Preacher man don't tell me heaven is under the earth
I know you don't know what life is really worth
It's not all that glitter is gold
Half the story has never been told
So now you see the light, ay
You stand up for your right
Get up, stand up
Stand up for your right
Get up, stand up
Don't give up the fight
Get up, stand up
Stand up for your right
Get up, stand up
Don't give up the fight
Most people think great God will come from the sky
Take away everything, and make everybody feel high
But if you know what life is worth
You would look for yours on earth
And now you see the light
You stand up for your right, yeah
Get up, stand up (yeah, yeah)
Stand up for your right (oh-ooh)
Get up, stand up (get up, stand up)
Don't give up the fight (life is your right)
Get up, stand up (so, we can't give up the fight)
Stand up for your right (Lord, Lord)
Get up, stand up (keep on struggling on)
Don't give up the fight (yeah)
We're sick and tired of your ism and schism game
Die and go to heaven in Jesus' name, Lord
We know and we understand
Almighty God is a living man
You can fool some people sometimes
But you can't fool all the people all the time
So now we see the light (what you gon' do?)
We going to stand up for our right (yeah, yeah, yeah)
So you'd better
Get up, stand up (in the morning, don't give it up)
Stand up for your right (stand up right now)
Get up, stand up
Don't give up the fight (don't give it up, don't give it up)
Get up, stand up (get up, stand up)
Stand up for your right (get up, stand up)
Get up, stand up
Don't give up the fight (get up, stand up)
Get up, stand up
Stand up for your right
Get up, stand up
Don't give up the fight
Get up, stand up
Stand up for your right
Get up, stand up
Don't give up the fight
Get up, stand up
Around 1978, I was working at The Record Hunter, a large record store located on 5th Ave & 42nd Street. I worked the floor, recommending albums to any customers who came in searching for music to purchase. I was the only one of a half dozen salespeople who knew about other types of music, rather than just contemporary rock. Hence, I often ended up talking about jazz, prog rock, blues, bluegrass, folk and modern classical music to whomever asked. I became friendly with both the other staff folks and some customers as well. A middle-aged man from Jamaica often came in and asked me to recommend all sorts of jazz albums, which I was pleased to do. We became friendly over time and he asked if I knew about Bob Marley, which I did and owned a few of his albums. The man turned out to be Bob Marley's manager and asked if I wanted to get promo tickets for a concert by Marley at Loeb Student Center at NYU. I was pleased to do this and ended up with a back-stage pass, meeting with and speaking with members of the band. The concert seemed special to me, I felt this spiritual vibe, both the words, music and vibes were uplifting. I got deeper into reggae and ended up checking out bands like Black Uhuru, Third World, Toots & the Maytals and several others. I also ended up purchasing a large collection of reggae LP's from an old friend, listening to many different reggae bands, some popular and some pretty obscure. Both Bob Marley and Black Uhuru have remained favorites of mine ever since. I still go back and listen to their music over and over and it still resonated with me today. The above song is from an early Wailers record called 'Burnin', which was one of the first reggae records I bought. The Wailers also featured singers Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh, both of whom went on to have impressive solo careers. I recall playing this song over and over since it struck a chord within me. I still believe that we all must, "Get up, Stand Up, Stand Up for Your Rights". If we don't, we will lose whatever Freedoms that we've had and have often taken for granted. If you don't like what you see in the news, it is time to stand up to the powers that be. Otherwise, you will no longer be free. - Who still loves you bubbies, That would be me, MC-BruceLee
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THE DMG 34th ANNIVERSARY IN-STORE CONCERT CELEBRATION CONTINUES with:
Tuesday, November 4th:
6:30: Sketchbook Series #12 - rōnin phasing: patrick brennan – solo alto sax
7:30: MIKE McGINNIS - Clarinet / DAVALOIS FEARSON - Dance
8:30: STEVE HIRSH - Drums / DANIEL CARTER - Woodwinds / MATT LAVELLE - Woodwinds / HILLIARD GREENE - Bass
Tuesday, November 11th:
6:30: TONY ORZANO - Sax & Clarinet / AARON QUINN - Guitar
7:30: NEW REED TRIO: DAVID AARON / ANDY HAAS / DANIEL CARTER
8:30: RICH ROSENTHAL - Guitar / LOUIE BELOGENIS - Tenor Sax / DAVE SEWELSON - Bari Sax / KEN FILIANO - Bass / NICK NEUBURG - Drums
Saturday, November 15th: The Gauci-Music Series:
6:30: SAMANTHA KOCHIS - Flutes / HANS YOUNG BINTER - Keyboards
7:30: STEPHEN GAUCI - Tenor Sax, Flute, Clarinet / ANDREW DRURY - Drums
8:30: CHRISOPHER HOFFMAN - Cello / JEONG LIM YANG - ContraBass / TIMOTHY ANGULO - Drums
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THIS WEEK'S DYNAMIC DISCS BEGIN WITH THIS ONE, An Extraordinary Large Ensemble Led By..
ANNA WEBBER / ANGELA MORRIS BIG BAND with CHARLOTTE GREVE / LISA PARROTT / KENNY WARREN / JEN BAKER / YUHAN SU / DUSTIN CARLSON / MARTA SANCHEZ / ADAM HOPKINS / JEFF DAVIS / et al - Unseparate (Out of Your Head Records 037; USA) The webber / Morris Big Band features Anna webber, Angela Morris, Jay Rattman, Charlotte Grieve, Lisa Parrott & Adam Schneit on reeds, Kenny Warren, Nolan Tzang, Jake Henry & Ryan Easter on trumpets, Jen Baker, Tim Vaughn, Reginald Chapman & Zekkereya El-Magharbel on trombones, Yuhan Su on vibes, Dustin Carlson on guitar, Marta Sanchez on piano, Adam Hopkins on bass and Jeff Davis on drums. Recorded at The Bunker in Brooklyn in August of 2024.
