DMG Newsletter for March 31st, 2023

Why do all these men
Try to run these big-leg'd women down?
Why do all these men
Try to run these big-leg'd women down?
Must be the same old thing
That makes a bulldog hug a hound

Why that same thing
Why that same thing
Tell me who's a-blame?
The whole world fightin'
About the same thing

Why do we feel so good
When a woman wear her eve'nin gown?
Why do I feel so good
When my baby get her eve'nin gown?
Must be the same old thing
That makes a preacher
Throw his Bible down

Why that same thing
Why that same thing
Come tell me who's a-blame?
The whole world fightin'
About the same thing

What make the men go crazy
When the woman wear her dress so tight?
What makes these men go crazy
When a woman wear her dress so tight?
Must be the same old thing
That make the tom cats fight all night
Why that same thing
Why that same thing

Now, tell me who's a-blame?
The whole world fightin'
About the same thing
That same thing
A-that same thing
Tell me who's the blame?
The whole world fightin'
About the same thing
(Who's to blame?)
The whole world fightin' about the same thing.

I don’t recall ever hearing the original version of the above song which was performed by Muddy Waters in 1964. I did hear a version of it from the great blues all-stars record ‘Fathers & Sons’ which was released in 1969 and had Muddy Waters also singing on it. To my knowledge, the Grateful Dead played this song only twice, once in March of 1967 at Winterland and then four years later on December 31st of 1971. It was sung by Pigpen, their main frontman, singer, blues-harp player and organist, who died in March of 1973 at the age of 27. It was pretty rare for the Dead to do a song so few times and so many years apart. I had heard the version on New Years Eve of 1971 in recent times as I returned to an era (July of 1971 to March of 1972) several times over the past few months. I discovered last night that the Dead has played it only once earlier and listened to the early version last night: it is an outstanding rendition with some of Jerry Garcia’s best lead blues licks ever plus a cosmic rave-up also. Check out this link: (https://archive.org/details/gd67-03-18.sbd.fink.10282.sbeok.shnf). Pigpen was a blues aficionado who always chose and sang songs that sounded like they were meant for him. The blues is universal, something all humans can relate since there is no real “happily ever after”… like they tell us in fairy tales when we are kids. I love this line since it still rings true: “The whole world’s fightin' about the same thing, (Who's to blame?)”. - MC BruceLee

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THE DMG 32nd ANNIVERSARY IN-STORE FREE MUSIC SERIES Continues with:

Rare Monday, April 3rd Event:
6:30: LEONID GALAGANOV / KENNY WARREN / AQUILES NAVARRO / DAVID CROWELL - Drums / Two Trumpets / Tenor Sax

Tuesday, April 4th:
6:30: THOMAS HEBERER / JOE FONDA / JOE HERTENSTEIN - Trumpet / Contrabass / Drums
7:30: GIACOMO MEREGA / ANDREW SMILEY / RAF VERTESSEN

Saturday, April 8th: The GauciMusic Series Continues with:
6pm Cisco De la Garza - tenor sax / Thomas Swindel - guitar
7pm Stephen Gauci - sax / Keisuke Matsuno - guitar / Tim Dahl - bass / Kevin Shea - drums
8pm Jeong Lim Yang - bass / Christopher Hoffman - cello / Billy Mintz - drums

**********

THIS WEEK’S GOODIES BEGIN WITH ANOTHER TREASURE FROM SAXIST/COMPOSER INGRID LAUBROCK:

INGRID LAUBROCK with MAZZ SWIFT / TOMEKA REID / BRANDON SEABROOK / MICHAEL FORMANEK / TOM RAINEY - The Last Quiet Place (Pyroclastic Records 24; USA) Featuring Ingrid Laubrock on tenor & soprano saxes & compositions, Mazz Swift on violin, Tomeka Reid on cello, Brandon Seabrook on guitar, Michael Formanek on contrabass and Tom Rainey on drums. Over the past decade Downtown saxist & composer Ingrid Laubrock has produced a dozen-plus discs for an ongoing series of bands or projects. This is aside from the different duos that she’s done with Tom Rainey, Aki Takase and Kris Davis. Ms. Laubrock puts a great deal of thought and preparation into each of these projects as far as composing, arranging and choice of personnel. Hence, it often takes several and continued listenings to get a good grip on the marvels of each one. This is Ms. Laubrock’s current project, a fine sextet with members from varied past bands, some of whom she’s rarely worked with: Mazz Swift & Brandon Seabrook and the others that she has worked with previously: Ms. Reid, Mr. Formanek & Mr. Rainey.
This disc begins with “Anticipation” for mostly stark strings and guitar, hushed and hypnotic, drifting in like mellow ghosts. Slowly, the intensity increases as the tenor sax, guitar, bass and drums start to weave their way through the thoughtfully written passages. Still sparse yet consistently engaging. “Grammy Season” features an insistent, tense bass & drum part at the center and is soon joined by Mr. Seabrook’s spirited guitar. The sextet sounds closer to a progressive band due to Mr. Laubrock thorny writing with both the quieter and the gnarly sections seamlessly combined. The title track, “The Last Quiet Place”, features some extraordinary soprano sax from Ms. Laubrock, solemn and haunting, again with Mr. Formanek’s forceful bass holding down the center throughout the piece. Brandon Seabrook is often known for his intense fireworks on guitar, but here he mostly plays back and plays a series of more restrained parts and short solos. On “Delusions”, it sounds like the sextet is playing freely yet each section evolves into some more charted areas, the balance between the two just right. The music here is often closer to modern chamber music than modern jazz with some shrewd, challenging sections. The final piece is called “Chant II” and it moves through a series of sections. Master drummer Tom Rainey is at the center here through holding things together structurally with odd combinations of players connecting in different groupings, again with assorted difficult written parts throughout. ‘The Last Quiet Place’ (does that even exist anymore?) is a marvelous work which will take some time absorb fully since there are so many levels of activity or connections going on. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15

