Stella Blue
When all the cards are down
There's nothing left to see
There's just the pavement left
And broken dreams
In the end, there's still that song
Comes crying like the wind
Down every lonely street
That's ever been
Stella Blue
Stella Blue
I've stayed in every blue-light, cheap hotel
Can't win for trying
Dust off those rusty strings just one more time
Gonna make them shine (shine)
It all rolls into one
And nothing comes for free
There's nothing you can hold
For very long
And when you hear that song
Come crying like the wind
It seems like all this life
Was just a dream
Stella Blue
Stella Blue
After listening to 434 Grateful Dead concerts, which took place between December of 1965 until October of 1974, in chronological order, I've noticed a number of patterns to the way their sets unfold. I started to do this in March of 2020, when the Great Pandemic forced most of us to stay inside and have continued to listen ever since as a source of inspiration, getting me to dance, sing and thinking about why there is so Magic going on at these concerts so many years later. The first pattern I noticed was this one: Jerry song, Bobby song, Pigpen song, over and over. After Pigpen left the band due to health issues at the beginning of 1973, the pattern became Jerry song, Bobby song, Jerry song, Bobby song, on & on. During practically every Dead concert, there would be moments or sections on transcendence, when the free-form/improvised/space music/psych sections would grab the listener and take them to another place. Epic songs like "Dark Star", "The Other One" and the mid-section of "Playing in the Band" became the time for experimentation and space travel. After they took you/us to this Cosmic place, they would often bring you down to the earth with a lovely, sad, heartfelt ballad sung by Jerry Garcia. Songs like "Morning Dew", "Wharf Rat", "Ship of Fools", "China Doll" and "Stella Blue" would all be the place to drop us into a safe landing. I often break into tears when they play those songs after our collective space/psych/free journeys fade. I always keep my Robert Hunter lyric book around so I can read and study the words, which often take on more meaning after you've heard them many times and you think about the universal message found within. I recently noticed how much the words to "Stella Blue" seem to sum up our Human Condition. "All the years combined, melt into a dream..., a broken angel sings, from a guitar... Stella Blue". We all know who that broken angel was and why he had to die. I find this song to be one of the most poignant songs ever. Was it just a dream? Only you can answer that question for yourself. Check out a version of this song and see if you can understand what I am getting at, especially if is after once of those aforementioned transcendent epic jams. The holidays will soon be upon us so we can all have something to celebrate as this year draws to a close. You know who loves you still... That's me, MC-BruceLee
**********
THE DMG 34th ANNIVERSARY IN-STORE CONCERT CELEBRATION CONTINUES with:
Tuesday, December 16th:
6:30: T.J. BORDEN - Cello / MARTIN FREEMAN - Electronics / LIHUEN SIRVENT - Flute
7:30: STAN ZENKOV - Bass Clarinet-Tenor Sax / MIRANDA AGNEW - Trumpet / ZACHARY SWANSON - Bass / YUKO TOGAMI - Drums
8:30: GREG SHERIIF - Drums, Digeridoo, Field Recordings / SANDY EWEN - Guitar
Saturday, December 20th: The Gauci-Music Series Christmas Celebration with:
6:30: AYUMI ISHITO - Tenor Sax / JEFF MILES - Guitar / EVAN PALMER - Bass / KEN KOBAYASHI - Drums
7:30: STEPHEN GAUCI - Tenor Sax-Clarinet-Flute / EVAN PALMER - ContraBass / KEVIN SHEA - Drums
8:30: YONI KRETZMER - Tenor Sax / ASSIF TSAHAR - Tenor Sax / PETER BITENC - Bass / FLIN VAN HEMMEN - Drums
Tuesday, December 23rd: Mixed Holiday Celebration
6:30: BEYOND FLUTE GROUP: CHERYL PYLE - C & Alto Flutes / GENE COLEMAN - Bass Flute & Piccolo / AYUMI ISHITO - Tenor Sax / RAS MOSHE BURNETT - C flute & tenor sax
7:30: BEN GOLDBERG - Clarinet / MICHAEL COLEMAN / - Synths / KENNY WOLLESEN - Drums
9:00: SANTA POGEONS: SANA NAGANO - Violin / MATT HOLLENBERG - Guitar / EVA LEWITTS - Bass
*******
BYRON COLEY / MATS GUSTAFSSON / THURSTON MOORE - Now Jazz Now: 100 Essential Free Jazz & Improvisation Recordings (1960-80)(Ecstatic Peace Library 9798993404004; UK) 277 pages. Soft-cover, fully illustrated. 196 x 268mm. Edited by Eva Prinz. Preface by Neneh Cherry. Afterword by Joe McPhee. New York, NY, USA -- musicians Mats Gustafsson, Neneh Cherry, Joe McPhee, and Thurston Moore, along with music writer Byron Coley, have contributed to an illustrated collector's guide to records -- replete with 277 pages of beatific album art, labels, sleeve notes and collector musings on their life-long obsessions of record collecting, with a distinct focus on the recorded history of free jazz and free improvisation. Compiling personal archives of their selections of recordings which could be contenders within a list defined by a parameter of 100 of the most essential releases presented in chronological order, acknowledging the music to be preternaturally noncompetitive, non-hierarchical, and of equal value, Now Jazz Now is a book for all adventurous music lovers, whether ravenous record collectors, avant-garde jazz enthusiasts, students of radical culture, or simply curiosity seekers in wonder to this music's illustrious history and lineage. The gleanings of Cherry, Coley, Gustafsson, McPhee and Moore will enlighten, delight, amuse, and bemuse all who follow their streams of consciousness, knowledge, perception, and, most importantly, unbridled respect and regard for a genre of music dedicated to the dignity of practicing freedom. All copies of first printing distributed by Forced Exposure in the USA will have an exclusive bookplate signed by Thurston Moore, Byron Coley and Mats Gustafsson; edition of 999.