Ever since moving to town, we've seen saxist, composer & multi-band-leader Anna Webber emerge as a gifted musician, composer, bandleader and teacher. This is Ms. Webber's 10th release as a bandleader or collaborator and the second release for her co-led big band with saxist/composer Angela Morris. I recognize around half of the names in this big band, like Charlotte Grieve (CD on Intakt), Kenny Warren (plays at DMG often), Jen Baker & Duston Carlson (both have played here at DMG), Marta Sanchez (with the current David Murray QT), Adam Hopkins (OOYH label head) and Jeff Davis (incredible local drummer who plays with many other downtowners). The first piece is called "Just Intonation Etudes for Big Band and it is a 4 part suite. Part 1 is called "Unseparate 1" and it has all of the horns (reeds & brass) playing in rich, dense tones together. A great fanfare intro. Trumpeter Ryan Easter takes the first solo and erupts intensely throughout. The large ensemble is tight and feisty with all parties playing in strong, spirited waves. Vibist Yuhan Su (with two great discs on Sunnyside), takes an impressive solo before the piece comes to an end. "Timbre" features just several layers of reeds and brass, playing in odd (intonation) harmonies. Midway, the powerful rhythm team kicks in and pushes the inner flame higher to near boiling point. Ms. Morris takes an inspired tenor solo as the horns play their parts underneath. While trombonist Tim Vaughn takes a fine, long solo on ""Metaphor", it is the rest of the large band which is playing several layers of thoughtful harmonies which make this piece so fascinating. This piece which ends the suite has a majestic, triumphant sound. Both Kenny Warren (on trumpet) and Zekkereya El-Magharbel (on trombone) trade lines during "Mist/Missed", a slow and assured dialogue goes on while the large ensemble adds their own united parts around the soloists. The thing I like most about this disc is that we can tell that a great deal of work has gone into the composing and performing of this music. Each piece has several layers of ideas, harmonies, strategies and solos going on, hence the more we listen, the more we hear. This entire disc is around 70 minutes long and is filled with some fabulous, exciting and invigorating music. I hope to get a chance to hear this wonderful ensemble play live, in the meantime, I urge you to check out this epic release, it will no doubt be on numerous best of lists this year. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14 / LP $25
TOMAS FUJIWARA with TIM KEIPER / KAORU WATANABE / PATRICIA BRENNAN - Dream Up (Out of Your Head Records 036; USA) Featuring Tomas Fujiwara on drums & compositions, Tim Keiper on donso & kamale ngoni, calabash, timbale, djembe, balafon, castanets & assorted percussion, Kaoru Watanabe O-jimedaiko, uchiwadaiko, shimedaiko & shinobue and Patricia Brennan on vibes. Ever since hearing Frank Zappa's composing for multiple percussionists in the late 1960's, I've been a big fan of exotic & ethnic percussionists and percussion ensembles. Aside from his work with Mary Halvorson, Taylor Ho Bynum, Matana Roberts & others, Mr. Fujiwara has led a series of his own ensembles, each one with differing personnel and instrumentation. For this new release (October of 2025), Mr. Fujiwara has organized a particularly strong percussion quartet. You should recognize the name of percussionist Tim Keiper from his work with Cyro Baptista, David Byrne and Ali & Vieux Farka Toure and Brian Marsella. I've caught ethnic flutist & percussionist Kaoru Watanabe with Adam Rudolph's Go Organic Orchestra. One of the best and most in-demand vibes players to emerge from the Downtown Scene in recent years, Patricia Brennan leads several of her bands, as well as working with Mary Halvorson, Anna Webber and Dan Weiss.
The title track, "Dream Up" opens this disc and begins with eerie, simmering vibes and subtle percussion. It sounds like Mr. Keiper is playing his donso ngoni here, which is also called a hunter's harp and was/is played by Don Cherry and William Parker. The slow moving, somber sounds remind me of spirits floating or drifting by. On "Mobilize", Fujiwara's drums are the central sound and are both rhythmic and somehow melodic simultaneously with the vibes and other percussion locking into the central groove. Ms. Brennan's vibes play and repeat the infectious melody that Mr. Fujiwara has composed. Although Mr. Fujiwara's drumming is the skeleton of each piece, the other members of the quartet switch off between other percussion instruments, keeping the combination of sounds different on each piece. Considering that there is no regular bass instrument here, the lower toned drums cover a similar sound, occasionally dense and pulsating underneath like a natural heartbeat. While the entire quartet plays a throbbing groove on "Recollection of a Dance", Mr. Watanabe takes a marvelous, inventive flute solo above Ms. Brennan's chordal work below. On "Columns of Leaning Paint", the drums and vibes keep busying while interacting, exchanging several lines at the same time, enhanced by the other percussionists' seasoning. For "Tapestry", there are several layers of percussion all interlocking, from low end (bass drums) to high end (cymbals & metal percussion), the propulsion growing throughout. The last piece, "You Don't Have to Try" has a thoughtful melody which is played by the vibes and has a way of reaching into our hearts and plucking the strings within. It ends with a lovely, haunting, transcendent flute solo. Much more than just a percussion quartet, this disc is something special to behold. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14
DANIELLE DeGRUTTOLA / HENRY KAISER / BENEDICTE MAURSETH / STEIN URHEIM - Be Here Whenever (OK World 377 935; Norway) Featuring Danielle DeGrutolla on cello, Henry Kaiser & Stein Urheim on guitars and Benedicte Maurseth on hardanger fiddle. Although this disc was release3d in 20231, we haven't been able to locate copies until now. Bay Area cellist Danielle DeGrutolla has been collaborating with guitarist Henry Kaiser for two decades, with a half dozen discs together. Mr. Kaiser claims that Ms. DeGrutolla is one his favorite musicians to work with. Bendicte Maurseth
plays the rare Hardanger fiddle, The Hardanger fiddle is considered to be the "national instrument of Norway" and it has 8 or 9 strings (4 regular & 3-4 sympathetic strings). Ms. Maurseth has discs out on the ECM and Hubro labels. Norwegian guitarist Stein Urheim can be heard on more than a dozen discs and has worked with the Cosmologic Orchestra. This disc was recorded in California and produced, mixed & mastered by Henry Kaiser.
Mr. Kaiser always works well in the studio and hence this disc has some wonderful, warm, thoughtful, well-balanced sound. The first thing we hear is the sound of the cello with subtle, ECM-like reverb carefully added. On "Rainbow in an Unseen Teardrop", both guitars play nimble phrases. Mr. Kaiser is playing slide here with his distinctive sustain tone while Mr. Urheim plays soft, solemn ghost-like chords underneath. Both strings weave gracefully around the guitars, all of the strings creating an eerie vibe. Considering that all four instruments are given that oft subtle amount of reverb, it is hard to tell them apart at times. After listening to and reviewing dozens of Kaiser's releases, I do recognize his unique tone or approach. although this music is calm at the center (mostly) and his colleagues add some lines of haunting, psych-lie effects. Both strings work well together, the Hardanger having an ancient sounding folk-like warmth. The last piece has a somewhat darker, more haunting vibe, the strings bathed with hypnotic effects, each plucked or bowed string carefully evoking a swarm of spirits, similar to the way a school of fish swim together, the currents providing a direction or pull. I felt as if I were waking from a dream as I listened closely. Mr. Kaiser adds several scary spirit-like sounds here as the waves get stronger washing over all of us listeners, balancing on a raft and trying not to drown. A most expressive excursion into some inner and outer depths. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14
PIERRE FAVRE / SERGIO ARMAROLI / ANDREA CENTAZZO / FRANCESCO GEMMO - The Art of Sound(s) (Hat ezz-thetics 118; Switzerland) Featuring Pierre Favre & Andrea Centazzo on drums & percussion, Sergio Armaroli on vibes and Francesca Gemmo on piano. This is a quartet of mostly older improvisers from Italy and Switzerland. I know Swiss drummer Pierre Favre from his longtime recording career working with Irene Schweizer, Michel Portal and several of his own ensembles. Italian percussionist, Andrea Centazzo, was one of the European musicians to embrace the early members of the Downtown Scene with Eugene Chadbourne, John Zorn & Tom Cora. Mr. Centazzo has worked with jazz, modern classical and electronic musicians, running his own Ictus label for nearly fifty years. Italian pianist Fransesca Gemmo and vibist Sergio Armaroli have been collaborating for nearly a decade, often performing the music of John Cage, Luc Ferrari and Erik Satie, as well as improvising with elders like Giancarlo Schiaffini, Barry Guy and Magda Mayas.