STEVE SWELL’S FIRE INTO MUSIC with JEMEEL MOONDOC / WILLIAM PARKER / HAMID DRAKE - For Jemeel - Fire from The Road (2004-2005)(Rogue Art 016; France) Featuring Steve Swell on trombone, Jemeel Moondoc on alto sax, William Parker on contrabass and Hamid Drake on drums. This massive 3 CD set was recorded on tour live at three locations, two in Texas and one at the Guelph Fest in Ontario, in October of 2004 and September of 2005. There have been a number of bands that have emerged from the ever-evolving Loft Scene into the Downtown Scene which have defined the essence of Avant/Jazz during their time in the spotlight. Aside from the giants/legends like Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman and Anthony Braxton, whose large cast of sidefolks started their own bands, every decade had handful of these influential bands. During the 1980’s the Downtown Scene exploded with dozens of great bands: Massacre, Material, Golden Palominos, Curlew, Prime Time, Machine Gun, Naked City, etc. The evolving Free Jazz Scene also erupted with bands led by Charles Gayle, David S Ware, Jemeel Moondoc, Billy Bang, William Parker and John Zorn. Sax great Jemeel Moondoc studied with Cecil Taylor before moving to NYC in the late 1970’s and started his own band (Muntu with Roy Campbell, William Parker & Rashied Bakr). Mr. Moondoc has had a series of strong bands starting with Muntu in 1977, recording around 20 albums before his passing in August of 2021. Trombone master, Steve Swell, is another prominent member of the Downtown Scene, both leading bands and being a member of a number of Downtown units.
Steve Swell’s all-star Fire into Music has been around for a decade but only recorded two discs. This is their third release and it is a powerful, massive 3 CD set recorded on tour in Texas (in 2004) and at the Guelph Fest in Ontario a year later in 2005. CD-1 features one long 55 & 1/2 minute piece of Free Improv at its very best. This piece starts off quietly and slowly builds throughout. It is always nice to give William Parker a chance to stretch out and he plays a strong, spirited, long bass solo here. The solo evolves and turns into an impressive group improv for trombone, alto sax and drums all interweaving, carefully bending their notes together and around one another as one dynamic force. Steve Swell remains one the best improvising trombonists anywhere and also takes a long, impressive, solo as well. Jemeel Moondoc also takes a long unaccompanied alto sax solo and tells his own story along the way before the rest of the quartet are back to some impressive Fire Music which soars, swings, pulsates and takes us along on a great ride. The intense, focused interplay between each member of the quartet is what makes this endeavor even better as they move together in a tight yet explosive way. Both Steve Swell and Jemeel Moondoc contributed songs to this quartet aside from the lengthy group improvs. We get two different versions of Moondoc’s “Junka Nu”, which evolve in similar ways yet feel different due to the solos and interplay between all four members. I found all three of these long discs to be strong, spirited, freer magical/mystical/medicinal music at its very best! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
3 CD Set $30

JOEL HARRISON / ANTHONY PIROG / STEPHAN CRUMP / ALLISON MILLER - The Great Mirage (AGB Recordings 98576-22739; USA) Featuring Joel Harrison on electric & acoustic guitars, Fender Rhodes, toy piano & mellotron, Anthony Pirog electric & acoustic guitars & synths, Stephan Crump on electric bass guitar and Allison Miller on drums & Moog synth plus Bruce Katz on B3 organ. Joel Harrison is consistently juggling several different endeavors simultaneously as a gifted guitarist & composer, organizer of a yearly Guitar Fest and author of ‘Guitar Talk’, an excellent book in which Mr. Harrison interviews around 20 contemporary guitarists. Mr. Harrison occasionally works with other guitarists although he did play around a dozen duets with many of the guitarists he interviewed in his book for an accompanying disc. DC guitarist Anthony Pirog you should certainly know from his works with the Messthetics, James Brandon Lewis and Henry Kaiser. Stephan Crump usually plays contrabass with Mary Halvorson, Kris Davis & Ingrid Laubrook. Allison Miller is another one of Downtown’s best drummers, working with Myra Melford & Fred Frith, Jessica Lurie and a leader of a handful of her own ensembles.
Joel Harrison wrote all but two songs here with one by Anthony Pirog and a cover of a Keith Jarrett song. The title track, “The Great Mirage” is first and it has a dark sound, with two rather fusion-like sustained guitar sounds and a tight, propulsive rhythm team. Both guitars play tightly together the main theme while also tossing off some molten power chords. On “Critical Conversation”, the guitars start trading lines, adding different effects at times with a number of volume pedals or pinky swirls revolving around one another. Although I think that the rhythm team here had never played before this session, they do sound great together, tight, focused and thoughtfully executed. “There’s Never Enough Time” is laid back, lovely and somewhat haunting. The Keith Jarrett song, “Mortgage n My Soul”, almost sounds like punkish/new wave rocker which is rather surprising considering who wrote it. Includes some nifty, wailing, post-surf guitars. Here’s what I find interesting about this disc: it doesn’t quite sound like anything that either of these guitarists have done previously. It has a big electric guitar sound, al instrumental, somewhere between roots rock and electric jazz. “Last Rose of Summer” features a shimmering acoustic guitar sound with some electric slide guitar, kinda Ry Cooder-like. “I’ll See You in the Shining World” features some lovely mallet-work by Ms. Miller with hushed, solemn ringing guitar simmering. “East Hurley” has a greasy, funky groove with both guitars adding resonating layers of lines, each with alternating effects. On the last song “Buffalo Heart”, both guitars are drenched in layers of howling sustain giving things an over-the-top psychedelic squall. In a blindfold test, I doubt that anyone would guess any of the members of this quartet. Although I do dig this disc, it sounds closer to some arena rock without any vocals. Hmmmm. Have to give this another few spins to figure it out. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14