BOOK $46 [In stock in 1-2 weeks]
THE BOTTLE TAPES with PETER BROTZMANN / MILFORD GRAVES / EVAN PARKER / FRED ANDERSON / MISHA MENGELBERG / HAN BENNINK / STEVE LACY / ROSWELL RUDD / ALEX VON SCHLIPPENBACH / HAMID DRALE / KEN VANDERMARK / MARS WILLIAMS / MATS GUSTAFSSON / NED ROTHENBERG / JOE McPHEE / IRENE SCHWEIZER / et al - Selections from the Empty Bottle Jazz and Improvised Music Series (1996-2005)(Corbett vs Dempsey 126CD; USA) For the first time, a release of select music performed at Chicago's Empty Bottle in the heyday of the creative music boom of the 1990s. From 1996-2005, writer and producer John Corbett and musician and composer Ken Vandermark teamed up to curate a series of concerts, the Empty Bottle Jazz & Improvised Music Series. Together with annual international festivals, the series comprised more than 500 performances over its nine-year span, which was lauded in the international press and helped focus attention on Chicago as a hotspot for improvised music. The majority of the music was dutifully documented by Malachi Ritscher, from whose archives The Bottle Tapes: Selections from the Empty Bottle Jazz & Improvised Music Series (1996-2005) is drawn. Over the course of six CDs, arranged in chronological sequence, the box set revels in the span of the music presented at the Bottle, from the hardest blown free jazz to microscopic free improvisation and other kinds of experimental music. The lineup incorporates nearly 100 international musicians, including Peter Brötzmann (who formed his Chicago Tentet at the Empty Bottle in 1997), Milford Graves (performing solo), a Bobby Bradford quartet with Fred Anderson, Hamid Drake and Wadada Leo Smith, Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble, the Dutch bands Available Jelly and Clusone 3, Von Freeman in his only performance with Misha Mengelberg and Han Bennink, Jim O'Rourke duetting with Cor Fuhler, Mats Gustafsson and Thurston Moore in their first face-off, Chicago Underground Quartet, Steve Lacy/Roswell Rudd Quartet, and much more. The package comes with a lavishly illustrated 64-page book, loaded with never-published photos and vintage ephemera, including Dan Grzeca's beautiful posters, as well as an in-depth essay by Corbett, with play-by-play notes on the music.