Although the music here seems to be all improvised, each of the eight pieces are titled "First thru Eighth Movement(s)". The music here is superbly recorded and perfectly balanced. It seems obvious that these musicians have been playing in this expansive way for many years. The vibes and piano are both similar in sound and all four musicians often sound like they are mainly percussionists, which they are. Outside of the recognizable sounds of the piano and vibes, it is hard to tell who is doing what, but it doesn't really matter as the results are consistently fascinating. The "Third Movement" is slow, spacious and filled with suspense. Francesca Gemmo is a classically trained pianist who has performed the music of John Cage and Luc Ferrari, hence the music here often sounds like modern chamber music yet it is freer than what we expect from other mostly written music. The drummers often lead the conversation here, pushing the intensity higher as they go. That said, the vibes and piano also get a chance to stretch out and take over at times as well. There are a few segments when the quartet breaks into a groove for a short while but mostly this is a strong, focused move into some freer waters. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $18
NATHAN CLEVENGER GROUP with KASEY KNUDSEN / CORY WRIGHT / BETH SCHENCK / LISA MEZZACAPPA / JASON LEVIS / et al - Astrolabe (Queen Bee 013; USA) Featuring Featuring Kasey Knudsen, Beth Schenck, Cory Wright & Polly Springhorn on reeds, Rob Ewing on trombone, Nathan Clevenger on keyboards, harmonium & kalimba, Crystal Pascucci-Clifford on cello, Lisa Mezzacappa on contrabass and Jon Arkin, Jason Levis, Tim DeCillis & Mark Pascucci-Clifford on assorted percussion & vibes plus Jordan Glenn conducting on three pieces. With each release on Lisa Mezzacappa's Queen Bee Records label, the focus on the ever-evolving Bay Area creative music scene continues to grow. This release, the 13th so far features a 12-piece ensemble, which is called the Astrolabe Ensemble and it is the largest project yet from this series. I know of a handful of these players from their work with other west coasters like Vinny Golia, Ben Goldberg, Aaron Novik and the Fred Frith Trio.
This work was composed by Nathan Clevenger and it is a suite in seven movements which blends together two scenes: Santa Cruz (1994-1998) and Oakland (during the pandemic). Aside from Mr. Knudsen and both string players, the other members of this ensemble all double on assorted percussion instruments. Starting with "Ink Blindness", things begin freely but soon break into a solid written section for several layers of reeds, brass and percussion. While Casey Knudsen takes the first solo, the rest of the ensemble move in waves around him. Soon Rob Ewing solos softly on trombone while the rest of the ensemble builds in more waves around him. The vibes the ensemble on "Light Bulb Chant", a playful piece featuring Cory Wright's clarinet with the ensemble swelling up and down as the vibes play some long, spacious series of solos. What I like about this work is that it has more modest ambitions/sections. There are very few completely free parts with no screaming horns. While someone solos, the rest of the band either sits out or plays quietly underneath. Each member gets a chance to solo or just stretch out and solos are kept to a minimum. The written sections seem to evolve organically and are often the highlights. Although "Pacific Avenue Wind Event" is sparse and free in part, it unfolds in a most organic way, if we are walking through a forest with all natural sounds around us. "The Mooring Tower" is a chamber-like work with a strong contrapuntal structure. While Rob Ewing takes a trombone solo on this piece, the rest of the ensemble plays their own modest written parts underneath. As I grew older, I decided to go back to more mainstream and third stream jazz mostly from the 1950's to better appreciate it after listening to so much more avant and progressive jazz. I can come to appreciate this music more over time and often listen closer to things I probably ignored in the past. The music on this disc seems to embrace an older aesthetic at times, it is somewhat adventurous yet in more modest ways. The more I listen, the more those subtle rewards ring true. A strong diversion from some of the more abrasive avant jazz that I usually review. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $13
OAKLAND REDUCTIONIST ORCHESTRA with LISA MEZZACAPPA / JOSHUA MARSHALL / MATT INGALLS / TOM DJLL / KYLE BRUCKMANN / CHRIS COOPER / et al (Queen Bee 012; USA) The Oakland Reductionist Orchestra has 18 members playing on this disc, only a few of whom's names that I recognize: Lisa Mezzacappa, Matt Ingalls, Tom Djll and Kyle Bruckmann. A few of the other names here can be found on a variety of other Bay Area recordings. This disc consists of two long (23-25 minute) pieces, recorded in February and April of this year (2025). I am not sure who directed the musicians although Matt Ingalls is the producer. The begins slowly with sparse playing from just a few instruments and builds as more instruments enter: different reeds, brass, strings and percussion, generally one instrument at a time. The music is very focused, often minimal like what used to be known as lower case improv. The term "reductionist" in the band title indicates that this is a type of lower case, onkyo or erstwhile like improv. Which is interesting considering there are 18 musicians here. I recall when lower case improv was a somewhat popular trend amongst creative musicians, some folks loved it and some folks couldn't tolerate it. It did force the musicians and listeners to focus on less sounds and carefully created minutiae. The music here is not as sparse as some of the more reductionist players during that era a decade or so ago. There is more going on here and I really like the way things unfold, each sound carefully placed on a blank canvas or space. There is a calm center here and the music often sounds organic in the way it unfolds. Although there are three vocalists involved, their contributions are kept to a minimum. It does sound like there is a bit of editing going on as one piece has a section which ends abruptly so perhaps someone was directing or shaping the flow. I do like this disc quite a bit, although it would be hard to tell that there were so many musicians involved. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $13
SEAN ALI - Quartets for Plucked Strings (Neither Nor Records 027; USA) Featuring Sean Ali on mandolins, octave mandolin & guitar, all overdubbed. Around 1977-1978, after graduating college and living back at home, I worked for a local music distributor called Rainbow Distribution for around 1 & 1/2 years. Rainbow exclusively distributed 4 labels: Rounder, Flying Fish, Inner City & Muse records. My job was to call college radio stations and send out promos of the music on these four labels. I mentioned to the owner of Rainbow that if I was going to promote this music, I had to listen to some of it so he said take any promos that I wanted and ended up with around 100 promo LP's. I was already a jazz fanatic but checking out the artists on Rounder and Flying Fish was a revelation to me and I soon began to appreciate more of the mostly American roots musics like folk, bluegrass, country and blues. I really dug bluegrass especially when a number of bluegrass and jazz musicians got together to create something new. Mandolinist, David Grisman (an early Jerry Garcia collaborator) formed a bluegrass/jazz quintet which he referred to as Dawg Music and I was knocked by that. I started checking out other mandolinists like Bill Monroe, Barry Mitterhoff, Tut Taylor and many others like Indian virtuoso U. Srinivas. Hence, I do dig the mandolin immensely.