LUCIAN BAN / MAT MANERI with JEN SHYU / THEO BLECKMANN / RALPH ALESSI / LOUIS SCLAVIS / JOHN HEBERT - Oedipe Redux (Sunnyside 1699; USA) Featuring Mat Maneri on viola & arrangements, Lucian Ban on piano & arrangements, Jen Shyu & Theo Bleckmann on vocals, Ralph Alessi on trumpet, Louis Sclavis on bass & regular clarinets, John Hebert on bass and Tom Rainey on drums. This music was recorded live at the Lyon Opera House in France and at the Bimhuis in Amsterdam in November & December of 2018. The premiere of Romanian composer George Enesco’s ‘Oedipe’ opera took place in Paris in 1936, almost 90 years ago this year (2023). According to Lucian Ban & Mat Maneri, this opera was “visceral & monumental, complex & difficult”, hence it was rarely staged. Romanian-American jazz pianist Lucian Ban has long been a champion of George Enesco, producing a CD called ‘Enesco Re-Imagined’ with co-leader Mat Maneri in 2010. Enesco’s music deals with microtonality, which is what attracted Mr. Maneri and Mr. Ban. Ban and maneris have again re-imagined Enesco’s opera for an octet of mostly Downtown’s finest with special guest Louis Sclavis, French clarinet giant added to the group. No doubt you know all the members of this wonderful octet since all have impressive resumes as leaders, co-leaders or collaborators. Mr. Ban and Mr. Maneri boil down the orchestral arrangements to fit the octet and the results are most impressive.
The opening “Prelude” is filled with suspense and includes those precious bent notes that Mat Maneri specializes in with some exquisite trumpet, piano and clarinet floating in layers of intricate counterpoint. The group breaks into a solemn written section with ghost-like vocal sounds added at points. I admit that I am a longtime fan of both Jen Shyu and Theo Bleckmann, as immensely diverse, strong-willed singers with quite a variety of successful projects under their belts. The lyrics both in their native tongue and in English are reprinted in the booklet so we can see what is being sung. The Oedipus story, on which the opera was based, is explained in the liner notes. Although I believe that Ms. Shyu and Mr. Bleckmann have not worked together before, they do sound just right together, not just as opera singers but more like natural singers playing their roles to fit within the focused octet. Much of this disc does not feature vocals but does feature strong, spirited, quietly demanding instrumental music. Since this is not really a jazz ensemble, there are few solos, but there are a series of episodes where all the instruments and voices get a chance to stretch out. Tom Rainey, always one of my favorite drummers, gets his chance to stretch on “Hecate, Hecate”, where Ms. Shyu also evokes her own desperate word/vocal sounds. Mr. Bleckmann consistently does a fine job as Oedipe (Oedipus?), his voice restrained yet still most evocative of the sad tale he tells. On “The Crime, Death of Laius”, Ms. Shyu and Mr. Bleckmann sing together, their voices joined together powerfully with some impressive trumpet, viola and piano interplay. Bleckman sings or pleads like a man possessed by dark spirits on “There is a Potion”. Although this disc was based on an ancient opera, it doesn’t sound like an opera, it sounds more like a haunting fable with biblical references bubbling under. I found this entire long (71-plus minutes) disc to be consistently engaging throughout. To Lucian Ban and Mat Maneri and the rest of the octet, stick another fine feather in your custom-made hats. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14

BRANDON ROSS PENDULUM with KEVIN ROSS / CHRIS EDDLETON - Of Sight and Sound (Sunnyside 6182; USA) Featuring Brandon Ross on electric guitar, Kevin Ross on bass guitar, Chris Eddleton on drums and HardEdge on soundesign. Guitarist Brandon Ross is difficult to peg down to any one style, system or overall idea. Mr. Ross has played some powerful electric guitar with Henry Threadgill as well as with Harriet Tubman, perhaps the best Downtown power trio. Mr. Ross has also collaborated with heavies like Wadada Leo Smith, Myra Melford, Leroy Jenkins and Marion Brown. Each one of those projects is completely different. In the early 2000’s, Mr. Ross recorded two fine solo efforts for an obscure Japanese label in which he sang and played quieter, sublime pop music of sorts. The bassist here, Kevin Ross (brother to Brandon perhaps?), once recorded with Charles Tyler in 1983 while the drummer, Chris Eddleton, is a longtime member of the Burnt Sugar Arkestra. HardEdge is also known as Velibor Pedevski and has created his own sonic palette working with Wadada Leo Smith.
The music here is based on the painting(s) of Neo Symbolic Abstract painter Ford Crull, who uses a blindfold when he paints. One of Mr. Crull’s paintings graces the cover of this disc and reminds me of Jackson Pollock, free yet focused. Considering that the instruments here consist of guitar, bass, drums and subtle electronics, it is difficult to tell who is doing what. Eerie, swirling, ghost-like sounds floating through space with solemn soft throbbing bass, spacious drones and other haunting sounds. Eventually we can hear the bass and sparse drums weaving in carefully as the layers of drone-like sounds unfold, mutate and sail through the air or the veins of a larger fluid mass. Eventually we hear Mr. Ross’ guitar enters with soft plucks or swirls, creating a series of suspense-filled waves or clouds. Ross uses a handful of effects without altering his guitar sound too much, it still sounds pure or unadorned or ethereal without going too far out. As I stare at the cover art, I hear and listen closely to the music, I realize that there is indeed a method to the madness or freedom provided. The visual and sonic images both coalesce and mirror each other in the way they unfold. Someone is cooking in the apartment next to me, the smell comes through my window evokes images of meals I’ve cooked or eaten. The music here also evokes a wealth of images or scenes. You should settle down without the usual distractions to listen to this disc. It will take you along for the ride if you have the time. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14