6 CD Set $55 [In stock soon]
ZEENA PARKIN // WILLIAM WINANT / JAMES FEI / MAGGIE PARKINS / TILT BRASS BAND - LACE (Chaikin Records; USA) A pioneer and leading figure of the avant-garde for about four decades, harpist and composer Zeena Parkins presents LACE, a release which is both an album and gorgeous box set. Parkins's LACE project was first developed in 2008 on commission from the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and has been growing ever since. The box set contains an LP, an interview with Ms. Parkins & Jenn Joy, a poem by the beloved late Downtown poet Steve Dalachinsky, graphic scores and more as well as custom design elements. The LP features renowned performers William Winant, James Fei, TILT Brass, and Maggie Parkins. An incredible highlight of the box set is the three sets of graphic scores which are playable by all; instructions are included. “"Delicately woven patterns of intricate beauty." 4/5 stars - The Guardian
This well crafted box set is one of the most impressive art objects that I've seen. There are so many impressive things going on here that it will take a long while to fully appreciate. There are 20 pages of action cards both minimized and in full page presentation. This gives us something to gaze upon and think about as we listen to the music on the LP. Side A is "LACE 2 - Action Cards [2020]", performed by William Winant on percussion. Ms. Parkins and Mr. Winant both taught at Mills College during the same period and collaborated on Ms. Parkins' recent CD on Tzadik. Mr. Winant is a well-respected modern classical percussionist who has played the music of John Zorn and worked with Sonic Youth. The recording of his percussion here is superb, the vinyl clean, warm and often mesmerizing. This is the way that creative music sounds best on vinyl, truly lifelike and often stunning. Side B is "LACE 1 - Movement 1 [2019]" for James Fei (also taught at Mills) on analog electronics, Maggie Parkins (Zeena'a sister) on cello and the TILT Brass Sextet. This piece is also extraordinary and well captured. The TILT Brass Sextet plays a series of strange, spinning sounds with a sense of disorientation. Soon the electronics and cello enter and create their own unique sonic kaleidoscope of compelling sounds. The brass section often reminds me of Penderecki or Xenakis in the way they bend and twist notes of chords inside-out and in unexpected ways. This music has a way of transforming our reality by twisting it in its own way. There is another world which is presented here and we have to adjust to it so that we fit into its view of life. In many ways this box is like manna, a gift from the gods of Creative Music and Art. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
Limited Edition of 65 / Signed & numbered by Zeena Parkins / Handmade Lace on cover - $65
JOE FONDA - My Life in the World of Music (Self-published; ISBN 9798263492526; USA) 177 pages, soft cover. I’ve long been fascinated by people’s own stories about their lives. Whenever I get the chance to, I often ask about people’s long journeys through life. I’ve become friendly with 100’s of musicians over my long musical journey (1st concert was in the summer of 1968 at 14). What I often find with musicians who are around my age (71 at present), we share some of the same experiences checking many of the same bands and musicians while we were growing and evolving. From rock thru folk, blues, country, prog, ethnic musics and modern classical composers as well. More than any other type of non-fiction book, I’ve read dozens of books about the many musicians, composers, soloists and bandleaders and I keep reading more as many of the musicians that I admire continue to write books about their lives and the music they continue to create.
I’ve been checking out bassist Joe Fonda since the mid-1980’s and have long loved his playing as well as the positive, creative spirit that he always exudes. I’ve seen and/or heard him with many giants: Wadada Leo Smith, Anthony Braxton, Joe McPhee, Xu Fengxia, Anders Nilsson, Satoko Fujii, Marilyn Crispell, Guillermo Gregorio, Thomas Heberer, Gebhard Ullmann and many more. You should no doubt no know several of his longtime bands: the Fonda / Stevens Group, the NU Band and Conference Call. I’ve been working my way through his recently self-published book this week. I knew very little about Joe’s early life which is discussed in the first section of this book and which reminds me that we all come from more modest backgrounds until we get a chance to shine.
I've read through about half of this book over the past few days and I feel elated and inspired by Joe Fonda and his life stories. One of the first important points that Fonda makes early is that if you can't live without music, than you can never take music (playing or listening) seriously, it is a lifelong pursuit which will be fulfilling it do keep taking it seriously and learning more about it (and yourself) for as long as you can. I have always felt the same way, music is the most important thing in my life and it continues to enrich me/us every day. Mr. Fonda tells many illuminated stories about the various adventures he has had on numerous tours and the way each of his ensembles have evolved over time.
The CD which is included with the book is a solo contrabass effort called ‘When It’s Time’ and it is on the Jazz Halo label. It is a rarity and it is a marvelous solo contrabass offering. ß
Book CD $30
CONFERENCE CALL with GEBHARD ULLMANN / UWE OBERG / JOE FONDA / DIETER ULRICH - New Conference Call (Hat Hut ezz-thetics now 1065; Switzerland)Featuring Gebhard Ullmann on tenor sax, Uwe Oberg on piano, Joe Fonda on contrabass and Dieter Ulrich on drums. Conference Call is an international quartet that was founded by German reeds player Gebhard Ullmann and NY-based bassist Joe Fonda. Their first effort was released in 2002 and this is their ninth release. They've had several drummers over the past two decades: Han Bennink, Mat Wilson, Gerry Hemingway & George Schuller. Their original pianist, Michael Jefry Stevens eventually moved south and has been replaced by German pianist Uwe Oberg. I know of Mr. Oberg's work through recordings with Evan Parker, Silke Eberhard, Alfred 23 Harth and others. Swiss drummer Dieter Ulrich joined the quartet for their last disc 'Prism' in 2020.
