WONDERFUL DISCS from PAUL DUNMALL, ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO, BURNT SUGAR, LASWELL/WOBBLE, BROTZMANN/GUSTAFSSON/VANDERMARK, HAN BENNINK, MANERI/PHILLIPS/MANERI, THE MUFFINS, FRANK GRATKOWSKI, SWALLOW/TALMOR, INFUSION, MORE PROG TREATS FROM CUNEIFORM, REISSUES & A GREAT 'EMF' LABEL LIST!




PAUL DUNMALL MOKSHA BIG BAND � I Wish You Peace (Cuneiform 203) An extraordinary work from our fave British sax hero and his dynamic 15 piece all-star orchestra. The stellar line-up features Paul Dunmall, Simon Picard & Howard Cottle on saxes; Paul Rutherford, Hilary Jeffrey & Chris Bridges on trombones; Gethin Liddington & David Priseman on trumpets; John Adams & Philip Gibbs on guitars; Keith Tippett on piano, Paul Rogers on bass and Tony Levin & Mark Sanders on drums, with conducting by Brian Irvine. This is/was a celebration of Dumall�s 50th birthday and the term �Moksha� is Hindu meaning �the supreme final liberation of the soul�. This immensely well-recorded studio effort is filled with power, passion and intensity and is without a doubt one of the year�s best efforts from a grand large ensemble.
CD for $13

[More great new CUNEIFORM releases further down...]


ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO � [Sirius Calling] (Pi Recordings 11) Featuring Roscoe Mitchell on saxes, flutes & percussion cage, Joseph Jarman on flutes, saxes, clarinet & percussion, Malachi Favors Maghostut on bass & percussion and Famoudou Don Moye on drums & percussion. This is the final studio recording with Art Ensemble bass giant Malachi Favors before his unfortunate passing on January 31st of this year. Malachi titled this mysterious work after Sirius, the brightest star in the sky whose first ascent, the ancient Egyptians believed symbolized renewal and reincarnation. The music has that ancient to modern, Art Ensemble cosmic magic, free-floating and focused and ever spirited. All the pieces except for one are less than 6 1/2 minutes, giving the fourteen tracks an often calm center and well-contained brevity. Both Roscoe and Joseph seem to favor those high-pitched sopranino & soprano saxes and clarinets, sometimes playful, sometimes more serious and somber like modern classical music. I dig the way the background textures change throughout �He Took a Cab to Neptune�, as different players take short solos. The AEC continue to embrace the long history of jazz and swing subtly on �Till Autumn� in a most enchanting way. What they do best is that spacious, hypnotic percussion dream-world with ghost-like spirits floating through the mix. Malachi Favors� superb acoustic bass always at the center, inspiring his fellow travelers to reach for new heights. He will be sorely missed by many of us Art Ensemble freaks, yet his immense inspiration and influence will continue to grow.
CD for $15


BURNT SUGAR/THE ARKESTRA CHAMBER � Not April in Paris: Live at Banlieues Bleues [CD-R] (Trugroid LIVE 01) Considering that Burnt Sugar have already released some seven CDs worth of strong material in under five years, it is amazing that they can still churn out some of the best progressive (jazz/rock/funk/classical/psych/blues) music from any of our local heroes. Each of their previous releases is inspired and different, their sound is ever evolving. Thanks to the great Butch Morris, who has worked with them on a few occasions, founding visionary/writer Greg Tate continues to take over the baton duties, pushing The Arkestra higher and higher. Each performance is as unique as they studio recordings and now Burnt Sugar will unleash a series of live recordings upon all of us. �Not April in Paris� was recorded in Bobigny, France in March of 2004 and is quite a long (nearly 79 minutes) tour-de-force, this isn�t even the entire performance. The fifteen piece version of Burnt Sugar here features Matana Roberts, Petre Radu-Scafaru & Satch Hoyt on saxes & flute; Mazz Swift & Julia Kent on strings; Rene Akan on electric guitar, Lewis Barnes on trumpet, Vijat Iyer & Bruce Mack on keyboards; Jared Nickerson & Jason Di Matteo on bass, Trevor Holder & Chris Eddleton on drums and the voices of Jeremiah, Lisala & Justice Dilla-X. The eleven pieces are continuous and evolve organically from one section to the next. Although there are some occasional solos, it is more the mesmerizing music that sweeps us away. There is always an understated groove with layers of strings, reeds, horns, keys and/or guitar moving in waves and submerging us in an exotic cauldron of spices. This music often has a calm center, yet grows through more turbulent sections. Although one can influences as far-reaching as electric Miles, Funkadelic and Sun Ra, Burnt Sugar have indeed developed into their world. They will be playing three dates in Vancouver, Portland and Seattle soon, so my friends out there, I urge you not to miss them when they do. They will most likely blow you mind.
CD-R for $11

SONORE [BROTZMANN/GUSTAFSSON/VANDERMARK] - No One Ever Works Alone (Okka 053) This is a new trio featuring Peter Brotzmann (A clarinet, tarogato, alto, tenor & bass saxes), Mats Gustafsson (tenor & baritone saxes) and Ken Vandermark (B-flat-clarinet, tenor & baritone saxes). Recorded live at the LOFT in Koln in October of 2003. Seven improvised pieces and all pretty f**king great! I did miss this amazing sax trio at Tonic last week since I was up at the fine Guelph Jazz Festival, but word is that they were extraordinary. No doubt!
CD for $14

BROTZMANN/MANDERSCHEID/SAMBA � Danquah Circle (Konnex 5127) Featuring Peter Brotzmann on alto & tenor saxes, A clarinet & taragato, Dieter Manderscheid on bass and Frank Samba on drums and recorded live at the �Loft� in Cologne in November of 2002. This fabulous trio first played the Loft in February of 1992, before leaving for a tour of West Africa. Their other important gig that year was at the Total Music meeting in Berlin and then they didn�t get together for another decade, when this gig occurred. Although I am mostly unfamiliar with both rhythm team players here, it turns out that Manderscheid has a large discography, from Klaus Konig to Frank Gratkowski to Ekkehard Jost, while Samba appears on one release by Linda Sharrock, as far as I can tell. Well recorded and well-balanced, the trio begin with some sumptuous clarinet, contrabass and cymbals, soon flying high and wide, taking us on their great journey. Erupting intensely, things quiet down for a somber bass and cymbals duo, until Brotzmann picks up his trusty tenor sax and starts wailing, so watch out! The title is actually pretty restrained, yet no less intriguing. The oddly titled �Fire in the Zipper�, again starts out quietly and builds to another powerful, flame-throwing conclusion. Another treasure form the great Brotz-man and company!
German import CD for $18

THE INFUSION [CAMEL ZEKRI/OLIVIER PAQUOTT/RON ANDERSON] - Red Horse (Ra Sounds 06) Second release, recorded after their performance at the Victoriaville festival in 2003. The Music progresses from Camel Zekri's beautiful Algerian style guitar playing to hauntingly exotic soundscapes - achived in tandem with cohorts Olivier Paquote on bass and Ron Anderson on guitar and various other sundry instruments - that then build using rhythmic complexities to create a powerful mesmerizing experience! Although their set at Victo was on the noisier side, this CD is much more restrained.
CD for $13

BJORK With ROBERT WYATT/MIKE PATTON et al � Medulla (Elektra 62984; US) It would be difficult to accuse Bjork of making music shaped by commercial or critical expectations at any point in her career, but her post-Homogenic work has been even more focused on following her bliss, whether that means acting and singing in Lars Von Trier's grim musical Dancer in the Dark; crafting tiptoeing laptop lullabies on Vespertine; or, in the case of Med�lla, sculpting an album out of almost nothing but singing and vocal samples. Before Medulla's release, she declared that "instruments are so over," and considering what a distinctive voice and vision she has, it's almost a reasonable claim. The album's title and concept refer to the truest, most undiluted essence of something, and Med�lla explores both the ritual power of the human voice and some of the most essential themes of Bjork's music in a way that's both primal and elaborate. It took a large cast of characters to make the album's seemingly organic sound, including vocalists ranging from Icelandic and British choirs to Inuit singers to Mike Patton and Robert Wyatt; programmers like Matmos, Mark Bell, and Mark "Spike" Stent; and beatboxers such as Rahzel and the onomatopoeically named Japanese artist Dokaka. The results are, in their own way, Bjork's most intimate-sounding music. Throughout Medulla, her voice is miked very closely, and with the dense layers of vocals surrounding her, it often sounds as if you're listening to the album from inside her larynx. It's not a poppy or immediate album, but it is a fascinating one, not to mention a rewarding one for anyone interested in the world's oldest instrument being used in unexpected ways. - Heather Phares, AMG
CD for $17




TWO GREAT NEW LASWELL/LASWELL RELATED ITEMS!!!


BILL LASWELL With JAH WOBBLE - Version 2 Version: A Dub Transmission (ROIR 8288) �Version 2 Version - A Dub Transmission�, Laswell's fifth release for ROIR, brings us back to the elemental power that made Laswell's earlier releases so compelling: thick earthy basslines, a bedrock of drums, fiery percussion, blustery guitar and atmospherics-all played by a world-class group of musicians who know how to breathe life into a musical whole greater than the sum of its parts. On �Version 2 Version� the listener is drawn into a musical ecosystem full of life, death, earth, wind, fire and brimstone and a fecund existence as powerful as life itself. This dub transmission includes bassist Jah Wobble with whom Laswell co-wrote most of the tracks, keyboardist Bernie Worrell, percussionist Karsh Kale, and drummer/percussionist Abdou Mboup.
CD for $14

WORDSOUND 10TH ANNIVERSARY [V.A. With SPECTRE/BILL LASWELL et al] - The Video Album [Ltd Ed] (Wordsound 50; USA) Limited edition of 1000 copies featuring"The Greatest Thing You Never Heard," a 74 minute WordSound Dubumentary. The film, like the label, is difficult to pin down. It's as much a personal journey seen through the eyes of Skiz Fernando as it is a musical tribute to different styles and similar attitudes. Skiz is the Eye behind WordSound, churning out records by his alter-ego Spectre, The Ill Saint; writing books (The New Beats: Exploring The Music, Culture & Attitudes of Hip-Hop, Anchor/Doubleday) and articles about music for Rolling Stone, Vibe and The Source; and making guerilla films armed with only a vision, sheer will, and cojones. Eschewing the typical Behind-The-Music format of linear history illustrated by talking heads and stock footage, the dubumentary bounces around space and time like a cosmic fly on the wall. Artists you haven't heard of like Mentol Nomad, Scotty Hard, Mr. Dead, Leon Lamont, MC Paul Barman, DJ KLOS, Spectre, Sensational, and Prince Charming, represent different facets of the WordSound multiverse, where talent and a reverance of the artform runs deep. Along with cameos from Bill Laswell, Prince Paul, RZA, Wu Tang Clan, EPMD, DJ Premier, Jungle Brothers, Sly & Robbie, Scientist, Lee Perry, and the Last Poets, all of whom have contributed to the festivities in one way or another, the Greatest Thing You Never Heard proves itself a true adventure into uncharted realms. In addition to the dubumentary, the DVD also includes an exclusive 21 minute interview with legendary - and elusive - bassist/producer Bill Laswell, who financed the initial releases on WordSound as well as a long-time collaborator; three music videos, including Spectre's "Pillars Of Smoke, Prince Paul's "Booty Clap," and the Metabolics' "M Virus;" and the trailer for the film Crooked, also written, produced and directed by Skiz Fernando and available on DVD [the 2 disc set - DVD & CD - Wordsound 41, $27].
�FINALLY! A GREAT interview with the �Laz� that had me sitting without moving for the 20 minutes it lasted. A MUST for anybody who�s ever wanted to learn more about Bill other than the ninth-hand gossip that seems to form the basis of what�s readily available research-wise. My only complaint is that you JUST KNOW this must have actually gone on for hours and covered his involvement with many other areas like the downtown avant crowd as well � maybe Skiz will see fit to put the entire thing out someday. Still, highly recommended both for the interview AND the Dubumentary!� All Thumbs UP!!!� - Mannylunch
DVD for $20