HARRY SKOLER with KENNY BARRON / NICHOLAS PAYTON / CHRISTIAN McBRIDE / JAZZMEIA HORN / JOHNATHAN BLAKE / et al - Living in Sound - The Music of Charles Mingus (Sunnyside 1665; USA) “This recording features arrangements by some of the brightest compositional minds in jazz, namely Darcy James Argue, Ambrose Akinmusire, and Fabian Almazan. The pieces to be performed were selected ad hoc by the arrangers or by Skoler and Smith. The arrangers were trusted to do whatever they wanted in the arrangements. The pieces were ready in August 2021, when Skoler met the band and string quartet at Sear Sound for two days of recording.
The recording begins with Fabian Almazan’s arrangement of “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat,” bittersweet strings leading to Skoler’s laid back reading of one of Mingus’s most beloved tunes. Darcy James Argue twists “Peggy’s Blue Skylight” dramatically, as the rhythmic strings bounce intricately off one another and McBride and Barron stretch out on their individual solos. Argue created a perfect showcase for Skoler on “Duke Ellington’s Sound of Love,” providing an at times lush, then spare, arrangement allowing the clarinetist to dial into the same wistful feelings of respect and love for Mingus’s hero, Duke Ellington, with the aid of McBride’s supportive bass.
Mingus’s striking “Remember Rockefeller at Attica” is filled by Almazan’s pen with the chilling effect and violence that its namesake event inspired; Skoler’s pained screaming through his clarinet, and Payton’s thoughtful trumpet are highlights of the recording. Akinmusire’s arrangement of Don Pullen’s “Newcomer” is nuanced and deep, the tune being from the Mingus Moves LP that was the origin of Skoler’s Mingus appreciation. Brilliant vocalist Jazzmeia Horn brings Doug Hammond’s “Moves” to life, the subtlety and strength of her voice amplified by the meditative tone poem arranged by Almazan.
Argue chose to tackle “Sue’s Changes” for a thrilling and inventive suite with ever changing emotions and transitions, played masterfully by the ensemble and providing Payton some true solo highlights. “Invisible Lady” is a gorgeous, mysterious piece loved by Skoler; Akinmusire’s arrangement provides languid, noirish tones. Skoler’s original, “Underdog,” was completed under the wire, although the conception was developed over months. The composer wrote the piece just prior to the final recording session as a sketch that provides freedom for all the musicians to express themselves without hindrance.
The music that Harry Skoler, Walter Smith III, and their brilliant cast recorded on Living In Sound captures the many moods of the iconoclastic Charles Mingus. There are shades of tumult, harmonic depth, conceptual depth, and abandon. A perfect tribute to the legend to mark his centennial year.”
CD $14

MARIO RECHTERN / WEASEL WALTER / ERIC ZINMAN - Sirens and Mermaids Know (Studio234 0020; USA) Featuring Mario Rechtern on alto, baritone & sopranino saxes & flute, Eric Zinman on piano and Weasel Walter on drums. Both saxist Mario Rechtern and pianist Eric Zinman live in the Boston area and are longtime legends of Free Music from New England. I had been hearing about Eric Zinman for many years due to his recordings with Francois Tusques, Linda Sharrock and Ted Daniel, as well as more recently playing with several Evil Clown projects . Saxist Mario Rechtern I know of less well, although he has worked with Linda Sharrock, Weasel Walter and Blaise Siwula. Drum wizard, Weasel Walter, you should no doubt know about, since he has worked with many of the elders of avant/jazz like Hal Russell, Henry Kaiser, Vinny Golia and many others. I caught Mr. Lechtern with Linda Sharrock at the Victo Fest a few years back. I haven’t heard Mr. Zinamn in concert yet.
To me, this sounds like Free Jazz played well-seasoned players who have been doing this for a long time. After starting out on alto sax, Mr. Rechtern switches to baritone midway, bending and twisting his notes inside-out. Mr. Zinman plays furiously free, whipping up several storms of notes with Mr. Walter tightly connecting in wave after wave. Things evolve organically, with long sections of quieter free improv which are focused, intense and consistently spirited. Zinman sounds like he is fanning the strings inside the piano at times, while Weasel plays with much restraint. At times Mr. Rechtern reminds me of Roscoe Mitchell when both are playing the sopranino, getting a keening, high end, bent note, nasal sound, almost like a double reed pushed to its extreme. Once we become adjusted to the language or sound of this music, I start to hear an ongoing dialogue or conversation, which sounds like a series of short stories unfolding. Zinman on piano and Walter on drums work quite well together as they navigate the furious rapids they are moving through. Inside the booklet contains a series of strange words, prose or poetry or something equally weird, hard to tell but worth thinking about. The second piece, “When Seas Go High,” starts quietly yet soon erupts with bristling intensity, the tempo speeds up, slows down, becomes dense and then has a few spacious sections. Rechtern stays in the high register, spewing out a torrent of bent notes which has a scary effect at points. Someone who hasn’t listened to much Free Jazz, might think that this is boring or predictable yet there is much more going on here as things consistently change and different combinations of sounds are always morphing into something else. At almost 74 minutes, this is quite a bit to take in at one sitting yet I found myself at the edge of my seat throughout. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15