Three of the four members each contributed compositions for this disc along with one group improv number. Mr. Oberg's "Elastic Joy" opens this disc and it is sparse and somewhat solemn, lush and calm at the center. In the second half of this piece, the quartet break into sweeping theme with robust piano and tenor sax solos emerging as well, plus a final tasty bass solo by Mr. Fonda towards the end.For Mr. Fonda's "You Failed Us", the quartet plays in a loose yet tight swaggering fashion, free yet somehow also focused. Fonda's bass is at the center of this piece, pushing it forward and helping to hold it together. Mr. Uwe takes an intense, freewheeling piano solo here, pushing the intensity higher and higher. The last five pieces were all composed by Mr. Ullmann, a prolific composer and multi-bandleader who moves between the boundaries of genres or styles. Each piece seems to involve a different strategy or structure. From the bent-note morse code-like rhythms of "Structures No. 2" to twisted harmonies of "Maneri-isms for Joe", we have to adjust to the unexpected ways that these pieces unfold and evolve. "To Be Ornette To Be" is an explosive, free yet focused piece which moves in exuberant waves and features a rambunctious piano solo. The last piece, "Salt and Pepper" has the quartet swaggering somewhat as if they were on a boat which was rocking back and forth. The tenor and piano both play in big waves which finally slow down to a more restrained conclusion. Nearly a quarter century later and Conference Call still sound vital, creative and fueled by an ongoing inner spirit. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15
STEVE TINTWEISS and THE PURPLE WHY with JACQUES COURSIL / PERRY ROBINSON / JOEL PESKIN / JAMES DuBOISE / RANDY KAYE / LAURENCE COOK - Live in Tompkins Square Park (Inky Dot Media CD 004; USA)Featuring Jacques Coursil & James DuBoise on trumpets, Perry Robinson on clarinet, Joel Peskin on tenor sax & bass clarinet, Steve Tintweiss on contrabass, vocal & compositions, Randy Kaye on drums & piano and Laurence Cook on drums. Free jazz bass great Steve Tintweiss has been going through dozens of historic tapes for the past few years and has put out five releases from the 1960's and 1970's and all with an assortment of free/jazz giants like Charles Brackeen, Byard Lancaster, Burton Greene, Perry Robinson, Calo Scott and Mark Whitecage. Mr. Tintweiss, who is mostly retired from playing, just released this rare recording made in August of 1967 and recorded in Tompkins Square where the Charlie Parker Fest takes place every year. You should no doubt recognize most of the musicians here like Jacques Cousil (LP on BYG) and Perry Robinson, who appear on dozens of free & progressive jazz records. You might recognize drummer Randy McKaye from his work with Jimmy Giuffre and Bobby Naughton, Drummer Laurence Cooke is an older player from the Boston area who has worked with Bill Dixon, Jemeel Moondoc. Annette Peacock and Leap of Faith. I don't know much about trumpeter James Duboise although he did record with Bobby Naughton and Mark Whitecage. In the liner notes, Mr. Tintweiss explains that the Purple Why band existed from 1966 through 1971 and included more than forty musicians from different scenes in NYC: Sam Rivers, Earl Cross, Jim Pepper, Barbara Donald, Martin Rev & JC Moses.
The music begins with both drummers playing freely while the three horns sail around one another on top with the bass pumping at the center. Considering that this set was recorded in the summer of 1967, also known as the Summer of Love, outside of giants like John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor, free/jazz was still considered to be mostly underground, not really popular music. The music reminds me of the Sun Ra Arkestra, somewhat chaotic yet somehow also spirited and inspired. Both drummers are strong and powerful and work well together as one dynamic, propulsive force. Legendary trumpeter Jacques Coursil can be heard throughout soaring high spinning out layers of lines. There are sections where the ensemble breaks into some tight, explosive, written parts with the horns united as one. NY-based clarinetist, Perry Robinson, can also be heard spinning out his lines powerfully. Aside from Jimmy Giuffre, Perry Robinson was one of the first clarinetists to play completely free, having only recorded with the Henry Grimes Trio (ESP, 1966). Although there are thirteen song titles listed here, the music is mostly continuous and organic sounding. Although the music here is not that well recorded (one or two mics from a short distance), the Spirited playing is well-captured. The only song not written by Tintweiss is called "To Angel with Love" (by Randy Kaye) and it is a slow blues of sorts with some strong tenor by Mr. Peskin. It starts off one way (stripped down) and evolves into another explosive free form whirlwind. Although this was recorded in the summer of 1967, I am not so sure how well this music went down. This is an historic recording and does capture some free/jazz at its best. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14
STEVE HIRSH / ERI YAMAMOTO / WILLIAM PARKER - Root Causes (Mahakala Music 083; USA) Featuring Steve Hirsh on drums, Eri Yamamoto on piano and William Parker on bass, gimbri & shachuhachi. Drummer Steve Hirsh has played here at DMG around a half dozen times and always uses new personnel on each set. Mr. Hirsh has recorded for the Mahakala label for the past few years and can be found on 9 previous CD's working with Joel Futterman, George Cartwright, Steve Swell and William Parker. There is a fine quartet called Sparks which features this trio plus Chad Fowler on reeds, their disc on Mahakala is one of the best discs of 2023. In the liner notes, Mr. Hirsh states that during the recording of the Sparks CD, when Chad Fowler laid out, the trio would take off on their own. Mr. Hirsh decided to record the trio on their own and this is the resulting disc.