LIBERATION SYSTEMS [V.A. WIth DJ SPOOKY/GUILLERMO E BROWN/DJ WALLY et al] - De-programming Sequence (Liberation Systems/Morphius 63; US) Compiled by label head James Allen aka Colorform, Liberation Systems breathes new life into New York City�s underground electronic music scene with the debut compilation, the head nodding De-Programming Sequence. Featuring brand new unreleased material from DJ Spooky, DJ Wally, Guillermo E Brown, Spectre & Sensational, Shakeyface, Mentol Nomad and Colorform himself; the album presents a cerebral yet playful mix of hip-hop, jungle, and dub. Inspired by the early illbient compilations on Liquid Sky, Wordsound, and Asphodel, Liberation Systems picks up the torch and blazes their own path updating this foundation for tomorrow�s electronic listener.
CD for $13

DUB TRIO � Exploring The Dangers Of (ROIR 8287; US) It is hard to believe that Exploring the Dangers Of is, by and large, the creation of a mere three instrumentalists whose aim is to record "live" dub in real-time, direct to tape with few overdubs (melodica & keyboard), if any. Dub Trio are DP Holmes (guitar/ keyboards), Stu Brooks (bass/ keyboards), and Joe Tomino (drums/ melodica). Their sound is massive!
By incorporating elements of electronic, rock, and jazz, Dub Trio are simultaneously revolutionizing and paying homage to King Tubby�s original style dub. And, like any great band, they make it sound so easy; using the simplicity of dub to house a complex and unique musical vision, Dub Trio are on their way to creating something entirely new.
CD for $14


SIGNAL TO NOISE � fall 2004 (issue 35) Cover article on �The Artist�s Role in Waging Peace� with input from William Parker, Kidd Jordan, David Budbill, Dave Burrell, Eugene Chadbourne, Jack Wright and others. Feature articles on The Fugs, the Revolutionary Ensemble, John Butcher, Ellen Fullman, Eugene McDaniels, Sam Shalabi, Comets on Fire, etc. Live reviews (Victo & Vision Fests), book reviews and over 170 record reviews! 100 pages and even the ads are informative.
"The Journal of Improvised & Experimental Music" has raised it's price to...
Magazine for $5


HAN BENNINK & BRODIE WEST � Brodie + Han (Lorna 04) Although, you are most-likely familiar with ICP drum wiz and clown Han Bennink, I can�t tell you much about tenor saxist Brodie West. This solid set was recorded at the Gas Station on Toronto Island in Canada in June of 2003, so perhaps Brodie is Canadian. Both Han and Brodie work well together, spinning their ideas back and forth in complete communion. Brodie has a strong, often warm tone and keeps up with Han no matter where they go, swinging one minute, going free at times and everything in between. Han plays especially musical throughout, telling stories and creating dialogue, while Brodie goes on his merry way, rarely screaming. Kinda nice, never too far out. Brodie seems to quoting popular jazz tunes at times, just in fragments.
CD for $14

KAUFMANN/GRATKOWSKI/DE JOODE � Kwast (Konnex 5129) Featuring Achim Kaufmann on piano, Frank Gratkowski on clarinet, alto sax & contrabass clarinet and Wilbert de Joode on contrabass. Achim and Frank met while studying at the Conservatory of Music in Cologne and became re-acquainted when Achim moved to Amsterdam. They hooked with Dutch bassist Wilbert de Joode early in 2002. This superb trio offering was recorded in Cologne and Donaueschingen in April of 2003. With similar instrumentation to the Jimmy Giuffre Trio of the early sixties (clarinet or sax, piano & acoustic bass), comparisons might be made. However, some forty years later, this trio is equally careful and crafty, but do take things further out. The spacious quality and suspense are especially well done, each note or sound cautiously placed. Frank has a most sublime tone on his alto sax, while his clarinets are more quirky, quick and filled with flutters. On �redolent bones� the trio sound like ghosts, mysterious sounds floating with Achim banging and rubbing things inside the piano, as Wilbert also plays some strange sounds on bass and Frank weaves weird clarinet fragments. I dig when things get busier and more dense on �here, no key heckles the lock�, keeping us on the edge of our seats for a bit. This sounds like one of under-recognized gems that the great Nuscope label might release.
German import CD for $18

PHIL MINTON / VERYAN WESTON - �.past (dischi di angelica 018/ReR) This is the third part of a trilogy that this unique voice and piano duo has worked on, since their first record on ITM in 1987. Phil and Veryan are also part of a fine quartet called Four Walls, once known as Tom Cora�s The Roof. They cover a wide array of songs from diverse sources, as well as some original material. On ��.past�, they delve into the past and work with texts from Shakespeare, St. Augustine, e.e. cummings, Ho Chi Minh and Wiliam Blake, as well as songs by Schumann, Monteverdi and Hank Williams. Starting with a strange collage created by producer Massimo Simonini, sampled scratchy records are woven well with the distant voice and piano. On the ridiculously cool �Romantic Artist�, Phil chants �Art & Labour� over and over as Veryan croons �Out of pre-existent materials not their own�. A few of these tunes show a more serious side to Phil�s usually wacky singing, perhaps we shouldn�t write him off as a nut case so fast. Veryan also does some of singing as well and has a more plaintive voice, on �A Dream�, Veryan sings quaintly enough while Phil adds his choking and twisted vocal sounds as accompaniment. Both Phil and Veryan do a great job of turning each song/piece into a unique story, evoking odd characters from different historical and geographical backgrounds. �Gemini II� sounds like two old codgers squealing and squirming with constipation. Veryan is a perfect match for Phil, as he knows many piano styles and approaches each piece with craft and clarity. When the two sing together it is also a great match of wit and audacity. You gotta love their version of Hank William�s �I Guess I�ll Never Get Out of this World Alive�, which sounds more like Louie Armstrong. An (un?) expected delight.
CD for $14

STEVE SWALLOW/OHAD TALMOR SEXTET � L�historie du Clochard/The Bum�s Tale (Palmetto 2103) Featuring Steve Swallow on electric bass & compositions, Ohad Talmor on tenor sax & arrangements, Russ Johnson on trumpet, Meg Okura on violin, Greg Tardy on clarinet and Jacob Garchik on trombone. No doubt you know the great bassist and composer, Steve Swallow, who has been playing professionally for over forty years, with Paul Bley, Gary Burton and is a constant collaborator with Carla Bley. You might recall Ohad Talmor and Russ Johnson from their fine band the Other Quartet with two CDs on the Knit label. Russ also works with Jenny Scheinman. Greg Tardy is one of the more prominent local sax heroes, who has worked with Dave Douglas, Susie Ibarra and has numerous discs as a leader. Can�t tell you much about Meg, but Jacob was in a band I caught up at the Guelph Jazz Fest last week. Nope, there is no drummer here, so you could call this delight chamber jazz. Strong writing by Steve and solid arrangements from Ohad, make this a splendid and thoughtful endeavor. Due to his unique tone on that electric bass, Swallow often sounds like he is playing some nylon acoustic string guitar, occasionally soloing beautifully, as well as providing the subtle rhythmic currents. This music has a most melancholy feeling, the harmonies are rich, everyone�s tone is so lush, their playing mostly subdued, yet consistently haunting.
CD for $15

MATT WILSON'S ARTS & CRAFTS - Wake Up! [to what�s happening] (Palmetto 2104; US) Wilson�s new CD, Wake Up! (to what�s happening) is a return to his other creative ensemble, his Arts & Crafts band, which was last featured on their self-titled 2001 CD for Palmetto Records. That recording made many Best of 2001 lists, and this one likely will achieve the same distinction in 2004. The band consists of Larry Goldings, piano & organ (a fellow Palmetto recording artist); Terell Stafford, trumpet; Dennis Irwin, bass & clarinet; and Wilson on drums.
CD for $15

TRIAGE - American Mythology (Okka 052) Third fine release from rising stars of the Chicago jazz/improv scene, featuring Dave Rempis (alto & tenor sax), Jason Ajemian (bass) and Tim Daisy (drums). Dave Rempis and Tim Daisy are both members of the wonderful Vandermark 5. Possible review sometime soon, although I did dig their two earlier releases quite a bit.
CD for $14

CAROL GENETTI/DAMON SMITH + FRED LONGBERG-HOLM � sense of hearing (Balance Point Acoustics 005) In some circles Genetti is the reigning queen of free improv voice in America, and this is her best release so far. When you think about the flurry of innovation in current improv that's based on air passing through the human oral cavity, but attenuated by metal tubing, it's puzzling why more folks don't just pursue the most direct and flexible option in this game, the naked voice. Listening to Genetti's abstract, language-free, maneuvers among all manner of sonorants and obstruents on this program of duos with bassist Damon Smith, I'm struck by how much untapped potential there is in vocal music, and I wish I'd need more than two hands to count the Genettis, Blonks, Mintons, and Makigamis of the world. The impression is especially forceful thanks to the incredible recording quality of this disc, another triumph for Genetti's Chicago comrade Bob Falesch--it feels like I'm hearing it live sitting only a few feet away from the musicians! The tiniest details burst out of the speaker, and this is the kind of music that pivots on such details--the faint shards that fall off Smith's bowed notes; the split-second buzz of string against wood; the swooping fricatives that escape between Genetti's sweet squalls. Although it's pretty restrained relative to the history of free improvisation, the music here is not lowercase improv; it's alternately elegaic and frenetic music constantly taking off in new directions, and Smith in particular exemplifies the classic Euro-improv aesthetic of sounding at the boundary of momentum, the region where phrases hold together by the thinnest threads, where the failures bleed into new moments so quickly they aren't noticed, and the successes slam you in the face. Both Genetti and Smith have virtuosic control of a huge range of unconventional sounds; there are parts where Smith's bass sounds like some unidentifiable southeast Asian stringed instrument in a fit of ecstatic pitch leaps, and parts where Genetti digs into the sound world of small animals and insects. A highlight can be found in the startling passage in "fragility itself" where Smith continuously generates several distinct sounds from his bass simultaneously, creating a massive texture of burbling, groaning, grinding, and wheezing. This is the first disc of Smith's work I can specifically recall listening to, and it's so wonderful I'm excited about further investigating his fair-sized discography, which includes work with luminaries like Wolfgang Fuchs, Frank Gratkowski, Serge Bagdassarian, and Boris Baltshun, much of it released on his own label for personal documentation, Balance Point Acoustics. With the dozens of great improv bassists out there, noone could be blamed if they happened to overlook Damon Smith's brilliant work, but improv vocalists of Genetti's caliber are so rare that this release is absolutely essential for anyone with an interest in avant-garde settings for humanity's first instrument. The second part of the disc is 27 minutes of live trio recordings of Genetti, Smith, and Fred Lonberg-Holm. By now most folks know how potent Lonberg-Holm is in just about any improv situation, and this session is mind-blowing and essential for fans of America's leading cello improvisor. For a disc of music for double bass and female voice, it's fitting that the booklet includes a beautiful short poem by a master of both instruments, Joelle Leandre, which refers to three things abundantly present in this music: "intensity, fragility, and love". - Michael Anton Parker
CD for $12

BRYAN VARGAS & YA ESTA! � Afro Latino Soul (Mofongo Music 102) Produced by Arturo O�Farrill and featuring Bryan Vargas (guitar & vocals), Matt Hilgenberg (trumpet), Ernesto Abreu, Toshi Someya (bass), Matt Baranello, Jorge Vazquez and Sandra Garcia Rivera, with everyone on coro or percussion. A delightful Latin groove fest that sounds sorta like Ribot�s Los Cubanos. Infectious melodies and grooves that make me want to get up and dance. The layers of subtle Latin percussion, sly jazzy guitar, muted trumpet, righteous voices and insistent el. bass keep that great vibe flowing throughout. Both Bryan (on el. guitar) and Matt (on trumpet) take some tasty solos, it is more about the infectious groove that feels so enticing on each piece. I would imagine that Bryan Vargas & Ya Esta would be immensely enjoyable live, so get on down to S.O.B.�s and check them out if you can.
CD for $12