I also dig Downtown contrabassist Sean Ali, who often surprises me with his experimental approach to play his bass putting round cardboard tubes between his string and bowing & plucking in odd places on his bass. During the pandemic, Mr. Ali wanted to get out of his house to make some music outside so instead of carting around his contrabass, he took up the mandolin since it is much easier to carry. He has continued to play mandolin and recorded this solo effort for four several overdubbed mandolins. Rather than embracing any bluegrass licks, this disc explores a more expansive approach to the mandolin. Ali starts off with one mandolin, playing sparse fragments and slowly adds other parts. Most folks who've heard the mandolin in bluegrass and folk ensembles, usually think of the way most mandolinists play their quick licks like the other players in bluegrass ensembles. Ali often plays more slowly, adding odd chords, bent notes and the scraping of the strings with a pic. The results are further out than most mandolinists tend to go and he layers several mandolin parts on top, sometimes pushing the avant envelope of strange sounds. The music here is often calm at the center and doesn't go too far into the outside. Ali keeps adding another layer of swirling mandolins as the sound becomes more dense and mesmerizing. At times, Ali will take a recognizable mandolin, folky melodic or phrase and add or embellish with other stranger lines. I found this disc to be consistently engaging, always adding another part to his carefully layered series of lines. On the last piece, "Childhood", he actually plays what sounds like a traditional melody, adding several layers, all in righteous harmony with one another. The sound is rather pure, like an ancient folk melody which has been handed down through several generations. The piece flows right and becomes freer as it evolves, ending with several captivating layers of lines in a kaleidoscopic swirl. So nice to hear experimental music played on an instrument that is associated with a much different tradition. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14
BEN FROST - Steel Wound (2025 Edition)(Room 40 403-20CD; Australia) A note from Lawrence English: "If I'm not mistaken, Ben Frost and I first talked about the ideas of what would become Steel Wound sometime in mid-2002. In the early '00s, Ben had been working on cut-up electronics, spilling over with floating rhythms, humming string samples and piano splices. It was a sound realized in part through the subversion of fruity loops and also owes a debt to Ableton Live which arrived in late 2001. His works to that point, gently saturated and bristling with a fizzy distortion at times, hinted at another sound world which would become his focused in the summer of 2002 and into 2003. Locking himself away at Johanna's Beach, a remote southern vantage along the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, he was able to record for the first time without a sense of constraint. This opening up of the sound palette brought with it an entirely new harmonic language that had been hinted at, but not realized, on previous recordings. With a simple restriction of instrumentation, the guitar as the palette, Frost unlocked a certain verticality to his working methods that holds light to this day. Steel Wound is, by design, a singular record in Ben Frost's discography. It's a recording born of particular conditions, but also of particular interests. It was the first time Ben had set himself up with a situation where saturation, volume and density were all something that could be realized in a space and a time, not as a process of post-production. To have sound operating in space is a thing of true beauty and moreover it allows for a certain unpredictability that is central to new discoveries. Working with a Fender Twin, often with the reverb dialed in at maximum, he found a language of shimmer and saturation, of compression and collision, that set the stage for a prolonged interest in how sound performs and is perceived at volume. It also is the first time that many of the tonal and melodic inflections that have come to be recognized as his compositional language are on display. Steel Wound, in my opinion, is a map to the future for Ben. It is a portal, a chance for new understandings to emerge and also to take hold and it's these learnings that have guided Ben's work in the subsequent years. Steel Wound remains a pulsing beacon in an ocean of noise that has been flickering for two decades now."
CD $18
SARATHY KORWAR - There Is Beauty, There Already (Otherland Records OTH 001CD; UK) Sarathy Korwar, genre-breaking drummer, producer and composer, announces the release of his seventh album, There Is Beauty, There Already, out on Otherland. Celebrating the melodic power of the drum ensemble, the album follows his 2022 Indofuturist manifesto KALAK with a deeply immersive longform suite of percussion-led compositions. Playing as a 40-minute suite of hypnotic and transcendent drum improvisations, the album beats through a repetitive, circular structure that brings to mind Indian folk music, jazz drum ensembles like Max Roach's M'Boom and the contemporary classical minimalism of Terry Riley and Steve Reich. From the undulating bass tones of the tabla to the tonal varieties of South Indian clay pot ghatam, the snare drum snap of the drum kit, and shades of electronic texture through the Buchla Easel, Korwar's ensemble bubbles and flows through a stream of steady rhythm, forever in motion like the ceaseless energy of a river. "The album is me finding my voice as a composer again and going back to the thing I know best, which is the drums," Korwar says. "It's me falling back in love with percussion and expressing just how melodic and emotive it can be. Unlike my other albums that have often engaged with weighty themes like migration, identity and futurism, this is a raw act of placing myself front and center -- letting the drums speak instead."
CD $16
BANNING EYRE - Bare Songs Vol. 1 (One World Records BEONE 2025CD; Denmark) Banning Eyre is one of the finest guitarists and his music is utterly magical. Specialized in African guitar playing, learning from masters while traveling around the African continent to discover hidden gems, Eyre took his time not only to describe the music in his books and productions for the U.S. radio program Afropop Worldwide; he also learned local guitar techniques to perfection. His way of playing is spiritual, intimate, dreamy. Once you start listening to his solo guitar playing, you don't want to let go, as your soul gets warmed by the comforting circles woven into his compositions. Pure pleasure! One World Records now presents the American master's music, inspired by 6-string diversity from around the globe. This set of 14 original compositions and arrangements reflects the artist's lifelong immersion in roots guitar music, from American blues to Malian finger-style to influences from Congo, Madagascar and Zimbabwe. You've never heard guitar music quite like this before.
CD $18
ROOTS RADICS MEET MIGHTY REVOLUTIONARIES - Outernational Riddim (Burning Sounds 828CD; UK) "Two titanic forces in reggae history -- Roots Radics and The Mighty Revolutionaires -- unite for a powerful dubwise journey on Outernational Riddim. This long-anticipated collaboration blends heavyweight rhythms, militant drum patterns, and deep, atmospheric dubs that channel the essence of Jamaican roots music with a forward-thinking production style. The Roots Radics, known for backing icons like Gregory Isaacs, Barrington Levy, and Israel Vibration, bring their unmistakable heavyweight style to this session. Meanwhile, The Revolutionaires, studio legends behind countless Channel One classics, lace the tracks with their tight arrangements and classic rockers grooves. Produced and mixed in true dubwise tradition, Outernational Riddim delivers an essential release for fans of roots reggae, dub collectors, and sound system culture. From deep and meditative grooves to militant stepper rhythms, Outernational Riddim is a testament to the timeless strength of Jamaican instrumental reggae and dub -- an 'outernational' statement from two of reggae's most respected rhythm sections."
CD $17
DELROY WILSON - Lover's Rock (Burning Sounds 827; UK) "A cornerstone of soulful reggae, Lover's Rock by Jamaican legend Delroy Wilson bridges his deep roots in ska and rocksteady with the smooth, romantic vibes of the UK's lovers rock movement. It's a noteworthy entry in the lovers rock canon and a testament to Wilson's versatility. Originally released in 1978 by Burning Sounds, this album captures Wilson's velvet-toned voice over laid-back riddims and heartfelt lyrics -- a perfect entry point for fans of both classic reggae and tender love songs. A must-have for collectors of golden-era reggae and lovers rock enthusiasts alike. Original UK pressing is increasingly rare and prized for its warm analogue sound and classic artwork. Recommended if you like: John Holt, Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Brown, Sugar Minott."
CD $17
A HALF DOZEN GREAT, LONG OUT-OF-PRINT AVANT/JAZZ GEMS FROM AN OLD DISTRIBUTOR JUST ARRIVED:
Reviews and/or blurbs further below...