This is an all improvised piano trio disc/session. Things begin quietly with sparse piano, bass and drums. NY-based pianist has had her own trio for many years and has composed music for them as well as doing some standards.Here, the trio take their time and and mostly improvise, The flow is more organic as each musician listens and adjusts to what is going on around them. It is William Parker's bass and gimbri lines which are often at the center of what is going on here. On "Gamuts", it is Parker's gimbri (a north African three string rectangle bass-like thing) which often chases the pace and direction of the proceedings. Each of the four long pieces here unfold like a film or series of short stories. The title piece is last and is the freest of the batch with the trio spinning a web together. While Mr. Parker bows his bass, the piano and drums both create several lines which are connected rhythmically and spiritually, pumping a pulse which flows throughout their series of waves. This piece has a dreamy vibe as if we are all spinning or floating together in a current which takes us along with it through various rapids or streams. This disc does not sound like any other piano trio offering that I've heard in recent memory. A true triumph of creative spirits. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14
THINGS OF THIS NATURE with CAYLIE DAVIS / CHRIS FERRARI / SHOGO YAMAGISHI / JJ MAZZA - Things of This Nature (Mahakala Music 090; USA) Featuring Caylie Davis on trumpet, Chris Ferrari and tenor sax & woodwinds, Shogo Yamgishi on contrabass and JJ Mazza on drums. Considering that DMG (that's us) has been weekly live groups (usually 3) every week since around 2003, that makes around 150 groups each year with as many as 400 musicians each year. We get a different mix of musicians every week for every set and I've become acquainted with everyone that has played here. Bassist Shogo Yamagishi has played here at DMG around a half-dozen times over the past few years and often with different musicians each time. Over the past year or so, Shogo has had the same quartet which is known as Things of This Nature. Their second performance took place last night (12/9/25) and they left us with a new disc on the great Mahakala label. Although the quartet last night played a half-dozen cover songs (including a few Christmas tunes), all members of the quartet contributed their own pieces. Although I didn't know any of the musicians in this quartet (except for Shogo) before they played at DMG last year (2024), I was impressed nonetheless. "Shortstop, Right Wing, Chicken Parm" opens and it has an infectious, humorous 1 2, 1 2, 1 2, 1 2, pumping groove, slowing down for a more cerebral last section and then getting into another slower fun-filled groove. On "Nettles", the bass plays at a steady pace while the two horns & drums speed up, slow down and speed up several times. The trumpet & tenor sax play the theme tightly together and then each one takes a thoughtful solo. Since all four members contributed songs, there is quite a bit of diversity going on here. On "Gutted Pills", the rhythm team plays quickly in one direction (quickly) while the horns move together in a different direction at a slower pace. What's interesting here is that although these musicians appear to be from a young generation, their music draws from a long history of jazz and often moves through different twists & turns into some expected places stylistically. "How Does It Sound Now?" has several odd sections with a short, free, explosive part and then a fragment of a melody from "America, the Beautiful". I dig the way that Mr. Ferrari's "E-Moc" keeps shifting tightly, speeding up, slowing down, speeding up again with a number of quick, inventive solos from the sax and trumpet. often trading lines back and forth. Considering that each of the four musicians here contributed several songs, this is much more diverse than one might imagine. Each piece seems to have different interlocking parts where 2 or 3 instruments play together while another one solos or plays contrasting lines. When this quartet played at DMG earlier this week (12/9/25), I dug that they had a sense of humor and played more quirky, written music than is usually the case here where most bands played consistently free. A good deal of time and thought has gone into the making of this music and CD. An unexpected delight! Bravo! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14
YAN JUN / TAKU UNAMI - Old Tales Retold (erstwhile 105-3; USA) Recorded at the Inside-Out Art Museum in Bejing, China in August of 2025. Like almost all releases on the erstwhile label, there is no listing of instrumentation here to consider when listening. Taku Unami is known for playing a laptop computer and guitar and has more than sixty releases to his name. Unami has recorded with Keith Rowe, Radu Malfatti, David Grubbs and Toshiya Tsunoda. Yan Jun is a Chinese experimental musician who works with electronics, field recordings and voice/poetry. Although Yan Jun has recorded with Otomo, Lionel Marchetti and Axel Dorner, he has more solo efforts than anything else.