AMADO/ZINGARO/FILIANO � The Space Between (Clean Feed 015) Featuring Rodrigo Amado on alto & baritone sax, Carlos Zingaro on violin and Ken Filiano on double bass. While Carlos Zingaro can be heard on some ten discs with mostly string players like Joelle Leandre, Kent Carter, Peter Kowald and Peggy Lee, Ken Filiano is one over two dozen discs with Vinny Golia, Richard Grossman, Steve Swell and Dom Minasi. Rodrigo Amado, on the other hand, is a new name for many of us. On their first CD together, this trio work wonders. Although it is mainly spontaneously improvised, it does not often sound that way. Rodrigo often sounds like he is playing a tune on bari sax with Ken�s bass walks under him and Carlos� violin jumping around creating counterpoint and fractured textures. At times, Ken plays some extraordinary bowed bass, which works with the bari sax just right, as Carlos weaves his violin in a dream-world above. This well recorded and well-balanced acoustic offering is a thing of rare beauty. This trio work so well together, turning fragments of melodies into song-like structures. Eventually they take off for the stratosphere when the fireworks begin to erupt. Recorded rather quietly, you can turn it up to get the entire picture. This CD actually came out last year, but Pedro from Clean Feed was nice enough to leave with a promo when he was in town last week. Thanks, bubby, your label is indeed a great one!
CD for $16

JOE MANERI / BARRE PHILLIPS / MAT MANERI � Angles of Repose (ECM 1862/980 6760) Featuring Joe Maneri on alto & tenor saxes, clarinet & voice, Barre Phillips on double-bass and Mat Maneri on viola. This is the second engaging collaboration by our favorite microtonal father and son team with bassist Barre Phillips. Over the past decade, the ever-lovable Joe and Mat Maneri have close to dozen releases between them on labels like Leo, Aum Fidelity, Thirsty Ear, as well as ECM. Considering Joe Maneri is 77 years old, you could say he is late-bloomer to his recordings, however the two have made up for lost time. Barre Phillips is also in his late sixties and remains one of the finest improvising contrabassists on the planet, consistently finding great collaborators from around the world. Barre has lived in south France for over thirty years and this recording was done in an ancient chapel near his home. The recording has a particularly lush quality, although the trio often likes to push the envelope much of the time, sometimes twisting their notes into strange places. Joe often makes odd vocal sounds as he plays, adding a quaint charm to the proceedings. At times, they play with sublime restraint and softly bending their notes towards each other. This trio is quite distinctive and really sound like no-one else. Both strings players have a unique way of playing around one another and Joe sounds just right in their company. When the trio members slur or bend their notes together or apart, they give the overall sound a hazy, other-dimensional, dreamy vibe that is a bit unnerving, yet when one adjusts to it, special things do happen.
CD for $16

BROWN BUNNY [V.A.] - The Brown Bunny [sndtck] (Tulip 1002; USA) Soundtrack to Vincent Gallo's controversial 2nd directorial effort. The set features five previously unreleased tracks by John Frusciante of Red Hot Chili Peppers, along with five other tracks, one from each of these artists, Gordon Lightfoot, Jackson C. Frank, Matisse/Accardo Quartet, Jeff Alexander & Ted Curson.
CD for $15




FOUR STRONG PROGESSIVE GEMS from the GREAT CUNEIFORM LABEL


THE MUFFINS � Double Negative (Cuneiform 199) The Muffins still feature Thomas Scott & Dave Newhouse on reeds & keyboards, Billy Swann on bass and Paul Sears on drums, plus special guests saxists from the Sun Ra Arkestra � Marshall Allen & Knoel Scott, Doug Elliott on trombone and a string quartet. It is an all-too-rare occurrence for a band, throughout its career, to create music that continually pushes the envelope and transforms the landscape. It is an even more rare occurrence for such a band to reunite after a long separation and embark on a second musical career that proves as innovative as the first. For The Muffins, lightning has struck twice. In 1998, The Muffins reformed with all four members and it proved to be the genuine article. �Double Negative� is The Muffins� 2nd studio recording released since reforming and possibly the most ambitious work of their career. Featuring 75 minutes of music spread over 17 songs, �Double Negative� is The Muffins� most compositionally diverse work, featuring pieces that vary in style and tone greatly, but which are always theirs (although they might fool you for a bit here and there!). The Muffins have long been noted for the way they craft memorable themes with adventurous musical structures and this is no exception. In addition, it is the band�s most instrumentally rich work, featuring an unprecedented number of musical guest appearances. � Cuneiform blurb. As a longtime fan of the Muffins, having caught them at the ZU Manifestival in NYC in November of 1978 (26 years ago), as well as two fine reunion gigs over the past five years, I am still most impressed by their crafty prog/jazz/rock composing and playing. The other thing I have always dug about this band is their light-hearted approach, never too dark like their European counterparts. They also do a fine job with keyboards, always constructing fascinating music without too much soloing. Mildly majestic music that is rarely over-dramatic. A tasty treat from one of the few great surviving domestic progressive outfits.
CD for $13

YANG - A Complex Nature/Une Nature Complexe (Cuneiform 197) Yang are a French quartet whose stunning compositons combine intricate guitar parts with driving rock, is the newest project led by French guitarist and composer Frederic L�Ep�e. His former projects include founding two of the most intriguing all-instrumental bands to emerge from France and capture international interest: Shylock and Philharmonie. Yang, Frederic�s post-Philharmonie band, extends some of Philarmonie�s compositional ideas while adopting a harder tempered, more rock-based approach. Featuring the 'standard' line-up of two guiarists, bass and drums, Yang play a dynamic instrumental music that rocks hard, and which bears comparisons to groups such as Gordian Knot and King Crimson. Frederic formed Yang in September, 2002. Yang�s debut CD consists of 8 compositions written by Frederic with each of the specific band members in mind. The band recorded the CD quickly, spending only 3 days in the studio in a conscious attempt to harness the power and spontaneity of live performance. Featuring intricate and often beautiful guitar pieces embedded in harder-tempered rock compositions, complex rhythms and melodic modes not previously seen in Frederic�s work, and a rich variety of guitar treatments, �A Complex Nature� is an inventive, dynamic and accessible instrumental work that rocks hard. It is, in Frederic�s own words: �the next step after Philharmonie�s last CDs: �Rage and The Last Word�.� This exciting and hard-rocking album features some subtly stunning work from all players and is probably as close to an 'air guitar' album as you will ever hear from Cuneiform! � Cuneiform blurb
CD for $13

FAR CORNER - Far Corner (Cuneiform 194) This is an exciting and auspicous debut release by a chamber rock quartet from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Far Corner play carefully honed compositions, composed in a style that reflects influences from 20th century composers, such as Stravinsky and Bartok combined with classical/chamber rock greats like Univers Zero, Present and more, blended in their own fashion. In addition to their compositions, Far Corner also perform purely improvised music. Their music maintains the energy level and power of rock, but in an extremely sophisticated way. Their music is mysterious, sometimes dark, and always intriguing. Far Corner uses a relatively small palette of instrumental colors to achieve a big sound: Grand piano and Hammond organ, cello (played both �classically� and with amplification and a fuzz-box to give it a heavier edge ala Alamaailman Vasarat), electric bass (by the very excellent Bill Kopecky) and drums. Their fusion of classical and rock instrumentation is untraditional; occasionally it even inverts the instruments� roles, using rock instruments in a classical context and manner and treating classical instruments as though they were rock. Most notably, each instrument in the quartet is treated as an equal, and all instruments are assigned melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic roles. The four musicians are all extremely accomplished players and this is sure to get the attention it deserves from fans of chamber/progressive rock. � Cuneiform blurb.
A most impressive blend of classical and progressive elements, quite majestic and enchanting. - BLG
CD for $13

THE RICHARD LEO JOHNSON TRIO - Poetry Of Appliance (Cuneiform 198) Richard Leo Johnson is one of the most innovative and inspired acoustic guitarists on the current American music scene. Johnson�s style, characterized by complexity, exhilarating speed, and hauntingly unfamiliar harmonies created through �found� tunings, marks this self-taught player apart. Richard was raised in America�s deep south, in a small Arkansas town in the Mississippi delta. A good indication of Richard is about is captured when he recalls that his �real jumping off point� was a home-made cassette he received as a teenager, which featured The Mahavishnu Orchestra�s �Inner Mounting Flame� on one side, and Leo Kottke�s �Greenhouse� on the other; �I thought both sides were by the same artist! The initial impact was that it was somehow possible to make something happen that fused the linear liquidity of McLaughlin and the dense harmonic structure and drive of Kottke.� Practicing incessantly on his own, Johnson developed an idiosyncratic playing style which combined plucking and strumming, alternating between 6, 12, and 18 strings (a 2-necked McCullum guitar with 6 and 12 strings), using all parts of the guitar, and employing 30 tunings he devised. The Richard Leo Johnson Trio is his first ever 'band' and it fuses elements of Americana, rock, new age and folk music with the sensibilities of classical color and structure, reflecting an eclectic, modern outlook on chamber music. With the collaboration of the classically trained and former symphony musicians Andrew Ripley (wind instruments and electronics) and Ricardo A. Ochoa (strings and theremin), Richard Leo Johnson brings a fresh new focus and additional instrumental orchestrations to his own brand of guitar-centric instrumental poetry, making for a music that is both beautiful and deep. � Cuneiform blurb
CD for $13


UPSILON ACRUX - Volucris Avis Dirae-Arum (Planaria 22) Third album by the San Diego self-proclaimed "maximist" three-piece of Jesse Klecker (drums), Paul Lai (guitars/ moog) and Cameron Presley (guitars/ moog) who are otherwise known as Upsilon Acrux, that make experimentation of improve jazz and prog rock that looks up to King Crimson et al. I recall reviewing their first release for WIN Records in the mid-nineties was impressed by the adventurous and enthusiastic spirit. They�ve since matured into a truly great band.
CD for $14




NEW MODERN CLASSICAL & ELECTRONIC RELEASES.......


JOHN CAGE/LEJAREN HILLER - HPSCHD (EMF 138) HPSCHD, by John Cage and Lejaren Hiller, is arguably the wildest composition of the 20th century. Big, brash, exuberant, raucous, a performance is about four hours of ongoing high-level intensity. The sound is a mixture of seven amplified harpsichords playing computer-generated variations of Mozart and other composers along with 51 computer-generated tapes playing what could be off-tuned trumpets sounding some musical charge. The thousands of swirling images, overlayed and mixed, of abstract shapes and colors and of space imagery from slides and films borrowed from NASA, create a chaotic riot of shifting form and color. The audience walks through the performance space, between the harpsichord players, around the loudspeakers. This recording is an event. First, because the quality of the superb sound captures the colors, the details, the exuberance of a performance. Second, because the graphic materials that are included with the recording, fifteen cards that can be assembled into a poster, are so vivid and stunning. More, the notes by Johanne Rivest, Bill Brooks, David Eisenman, Joel Chadabe, and Robert Conant give you the history of the composition, convey the spirit of the first performance, and provide a background for this recording. The first printing of this CD is a few thousand copies. It is a limited edition that includes the unique graphic materials. When this edition is sold out, the CD will be reprinted in a more modest package with more conventional graphic techniques. Our advice: Move quickly.
CD for $18

See more Electronic Music Foundation releases on our EMF catalog release further below...