EVAN PARKER SANT'ANNA ARRESI QUINTET with PETER EVANS / ALEXANDER HAWKINS / JOHN EDWARDS / HAMID DRAKE - Filu 'e Ferru - Live at S. Anna Arresi, January 2nd, 2015 (Punta Giata; Italy) Review below
CD $25
BUTCH MORRIS With EVAN PARKER / DAVID MURRAY / JOE BOWIE / GREG WARD / HAMID DRAKE / ON KA'A DAVIS / JEAN-PAUL BOURELLY / HARRISON BANKHEAD / ALAN SILVA / SILVIA BOLOGNESI / et al - Conduction 192 - Possible Universe (Nu Bop 014; Italy)
CD $25
BUTCH MORRIS With BRANDON ROSS / MYRA MELFORD / ZEENA PARKINS / J A DEANE / BRYAN CARROTT / MARTIN SCHUTZE / LE QUAN NINH / et al - Verona: Conduction No 43: The Cloth (1994) / Conduction No 46: Verona Skyscraper (1995)(NuBop 09; Italy)
2 CD Set $25
BILL DIXON With TAYLOR HO BYNUM / GRAHAM HAYNES / STEPHEN HAYNES / ROB MAZUREK / et al - Tapestries For Small Orchestra (Tapestries For Small Orchestra; USA)
2 CD 1 DVD Set $32
JOE McPHEE / ROY CAMPBELL / WILLIAM PARKER / WARREN SMITH - Live at the Dynamo = Tribute to Albert Ayler (Marge 45; France)
CD $20
LINDA SHARROCK NETWORK With ITARU OKI / ERIC ZINMAN / MAKOTO SATO / CHARLIE COLLINS / MARIO RECHTERN / JOHN JASNOCH / et al - They Begin to Speak (Improvised Beings 46; France)
2 CD Set $16
Same Rare CD's with reviews:
EVAN PARKER SANT'ANNA ARRESI QUINTET with PETER EVANS / ALEXANDER HAWKINS / JOHN EDWARDS / HAMID DRAKE - Filu 'e Ferru - Live at S. Anna Arresi, January 2nd, 2015 (Punta Giata; Italy) Featuring Evan Parker on tenor sax, Peter Evans on trumpets, Alexander Hawkins on piano, John Edwards on double bass and Hamid Drake on drums & percussion. This is a UK/US dream band, a one-time meeting that took place on January 2nd of 2015 at the Ai Confini tea Sardegna e Jazz 29th Edition festival. There are some obvious connections going on here: Evan Parker & Peter Evans later (?) became members of a quartet known as Rocket Science, while John Edwards has often played in a rhythm team with Mark Sanders behind Mr. Parker and many others. The wild card might just be Alexander Hawkins who has worked with Louis Moholo in a duo, quartet & Quintet. What I love about this disc/set is that it evolves so organically, seamlessly through different sections. The interplay between all five members is extraordinary! Did I hear Peter Evans slip in a line from “Salt Peanuts/??? I doubt that this quintet hadn’t played together before this event, but you would never think this as they they work together perfectly. The secret weapon here is the ever amazing Hamid Drake who keeps juggling a swirling tides of several connected waves or currents. Strangely enough there are some quiet moments here while the players regroup, slowly interact and build up again. My current favorite CD of the week, at least until I begin reviewing 10 FMR discs tomorrow. Quite possible gone for good so get your copy now! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $25
BUTCH MORRIS With EVAN PARKER / DAVID MURRAY / JOE BOWIE / GREG WARD / HAMID DRAKE / ON KA'A DAVIS / JEAN-PAUL BOURELLY / HARRISON BANKHEAD / ALAN SILVA / SILVIA BOLOGNESI / et al - Conduction 192 - Possible Universe (Nu Bop 014; Italy) Featuring: Butch" Morris - conductor, David Murray - tenor sax & bass clarinet, Evan Parker - tenor sax, Pasquale Innarella - alto sax, Greg Ward - alto sax, Joe Bowie - trombone, Tony Cattano - trombone, Meg Montgomery - electro trumpet, Riccardo Pitta - trumpet, Jean-Paul Bourelly - guitar, On Ka'a Davis - guitar, Harrison Bankhead - double bass, Silvia Bolognesi - double bass, Chad Taylor - drums & vibraphone, Hamid Drake - percussion and Alan Silva - synth.
CD $25
BUTCH MORRIS With BRANDON ROSS / MYRA MELFORD / ZEENA PARKINS / J A DEANE / BRYAN CARROTT / MARTIN SCHUTZE / LE QUAN NINH / et al - Verona: Conduction No 43: The Cloth (1994) / Conduction No 46: Verona Skyscraper (1995)(NuBop 09; Italy) Disc 1 - Conduction No 43 The Cloth: Myra Melford and Riccardo Fassi (pianos), Mario Arcari (oboe), Stephano Montaldo (viola), J. A. Deane (trombone, electronics), Brandon Ross (guitar), Bryan Carrot (vibraphone), Martin Schutz, Martine Altenburger (cello), Le Quan Ninh (percussion). Recorded Teatro Romano, Verona, 26 June 1994 Disc 2 - Conduction No 46 Verona Skyscraper: J A Deane (trombone, electronics), Stefano Benini (flute), Marco Pasetto (clarinet), Rizzardo Piazzi (alto sax), Francesco Bearzatti (bass clarinet), Zeena Parkins (harp), Myra Melford and Riccardo Massari (pianos), Bill Horvitz (guitar), Carlo 'Bobo' Facchinetti (drums), Le Quan Ninh (percussion). Recorded Teatro Romano, Verona, 27 June 1995 "The first disc features "Conduction No. 43: The Cloth". The first thing I noticed about this disc is how well it is recorded and perfectly balanced. We can hear Zeena's acoustic harp, the strings, guitar, oboe, vibes and other assorted percussion just right. You can tell that Butch has rehearsed with this ensemble as the swirling lines they play together are so tight and instantly connected. Certain solos, like the oboe, rise above the rest of the ensemble like a lightning flash, before they submerge back into the rest of the waves. There also sections that are calm, sublime and quietly transcendent. One early section features oboe, harp and piano in a most exquisite setting before Butch begins adding somewhat more agitated layers to the cosmic cauldron of spirits. I dig the way certain fragments of melodies evolve and are turned inside out while Butch injects any number of surprising related lines or undercurrents. The entire concert seems to build in a way that always makes sense while certain themes emerge and are transformed into something else equally enchanting. "Dust to Dust (part 1)" was also the name of an album by Mr. Morris from the mid-nineties. The orchestra performs a version of it here and it has a magical, dream-like ambiance with different layers intersecting in a most fascinating way. After seeing Butch perform so many times, I can picture his baton and hand movements in my mind's eye creating worlds within worlds. The second disc is "Conduction No. 46 - Verona Skyscraper". This set featured the usual collaborators like J.A. Deane, Zeena Parkins, Myra Melford plus guitarist Bill Horvitz (Wayne's brother & an early Downtowner who we rarely hear from) and bass clarinetist Francesco Bearzatti, who has been popping up on the Auand label.The first piece, "Skyscraper Mutiny" goes further out with darker more turbulent currents flowing. There is particular wave/motion that erupts at different times which gives this a recognizable Butch Morris touch. Yet we never know how things will develop. Certain fragmented lines are repeated yet they keep changing or mutating into something else. A number of fine Italian musicians get a chance to stretch out here, some I know and some I am not familiar with. Again, Mr. Morris conducts and molds the orchestra into all kinds of stimulating shapes and colors. And again, the outcome is consistently engaging and often mesmerizing." - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
2 CD Set $25