The music here was recorded at a concert in an art museum in Beijing from earlier this year (2025). Hence, it does have a live sound. There are some spoken words, the banging of an object on the floor, footsteps, running, sounding like a basketball game at times but with no audience, rubbed surfaces, breath-like sounds... I often get the feeling while listening to erstwhile discs that the musicians/composers are crafting sounds not for their musical content but for the way they sound to us we listen trying to find a narrative theme or idea. Then one thing that I do think about here is the Cageian concept that every sound is unique and evokes different responses from each of us. I've listened to 2 of the 3 discs here and was patient enough to enjoy or at least contemplate what is going on throughout. There are some near violent moments at times when certain sounds erupt. Fascinating or nerve-wracking or somewhere in between, this is for each listener to decide for themselves. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
3 CD Set $30
ELIANE RADIGUE - Asymptote Versatile (1963-64)(Amgen Records AMG-AMGEN-012; EEC) An historic world-premiere recording of Éliane Radigue's earliest surviving work, performed at Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, where a stellar ensemble realizes her flexible "sonic proposition" through evolving textures, mathematical spirals and dynamic transformations that foreshadow her later visionary soundworld.
CD $20 [in stock in a week or so]
THE BLACK DOG - Loud Ambient (Dust Science 135CD; UK) "Making this album was an absolute joy. We used Rothko's artwork as a major influence. His use of color fields, blending, mood and scale really helped us build an album of tracks that could stand on their own and also work together as a coherent whole across all the tones we had been working with. It was also a chance to fall back in love with our 909, 808 and 707. While working on music for several other projects, the 'Rothko' project got renamed Loud Ambient because it did not really sit right with the My Brutal Life series. We often talked about what people make of The Black Dog and whether they think we only make ambient music. We do not. Over the last year or so, one of us would be working on something and someone else would say, 'That is a Loud Ambient track.' The name stuck. We liked the funny side of it. With Loud Ambient, everything just fell into place creatively. Surprisingly for us, the tracklisting never changed, just small tweaks here and there. That rarely happens. It marks a first for us as a band. All the stars aligned and the confidence in this album is the strongest we have ever had. Loud Ambient was made to dance to, something we have not done in a while. We welcome the return to the dancefloor with both hands. Will you join us?" - The Black Dog
CD $17
LP SECTION:
SVEN-AKE JOHANSSON - Sabeltanz (Edition Telemark ET 938-06LP; Germany) Released in collaboration with the Tomas Schmit Archiv and Wiens Verlag. A previously unreleased recording of Sven-Åke Johansson playing a solo set at the legendary Petersen Galerie in West Berlin, 1982. The concert took place inside an exhibition of drawings by Tomas Schmit and runs the gamut from Johansson's trademark Schlingerland-style drumming to accordion sabre dance and absurdist poetry. The gallery, owned by Jes Petersen, hosted Fluxus, Actionist, Art Brut and Surrealist exhibitions and performances between 1977 and 1994.
From the liner notes by Sven-Åke Johansson: "Between Tomas' rare animal drawings and mythical creatures I set up my drum kit, tightened the straps of my accordion, and checked my other equipment. First the combo set, pulsating in waves, then working the accordion, with a vocal bit about fish and bird, next abusing the floor and drums with rags and iron bands. Again dynamic waves with the set, taking out the shoetrees and rubbing them on all the edges of the drum kit. Conclusion with frenetic waves from the drums. Then we had from their finest; Jes and Ilona poured drinks, Tomas Schmit smiled looking pleased, the technician rolled up his thick cables. Later on some of us also stood talking on the wide pavement of Pestalozzistraße, about what I don't remember."
LP $36
MARK FELL & PAT THOMAS - Reality Is Not A Theory (Black Truffle 137LP; Australia) Recorded in concert at the University of Sheffield in March 2025, Reality Is Not A Theory is the first collaboration between Mark Fell and Pat Thomas. Major figures in British experimental music since the 1990s, Fell and Thomas have developed their rigorous practices from radically different backgrounds and perspectives: where Fell's singular take on synthetic abstraction emerged from Sheffield's electronic underground, Thomas is a virtuoso improvising pianist steeped in jazz and modernist art music who has simultaneously worked with sampler-based electronics for decades. As the record's wonderfully academic subtitle explains, listeners are presented here with two sides of "algorithmic and improvised music for computer and piano," exemplifying both players' insatiable search for new (and sometimes uncomfortable) playing situations. The performance begins with Fell's electronics close to the timbres of acoustic percussion, attacks that suggest wood, metal or glass threaded along a rapid pulse while Thomas focuses on the lowest registers of the piano, deadening the strings. As Fell's electronics start to ring out and occupy more harmonic space, Thomas turns to wide, repeated clusters, which slowly expand into patterns of chords. Like in his recent solo recordings and his trio work with Joel Grip and Anton Gerbal, Thomas' playing combines extreme dissonance with a deep lyrical sense. Fell's work gradually shifts its focus toward drum sounds, drawing on the microtemporal processes that have characterized his practice in recent decades. Heard together with Thomas' probing piano, the computer sounds call up unexpected associations with the klangfarben antics of improv drummers like Paul Lovens or Tony Oxley. Throughout its second half, the music grows increasingly frenetic, as Thomas sounds out rapid, irregularly repeated figures and beautifully sour chords in the upper register, while Fell's percussion develops into angular pan-pipe-like feedback and waves of glissandi. With great confidence and patience, Fell and Thomas often let their individual contributions remain rhythmically distinct and unsynchronised, allowing unexpected correspondence and coincidence to guide the music's development. Recorded in a hall named after Sheffield steel manufacturer and Master Cutler Mark Firth, the location might suggest a model for understanding how Fell and Thomas interact here: two workers in the same workshop, each immersed in their own part of the production process. Arriving in a striking sleeve designed by Mark Fell, with liner notes by Francis Plagne, Reality Is Not A Theory is an invigorating document of the meeting of two mavericks of contemporary music.