HARRY PARTCH - Harry Partch Collection, Volume 1 (New World 80621) Harry Partch, principal vocals (Eleven Intrusions); Gate 5 Ensemble (Sausalito), Horace Schwartz, conductor (Plectra and Percussion Dances: Castor and Pollux, Ring Around the Moon, Even Wild Horses); Gate 5 Ensemble (Evanston, Illinois) (Ulysses at the Edge) This newly re-mastered reissue marks a welcome return to the catalog of the first volume of the classic 4-CD collection that was formerly available on the CRI label. The works recorded on this disc span the first six years of what Harry Partch (1901-1974), slightly tongue-in-cheek, called the "third period" of his creative life. They show him moving away from the obsession with "the intrinsic music of spoken words" that had characterized his earlier output (the vocal works of 1930-33 and 1941-45) and towards an instrumental idiom, predominantly percussive in nature. This path was to take him through the "music-dance drama" King Oedipus (1951)--the culmination of his "spoken word" manner--to the "dance satire" The Bewitched (1954-55), in which his new percussive idiom manifests itself. The three works on this disc show Partch before, during, and after this period of transition. In their quiet, forlorn way, the Eleven Intrusions are among the most compelling and beautiful of Partch's works. The individual pieces were composed at various times between August 1949 and December 1950, and only later gathered together as a cycle. Nonetheless they form a unified whole, with a nucleus of eight songs framed by two instrumental preludes and an essentially instrumental postlude. Although foreshadowed by the dance sequences of King Oedipus, the Plectra and Percussion Dances (1952) are the first of Partch's major works to be wholly instrumental in conception. They stand in relation to Oedipus as a satyr play in relation to a Greek tragedy-hence the work's subtitle, "Satyr-Play Music for Dance Theater." He felt that after the prolonged period of composition and production of Oedipus it was "almost a necessity to give vent to feelings and ideas, whims and caprices, even nonsense, that seem to have no place in tragedy." The final work on this disc is Ulysses at the Edge, written at Partch's studio at Gate 5 in July 1955. Ulysses, which Partch describes as a "minor adventure in rhythm," is unique among his mature compositions in that, in its original form, it did not call for any of his own instruments. The version recorded here, for alto and baritone saxophones, Diamond Marimba, Boo, Cloud-Chamber Bowls, and speaking voice, is considered the third version of the piece.
CD for $15

CHARLES IVES - The Unknown Ives, Volume 2 (New World 80618) Featuring Donald Berman, piano; (with Stephen Drury, piano 2) The works on The Unknown Ives, Volume 2 include some of his best and most searching experiments: fragments, personal explorations, cerebral excursions, and works of unabashed amusement. What emerges from their juxtaposition is a sense of canon. The spectrum of pieces, from adolescence to maturity, simple to complex, illustrates the boundaries of the complete oeuvre. From fragment to complete work, gestures meld, and motivic detours begin to describe a broad musical profile of Ives the complete musician. This recording completes the catalogue of Ives's short, though substantial, piano compositions presented on The Unknown Ives. Honing the unpublished manuscripts has brought to light some 40 piano works, two hours of music, apart from the two major piano sonatas of Ives. Hearing them illumines a more complete picture of Ives the composer. Meeting that music on its own terms is a fitting tribute to the composer who desired to make music that had a life of its own roaring volition. This recording includes published pieces that I have re-evaluated and revised. Many were initially edited by my teacher John Kirkpatrick (1905-1991), the American pianist, editor, and ardent champion of Ives. His meticulous efforts to identify, index, and catalogue loose manuscript sheets after Ives's death unquestionably comprise one of the heroic achievements in twentieth-century American music. Kirkpatrick's fastidious quest to divine playable editions of the music is a fascinating and at times problematic counterpoint to the compositions' rough edges. But essentially, Ives's volcanic nature and ambivalent attitudes likely served to obstruct public hearings of the music during his life; Kirkpatrick's asserting influence brought much of that music to light, including this recording. - Donald Berman
CD for $15

KYAW KYAW NAING AND BANG ON A CAN - Bang On A Can Meets Kyaw Kyaw Naing (Cantaloupe Music 21023) Bang on a Can plays the music of Burmese composer and master percussionist Kyaw Kyaw Naing. Naing plays the pat waing, the traditional Burmese drum-circle instrument made of 21 tuned drums. He is joined in this exhilarating session by Ma Aye Myint or Maung Maung Myint Swe on Si Wa (another percussion instrument) and the current Bang on a Can ensemble and special guest violinist Todd Reynolds (Ethel). Playing transcriptions of traditional Burmese music, the group nails this exotic melodic music. Even the improvisations, where BOAC members take spirited solos, are highly arranged. � David Beardsley a/k/a 7/4
CD for $15

PHILIP GLASS & BANG ON A CAN � Music in Fifths/Two Pages (Cantaloupe 21016) Probably America�s most popular classical composer, Philip Glass is also the most visible of the Minimalists. But one really has to go back to his early work to find real hard core minimalism. Music in Fifths (1969) and Two Pages (1967 or 1968) are two excellent examples of this. Glass created these pieces by adding and subtracting notes from his repeating melodies to create hypnotic layers of undulating serpentine notes. Bang on a Can updates the well known original recordings by re-orchestrating the pieces for BOAC. Mark Stewart (guitar), Wendy Sutter (cello), Evan Ziporyn (clarinets), Robert Black (bass), David Cossin (marimba) and Lisa Moore (piano) turn in an amazing new definitive performance of these classics of early Minimalism. - David Beardsley aka 7/4.
CD for $15




GREAT CONTEMPORARY ELECTRONIC/ALLSORTS TITLES FROM THE 'EMF [ELECTRONIC MUSIC FOUNDATION] MEDIA' LABEL, STARTING WITH THESE TWO AMAZING 'V.A.' COMPILATIONS BY DAVID TOOP AND ELLIOTT SHARP, RESPECTIVELY...


NOT NECESSARILY "ENGLISH MUSIC" [V.A.] - A Collection Of Experimental Music From Great Britain, Circa 1971 [2 CD set] (EMF 36) Truly excellent selection of artists - Cornelius Cardew, Daphne Oram, John Stevens, Hugh Davies, Michael Nyman, Derek Bailey, Evan Parker, Michael Parsons, Max Eastley, AMM, The Scratch Orchestra, Intermodulation, The People Band, Gentle Fire, et al - ranging from experimental to out-jazz, almost all previously unreleased. Curated by David Toop. "The 1960s was a time of major revolution and opening up in western music. Electronics made all sounds possible, free improvisation grew out of jazz, musicians expressed radical social ideas to young audiences. And as David Toop demonstrates in curating this great 2-CD package, England was one of the hotbeds of experimentation! In fact, these CDs are, to quote Toop, 'documentation of an extraordinary burst of musical experimentation that touches upon the overlapping practices of live electronics, improvisation, free jazz, free rock, tape music, experimental and revolutionary composition, sound sculpture, sound poetry, minimalism and a few pieces that refuse to confine themselves even to these unruly categories in order to explore the outer limits of free folk blues, symbolic table tennis, and similar improbabilities.' "
The music on CD1 includes:
'Live at the Royal College of Art' (1966), performed by AMM (Eddie Prevost, Keith Rowe, Cornelius Cardew, Lou Gare, Lawrence Sheaff); 'Wind Flutes Urban' (1975), sound sculptures constructed by Max Eastley; 'Performants' (1971), performed by Intermodulation (Roger Smalley, Tim Souster, Robin Thompson, Peter Britton); Frank Perry's 'Wedged into Release' (1971), performed by Frank Perry (percussion); Michael Parsons' 'Piece for Cello and Accordion' (1974), performed by Michael Parsons (cello) and Howard Skempton (accordion); Daphne Oram's 'Four Aspects' (1960); Bob Cobbing's 'The Judith Poem' (1973), performed by abAna a.k.a. Bob Cobbing (voice), Paul Burwell (percussion), and David Toop (electric guitar); Hugh Davies' 'Music for Three Springs' (1977), performed by Hugh Davies (amplified springs); Robert Worby's 'Piano Musics i & ii' (1975), perrformed by Robert Worby; 'Plum' (1973), performed by Lol Coxhill (soprano sax, Watkins Copy Cat Echo) and Steve Miller (electric piano); John Stevens' 'Search and Reflect' (1972), performed by Spontaneous Music Orchestra (probable line-up at the Little Theatre Club on January 18, 1972: John Stevens, Lou Gare, Trevor Watts, Ron Herman, Paul Burwell, David Toop, Christopher Small, Herman Hauge, Chris Turner, Ye Min, Mike Barton); 'Part 3' (1968), performed by The People Band (Terry Day, Mel Davis, Lyn Dobson, Eddie Edem, Tony Edwards, Mick Figgis, Frank Flowers, Terry Halman, Russ Herncy, George Khan); and 'As It Were' (1971), performed by Evan Parker (reeds) and Paul Lytton (percussion, electronics).
The music on CD2 includes:
John Stevens' 'Solo', performed by John Stevens (percussion, cornet, voice); 'Toy Piano' (1975), performed by Steve Beresford; 'Voice' (1974), performed by Steve Beresford; 'Battle March' (1974), traditional, arranged by Cornelius Cardew, performed by Cornelius Cardew (piano) and Jane Manning (voice); Ron Geesin's 'Duet for One-String Banjo and Water Cistern' (1971), performed by Ron Geesin; 'Group Composition VI (Unfixed Parities)' (1974), performed by Gentle Fire (Hugh Davies, Richard Bernas, Graham Hearn, Stuart Jones, Michael Robinson); 'Instant Composition no. 1' (1971), performed by Rain in the Face (Paul Burwell, drums, and David Toop, electric guitar); Ranulph Glanville's 'Nona Meyeah Teay' (1967), performed by Ranulph Glanville; 'Improvisation 5' (1971) performed by Derek Bailey (guitar); 'Miserere' (1977), performed by The Campiello Band (Michael Nyman, Rory Allam, Lucie Skeaping, Roddie Skeaping, Steve Saunders, Keith Thompson, Doug Wooton); Mike Cooper's 'Pharoah's March', performed by Mike Cooper (guitar), Mike Osborne (alto sax), Geoff Hawkins (tenor sax), Alan Skidmore (tenor sax), Alan Jackson (drums), Harry Miller (bass), and John Taylor (piano); 'Geese' (1974), performed by A Touch of the Sun (Peter Cusack, guitar, and Simon Mayo, clarinet); 'Pilgrimage from Scattered Points on the Surface of the Body to the Brain, the Inner Ear, the Heart and the Stomach' (1970), performed by The Scratch Orchestra; and 'Blowin' in the Wind' (1971), performed by Frank Perry (drums), Mongezi Feza (trumpet), and Chris McGregor (piano).
2 CD set for $22