BILL DIXON With TAYLOR HO BYNUM / GRAHAM HAYNES / STEPHEN HAYNES / ROB MAZUREK / et al - Tapestries For Small Orchestra (Tapestries For Small Orchestra; USA) Bill Dixon - trumpet, electronics, compositions, directing: Taylor Ho Bynum - cornet, flugelhorn, bass & piccolo trumpets, Graham Haynes - cornet, flugelhorn & electronics, Stephen Haynes - trumpet, cornet & flugelhorn, Rob Mazurek - cornet & electronics, Glynis Lomon - cello, Michel Cote - contrabass clarinet & bass clarinet, Ken Filiano - double bass & electronics and Warren Smith - vibes, marimba, gongs & drums. 'Tapestries for Small Orchestra', eminent trumpeter/composer Bill Dixon's new three-disc set, includes two audio CD's of specially commissioned original music plus a documentary film DVD featuring exclusive interviews and session footage. Made possible in part by a grant from the LEF Foundation's Contemporary Work Fund, and the support of the Festival of New Trumpet Music (FONT Music), this project thoroughly documents the three-day recording session at Firehouse 12's state of the art recording studio, offering unprecedented access into Mr. Dixon's creative process. In addition, both Stephen Haynes and Taylor Ho Bynum have written illuminating liner note essays discussing the music and what they've learned from working with Bill Dixon. "For this monumental multi-disc set, it looks as if Mr. Dixon has put together his dream ensemble, selecting four other distinguished brass (trumpet, cornet & flugel) musicians, as well as four other fine players with diverse skills. Since the mid-sixties Mr. Dixon's playing, writing and vision has continually evolved. Although he records infrequently, he makes each disc special. His recognition as a serious composer has increased over the last decade, with his appearance at numerous Vision Festivals helping to brings things more in focus for his growing audience. The first culmination his work for orchestra, '17 Musicians In Search of A Sound: Darfur', was recorded at Vision Fest XII and released on Aum Fidelity. Once again, Mr. Dixon and his small orchestra have given us another masterwork which will take some time to absorb fully. "Motorcycle" '66" begins with some especially haunting cello, vibes, bass clarinet and soon floating brass. Each of the five horn players have their own sound and each adds a different presence. As the piece(s) evolves, selective layers are woven into the fascinating tapestry of moving strands. During the latter part of the first piece, Dixon's lone trumpet stands by itself with the other trumpets slowly weaving their way around him, subtle electronic ghosts fluttering in the distance. It is like entering a dream world which then fades away, only to be transformed into another world. It would be foolish to try and describe the nearly two hours of incredible music that is stored inside of the two discs of music found here. The 31 minute documentary film found on the third disc is also well worth watching since it helps to understand the mysterious and challenging music and vision of Bill Dixon. Nice video work from our pal Robert O'Hare. Overall, Bill Dixon's 'Tapestries for Small Orchestra' is one of the most important discs of the year. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
2 CD 1 DVD Set $32
JOE McPHEE / ROY CAMPBELL / WILLIAM PARKER / WARREN SMITH - Live at the Dynamo = Tribute to Albert Ayler (Marge 45; France) Here's my review of the same band from this year's (2009) Vision Fest: " The Ayler Project are another new downtown all-star quartet featuring Joe McPhee on tenor sax & pocket trumpet, Roy Campbell on trumpets & flute, William Parker on bass and Warren Smith on drums, gongs & other percussion. The quartet are a tribute to the legendary free/jazz originals, Albert & Donald Ayler. They play a few of Ayler's own songs as well as a few songs influenced by the Aylers. Commencing with some ritualistic gongs and spoken words by Roy, it was an auspicious beginning. The first piece featured some burning solos from Roy on trumpet and Joe on tenor with William Parker bowing up a storm on bass. One song reminds of some sort of South African ballad lovely flugel and tenor harmonies. Warren Smith is a master drummer and played with astonished taste and creativity throughout the set. "Our Prayer" featured Warren on mallets and was filled with suspense with two great but restrained trumpets up front. There were times when the quartet burned like a MF and times when they sound like the cosmic sounds of the Ayler Bros. themselves." - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
CD $20
LINDA SHARROCK NETWORK With ITARU OKI / ERIC ZINMAN / MAKOTO SATO / CHARLIE COLLINS / MARIO RECHTERN / JOHN JASNOCH / et al - They Begin to Speak (Improvised Beings 46; France) This is a half live, half studio 2 CD set called "They Begin To Speak". Both discs present near hour-long versions of the title track respectively. True to the spirit of the project, the live disc was actually performed first in 2015, recorded at The Lescar in Sheffield, UK. Sharrock, along with a mix of musicians, both new and from the prior performance, recreated the experience two months later in a studio in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France. She was aided by dozens of improv luminaries during both events, such as Charlie Collins (I've heard of him!), John Jasnoch, Dereck Saw and Itaru Oki. Still, Sharrock has an impressive way of charging through their determined cacophony and taking center stage by means of upping the ante. If the album is as wild and inspired in its entirety as the above excerpt, then two hours won't seem much of a chore." - Improvising Beings
2 CD Set $16
LP SECTION:
ANDRE VIDA - Breathless (Vidatone; Earth) Featuring Andre Vida on solo tenor sax. Sounds simple, right? Not really. I've known Andre Vida since his days of working with Anthony Braxton, creating Ghost Trance Music in the late 1990's. After this period, Mr. Vida moved to Berlin and recorded an impressive triple CD for the Pan label, a compilation of works from 1995-2011. He also released a handful of records for his own Vidatone label, a solo and a quartet record, both of which are rarities for us freaky collectors. For this album, Mr. Vida decided to spend years exploring new ways of playing the sax. This LP is a culmination of his explorations which he describes in the liner notes. I have long been fascinated by the way certain musicians have consistently explored the way their instrument is supposed to work and then gone beyond the barriers with extended techniques. AS Mr. Vida explains in the notes, "What I present here are my first attempts to play the tenor sax without any breath."
As Mr. Vida mentions, the sounds here are created on his tenor sax without blowing into the sax. On "Danders", Mr. Vida taps quickly on the pads of the sax, creating an odd line of sounds. Speeding up, slowing down, tapping harder on certain pads. The sound is similar to what someone might do with a cardboard tube with holes in it. On "Drohpsos", Vida slows down and varies his tapping between higher and lower notes, some notes muted more than others. Vida keeps varying his approach on each piece, the tapping being altered as he fingers the pads in different ways. Mr. Vida has obviously spend time exploring these sounds and variations on his tenor. What's interesting about the results here is that this music is much much rhythmic and melodic than one might imagine. Vida works his way through a series of patterns, manipulating the pads on his sax differently on each piece. If you think that there is only one easy or predictable trick or strategy here, you would wrong. There is quite a bit more than this. Andre Vida has done a fine job of showing how to express oneself through playing the sax in a much different way than most of his peers. Bravo! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
LP $18
MUSICA URBANA - Musica Urbana (Sommor Records 113LP; Spain) One of the crown jewels of the European jazz-rock-prog-fusion scene. This band from Barcelona, comprised of top notch musicians connected to Crac, Màquina! and Barcelona Traction, mixed Canterbury/RIO influences with classical Spanish music. This is their first album from 1976. Música Urbana was a short-lived Spanish jazz rock band formed in Barcelona in the mid-'70s by composer and multi-instrumentalist Joan Albert Amargós. Their aim was to forge a distinctly Catalan progressive-rock identity -- rooted in Mediterranean and Andalusian traditions rather than Anglophone influences. The band assembled top-tier musicians (Lucky Guri, Carles Benavent, Salvador Font, Luigi Cabanach) piece by piece, ultimately becoming a sort of local supergroup. Their sound blended jazz rock, traditional Spanish and classical music, and even cinematic scores, forming a unique, sophisticated fusion style. The original album cover referenced Spanish classical composers -- signaling the band's deep embrace of Iberian musical heritage in a prog-fusion framework. Remastered sound in 24-bit domain. Multilingual insert with liner notes by journalist Àlex Gómez-Font and rare photos.