LAURENCE COOK / MARC LEIBOWITZ / ERIC ZINMAN - Sinus Up (Studio234 0021; Earth) Featuring Eric Zinman on piano, Marc Leibowitz on guitar & live sampling and Laurence Cook on multiple percussion. This disc was recorded in Chestnut Hill, MA in 1992. I’ve known about Boston-based free/jazz drummer Laurence Cook since hearing him on records by Michael Smith (1977), Joe Morris (1983) and Bill Dixon. I also caught him live in a trio with Thurston Moore at the Vision Fest in 1998. I’ve gotten to know Boston-area based pianist Eric Zinman who has worked with Linda Sharrock, Francois Tusques and varied members of the Evil Clown/Leap of Faith collective. I hadn’t heard of guitarist Marc Leibowitz before now although he was once a member of Urban Ambience (who worked with Dr. Chad at one point), another more obscure Boston area based unit. This disc was recorded in 1992, when Mr. Zinman and Mr. Leibowitz were roommates and not released until now. Mr. Leibowitz adds occasional electronic sounding samples which things a more spacey sounds. The music here is most free-wheeling, focused but rarely explosive. To make things weirder still, Leibowitz had a double guitar with lower tuned strings (sounding like a bass) while Mr. Cook had transducers attached to his cymbals to trigger other sounds. It sounds as if Leibowitz is muting his strings at times while Zinman adds a series of dark chords underneath. It takes a while to adjust to the music here since it sounds like a series of (13) episodes. some short (under a minute) and some as long as almost 15 minutes. I do hear a handful of themes mostly played by the piano with the drums, guitar and/or sampler adding their own odd harmonies. If you ever thought that all of most Free Music was similar in some way, then you aren’t listening close enough. Each piece here seems to evoke a different inner landscape. Once I settled down into this other (inner) world, I kept hearing or feeling another sonic scene to dwell within. This disc is long (77 minutes) and takes some time to adjust to but the rewards are equally as deep. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15

PHAROAH SANDERS QUARTET with JOHN HICKS / CURTIS LUNDY / IDRIS MUHAMMAD - Live at Fabrik - Hamburg 1980 (NDR Kultur 77123; Germany) This release in a series of live recordings of concerts from the "Fabrik" in Hamburg-Altona, one of those hidden treasures from the archive of the NDR, was intended to bring back the memory of changes and revolutions in the world of jazz of more than four decades ago. It has now turned into an obituary - at the end of September 2022 the tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders passed away at the age of 81. This recording of the Sanders Quartet from 6 June 1980 is so far the oldest from the "Fabrik", predating the great jazz-epoch of the venue. An era, which even today Thomas Engel, the first program planner of the "Fabrik", describes as a very special period for popular and not-so-popular culture in Hamburg and far beyond. Furthermore, this concert formed part of the then fifth edition of what was still called the "New Jazz Festival", a summit of German, European and US-American musicians. Only thanks to the NDR Bigband, top-class jazz was performed at the old industrial site on Barnerstrasse in Altona at all. In the mid-1970s, the band was brave enough to leave its familiar recording studio and perform rousing concerts at the "Fabrik". Since 1976, the "New Jazz Festival" organised by Wolfgang Kunert, the program planner of the big band, institutionalised jazz music at this exceptional location.
CD $18

JOZEF VAN WISSEM & JIM JARMUSCH - American Landscapes (Incunabulum 031CD; Netherlands) “The first two pieces "Cleveland "and "Akron" were recorded in 2022. These dark, long form, hypnotic drone pieces reflect the current state of America. The third piece "American Landscapes" was commissioned and performed by Stephen Petronio Dance Company in New York. According to the New York Times "the piece is a spare, almost soothing composition by Jozef Van Wissem and Jim Jarmusch -- it's a combination of lute, acoustic guitar and electric guitar. Jim Jarmusch and Jozef Van Wissem met on the streets of New York in 2006. They shared a lot of interest and background so a collaboration and a friendship was born. Jarmusch was looking to have Van Wissem compose a score for a film he had been trying to make for years, what he described as a "crypto-vampire film" about two lovers, outsider types who have been in love for hundreds of years. Van Wissem's work comes from a tradition of avant-garde minimalism and lends itself well to the director's stark cinematic works. Jarmusch has played guitar in bands on and off since the late '70s. Van Wissem's compositional style involves hypnotic circular musical phrases that allow for a lot of contemplative space between the notes. Their first live performance was in Issue Project Room in Brooklyn in October 2011, where they appeared together for a Van Wissem curated concert program called 'New Music for Early Instruments.' The idea for their first album, Concerning the Entrance Into Eternity (Important Records) developed from their live performance. Jarmusch has said that he considers these songs as Van Wissem's compositions, and sees himself as someone filling in the background to Jozef 's foreground, like the 'scenic' on a film shoot, the one who paints the backdrops. The sound of the lute is as bright as the sun, a beautiful red color and my stuff sounds sort of like the moon, more like blue, like mercury." Jozef Van Wissem - lutes, condensator drones, electronics; Jim Jarmusch - acoustic and electric guitars. All compositions by Jozef Van Wissem and Jim Jarmusch. Produced, mixed by JVW. Front cover by Robert Longo.”
CD $17