STATE OF THE UNION 2.001 [V.A.] - State of The Union 2.001 [3 CD set] (EMF 128) ALL the material found here is previously unreleased and not to be found on the previous 'State Of The Union' compilations. This amazing 3-CD set of contemporary sound and text-based music may be just what you need to live a full life. Elliott Sharp set aside his sax and guitar to collect one-minute music and sound works by 171 leading lights of the international avant-garde, both famous and unknown, that represent a vast array of approaches, attitudes, aesthetics, ethnicities, musical styles, and social persuasions. He describes the collection as "concrete, abstract, enraged, objective, caustic, soulful, sardonic, provocative -- all unfiltered, all clear." It's more than that. It's totally enjoyable. A bandwagon you should get on without missing a beat.
The composers on CD 1 include:
Adriana Sa, Alfred Harth, Alan Licht, Allen Kaatz, Alma Carey-Z��iga, Alvin Curran, Angela Babin and Lori Bingel, Annie Gosfiel, Atau Tanaka, Becca Schack, Ben Boone and James Miley, Benjamin Chadabe, Ben Rubin and Mark Hansen, Black Sifichi, Blaise Siwula, Blake Hargreaves and Liam Thurston, Bob Holman, Bruce Bennett, Carl Stone, C.D., Charles K. Noyes, Chop Shop, Chris Haskett, Christian Marclay, Chris Mann, Chris Rael, Chris Vine, Cook & Swenson, Dael Orlandersmith, D'Divaz, Dafna Naphtali, Daniel Matej, Dave Soldier and Richard Lair , Swing, David First, David Fulton, David Gans, David Greenberger, David Taylor, Deaf Mute, Debra DeSalvo, Doug Henderson, Donald Knaack, Don Ritter, Dorgon, Duck Baker, Elio Martusciello, Emily XYZ and Virgil Moorefield, Eric Mingus, Eric Rosenzveig, Eric Shanfield, Eszter Balint, Eyeball 9000, FemNoir, Figure, Foetus.
The composers on CD 2 include:
Frank Rothkamm, Fred Frith, Freight Elevator Quartet, GenKen Montgomery, Gert Jan Prins, Hans Tammen, Harriet Tubman, Harry Smith, Henry Kaiser, i.d., Ikue Mori, Jack Womack, Jacob Burckhardt , Jad Fair, Jean Marc Montera, Jeffrey Ford, Jenn Reeves, Joel Chadabe, Joey Baron, John Duncan, John Hudak, Johnny Reinhard, Jonathan Bepler, Jon Rose, Jorge Mancini and Andrea Fasani, Judy Nylon and Brian Foster, Kasper Toeplitz, Katie O'Looney, Kato Hideki, Kazuhisa Uchihashi, Keisuke Oki, Koji Asano, Lauren Weinger, Leon Gruenbaum, Ligeti/Ritchford, Lloop, Lo Galluccio, Loren Mazzacane Connors, Love Todd, Lost Satellites, Luca Formentini, Luciano Margorani, Manu Sauvage, Marc Behrens, Marc C, Marc Ribot, Marek Piacek, Marianne Nowottny, Marie Goyette, Mark Dagley, Mark Howell and Tom Hamilton, Mark Trayle, Martha Mooke, Matt Rogalsky, Matthew Shipp, Merry Fortune w/FAT, Merzbow, Michael J. Schumacher, Mike Cooper and Max Nagl.
The composers on CD 3 include:
Misha Feigin and Steve Good, Murat Nehmet-Nejat, Ned Rothenberg, Nicolas Collins, Nicolas Diab, Nicolas Mazet, Norman Yamada, Oblique, Doug Theriault and David Chandler, Ori Kaplan and Geoff Mann, PAK, Particle Data Group, Pete Missing, Phill Niblock, Phillip Johnston Transparent Quartet, Piero Chianura, Public Works, QPE, Queen Esther, Raging Peasants, ReproRappers, Roberto Zorzi , Roger Kleier, Hard Time', Satoko Fuji, Saturnalia, D.J. Spazecrafte One, Stefan Poetzsch, Stefano Bassanese, Stephen Pope, Stephen Vitiello, Steve Dalachinsky, Steve Goldberger, Steve Piccolo, Tape Beatles, Ted Reichman, Telectu (Jorge Lima Barreto and Vitor Rua), The Fitzbergs, Thomas Dimuzio, Tom Devaney, Tony Daniel, Toni Dove (with Paul Geluso), Tracie Morris, Ut Gret , Viv Corringham and Gareth Williams, Vivian Sisters, Voice Crack, Wanda Phipps, We, Wendy Atlas Oxenhor, White Out, Zammuto, Zeena Parkins, Z'ev, Zbigniew Karkowski, Zoot Horn Rollo.
3 CD set for $28

JOHN CAGE - Bird Cage (EMF 113) In 1972, John Cage, accompanied by a film crew from Germany, went to upstate New York to work for 3 days in the State University of New York at Albany's electronic music studio. He carried with him three piles of tapes: (1) sounds of birds in aviaries that he had made in the prior two weeks, (2) recordings of himself singing his 'Mureau', and (3) ambient sounds. While listening to tapes of himself singing Mureau, he commented, "It makes the birds seem less ridiculous." The result was 'Birdcage', a complex, exuberant, and joyful fabric of juxtapositions of all of the sounds, to be played back in a space in which, as Cage put it, people were free to move and birds to fly.
CD for $13

LUC FERRARI - Early Electronic Works (EMF 137) Luc Ferrari is among the best known of the early electronic music pioneers. He was director of the Groupe de Recherches Musicales from 1959 to 1960, working closely with Pierre Schaeffer, and his music played a decisive role in defining the range of musique concr�te. But he went further to become one of the most radical composers of his time, and this CD, with its incisive character and exceptional sounds, marks the starting point for his artistic evolution. The compositions include 'Etudes aux accidents / Study on accidents' (1958), 'Etudes aux sons tendus / Study on stretched sounds ' (1958), 'Visages V / Appearance V' (1959), 'T�te et queue du dragon / Head and tail of the dragon' (1960), 'Tautologos 1' (1961), 'Tautologos 2' (1961), 'Und so weiter / And so much further' (1966, with G�rard Fr�my, pianist).
CD for $13

IANNIS XENAKIS - Electronic Music (EMF 03) Superlative and long desired reissue of Xenakis's early electronic works, including the in-demand pieces from his his pioneering Nonesuch album Electro-Acoustic Music. Issued in collaboration with France's INA-GRM, the studio where the first 3 of these compositions were realized. Although it only makes up a tiny portion of his total composed work to date, Xenakis's tape works are as legendary and significant as those of Schaeffer, Henry or Stockhausen. Powerful, mind expanding listening -- this release certainly will rate as one of 1997's most important experimental musical documents. Includes the following works: "Diamorphoses" (1957): "a study of white noise and its graduations through the process of densification." "Concret PH" (1958): "This very short work is a sound continuum without a single break. Xenakis pre-recorded crackling embers from which he extracted very brief (one-second) sound elements. Then he assembled them in huge quantities, varying their density each time. This work can be compared to his instrumental preoccupations concerning 'clouds of sound'." "Orient-Occident" (1960): "one of the major masterpieces for tape...conceived as a music for a film by Enrico Rulchignoni." "Bohor" (1962): "dedicated to Pierre Schaeffer...an extraordinary and deafening sound continuum where the listener is invited, in a figurative sense, to hear bells chime while standing inside them!" "Hibiki-Hana-Ma" (1970: ""Xenakis recorded and reworked sequences played by an orchestra, a biwa, and a snare drum but never rendered them unrecognizable. Distributed over 12 tracks, the work's sonorities were elaborated in function of a highly pronounced spatialization. The title of this piece means 'reverberation -- flower -- interval." "S.709" (1992) recorded with the GENDYN program: "Both the sounds produced in the piece as well as the global evolution of the composition are literally unheard of: despite the abstract nature of the processes involved and their mechanical nature, the Xenakis sound world is immediately recognizable."
CD for $13

MORTON FELDMAN//DAVID FELDER - Feldman Felder (EMF 133) Two first recordings of Morton Feldman's music in themselves make this CD a notable event. And then, David Felder's music puts it over the line. This is a great CD! The music bridges two generations and two distinct personalities. Feldman, with John Cage, Earle Brown, David Tudor, and Christian Wolff, was a seminal member of the New York School in the 1950s, and his work is known for the beauty and delicacy of its orchestral colors, its 'painterly' surface, its static and quiet structure, its contemplative character. Felder's work, on the other hand, is dramatic and powerful, with giant pulsing blocks of orchestral sound lending a strong sense of motion and force which is contrasted with soft poetic moments. The two composers are linked by their association with the June in Buffalo Festival, founded by Feldman in 1975 and directed by Felder since 1985.
CD for $13

LUKAS FOSS - Echoi, Fragments of Archilochos ... (EMF 105) During the 1960s and 1970s, the Center for the Creative and Performing Arts (at The University at Buffalo in upstate New York) was a major creative center for new musical ideas. Composers and performers from around the world worked there through those years. And in the middle of that activity was Lukas Foss, one of the founders of the Center and its primary creative inspiration. The works on this CD were originally recorded in 1968 and released shortly afterwards as a Wergo LP. The performers for 'Echoi' and 'Non-Improvisation' are Lukas Foss (piano), Jan Williams (percussion), Douglas Davis (cello), and Edward Yadzinski (clarinet). The performers for 'Fragments of Archilochos' are Crane Collegiate Singers, State University College at Potsdam (directed by Brock McElheran), with Robert Betts (voice), Miriam Abramowitsch and Melvin Strauss (speakers), Oswald Rantucci (mandolin), Jonathan Marcus (guitar), and Jan Williams, Edward Burnham, and Lynn Harbold (percussion).
CD for $13

GEORGE ANTHEIL - Ballet Mecanique (EMF 120) George Antheil's Ballet M�canique, a wild, highly rhythmic composition combining industrial age sounds and jazz, is one of the most notorious musical moments of the 20th century. Antheil was an American composer living in Paris in the 1920s. He composed the first version of Ballet M�canique in 1924 for 4 player pianos, then almost immediately expanded the instrumentation to 3 xylophones, 4 bass drums, tamtam, 2 pianos, siren, 3 airplane propellors, 7 bells, and 16 synchronized player pianos. He revised it again for performances in Paris in 1926 and New York in 1927. Following the New York performance, so badly received that it almost ruined his career, he visited Berlin, then went to Hollywood where he pursued a career as film composer. He revised the work again in 1953, and that version, more practical than earlier versions, has been performed several times. The expanded 1924 version, however, was never performed until its premiere, produced by Paul Lehrman, at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell in November 1999. And this CD, a recording of that performance, is a major event! Also on the CD: John Cage and Lou Harrison's 'Double Music' (1941), for percussion quartet; Richard Grayson's 'Shoot the Piano Player' (1995), for player piano and electronics, and 'Mister 528' (1996), for multiple player pianos and electronics; Amadeo Rold�n's 'Ritmica No. 5' (1930) and 'Ritmica No. 6' (1930), for percussion ensemble; and Felix Mendelssohn's 'Saltarello-Presto from Symphony No. 4', arranged by Paul Lehrman for 16 player pianos.
CD for $13

LAURIE SPIEGEL - Obsolete Systems (EMF 19/119; USA) Laurie Spiegel, electronic music pioneer, has been working with cutting-edge electronic instruments since the 1970s. She has written software, designed systems, and explored most of the early synthesizers. And she's a wonderful composer! The music on this CD is so talented, beautiful, and fascinating that it becomes a stunning demonstration of how musical and humanly expressive technology can be. The CD also demonstrates relationships between instruments and the music that can be composed for them. Spiegel writes: "Each musical instrument, whether electronic or not, implies an aesthetic domain and sensibility unique to its design ... These are a few I've personally explored. When it was new, each of these music systems, now long obsolete, was state of the art, visionary, radically new and so revolutionary that it required extended explanations in response to common questions such as 'Why would anyone ever want to do that?'" The compositions and the instruments are: 'Four Short Visits to Different Worlds', which includes 'Swells' (c. 1972) and 'Crying Tone' (1975), both composed with an Electrocomp 100 modular analog synthesizer; and 'Mines' (1971) and 'A Garden' (c. 1970), both composed with a Buchla 100 modular analog synthesizer. 'Improvisation on a "Concerto Generator"' (1977), composed with a realtime digital audio synthesizer designed by Hal Alles and others at Bell Labs. 'A Harmonic Algorithm' (1981 version), composed with an Apple II computer with Mountain Hardware oscillator boards. 'Three Modal Pieces' (1983) and 'Immersion' (1983), both composed with the McLeyvier computer-controlled analog synthesis music system. 'Drums' (1975), composed with the GROOVE Hybrid System at Bell Labs. 'Voices Within: A Requiem' (1979), composed with an Electrocomp analog synthesizer with classic tape techniques & Echoplex (a tape-delay device of the 1970s).
CD for $13

LARRY AUSTIN - Octo Mixes (EMF 39/139; USA) This CD of Larry Austin's recent work is just wonderful. It's lively, funny, dramatic, touching. It uses electronics to bring far-away things closer to us. It's like taking a musical trip around the world on an electronic carpet, from his reworking of John Cage's 'Williams' Mix' in 1952, to the sounds of the t�ragat�, a Hungarian folk instrument, to a portrait of new-music baritone Thomas Buckner in New York, to the recounting of a Serbian family history, as Austin puts it, "a dynamically moving octophonic family tree of sound, the wind moving through it, the sonic leaves and creaking limbs animating its landscape." Octophonic? All of this music was composed for an eight-loudspeaker surround-sound environment. And even mixed down to two channels for a stereo disc, the spatial sense is great. The compositions and performers are 'T�ragat�!' (1998), with Steven Duke (soprano sax) and Esther Lamneck (processed tarogato); 'Singing!...the music of my own time' (1998), with Thomas Buckner, voice; 'Djuro's Tree' (1997), a story told by Alexandra Kurepa and Andr� Waschka; and 'Williams [re]Mix[ed]' (2001), based on John Cage's 'Williams Mix' (1952) for eight magnetic tapes.
CD for $13