LP $36
MILTON NASCIMENTO / WAGNER TISO - Ao Vivo 1981 (Live at Swiss TV with Tiso Wagner)(Outsider Outs 047LP; Italy) Milton Nascimento's immaculate melodies and harmonies resound in full tone and color throughout this magnificent 1980 TV performance. A marvelous set of songs performed with masterful sensitivity by Nascimento on vocals and acoustic guitar along with one of his historical partners, the great pianist, arranger Wagner Tiso on piano and organ.
LP $25
GREGORY ISAACS - Slum In Dub (Purple Vinyl)(Burning Sounds BSR 999P-LP; UK) "1978's Slum in Dub album reissued on purple vinyl. Coupled with the succinct Revolutionaries band and Isaacs quality songwriting, the deconstructed cuts, weave and flow like any good quality dub album should. with some of the track names giving more than a hint of the original song title such as 'Public Eyes,' which was one of the major hits off The Cool Ruler as John Public. The dense Slum originated as 'Party In The Slum,' while the brighter 'Reform Institution' began life as 'Uncle Joe.' 'Word Of The Farmer' becomes 'Croft' and 'Tam Tam' began life as 'One More Time.' One of Gregory Isaacs's early hits, 'Black A Kill Black' is translated into 'Leaving' while 'Leggo Beast' using an updated old Studio One rhythm, 'Swing Easy,' probably refers to Trevor 'Leggo' Douglas who ran the Cash & Carry label with Isaacs. The track 'N****r' also uses an old Studio One rhythm track updated and this time it's The Heptones breezy 'Party Time' which gets the Jammy treatment as too 'Embarrassment' which again revitalizes a Studio One gem; 'Frozen Soul' by The Soul Vendors band."
LP $25
ETERNITY'S CHILDREN - Eternity's Children (Cosmic Rock COSMR 046LP; Italy) Eternity's Children's self-titled album was released in 1968 on Capitol sublabel Tower Records, during the heyday of the hippie revolution. After touring with Strawberry Alarm Clock, the Seeds and the Blues Magoos, the band released their most successful single "Mrs. Bluebird" which reached #69 on the Billboard Hot 100. Their sunshine pop was clearly informed by west-coast influences and folk revivalist, but ended up offering a new take on the psychedelic revolution.
$25
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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 / IKUE MORI - DEC 10-13
12/10 Wednesday
8:30 pm: TRIO - Ikue Mori (electronics) Ned Rothenberg (reeds, shakuhachi) Billy Martin (percussion, drums)
12/11 Thursday
8:30 pm - QUARTET - Ikue Mori (electronics) Ken Vandermark (sax) Nate Wooley (trumpet) Sylvie Courvoisier (piano)
12/12 Friday
8:30 pm - HIGHSMITH PLUS - Ikue Mori (electronics) Craig Taborn (piano) Jim Staley (trombone)
12/13 Saturday
8:30 pm - QUARTET - Ikue Mori (electronics) Ingrid Laubrock (sax) Tom Rainey (drums) Zeena Parkins (harp, keyboards)
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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EXPERIMENTAL INTERMEDIA
The Fifty-Second Anniversary of EI performances, the Fifty-Seventh Anniversary of the
Founding of Experimental Intermedia, the Fifty-Seventh Anniversary of the 224 Centre Street loft, and, not least, The Thirty-Fifth Annual Festival with no fancy name, Part Two (or B) - Katherine Liberovskaya, curator
DECEMBER 2025 - All events 8PM except 16 December 7PM
Please note the different venues for this series
Suggested donation $10 all nights except Friday 19th at Fridman Gallery 2 sets / $20
December 10th: Al Margolis with Tom Law (New York) - at Various/Artists 8pm Wednesday
A solo; a solo and a half; a duo; Margolis will play a solo set for stringed instrument, contact mic(s), objects/junk, etc; Tom Law will live sample/transform a Margolis tape piece; Al and Tom will then perform a set as their project Duo Denum; with some live video participation by Katherine Liberovskaya
December 11th: Marcia Bassett & Chuck Bettis (NYC) - at Various/Artists 8pm Thursday
Synth duo focused on improvised techniques that explore layered textures and deep dronescapes
December 12th: Ras Burnett (NYC) - at Various/Artists 8pm Friday
Ras Burnett is a saxophonist-composer-musicologist-educator; he commenced his musical engagement in 1987 with free jazz and reggae; Ras believes in and advocates the positive energy of creative music; featuring Ras Burnett-Tenor Sax; Tor Snyder-Guitar & Electronic Sound; Dave Ross-Guitar
December 13th: Scott Kiernan (NYC) - at Various/Artists 8pm Saturday -