ENNIO MORRICONE - Space: 1999 (Beat Records BCM 9594CD; Italy) “Beat Records present the world premiere CD release of Space: 1999, featuring the original motion picture soundtrack of the Italian theatrical version composed by two-time Oscar-winner Ennio Morricone. Space: 1999 premiered in Italian theatres on January 14, 1975, and was created through the process of editing together three episodes from season one of the TV series: Breakaway, Ring Around the Moon, and Another Time, Another Place. The theatrical release of Space: 1999 predated the series' debut on Italian television by a year, with the first six episodes being broadcast from January 31, 1976. Six more episodes followed in July and the remaining twelve episodes in the fall of the same year. The series' original iconic score was not used for the Italian theatrical version (the series originally premiered on British television on September 4, 1975), instead being replaced with a fascinating score by Ennio Morricone, who composed original material featuring frantic jazz themes and futuristic electronic sequences reminiscent of Barry Gray's work on UFO. This release also includes avant-garde material by Morricone that was carefully selected as background music for various scenes in the movie, taken directly from the RCA promotional series of library vinyl LPs titled Dimensioni Sonore, performed by symphonic orchestra and presented here in full stereo. Also included is the final large orchestral theme heard over the end credits, featuring vocals by Edda Dell'Orso and I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni. This theme was reused for the 1979 mini-series Orient Express, again scored by Ennio Morricone. Comes with a full-color, 20-page booklet containing double cover, archive stills, a foreword from Fanderson chairman Nick Williams (the official Fanderson UK fan club) and plot synopses and credits for the three original episodes. This release was officially approved by ITV Studios and will be available from September 13, 2016, the day in which the moon separated from Earth's orbit in Space: 1999. Mastering by Claudio Fuiano and Daniel Winkler. Graphic layout by Daniele De Gemini.”
CD $24

GOBLIN - Squadra Antigangsters (Beat Recprds CDOSTPK 046CD; Italy) “Cinevox Record, in collaboration with Pick Up Records and Beat Records, present the CD featuring the original soundtrack of Squadra Antigangsters, composed by Goblin, the fifth movie with Tomas Milian in the role of commissioner Nico Giraldi. At the time speaking Cinevox released an album with eight cues, included two songs singed by Asha Puthli that bring the listener into late '70s American discotheques. Goblin (Fabio Pignatelli, Claudio Simonetti, Agostino Marangolo, and Carlo Pennisi) composed a brilliant OST, with different styles. This new edition on CD has been remastered and includes the original album program and the three bonus tracks already featured in the preceding version, booklet has been structured with a double cover featuring the two original posters of the movie. Digital remastering by Claudio Fuiano. Liner notes by Roberto Attanasio and Fabio Capuzzo. Graphic design by Daniele De Gemini.”
CD $24

HARALD GROSSKOPF - Oceanheart Ocean Revisited (Bureau B 429; Germany) "In 1984, four years after the release of my first solo album Synthesist on Sky Records, I wanted to produce a new solo album. At the time I was operating on the fifth floor of a former backyard factory on Graefe-Str. in Berlin Kreuzberg with my Neue Deutsche Welle Band Lilli Berlin. We'd turned the space into a small music and rehearsal studio where we set up a Tascam 8-track tape recorder, a 12- channel MM mixer that roared like hell, a Mini-Moog and a Roland Jupiter-6 synthesizer. This is where the basic recordings for Oceanheart were made. Essentially sequences and chords, which I then added piano, drums, Indian tablas and solo voices to in Christoph Franke's (Tangerine Dream) studio in Berlin Spandau. It was then mastered on a Betamax video recorder -- at that time the non-plus-ultra of modern stereo recording technique. Oceanheart was released on Sky Records in 1985. At the beginning of 2022 Gunther Buskies, owner of Bureau B label, had the inspired idea to expand the planned re-release of Oceanheart with a remix album and to call it Oceanheart Revisited. Around the same time, I met Tobias Stock through my friend Chris Mick. Tobias, a qualified electronics engineer and musician, had put together a complex, top-class analog studio over 20 years of meticulous and passionate collecting -- bringing each of the numerous component parts back into the best technical state with his own hands. There are only few studios of this kind and quality in the world and it was here, in his 'On TAPE' Studio, we created the analogue mixes of Oceanheart Revisited on a NAGRA 2-channel tape machine. I really enjoyed working on Oceanheart Revisited and I'd like to share this experiment with you." --Harald Grosskopf, January 2023
2 CD Set $22

SCHROOTHOOP - Macadam (Sdban Ultra 032CD; Belgium) “Belgian junk jazz trio schroothoop (which translates as "junk yard") bring together multi-instrumentalists Rik Staelens (wind and string instruments), Timo Vantyghem (bass and thumb piano) and Margo Maex (percussion). Their new album called MACADAM will be out via Sdban Records, home of many strongholds in the lively contemporary Belgian jazz and groove scene. In 2020, schroothoop first emerged with their much-acclaimed and infectious debut album Klein Gevaarlijk Afval (Small Hazardous Waste). On their second album, schroothoop explore the vast sounds of discarded objects found on the macadam streets of Brussels. Wooden crates turn into guitars and lyres. Scrap metal becomes a thumb piano, a cimbalom, or percussion bells. Their compelling collection of semi-improvised songs is born out of several fruitful residencies and live performances during which Margo Maex, Rik Staelens, and Timo Vantyghem dive deeper into the possibilities and unique timbres of their DIY instruments. The junk jazz trio find inspiration in traditional Afro-Cuban and North-African rhythms, New Orleans second line grooves, and Arabic Hijaz scales. On MACADAM, the band also explore the realms of electronic music, not shunning hints of drum and bass, dub riddims and ambient soundscapes, using pitch shifting delays or gauzy reverbs. The album delivers a mesmerizing trip through the most diverse capital of Europe, mixed and post-produced by none other than sound wizard Dijf Sanders. The trio originally met in the Brussels street orchestra scene. One night they found themselves jamming on trash cans, buckets and other illegally dumped materials. Soon after, they started building their own DIY instruments from street trash. Imagine flutes made out of PVC pipes, a scrap metal drum kit, thumb pianos made out of old kitchen knives, a tin can violin, worn-out cutting discs as gongs, and a washtub bass. Delivering their own brand of "junk jazz", schroothoop literally gives junk a second life by immortalizing a whole range of lost and found objects through music. The Brussels-based group effortlessly incorporates jazz, Northern African music, and Afro-Cuban rhythms, resulting in a danceable and hypnotic trip through the city's melting pot.”
CD $16