CURTIS BAHN - R!G [Rig] (EMF 30/130; USA) Curtis Bahn, bass player extraordinaire, takes his virtuoso performance to unbelievable heights of energy and musical mayhem with a sophisticated computer-based interactive electronic system that he himself designed and built. The sounds are great. Even surprising. In fact, they're so surprising that you wonder: How can this be done? And the whole concept is so unconventional, you ask: How could someone even think of it? But the madness in his method becomes clear when you realize that at the center of his r!g is his acoustical 'Sbass' which contains a variety of electronic sensors that greatly extend his performance possibilities. It also becomes clear that the musical power of extended performance together with responsive electronics is formidable, and in this case it allows him to mix sounds, follow algorithmically-generated shapes, process the sound of his own performance on string bass, and do it all so fast and so well that it grabs your attention. And what brings it all together, of course, is his musical sensitivity and the experience of a long background of improvisation. The compositions are called 'SBass', 'mechanique', 'r!p', 'quabbin', 'ornithology', and 'r!g'. Don't miss even one of them.
CD for $13

BEN CHADABE - The Metaphysician's Hammer (EMF 126) In his first CD, Benjamin Chadabe plays drums and percussion, solo and in duet with Benjamin Hartlage who recites his own poetry. The result is a fabulous CD! Chadabe moves from groove to free improvisation so effortlessly, his rhythms are so complex, and his sounds so diverse that you can't believe there's only one person playing. His music is strong, spirited, and intelligent. As Elliott Sharp said, "Ben's a great drummer." Sharp is right. And Hartlage's reserved voice is an excellent counterpoint to the percussion sounds. Altogether, this CD introduces a new strong voice in the improvisation scene.
CD for $13

TREVOR WISHART - Red Bird/Anticredos (EMF 22/122; USA) Trevor Wishart asked: "Why work with computers?" And answered: "Why, to make sounds that no one has heard before." 'Red Bird' (1980), Wishart's classic electronic work, is all about sound and transformations. Vocal sounds are changed into metallic hammers, a book slammed closed becomes a slammed door ... A vast array of recorded sounds shift and slowly morph into other sounds, and the effect is magical. 'Anticredos' (1980), also on the CD, is a vocal transformation of the word "Credos". The superb performance by the ensemble Singcircle creates a new sound world bearing little resemblence to the original sounds of the word. We are reminded, in fact, that the voice is the ideal synthesizer and that Wishart is one of the essential composers in the history of computer music.
CD for $13

TREVOR WISHART - Voiceprints (EMF 129) Master composer Trevor Wishart shapes recordings of the human voice into a majestic, sonic extravaganza. With satire, sympathy, and his extraordinary talent with sound, Wishart gives us an audio panorama of the world today through the voices of many different people, famous and unknown. In 'Two Women' (1998), he uses the voice of Margaret Thatcher to create a political cartoon and creates a personal portrait and touching documentary from the voice of Princess Diana. In 'American Triptych' (1999), the powerful resonance of the words of Martin Luther King, the crackly quality of the radio transmission through space of Neil Armstrong's voice, and the zany musicality of Elvis Presley's singing comprise a vast sonic portrait of the 20th century American dream of "liberty, technological progress, and the pursuit of pleasure". In 'Anna's Magic Garden' (1982), Wishart transforms his young daughter's voice, along with the sounds of pipes, elastic bands, food, and footsteps, in a playful view of the world through a child's ears. In 'Blue Tulips' (1994), an eighty year-old woman describes her dream about blue tulips she saw in the house of a friend. 'Tongues of Fire' (1995), the final work on the CD, is a masterpiece. It is a complex extended composition that explores the human condition through the transformation of the human voice. In a spectacular display of skill in performing audio transformations, Wishart bases a major work of sounds and textures on a few utterings. This work represents an important moment in the history of electronic music.
CD for $13

LAWRENCE MOSS - Unseen Leaves (EMF 145) Music for electronics and instruments by the distinguished composer Larry Moss. The compositions are: 'Unseen Leaves' (1975), composed for Ruth Drucker (voice) and James Ostryniec (oboe), with electronic sounds; 'Hear This Touch' (1976), performed by Phyllis Bryn-Julson, soprano; 'Korea' (1999), in versions for electronics and clarinet, performed by Esther Lamneck; 'Into the Woods' (1996), performed by William Montgomery (flute); 'Lifelines' (1998), performed by Esther Lamneck (clarinet); and 'Harried' (1999), for electronics and bass clarinet, performed by Harry Sparnaay, bass-clarinet virtuoso. CD for $13

HERBERT BRUN - Language, Message, Drummage (EMF 614/109; USA) The first in a series of four CDs containing the complete works of Herbert Brun, one of the remarkable musical personalities of the 20th century. This CD contains Brun's compositions for tape and for instruments. The compositions include 'Futility 1964' (1964), a setting of a Brun poem in which the text alternates with electronic sounds, often with dramatic, intense gestures; 'Five Pieces for piano (Op. 1)' (1940-45), fluid, lively, and often rhythmic; 'Anepigraphe' (1957), in which each of the nine sections feature a unique musical 'personality', the results suggesting a theatrical dialog between different character types; 'String Quartet #2' (1957), where each event flows to the next, as Brun puts it, "under the formerly established terms, but introduces by some structural characteristic the possibility for revision of terms"; 'Trio' (1964), which grows from spare and quiet double bass pizzicato notes to complex energy; 'A Piece of Prose' (1972), commissioned and composed in the Experimental Studio of the Polish Radio, Warsaw; 'just seven for drum' (1987), an engaging snare drum solo that explores contrasting rhythms, textures, densities and volumes; and 'Gesto for piccolo and piano' (1965), an argument of sorts between an insistently gesturing piccolo and piano that join together, at times call and respond, and at times clash, closing out this recording on a lively note. The instrumental pieces are performed by the LaSalle Quartet, Kathleen Keasey (piano), James Culley (snare drum), and the University of Illinois New Music Ensemble.
CD for $13

HERBERT BRUN - Mutatis Mutandis (EMF 634/111; USA) The third in a series of four CDs containing the complete works of Herbert Brun, one of the remarkable musical personalities of the 20th century. This CD contains Brun's compositions for solo instruments and ensembles. The compositions include 'Gestures for Eleven' (1964), described by Brun as "numerous brief events and small gestures, passing fragments apparently without consequence or elaboration ..."; 'Trio for trumpet, trombone,and percussion' (1966), in Brun's words a "gesture of intolerance"; 'The Laughing Third' (1995), a piano etude in which simple melodic scales are subjected to various transformations, suggesting alternatives in logic; 'String Quartet #3' (1963), based on non-sequiturs and surprising events; 'Sonatina for bassoon alone' (1953), the earliest work on this CD; '"at loose ends:"' (1974), a virtuoso exploration of percussion timbres; and 'Nonet' (1969), which approaches the instrumentalists as participants engaging in group dynamics. Brun's best-known work of this group is 'mutatis mutandis 7' (1968-87), composed and performed by flutist Lesley Olson, "structurally analogous to one of Herbert Brun's computer generated graphics...." Brun described it as one of a series of "compositions for interpreters ... ink graphics drawn by a plotter under control of a computer programmed by the composer ... the interpreter is invited to begin contemplating a graphic as traces left by a process which moved a pen in various directions across the plane. This process has been composed by the compose ... The interpreter is not asked to improvise. The interpreter is asked not to improvise. The interpreter is asked to compose." The performers are the Blackearth Percussion Group, LaSalle Qartet, Univiersity of Illinois New Music Ensemble (Herbert Brun, conductor), Lesley Olson (flute), Charles Lipp (bassoon), and William Heiles (piano).
CD for $13

HERBERT BRUN - Sawdust: Computer Music Project (EMF 644/112; USA) The fourth in a series of four CDs containing the complete works of Herbert Brun, one of the remarkable musical personalities of the 20th century. This CD contains Brun's music with sounds generated largely by his computer program 'Sawdust', which he wrote in the 1970s. The compositions are 'Dust' (1976), with relatively simple sounds; 'More Dust' (1977), increasingly complex; 'Dustiny' (1978), 'A Mere Ripple' (1979), described by Brun as one sequence "varied fifty-six times, with exclamatory admonishments to itself thrown in and between"; 'U-TURN-TO' (1980), described by Brun as "three ear training gestures, mere shadows of what once they had been stubbornly keep dancing, each gradually accumulating its corps de ballet ..."; 'More Dust with percussion' (1977), which parallels gestures in percussion and electronics, performed by Percussion Group Cincinnati; and 'i toLD You so!' (1981), in which rapid-fire gestures parody human speech. (Herbert Brun, conductor), Lesley Olson (flute), Charles Lipp (bassoon), and William Heiles (piano).
CD for $13

HERBERT BRUN - Wayfaring Sounds (EMF 624/110; USA) The second in a series of four CDs containing the complete works of Herbert Brun, one of the remarkable musical personalities of the 20th century. This CD contains Brun's compositions for instruments with tape. The compositions include 'Non Sequitur VI' (1966), a complex work with relatively independent instrumental and also tape parts, and an excellent example of 'algorithmic composition' as a musical technique; 'Wayfaring sounds' (1959), in Brun's words, is "scorning all categorization and mocking the conventional associative patterns"; 'on stilts among ducks' (1997), for viola and tape, is the most recent, and extended, work on this recording, a fascinating juxtaposition of the lyrical quality of the viola and the very different nature of pulsing and glissandi electronic tones; 'Sonoriferous Loops' (1964), an example of algorithmic composition; 'Infraudibles with percussion' (1968 - 1984), which weds recently through-composed (1984) instrumental parts to a tape composition from 1968; and 'Sentences Now Open Wide (SNOW)' (1984). 'Sentences Now Open Wide (SNOW) (1984) appropriately closes this recording with a work composed for the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Experimental Music Studio of the University of Illinois to which Brun dedicated much of his life's work. Here we find joined a mid-1980s piece for chamber ensemble and a tape composed with the methods and equipment from the early 1960s studio. Three voices sing tones and recite a text by the composer, which addresses the paradoxical neccesity, and impossibility, of language. "A word looks no way or both ways or even more ways than a word can say. Certainly you are not just words but yes words are just you ..."
CD for $13

HUGH LE CAINE - Hugh Le Caine (EMF 115; USA) Hugh Le Caine, early electronic music pioneer, demonstrates his Electronic Sackbut in 1948 by playing the opening clarinet solo from Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue'. And there's more. Working at his Toronto laboratory, supported by the Canadian National Research Council, he went on to engineer and prototype the touch sensitive organ, variable speed recorder, multi-track recorder, and numerous other magnificent electronic instruments. And he demonstrated his inventions by composing his own music and by arranging well known tunes, demonstrating at the same time that he was a talented musician and that he had a great sense of humor. This CD, produced by Gayle Young, Le Caine's biographer, is a comprehensive compilation of his music, much of it not available before. The CD also includes many of Le Caine's spoken explanations of his demonstrations which make the CD come alive with human interest. Le Caine's compositions on this CD include 'Dripsody: An Etude for Variable Speed Recorder' (1955), 'Ninety-Nine Generators' (1956), 'Invocation' (1957), 'Study No. 1 for Player Piano and Tape' (1957), 'The Burning Deck' (1958), 'A Noisome Pestilence' (1958), 'Textures' (1959), 'Nocturne' (1962), 'Bird Spectrogram' (1963), 'Music for Expo' (1967), 'Safari: Eine Kleine Klangfarbenmelodie' (1964), 'Mobile: The Computer Laughed (Perpetual Motion)' (1970), and 'Paulution (Charnel Number Five) (1972). Thanks to Gayle Young, these 'humorous sketches' are now available: 'This Thing Called Key' (1956), 'Arcane Presents Lulu' (1956), 'The Burning Deck' (1958), and 'Sounds to Forget' (excerpt, 1963). The demonstrations include: Demonstrations of the Electronic Sackbut, some by Le Caine, some by other musicians, include: 'Bill Farrow Plays the Sackbut' (1946), 'Mal Clark Plays the Sackbut', and the 1948 Sackbut Demonstration Tapes, including 'Rhapsody in Blue', 'Sugar Blues', 'Sackbut String Quartet', 'The Sackbut Blues'. More, reflecting further development of the Sackbut: 'Coded Music Apparatus: Patterns on the Pitch Graph' (1955), 'Improved Timbre Controls' (1956), and 'Artificial Larynx, driven by Sackbut' (1957). Demonstrations of the Touch Sensitive Organ include 'Xmas Music: Organ Control for Automatic Light Display' (1954), 'Touch Sensitive Organ Demonstration Tapes' (1955), 'Mouth Cavity Oscillator with MKI Touch Sensitive Organ' (1955), 'Artificial Larynx' (1956), 'Organ Experiment with Pitch Control' (1956). Demonstrations of The Multi-track include 'Dripsody Demonstration' (1958) and 'Dripsody: An Etude for Variable Speed Recorder, Stereo version' (1957). In its commemoration of a remarkable personality and in the historical importance of its content, this is an essential CD. In the extent to which it is also enjoyable, it is a stunning accomplishment.
CD for $13

