline - electric guitar
Tom Rainey - drums
Ben Goldberg - clarinet

Other than the Stone Week August 13-17 I will be playing a few shows around New York.

Sunday August 18, 6 pm
Downtown Music Gallery (13 Monroe St., Manhattan)
Ryan Ferreira - electric guitar
Simon Jermyn - electric guitar
BG - clarinet

Monday August 19, 8 pm
Arete Gallery (67 West St., Greenpoint)
Ingrid Laubrock - tenor saxophone
BG - clarinet
plus Ryan Ferriera - solo electric guitar

Tuesday August 20, 9:30 pm
Pete's Candy Store (709 Lorimer St., Williamsburg)
SWAMP PEOPLE
Gregg Bellisle-Chi - electric guitar
Andy Clausen - trombone
BG - clarinet

Tuesday August 20, 11:00 pm
Nublu 151 (151 Ave. C, Manhattan)
Ches Smith - drums
Ryan Ferreira - electric guitar
BG - clarinet