MICHELE BOKANOWSKI - Musiques De Concert (Sonoris 024CD; France) “This four-CD box edition collects all concert music by Michèle Bokanowski, a composer of electroacoustic music living in Paris, France. Passionate about music from childhood, it wasn't until later, at the age of 22, after reading À la recherche d'une musique concrète by Pierre Schaeffer, that she decided to study composition. After classical training in harmony, she met Michel Puig, a pupil of René Leibowitz, who taught her writing and analysis upon Schönberg Theory. In 1970, she began a two-year internship at the Research Department of the ORTF under the direction of Pierre Schaeffer. Between 1973 and 1975, she took part in a research group on sound synthesis, studied computer music at the University of Vincennes as well as electronic music with Éliane Radigue. She mainly composes for concert and for cinema (music for Patrick Bokanowski's short films and for his feature films L'Ange and Un Rêve solaire). She has also composed for television, theater and dance. In her music, often infused with a mysterious atmosphere, she uses evocative and poetic concrete sounds, with a mastery of looping and feedback techniques and with an art of cinematic editing. "Why musique concrète is so attractive to me, as opposed to written music? To write music implies that an idea or a thought is at the origins of the composition and that the final thing is the sound rendering of this thought. The sound is at the end of the line, in other words. Musique concrète is the exact reverse of this process: you start from sounds... sounds that will perhaps lead you to a constructive thought. Here, it's the material that induces the thought, or the writing. The possibilities of finding or inventing new sounds and, therefore, new forms are tremendous, infinite... Moreover you can use chance to a much greater extent." (Excerpt of an interview with Michael Karman for Asymmetry Music Magazine, 2007)
4 CD Set $44

LP SECTION:

PLASTIC PALACE PEOPLE with JIM O’ROURKE / CHRISTOPH HEEMAN - From the Host of Late-Comers (Streamline 1035LP; USA) "From the Host of Late-Comers represents the latest challenge manifested by Plastic Palace People, the duo of Jim O'Rourke and Christoph Heemann, who have been collaborating continuously (even though in a largely unnoticed fashion) since 1989. Previous Streamline releases from Mimir contain some of their earlier work; Plastic Palace People first saw release in 2011. After two releases in quick succession, it has been a long wait for more, and finally here is a recent piece of work from them, recorded at Super Deluxe in Tokyo, Japan, in August 2013. After all these years of contact, friendship and collaboration, the collective strength and mutual understanding of this duo has grown into a state where it is almost impossible to distinguish who is responsible for an utterance directed at the other at any given time, at a fast, almost speed-of-light succession of soundscapes chasing one another. The build seems to be never ending, but what about the descent? It's all about sitting back and enjoying the ride giving it a try while spinning the grooves of this high fidelity platter mastered and manufactured to the highest standards for you, dear listener."
LP $19

IAN A. ANDERSON - A Vulture Is Not A Bird You Can Trust (Bonfire Records 018LP: Italy) “Reissue, originally released in 1971. Another underground folk masterpiece back on the map. Forerunner of the British revival Ian A. Anderson licensed the album on his own The Village Thing on December 1971. Besides a couple of excellent cover -- "Black Uncle Remus" penned by Loudon Wainwright III and a minor Bob Dylan classic as "One Too Many Mornings" - the album shows a more forward-thinking production, with several bucolic progressive arrangements.”
LP $32

REYNOLS - Peloto Cabras Mulusa Olve (Calar Music 33015LP; USA) "Many things have been said about Reynols over the past 30 years but altogether seem not yet enough to properly describe the unclassifiable Argentine group formed by Miguel Tomasin, Roberto Conlazo and Anla Courtis. Now Calar Music is proud to present Peloto Cabras Mulusa Olve, an album appeared at the very end of the XXth Century bringing a vivid sonic portrait of one of the wildest periods of the band. After a whole year playing Monday-to-Friday as house band of a Medical TV show broadcasted on Argentine's National Channel [ATC], the group recorded these remarkable tracks back in 1999 at their own Ornitivo Studios in Buenos Aires. Based on a trio line-up, with Tomasín's verbal laboratory in all its glory plus his chunky drums and a playful pair of sharp guitars jumping electrically all around, the band reached an intense trademark distorted sound. Recorded in a complete analog mood -- due to magnetic tape's magic -- and without overdubs of any kind, this music remains as a milestone of a savage era. Raw, powerful, vital, oneiric and beyond description, this obscure gem was originally released as a 1999 ultra-limited tape, which sold-out that same year. This LP brings the album to the new century carefully remastered by Vyles Boisen (who worked with artists such as: Fred Frith, MX-80 Sound, Daevid Allen, Malcolm Mooney, Anthony Braxton or David Lynch) and also expanded with two unreleased tracks from those epic sessions. Decades before appearing on the cover of The Wire Magazine, receiving the Henry Viscardi Achievement Award or becoming a one-of-a-kind brand name in the field of global experimental music, Reynols were already active and certainly on fire: Peloto Cabras Mulusa Olve stands as an historic sound document to prove it."
LP $30