JOEL CHADABE//BENJAMIN CHADABE/JAN WILLIAMS/DAVID GIBSON/ESTHER LAMNECK/CHRIS MANN - Many Times... Acoustic Instruments and Interactive Electronics (EMF 50/150; USA) Joel Chadabe's 'Many Times ...' (the ellipsis is the name of the performer) is powerful, funny, lyrical, pensive, and dramatic, depending upon who is playing. The performers are Benjamin Chadabe (bowed cymbals and gongs), Chris Mann (recitation), David Gibson (cello), Jan Williams (conga, djemb�, and hand-held percussion), and Esther Lamneck (t�rogat�), and they each play solo with different versions of Chadabe's software. In fact, the sounds are so striking that you may not notice the process. But Chadabe is well known as a pioneer in interactive instruments and the music on this CD is a beautiful example of how it all works. In a performance, a performer playing an acoustic instrument or reciting a text is seated at a microphone and the performer's sounds are transformed by the electronics into multiple images and distributed through the performance space. The performer reacts to these transformations, as if they were replies, and the music continues as if in a conversation between performer and instrument. And what we hear from all of this is a magical flow of sound.
CD for $13

PAUL DOORNBUSCH - Corrosion (EMF 43/143; USA) Paul Doornbusch creates extraordinary and unusual sounds for instruments, computers, and electronics. In 'Continuity 3', for percussion and computer, for example, a china cymbal, a circular metal plate, and a tam-tam are transformed electronically into decisive gestures of sound that seem to float in a musical space, or swing through it like powerful birds of sound, or explode spontaneously. In 'Continuity 2', for recorder quartet and electronics, the sounds of a recorder are translated into thin, floating strands of sound, articulated by sudden movements. Each composition has its own distinct drama. The CD also includes 'act5', for bassoon and electronics; 'g4', electronic sounds; and 'strepidus somnus', for voices and electronics.
CD for $13

ROGER REYNOLS/PHILIP LARSON/ALECK KARIS - Last things, I think, to think about (EMF 44/144; USA) Roger Reynolds' song cycle based on text by John Ashbery. It is sung by Philip Larson, baritone, accompanied by Aleck Karis, piano, and it is also recited by John Ashbery. And there is an elegant, sparing use of electronics which emphasizes the intimacy and subtlety of the entire work. Indeed, the presence of the singing voice, the speaking voice, and the electronics gives this disc a multiple dimension that is striking and thoughtful. It is a fine representation of Ashbery's poetry, reflecting its rhythms, contrasts, and depth, and more, it is perhaps a pointer towards a new approach in reconciling the meaning of music with the meaning of words
CD for $13

BOB GLUCK - Electric Songs (EMF 151) On his second CD, Bob Gluck brings together the complex overlaying of his previous work with his passion for live electronic performance. Gluck performs on traditional instruments from the Mideast, a Turkish lute, the saz and the Jewish shofar (ram's horn), which have been expanded with sensors and custom designed software interfaces. The sounds are lush and evocative and the musical forms draw from traditional Jewish sources. Gluck is joined on one extended composition by singer, Zoe B. Zak. The CD closes with a surprising early work of musique concrete, anticipating by two decades Gluck's interest in soundscape composition. Gluck writes: "I have long missed the incorporation of physical gestures, so characteristic of acoustical instrumental performance, in electronic musical practice. These recordings are representative of my recent concerts, in which I have been exploring ways to expand electronic musical performance technique, while extending the natural sonic characteristics of acoustical instruments." This CD is an excellent and highly musical contribution to the evolving tradition of expanded electronic performance.
CD for $13

BOB GLUCK - Stories Heard And Retold (EMF 108; USA) As Robert Gluck, composer and rabbi, writes: "I aim to bring together what I love about Jewish culture with the aesthetics of contemporary music." Don't be misled, however. This is not religious music. It is music (btw done with cutting-edge technology) that incorporates religious sounds. Critic Seth Rogovoy (Berkshire Eagle), describes 'Stories Heard and Retold' as "A thought-provoking combination of musique concr�te techniques, found-sounds, ambient recordings and Gluck's own compositions and electronic manipulations, the album functions as a kind of soundscape of Jewish life ..." Gluck observes: "I picture a meeting place between the great cantorial traditions, candid camera-like snapshots of subtle moments of daily, including ritual, life and what I have learned from the evolving new musical traditions ... " This recording opens with "Scene/Seen in Shul" (1997), described by reviewer Berta Frank as "a masterful collection of (aural) memorabilia. Gluck captures the interesting combination of individual voices in group prayer and gatherings through a sound collage based upon ambient recordings (processed and edited) from a variety of synagogue and prayer settings. One section is entitled "Pages Turning/Torah Aliyot", which uses the sound of a page turning to take you on a dreamy sensory ride." The second work, 'Yiddish Songs' (1996) is a mix of voices, melodic fragments, words, and electronic sounds, offering a memorial to the Yiddish culture that was destroyed during World War II. The CD concludes with 'Jonah Under The Sea' (1997), a collage of sounds from various sources suggesting the disorientation of the biblical prophet, in Gluck's words, "the rushing tides, confusion, sounds of ram horns and passing whale ..." Gluck teaches at The University at Albany. In his words: "Music has a magical quality. It can communicate ideas, feelings and impulses beyond words. Music can help us remember moments in our lives for which there are no words. It can help us structure and express ideas that words can only begin to touch."
CD for $13




AND, FROM THE SWEDISH �JdK� LABEL


ELLIOTT SHARP/FRANCES-MARIE UITTI - Uitti & Sharp: Improvisations (JdK 01/100; EEC) Recorded in Bern and Amsterdam, remixed and mastered at Studio zOaR, NYC. Musicians: Celli: Frances-Marie Uitti Doubleneck guitarbass, bass clarinet: Elliott Sharp
CD for $18

FRANCES-MARIE UITTI/STEPHEN VITIELLO - Uitti / Vitiello [3" CD] (JdK 05/105; EEC) Frances Marie Uitti, playing cello, and Stephen Vitiello, playing sampler and guitar, are a dynamite pair. This CD is a mini-mini that contains a 20-minute Uitti / Vitiello improvisationand it is wonderful. Vitiello's samples are perfectly matched to Uitti's quiet, grainy sounds, and the overall effect is beautiful. It's a tiny disc but big talent! And it's a limited-edition, which means that you should buy this right away.
3� CD for $16

STEPHEN VITIELLO//PAULINE OLIVEROS/HAHN ROWE/REBECCA MOOREPAUL GELUSO - The Light Of Falling Cars (JdK 02/101; EEC) Stephen Vitiello, protogee of Nam June Paik, veteran of the New York rock scene, plays (electric guitar, sampler, synth) with Pauline Oliveros (accordion with effects), Hahn Rowe (electric violin), Rebecca Moore (theremin, voice, violin), and Paul Geluso (double bass), and together they develop slowly evolving electronic musical landscapes of stunning, shifting, and sensitive colors.
CD for $18

PAULINE OLIVEROS/DAVID GAMPER - Oliveros & Gamper at De Ijsbreker 1999 (JdK 04/104; EEC) This CD is a series of live improvisational solos and duets by Pauline Oliveros (accordion and electronics) and David Gamper (piano, other instruments, and electronics), recorded at the Ijsbreker in Amsterdam (The Netherlands). Each composition takes a distinct approach, from the intuitive interplay of 'Breaking the EIS' to the drone-like sonorities of 'EIS Cream', to the rapidly moving looped piano phrases of 'David's Solo'. EIS is the Extended Music System, a live, real-time electronic processing system for acoustical instruments, invented and developed by David Gamper for the Deep Listening Band. This system is used to achieve greatly varying effects from one improvisation to another on this CD. Compositions include 'Breaking the EIS', 'David's Solo', 'Pauline's Solo', 'EIS Cream', 'Encore' (excerpt). This is a wonderful CD!
CD for $18

JON ROSE - China Copy (JdK 02; EEC) Jon Rose's compositions are based on sounds from the streets and people of Beijing and Hong Kong: 'The Key Copiers of Beijing', 'Street Cries', 'The People's Music Instrument Factory' ... Performers on this CD are: Jon Rose (violins, Roland sampler, Kawai synthesizer, amplified bow, interactive computer system) and Juno (drum programming). On the one hand, this CD is something like a hi tech travel piece with local music and sounds thrown in, but on the other hand, it's far more personal, even unique.
CD for $18




TWO ITEMS BROUGHT TO US BY THE ARTISTS THEMSELVES...


BILLY BANG with DON CHERRY/FRANK LOWE/BUTCH MORRIS/WILBUR MORRIS/LUTHER THOMAS/STEVE McCALL/DENIS CHARLES - Sweet Space/Untitled Gift [2 CD set] (8th Harmonic Breakdown 8005/6) As many of you have no doubt heard by now, the version of the Sweet Space disc with the first pressing of this item - there hasn't been a second yet but it is upcoming - contains a different set than what was released on the Sweet Space album! Billy Bang brought us a few more copies of this recalled edition - get it now while it's still possible to have this inadvertent collector's item! We have been promised replacement discs for all those that got the recalled edition when they are made so don't fear that you'll have to buy this twice! "Sweet Space" is from 1979 with Frank Lowe, Luther Thomas, Butch Morris, Wilber Morris, and Steve McCall! "Untitled Gift" is a session from 1982 and features Don Cherry, Wilbur Morris and Denis Charles!
2 CD set for $22

ELLIOTT SHARP - Spring & Neap [Ltd Ed] (Zoar 16; USA) "SPRING & NEAP" is a limited, #�d edition CD on Elliotts zOaR label. It is long out-of-print � these are the last few copies supplied by E# �imself! This is a chamber orchestra piece recorded live at the Music Merge Festival in Tokyo october 5th 1996 by Fujimura Rasuo. Elliott Sharp's recording career is so long and prolific that his breaks from form stand out more than his signature recordings -- a brief stint in traditional blues (Terraplane) almost seems more notable than the dozens of avant-garde releases Sharp's been involved in. The live recordings on Spring and Nead certainly call attention to themselves, but they're also pretty much in line with the entirety of Sharp's work -- the real interest in the 34-minute, one-track recording is the opportunity to hear Sharp's largely studio-bound experimentation translated into an organic context. Nitsuh Abebe, AMG Musicians: 17-string Koto: Michiyo Ragi Futozao Shamisen: Rumiko Tanaka Hosozao Shamisen: Roshiko Fujio Troubador Harp: Zeena Parkins Piano: Makoto Nomura Violin:Tamiki Sawa, Mio Abe Cello: Hiromichi Sakamoto, Kota Miki Contrabass: Hiroaki Mizutani, Masaaki Kikuchi Percussion: Guam Kumada, Kenji Ito Conducted by E#
CD for $25