LP $34
MARIE CELESTE - And Then Perhaps (Sommor Records 115LP; Spain) Beyond rare British private press folk album from 1971. Charming atmosphere and dreamy twin female vocals, mixing traditional tunes with interesting covers and superb original songs featuring a slight psych/folk edge. Named after the fabled ghost ship, Wolverhampton folk group Marie Celeste left behind just one rare recording: the 1971 private-press album And Then Perhaps. Pressed in only 200 copies without a proper picture sleeve and recorded live in a single session, it has since become a collector's treasure -- a haunting message in a bottle from the British folk underground. Formed in the late '60s by childhood friends Brian Lindop (vocals, guitar) and Jon Tame (bass), the group evolved through several line-ups before settling with singers Glenys Jenkins and Mary Bishop, alongside young guitar prodigy Ken Price. Their harmonies, combined with Brian's evocative songwriting and Ken's dexterous playing, gave the band a distinct voice within the flourishing folk scene. The album blends five striking originals with inspired covers of Tom Paxton, Joni Mitchell, and traditional standards. Highlights include the pastoral title track "And Then Perhaps," the harmony-rich opener "Prisoner", and the lilting instrumental "A Slice of Peace". Critics at the time praised its warmth and quality despite its shoestring budget, with the Wolverhampton Express & Star calling it "a good album" that deserved wider attention. Though the band disbanded in early 1972, their swansong -- a support slot for Fairport Convention -- confirmed their talent. First ever band-sanctioned reissue. Newly vintage styled artwork in hard cardboard sleeve. 24-bit domain remastered sound. Insert with liner notes by Austin Matthews (Shindig!/Flashback) and photos.
LP $35
EUGENE CHADBOURNE & THE CONTEMPORARY ROCK BAND - Bellfort Strasse (Black Dot Records 005LP; Canada) "Although it is true that the Nanaimo concert hall known as 'The White Room' has been eradicated by real estate greedheads, Jack and Dave (who ran the place and its documenting record label) have decided to keep the label going because why the hell not? The first fruit of this divine union is the Belfort Strasse LP by Eugene Chadbourne's Contemporary Rock Band (whose name was copped from an otherwise anonymous Pismo Beach cover band). Under this exquisitely generic banner you'll find Eugene Chadbourne on vocals, guitar and banjo, Schroeder on drums, Jan Fitsjen on bass and baritone guitar and occasionally Titus Waldenfels on lap steel. Unlike their namesake, this Contemporary Rock Band only plays a couple of covers -- Johnny Paycheck's 'The Cave' and Willie Nelson's 'Wake Me When It's Over.' These are also the tracks on which Waldenfels's lap steel adds musical width, while on 'Prisoner' (recorded for Bulgarian National Radio), the ensemble features solely Chadbourne and Schroeder. The material here was recorded in 2018-19 in a basement studio on Belfort Strasse in Freiburg-im-Brieslau, Germany or in taverns within walking distance of the studio, using a mobile recording facility. A few of the tunes have appeared on some of Eugene's recent CDRs, but this the first vinyl appearance of the music, and a damn fine appearance it is. Unlike his more 'purely' avant instrumental records, Belfort Strasse is a suite of Eugene's sometimes-straight/sometimes-bent lyrics, spiced up with experimentally-canted musical flourishes that fuck with time, melody and harmonics in equal measure and at their own cruel pace. Eugene's approach is so amazingly advanced it can often be head-spinning to try and unravel its intent, but the overall effect kinda destroys the perceptual barriers between sounds deemed 'inside' and 'outside.' This is a trick Chadbourne has long been working at, but as much as I loved many of his early efforts at this syncretic mode of creation, over the years his tactics have become a bit less manic, which seems like a good thing in terms of making the lines blurrier than ever. Eugene is an artist whose aesthetic has long seemed to be dictated by Duke Ellington's statement, 'if it sounds good and feels good then it is. Good. There's no art when one does something without intention.' And to my ear, Belfort Strasse, is Eugene's most adamant exemplar of this dictum yet. If you can't dig it. I'm not certain you can dig." --Byron Coley
LP $30
MATS GUSTAFSSON - In The Black Dot World Of Adventures (Black Dot Records 002LP; Canada) "Welcome to the second release in the Black Dot LP series. Black Dot albums are all recorded live at the White Spot performance space in beautiful downtown Nanaimo BC, a venue which Mats Gustafsson visited on June 23, 2019. Mats is many things to many people -- a doting father, a fancier of fine bourbons, an enthusiastic sport fisherman and a record collector of unparalleled passion. But he is probably best known as a musical performer/composer/explorer with world-gobbling intentions. On this evening in June, Mats was in extremely fine solo form. Playing baritone sax, fluteophone and three 'vinyl killer' record players (containing three copies of his own Hockey 10" on Gaffer), Mats began the evening with the sounds of tabletop hockey. The hockey sounds were courtesy of the 'vinyl killer' (which look like Hot Wheels versions of VW mini-buses driving around a record), and this madness was soon intercut with insanely fleet breath manipulation on the baritone. Gustafsson is one of the few players (along Anthony Braxton, Peter Brotzmann and the late Hamiett Bluiett) who has managed to bend the baritone sax to his will. Even the tenor is a big horn, requiring some real meat/lung duality for successful wrangling, but the baritone is a monster. Although Mats handles it as though it were a baby otter (albeit a large baby otter.) His click-stop playing shows he has darn nice tongue control, with grumbles of mutated melodic construction poking up and then hiding again, burrowing deep into the fabric of pure sound. As the set continues, the sax gets more aggressive -- inflating and inventing new strategies of sonic architecture, tearing up the air, sometimes inhabiting the so-called freak register like it was born there, at others playing melodies as though Coleman Hawkins' ghost was haunting its bell. Sometimes when he's playing, Mats gets an expression on his face that suggests he's revisiting the entire history of jazz music (something I know he carries around in his head at all moments). And I suspect those spirits were visibly passing across his visage this night in British Columbia. Although he is revered as an avant-gardist, Gustafsson is much more than that. He embodies a tradition that connects all kinds of seemingly unrelated segments of the music, creating unexpected combinations of sound and technique that span a variety of theoretically unbridgeable gaps. The force of his playing and personality create a furnace in which everything must melt and combine." --Byron Coley
LP $30
GORDON GRDINA & THE TWAIN with MICHIYO YAGI / MAKIGAMI KOICHI / TAKAHIRO HONDA - Gordon Grdina & The Twain (Black Dot Records 001X-LP; Canada) "Although The Black Dot/White Spot performance space in Nanaimo, BC has now passed into legend, The Black Dot label continues apace. To prove this we off¬er you The Twain, an extraordinary album helmed by BC-based string maestro Gordon Grdina, whose Square Peg combo's debut LP was The Black Dot's first release. This new project came about when Gordon encountered Michiyo Yagi's Trio, the Far out East-Improv Japan at the 2016 Jazztopad Festival in Poland. With Yagi on koto, Takahiro Honda on drums, and Koichi Makagami on vocals, the sound was beyond belief. Yagi and Honda regularly play as the duo DOJO, and their communication happens on a molecular level, giving their music a wild sense of freedom while maintaining clarity and forward-moving power. The vocals of Makagami (whose avant credentials stretch back as far as the Tokyo Kid Brothers) added an absolutely otherworldly element to the whole, as anyone who has seen him perform will surely attest to. Gordon was blown away, and knew he wanted to figure out a way to collaborate with this crew. Plans were laid, and eventually a session came together at Tokyo's GOK Studio in 2019. Three hour-long sets were recorded. One with Gord and DOJO, another with Gord and Koichi, and a final one with all four. These three hours were boiled down and edited into shorter segments. So what we have here is la creme de la creme. Things are blazing from the very start. Gord and Michiyo's work together the way Larry Coryell and Sonny Sharrock's did on the wilder parts of Memphis Underground. It's like a Vulcan Mind Meld style jam, conducted by the ghost of Jimi Hendrix. Honda's drums are tucked in there with a kind of free rock mass so huge it's hard to get your head around. And Koichi's vocals -- ranging from gibbered sound poetry to the peeps of twenty happy babies -- are akin to instructions being beamed in from alien galaxies. Taken together, these four musical voices all manage to remain distinct while at the same time conjoining for a kind of Fifth Mind synergy that will blow your mind for good." --Byron Coley