TURNER WILLIAMS, JR. - Briars on a Dewdrop (Feeding Tube Records 546LP; USA) "Turner Williams Jr. is a string-player out of the same Alabama surrealist scene that gave us Rev. Fred Lane & the Say Day Bew gang, Davey Williams & LaDonna Smith's Trans Museq universe, and the Sweet Wreath madmen (who have been working with Johnny Coley, Silica Gel, and others). Some crazy shit has gone on down there, and Mr. Williams soaked it all in before heading up to NYC, where he fell in with some of the Sound @ One scene. Which added another layer to the freak potential of his playing. After drifting around the East Coast for a few years, Williams packed up and moved to Marseilles, but not before cutting this session with Jason Meagher at Black Dirt. And it's a monster. Turner plays electric shahi baajas, gaz, and perhaps other ostensibly Eastern instruments, which he uses the create amazing clots of improvisational flow. He cites Michael Flower's work on bulbultarang, and the entire oeuvre of the late Davey Williams as inspiration, and manages to create music as fresh, wild and original as anything either of them has done. The sounds here are generated by just strings and effects, but the way he toggles back and forth between known and unknown tongues demonstrates a conceptual mastery that matches his ace technique. There are bits of this you might think were Paul Metzger, or maybe one of the guys from the World of Pelt, but not many other folks would be able to pull off something so seamlessly syncretic. The tangled fusion of East/West, traditional/post-modern, inside/outside displayed on Briars on a Dewdrop makes the album a brilliant puzzle to try and unravel. Turner Williams? Just say oui! You'll be glad you did." --Byron Coley, 2023
LP $30

VALENTINA GONCHAROVA - Recordings Vol. 2 1987-1991 (Shukai 006LP; Ukraine) “Following the unpublished works of the Ukrainian/Estonian musician Valentina Goncharova, Volume 2 of Shukai's archival project sits in direct contrast to the solo works of Vol. 1. Vol. 2 1987-1991 completes Shukai's dive into the sound world of an important yet overlooked artist working within Soviet era electroacoustics. This long player of duets casts a light on Goncharova's experiences with early free jazz, democratic improvisation and introductions to pure electronic sound. Where Vol. 1 explored her home studio experiments and flirtations with musique concrete and new age, this volume seeks to give audience to similarly DIY recordings developed in collaborative environments away from the conservatoire. Properly documenting sessions revolving around smoky jazz cafes, art galleries, salons and theatre venues across Riga and Tallinn, these seven pieces add to the historical narrative of the Soviet-era avant-garde and show the broader spectrum of Valentina's work. It begins in Riga with an adapted score for a delicately unfolding violin drone, voice and saxophone performance produced by Valentina and Alexander Aksenov. Valetina's bond with the multi-instrumentalist and theater director Aksenov led to decades of close friendship and several demo recordings such as "Reincarnation II". Across the rest of the disc are collaborative duets with Sergei Letov and Pekka Airaksinan respectively, the three tapes with Letov an example of recordings as a "rehearsal process". Atypical violin/saxophone techniques and light, difficult to place percussive textures interplay across the three duets with Letov, the sense of spatiality alluding to the very nature of the recordings. They strike ultimately as private, freeform experiments with sound, never intended for the listener but documenting a practice which explores the dichotomy of improv's "non-professionalism" and its potential freedom from trained performance. They are included as a deliberate variance to the tapes with Pekka Airaksinen, an already well-regarded composer, early synthesizer fanatic and Finnish radical. At their time of meeting, Pekka had diverted his attention from punk-indebted noise and free jazz groups to a pursuit of spiritualism via contemporary electronic technologies. Already familiar with the Buddhas of Golden Light LP, Valentina found in his work an attraction to the sacred and, after an encounter at a 1988 Helsinki festival dedicated to futurist art and literature, she prepared to visit his studio. After a failed attempt to record a joint album, fragments of the tapes are presented here, highlighting Goncharova's first real experience of electronic music making in a compositional sense. Fragmented guitar and additional keyboard patterns push and pull through delay units in unison with Valentina's two violins, at times mimicking the howl of the wind or even the human voice.”
LP $24

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ATTENTION ALL CREATIVE MUSICIANS OUT THERE, Around the world.

If you have a link for some music that you are working on and want to share it with the folks who read the DMG Newsletter, please send the link to DMG at DMG@Downtownmusicgallery.com

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CISCO BRADLEY’S
“The Williamsburg Avant-Garde: Experimental Music and Sound on the Brooklyn Waterfront” Book Launch and Concert will take place on March 16th, 2023

Mr. Bradley writes: I am excited to announce that the launch for my new book, The Williamsburg Avant-Garde: Experimental Music and Sound on the Brooklyn Waterfront, will be held at the Shift (411 Kent Avenue) in Brooklyn on March 16. This book was a ten-year project involving interviews with 180 musicians active in Williamsburg in the period 1988-2014. I will be holding other events with different musicians through the Spring, Summer, and Fall. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this project. It would be great to see you all, especially many of you who I haven't seen since before the pandemic!

We are working on getting copies in to sell at the store so let us know if you are interested.

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CHRIS PITSIOKOS is back in town and playing some gigs:

March 31st at Statue, in Sunset Park 8pm
1. My new solo 4-channel electroacoustic piece "Irrational Rhythms and Shifting Poles"
2. DoYeon Kim/Trevor Dunn duo
3. Tim Dahl/Dan Peck/Alexis Marcelo

In all seriousness I have been working on this new piece for 13 months. It might be the most exciting musical achievement in my life. I premiered it last month and am now very happy to share it in NYC.

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ATTENTION TO ALL DMG CUSTOMERS: NEW EMAIL ADDRESS: downtownmusicgalleryofficial@gmail.com

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