HISTORIC RECORDINGS, RESTOCKS, & REISSUES for September 17th, �04


TED DANIEL � In the Beginning (Altura Music 412755217525) Recorded at the legendary loft jazz space Studio We in April and May of 1975 during the early hazy loft jazz days. The collective personnel features a stellar crew with Oliver Lake, Arthur Blythe, David Murray, Hassan Dawkins, Kappo Umezu, Daniel Carter on saxes; Ted Daniel & Ahmed Abdullah on trumpets; Richard Dunbar on French horn; Charles Stephens on trombone; Melvin Smith on guitar; Richard Pierce on bass and Steve Reid & Tatsuya Nakamura on drums & percussion. Ted Daniel is one of the more elusive figures who I recall fondly from them great loft jazz days. He grew up and is still living in Ossining, NY, where the late Sonny Sharrock also lived, the two were live long friends. I can remember only a few albums that Ted was on � Sonny�s �Black Woman�, Brute Force, Sam Rivers� �Crystals� and one or two rare solo efforts from the seventies. �In the Beginning� consists of four pieces, each by a different composer: Ted Daniel, Oliver Lake, Arthur Blythe and Charles Tyler. Mr. Daniel�s �Greeting� is first and is a powerful opener that moves in tight waves. Burning solos from Ted, Oliver Lake plus an inventive drum duo all erupt quickly. Arthur Blythe�s �Illusions� has various layers of intersecting lines moving simultaneously. As David Murray blows a hot solo, the guitar (Melvin Smith) fronted rhythm team weaves intensely underneath. The epic length �Folley� by Charles Tyler also has furious layers colliding and connecting. Melvin Smith again burns below the frenetic, yet focused lines of horns. I wonder what ever happened to him? I dig the way charted fragments emerge from the tumultuous currents to great effect. Melvin Smith plays an intense, over-the-top Sonny Sharrock like solo in the mid-section. There are too many amazing solos and duos here to describe as this piece is gripping for its entire 23 minutes. Oliver Lake�s �Hassan� concludes with another feisty and intense direction. Certain sections are more subdued, while other sections they get into a somewhat funky groove, yet it evolves slowly throughout. More strong solos from David Murray on top of that great groove and Umezu on bass clarinet when it turns into another freer, yet quieter section. There is a more restrained and somber section next that features some lovely flugel from Mr. Daniels. Ted Daniels is still playing as great as ever and played during the TONE Trumpet Fest last month. Good thing he left us with this long lost loft jazz treasure.
CD for $15

JOE HENDERSON QUINTET � at the lighthouse (Milestone 47104) A smokin� live set from the Lighthouse Caf� in Hermosa Beach, California in September of 1970 and featuring Joe Henderson on tenor sax, Woody Shaw on trumpet, George Cables on el. piano, Ron McClure on basses, Tony Waters on conga and Lenny White on drums. This fantastic CD collects tunes from different Joe Henderson albums recorded over three days, so we get a most comprehensive view of this great live band, over 76 minutes worth. Both Joe�s tenor sax and Woody�s trumpet are burning throughout, these cats work together perfectly. Mr. Henderson composed six of the ten tunes here with covers of Monk (�Round Midnight), Cedar Walton (�Mode for Joe�), Bronislau Kaper (�Invitation�) and Kenny Dorham (�Blue Bossa�). Clearly a hot band that still sounds inspired today with some excellent interplay between all members of this sextet. Lenny White had just played with Miles on the �Bitches Brew� sessions which had came out that year, a few years before he shined in Return to Forever. Woody Shaw is on fire throughout and George Cables does a fine job of playing with power and intensity underneath the horns and soloing rambunctiously time and again. Righteously recorded by Orrin Keepnews and capturing their spirit just right.
CD for $15

MICHEL PORTAL With BARRE PHILLIPS/HOWARD JOHNSON/PIERRE FAVRE - Splendid Yzlment (Columbia 467454) Recorded in 1971, Splendid Yzlment is quite representative of its time. It is clearly the product of a unique era (the late '60s), when American musicians were converging toward Paris, which had temporarily become a haven for free jazz players -- both Howard Johnson and Barre Phillips make significant contributions to this session. Michel Portal definitely absorbed their influence, but in the process he did not forget his roots and his other musical interests. In fact, the end result shows what a fine job he did at incorporating them into a stew that remains one of the most successful attempts to bring together European and American sensibilities. The title track is a dirge that quickly evolves into a rambunctious tango featuring Portal on bandoneon, and "Aquellos del Otro Lado" is rooted in the folk music of the Basque country, the leader's birthplace. The music is bluntly uncompromising and features large segments of unbridled soloing and tumultuous ensemble playing. Its rebellious nature is inevitably a sign of the times, but it also induces a sense of hope that gives the music its uplifting power; Portal's music has seldom sounded so joyous. The CD reissue brings back to the catalog what arguably serves as the best introduction to Portal's work. - Alain Drouot, AMG
CD for $16

GENTLE GIANT - Experience [aka King Biscuit Flower Hour] (Disky 640402) This concert captures Gentle Giant at the top of their form and the peak of their fame in the United States, coming off of a Top 50 U.S. chart placement the previous year for The Power and the Glory. The song lineup includes "Proclamation" and "So Sincere" from that album, "The Runaway" and "Experience" from In a Glass House, "Funny Ways" from the very first album (which only got a U.S. release as a CD), and "Knots" from Octopus, all performed in pretty intense fashion on stage. This show dates from January 18, 1975 at New York's Academy of Music -- the group's sound surges forth alternately in massive sheets and elegant little percussive flourishes and forays into classical guitar. The seven songs seem paltry next to the lineup on �Playing the Fool�, but the band plays with more spirit -- actually, manic energy -- two years earlier in their history. Little of this, especially "So Sincere" and the Glass House tracks, was going to make any new converts, although they're played pretty ferociously here, and the whole set seems a lot more interesting and challenging today than a lot of ELP live stuff from this era. - Bruce Eder, AMG
CD for $13.00 7 for 6 SALE





DMG RECOMMENDED NYC GIGS FOR SEPTEMBER 17th & Beyond�


Friday Sept 17th-

ErstQuake 1 Festival w/ Margarida Garcia/Barry Weisblat, Keith Rowe solo, Greg Kelley/Jason Lescalleet and Keith Rowe/Sean Meehan at 8pm at Clemente Cultural Center, 107 Suffolk Street, (between Rivington & Delancey Sts.)

CHARLES GAYLE TRIO at 8pm at Tonic! Free-jazz sax legend comes down to wail!!

ROB BROWN UNIT at Location One (26 Greene St. near Canal) at 8:30 w/ Daniel Levin on cello & Satoshi Takeishi on percussion! One of downtown's finest alto saxists & flutists!

Steven Bernstein's Hamfat 3000 w/ Marty Ehrlich (alto sax), Steven Bernstein (slide trumpet), Brad Jones (bass), Charles Burnham (violin), Rea Mociach (drums), Liberty Ellman (acoustic guitar) & Anton Fier (drums / electronics) at Tonic at 8 & 10pm!

JAMES BLOOD ULMER/JAMAALADEEN TACUMA/CALVIN WESTON at Jazz Standard 116 E. 27th St. at 7:30, 9:30 & 11:30 - outstanding trio! Through Sept. 19th!


Saturday Sept 18th-

Dion Workman - solo, Tim Barnes & Jason Lescalleet, Greg Kelley/Sean Meehan/David Daniell and Keith Rowe & Tim Barnes at 8pm at at Clemente Cultural Center, 107 Suffolk Street, (bet. Rivington & Delancey Sts.)

ALAN LICHT Guitarist & Composer at Roulette at Location 1 (26th Greene St.) - Unique & distinctive guitarist! w/ the Sap Dream Electric Guitar Quartet!


Sunday Sept 19th-

WALLY SHOUP/RUEBEN RADDING/ANDREW DRURY here at DMG at 7pm for free! Amazing alto sax/bass/drums trio occasionally based in Seattle!!

FREESTYLE EVENTS at CBGB'S LOUNGE - 313 BOWERY starts at
7pm w/ - william hooker, ras moshe, sabir mateen, adam lane;
8pm - dom minasi, ken filiano, jackson krall;
9pm - james finn, warren smith, leon lee dorsey;
10pm - juan quinonez, warren smith, jo jo smith, hill green - always a worthy treat of avant jazz!!

ANAT FORT TRIO w/ Gary Wang-bass & Roland Schneider - drums at Cornelia St. Caf�; Anat is a wonderful jazz pianist with a CD coming out w/ Paul Motian on ECM!

Billy Bang's Surprise Birthday Celebration! at Zebulon; 10 pm to 12 am - No cover & featuring: Billy Bang Quartet w/ Billy Bang - violin, Andrew Bemkey - piano, Todd Nicholson - bass & Tyshawn Sorey - drums; Zebulon is at 258 Wythe Avenue, bet. Metropolitan and North 3rd Street; take the L train to Bedford, contact: 718-218-6934

ANDREW CYRILLE & VICTOR LEWIS at Location One at 8:30 - 26 Greene St. - 2 masters drummers in a colossal duet!


Monday Sept 20th-

THE RED KRAYOLA at the Knit at 7pm - legendary art/rock/psych band w/ long history!


Tuesday Sept 21st-

DAVID BYRNE & GILBERTO GIL at Town Hall (123 W. 43rd St.) at 8pm!!


Wed Sept 22nd-

Wally Shoup, Tim Barnes & Reuben Radding at Tonic at 8pm!

BRANDON ROSS' SILENT ONES & JOEL HARRISON CD RELEASE SET at Makor (35 W. 67th St.) at 8pm!! - another of our fave guitarists!

Joe McPhee, Bern Nix, Daniel Carter, Blaise Siwula, Hill Greene, Chris Forbes, Jeffrey Shurdut & Tatsuya Nakatani at Tonic at 10pm!


Thurs Sept 23rd -

Marc Ribot Trio - Dave Hofstra (bass/tuba), Morgan Craft (guitar), Deatoni Parks (drums) & Giulia Lowlie (turntables) at Tonic at 8 & 10pm!!

PAUL SHAPIRO'S MIDNITE MINYAN at Makor at 8pm!

WILLEM BREUKER KOLLEKTIEF at Joe's Pub at 9:30!!

SYD STRAW & PLANKTON - at Tonic at midnite w/ Don Piper (guitar, mandolin), Doug Wieselman (bass clarinet, clarinet) & Little Red Tiny Baby (ukulele, bass) - Syd rules as one of the best roots/rock singers known & was once in the Golden Palominos!

Fri Sept 24th-

OSCAR NORIEGA/CHRIS SPEED/MATT MORAN at Tonic at 8pm - superb all-star trio of bass clarinet/clarinet & tenor sax/vibes!!

SPANISH FLY (STEVE BERNSTEIN/MARCUS ROJAS/DAVE TRONZO) at Tonic at 10 & midnite! Decade long downtown all-star trio are always great live; slide guitar hero Tronzo rules!


Saturday Sept 25th-

THREE FOR STEVE LACY with GILLES LAHEUERTE, JOE GIARDULLO and JOE MCPHEE will present three soprano saxophone solo reflections and meditations, and finally a soprano saxophone trio at the home of Alain Kirili and Ariane Lopez-Huici from 4 to 6pm at 17 White St. in Tribeca, NYC; In 2000, Steve performed solo Monk and The Beat Suite here with his wife Irene Abi; he will surely be with us in spirit.

INCREDIBLE STRING BAND at Joe's Pub at 7:30 & 9:30 w/ Mike Heron & Clive Palmer but no Robin Williamson!?!


Sunday Sept 26th-

STEW CUTLER solo electric guitar here at DMG at 7pm for free! Stew is an amazing jazz/blues/funk guitarist who has two great CDs out & used to wail with (Wayne Horvitz's) The President!

CB's Lounge Free-Style Series (313 Bowery) starts at 7pm w/ hanuman ensemble: andy haas, david gould, don fiorino, mia theodoratus, dee pop, matt heyner; 8pm - morcilla: matt lavelle, francois grillot, andre martinez, chris forbes, lauren martinez; 9pm - gerald cleaver quartet; 10pm - blaise siwula, adam lane & toshi makihara!!! Another amazing line-up!

SHELLEY HIRSCH & OKKYUNG LEE/OREN BLOEDOW/ THE LAST TOWN CHORUS/SLOW SIX - at Tonic at 8pm!! Shelley (vocalist extraordinaire) & Okkyung (cello) are both master improvisers; Oren Bloedow is a great singer/songwriter/guitarist who heads Elysian Fields!