LP $30
GORDON GRDINA'S SQUARE PEG with JOE MORRIS / MAT MANERI / SHAZAD ISMAILY / JOSHUA ABRAMS - Live At The White Room (Black Dot Records 001LP; Canada) "Gorgeous live debut LP by an extremely flexible quartet put together by Vancouver based string-monster, Gordon Grdina. Grdina plays both electric guitar and oud. His guitar work here recalls a couple of very different players -- the clean angular scramble of Boston's Joe Morris, and also the more lyrical passages played by the master of power-distortion, Sonny Sharrock. On oud (an instrument most often associated with traditional music of Northern African and Western Asia) he creates a new approach to the instrument, perhaps parallel to what Chicago's Joshua Abrams is doing with the guimbri. Grdina's fellow travelers in Square Peg are all similar in their multi-directional tactics. Players unafraid to go deep into uncharted territory, with wide discographies on which they play with legends and neophytes with equal power. Brooklyn-born violinist Mat Maneri has collaborated with everyone from Cecil Taylor to Robin Williamson, and is known for his totally open approach to both violin and viola. Maneri's playing here most often reminds me of '70s Leroy Jenkins, shifting from dark sonorities to light-drenched obliquity in the blink of an eye. New York-based Shahzad Ismaily plays bass and synth here, although I've seen him at festivals where he played six different instruments in six different groups. Ismaily can pretty much do anything, but here he creates a flowing, near-constant foundation effectively holding everything together. German drummer, Christian Lillinger, has also played in myriad formats, generally jazz-based, but also those involving avant-garde rock and experimental composition. His playing here is tightly focused and highly propulsive. Not unlike what Chris Corsano does when he goes right down the middle. The pieces on this album are numbered rather than named, but they are not lacking identity. From the first burst of bent notes, Square Peg is boiling. Without horns or reeds or even prominent keys to hang melodic laundry, the music feels like blocks of harmonic interplay shifting around like tectonic plates. Some of the parts where Ismaily plays synth make me think of the communion between Larry Young and John McLaughlin in Tony Williams Lifetime, but the when Grdina is on oud, the sound is unlike anything I've heard. And it is cool as hell, way beyond what little I know of non-trad oud players (Sandy Bull, John Berberian, Solomon Feldthouse). The textures the ensemble creates are hard to give name to as well. Some parts are definitely jazzoid, others are more like free-rock, still others have an almost avant-folk heft (not unlike the Wall Matthews-led Entourage LPs on Folkways). In all, it's a great LP on a great new label. And I'm looking forward to what everyone comes up with next." --Byron Coley, 2019
LP $30
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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 BLGallanter@gmail.com
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THE STONE RESIDENCIES / MARK DRESSER / OCT 29-NOV 1
10/29 Wednesday
8:30 pm-QUARTET - Gerry Hemingway (drums) Earl Howard (sax) Mark Dresser (bass) and a surprise guest
10/30 Thursday
8:30 pm - TRIO M
Myra Melford (piano) Matt Wilson (drums) Mark Dresser (bass)
10/31 Friday
8:30 pm - QUARTET - Amir El Saffar (trumpet) Alec Goldfarb (guitar) Michael Sarin (drums) Mark Dresser (bass)
11/1 Saturday
8:30 pm - QUARTET - DoYeon Kim (gayageum) Cory Smythe (piano) Sara Schoenbeck (bassoon) Mark Dresser (bass)
THE STONE RESIDENCIES / BASYA SCHECHTER / NOV 5-8
11/5 Wednesday
8:30 pm - DARSHAN—Basya Schechter and Eden Pearlstein
Basya Schechter (guitar, ukulele, vocals) Eden Pearlstein (vocals) Shai Wetzer (drums) Yoshie; With Fruchter (guitar, vocals) Micha Gilad (keyboards) Shanir Blumenkranz (bass) Eleonore Weill (flutes, vocals) Chaia Berman Peters (accordion, vocals, electronics)
11/6 Thursday
8:30 pm - KHUMESH LIDER—Avi fox Rosen and Basya Schechter - Featuring: (vocals) Chaia Berman Peters (electronics) Shai Wetzer (drums)
11/7 Friday
8:30 pm
MEG OKURA PROJECT
Meg Okura (violin) Sam Newsome (soprano saxophone) Angelica Sanchez (piano)
11/8 Saturday
8:30 pm
KABBALAH KIRTAN - Basya Schechter (shrutivocals, percussion) Deep Singh (tabla) Jessica Lurie (flutes, sax, vocals) and special guests
THE STONE is located in
The New School at the Glass Box Theatre
55 West 13th Street - near 6th ave
For more info: https://thestonenyc.com/calendar.php?month=1
LIVE MUSIC
wed-sat - music at 8:30pm
ADMISSION - $20 per set
unless otherwise noted
cash only payment
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RARE ANTHONY BRAXTON'S MUSIC in PERFORMANCE & WORKSHOP at ROULETTE:
Tuesday November 4 @ Roulette 7PM
A Workshop on the Music of Anthony Braxton $15 advance, $20 doors.
Open to all levels. Instruments welcome but not required to participate. Observers welcome. We will try to answer as many audience questions as we can. Three of Anthony Braxton’s current and former collaborators—Adam Matlock, Anne Rhodes and Kyoko Kitamura—will lead a hands-on, participatory workshop exploring the music of Braxton through several of his systems including Language Music, Syntactical Ghost Trance Music and Anthony’s more recent works. We will show scores and how we navigate them in real time.
https://roulette.org/event/anthony-braxton-workshop/
Wednesday November 5 @ Roulette 8PM
The Music of Anthony Braxton: Composition No. 101 // Syntactical Ghost Trance Music $25 advance, $30 doors.
First set: Rarely performed Composition No. 101 with Ingrid Laubrock on saxophone and Shinya Lin on piano.
Second set: The Tri-Centric Vocal Ensemble, an acclaimed group of Anthony Braxton collaborators who are among today’s most adventurous and skilled vocalists, returns to Roulette for the first time since 2019.
The ensemble performs his groundbreaking Syntactical Ghost Trance Music, showcasing the intricate, improvisation-driven vocal frameworks that define Braxton’s compositional universe. For this performance, the ensemble will use Composition No. 219 as the primary territory, weaving in secondary and tertiary materials including opera excerpts. The ensemble may also bring in elements of the Sonic Genome, using the entire space at Roulette for the performance. The Tri-Centric Vocal Ensemble is Roland Burks, Tomás Cruz, Chris DiMeglio, Nick Hallett, Kyoko Kitamura, Adam Matlock, Anne Rhodes, Kamala Sankaram, Elizabeth Saunders.
https://roulette.org/event/the-music-of-anthony-braxton-101-gtm/
Roulette
509 Atlantic Avenue
(Corner of Third Avenue)
Brooklyn, NY 11217
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NEW VIDEOS from GUITAR MASTER HENRY KAISER:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWn5MRUOTAc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ste9pdLiz_0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgcxTkoIgQI
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From CHRIS CUTLER:
Formerly of HENRY COW, THE ART BEARS, NEWS FOR BABEL & RECOMMENDED RECORDS (ReR) has been creating an ongoing series of podcasts called the Probes series. I am often fascinated at listening to each of these as Mr. Cutler does an incredible job of showing a deep history of Creative Music in the 20th century & beyond. I usually listen to these on the train to NYC that I take to get to work each day. The most recent Probes (#37) was released earlier this year, here are the links:
https://rwm.macba.cat/en/research/probes-37
https://rwm.macba.cat/en/research/probes-36