A screening night of analog and real-time video from the last 15 years: often with a focus on the perils of translation through technology, forced "syntax errors" and a re-shaping of language through the video signal; projects span live performances, TV broadcast experiments, collaborations with musicians, multi-channel works and more;
December 14th: Elaine Summers Centennial (NYC) - at Various/Artists 8pm Sunday
Bringing Elaine Summers home to be featured among the events of the thirty-fifth annual series produced by Experimental Intermedia - the very organization she founded back in 1968 - this tribute screening will show five of her early film-works as part of the Centennial year celebrations of her legacy; a choreographer, filmmaker, originator of the movement practice Kinetic Awareness and intermedia artist, Summers was interested in exploring what film could do that dance could not, and how they could work together to create a temporary third, new entity that she referred to as intermedia; two of the works were created with late EIF director Phill Niblock as cinematographer; curated by Katherine Liberovskaya, introduction-video by Thomas Körtvélyessy, special thanks to Gustavo Matamoros (subtropics), Freddy Jouwayed, the
Artistic Estate of Elaine Summers and the Jerome Robbins Dance Division, and the New York Public Library of the Performing Arts
December 16th: Mariana Carvalho (Berlin, Germany) - at Harvestworks 7pm Tuesday
Two pieces for an amplified head, transducers and a tiny speaker in the mouth; Mariana shares her (internal) listening to pre-recorded material such as prepared piano, mouth-to-mouth vocals, voices, seashells and text excerpts; sometimes she sings and eats;
December 19th: Dafne Vincente-Sandoval (Paris, France) - at Fridman Gallery 8pm Friday
Minos Circuit Rewired (2024 – 2025) : performance for microphone feedback and bassoon; Minos Circuit Rewired is a site-specific exploration of the contingent musicality of feedback; through microphone feedback, various resonant spaces – the cavities of a disassembled bassoon, the concert room itself – are made audible, turning physical volume into frequency and unintended harmony
December 19th: Kristin Norderval with Miguel Frasconi (NYC) - at Fridman Gallery Friday
Kristin Norderval and Miguel Frasconi stretch time and coax sounds from thin air with gesturally controlled multiphonic vocals, glass objects and electronics; their improvising partners - glass in various stages of devolution, and the EVII (the Expanded Vocal Improvising Instrument) - require presence, flow, and learning to handle whatever surprises they mete out; just like life
Venues:
Various/Artists: 19 Essex St, New York, NY 10002
Harvestworks: 596 Broadway #602, New York, NY 10012
Fridman Gallery, 169 Bowery, New York, NY 10002
As well:
Phill Niblock - Winter Solstice at Roulette: Six Hours of Music and Film on Sunday, December 21, from 6pm to midnight
Roulette Intermedium Inc, 509 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn, New York, 11217
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Upcoming events at Recirculation:
Thursday, December 11, 7pm
Uptown Out
Thomas Heberer (trumpet), Joe Fonda (bass)
Claire de Brunner (bassoon), Matt Lambiase (trumpet), Stephanie Griffin (viola), Will Glass (drums), Hilliard Greene (bass), Mary Cherney (flute)
Recirculation
876 Riverside Dr NY NY 10032 (@160th St)
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CISCO BRADLEY's Film 'Take Me to Fendika' will be showing at Anthology Film Archive This Sunday:
My film, Take Me to Fendika, will be screening this Sunday at 2pm at Anthology Film Archive (32 2nd Avenue, Manhattan). It tells the story of world-renowned dancer and arts organizer, Melaku Belay, and the Fendika Cultural Center that he runs in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. I also interviewed some of the key figures on the jazz scene there. Melaku is a beautiful, kindred spirit. The film is 24 minutes long and I will be joined for Q&A by poet, Paul r. Harding afterwards. Tickets are $15 and can be easily purchased at the door. Thanks to Andrew Drury and Continuum Culture and Arts for supporting this film.
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NEW VIDEOS from GUITAR MASTER HENRY KAISER:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KGp0VH4yQo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWn5MRUOTAc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ste9pdLiz_0
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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