SNOWSTORMS, TSUNAMIS & PAYING FOR A 40 MIL INAUGURATION GIVING YOU THE BLUES!?! HELP KEEP YOUR SANITY with NEW DISCS from DAVE DOUGLAS, CYRO BAPTISTA, BURTON GREENE & ROY CAMPBELL, PAUL ROGERS/PAUL DUNMALL/PHILIP GIBBS, ADRIAN BELEW, TJ KIRK, RAVISH MOMIN TRIO, DAFNIS PRIETO, MOUNT ANALOGUE, MAURICIO KAGEL, PAUL DRESHER plus IMPORTANT REISSUES from HELLBORG/BUCKETHEAD/SHRIEVE, 3 from DEXTER'S CIGAR, 3 from JMT/W&W & THE GREAT OO DISC CATALOGUE!!


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PLEASE NOTE:
Some of you who have ordered either the BILL FRISELL - "RICHTER 858" or THE DAVID MURRAY/PHAROAH SANDERS - "GWOTET" may have had their orders held up whilst we await restocks on both titles from their respective distributors - BUT NO ONE IS RESPONDING QUICKLY 'CAUSE THEY'RE ALL AT M.I.D.E.M! Both of these were in heavy demand and we were wiped out immediately - even though we initially procured large quantities!


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DAVE'S OWN LABEL DEBUT!!...

DAVE DOUGLAS with MICHAEL MOORE/PEGGY LEE/MARCUS ROJAS/DYLAN VAN DER SCHYFF - "mountain passages(" (Greenleaf/Koch 5802) Featuring Dave on trumpet, Michael on alto sax, clarinet & bass clarinet, Peggy on cello, Marcus on tuba, and Dylan on drums. Our fave trumpet hero, composer, multi-bandleader and good friend, Dave Douglas, can now add another feather to his cap, his own new label called Greenleaf. This is special "mountain" music was composed for a festival called 'The Sound of the Dolomites', which took place in the mountains of Valle di Fassa (on Rifugio Boe) and near Madonna di Campilglio (on Rifugio Brentei) and was inspired by the local Ladino music. The exhilarating adventure of hiking up these mountains and playing for hundreds of fans added something even more special experience. Dave has put together yet another unique ensemble that includes two members of his previous recorded group, cellist Peggy Lee and her mate, drummer Dylan van der Schyff. Adding the great playing of Michael Moore (20 year ICP member & US expatriate living in Amsterdam) on alto sax & clarinets plus tuba master Marcus Rojas (Spanish Fly & too many other fine bands to name here), are well chosen players indeed. This was recorded in Vancouver, where Peggy & Dylan both live. The odd combination of instruments here is what makes this so unique - trumpet, alto sax or clarinets and cello in the frontline with tuba & drums as the rhythm section. Not exactly, since things change from song to song. Sometimes Marcus will play one of Dave's great melodies as Peggy walks behind him on her cello. Michael Moore has an especially warm, poignant and enchanting tone, whether he is playing alto sax, bass or regular clarinet and brings out the best in Dave's also enticing tone and rich melodies. Marcus Rojas sounds unlike any other tuba player and also adds his distinctive voice (tongue-slapping and vocal sounds) to the brew. On tunes like "Gnarly Schnapps", it quintet take it totally out, yet remain completely tight in their frenetic paced execution. You can tell that Dave Douglas has put a great deal of work into the composing of these tunes, since each one has intricate layers of lines or a variety of delectable melodies to savor. What Mikey and I like best about this gem is that ICP-like quirkiness, playfulness and humor that can really make one smile on one of those long, hard days here at DMG when the avalanche of mail-orders gets to be too much. - BLG Dave Douglas & his band Nomad will be appearing at the Village Vanguard from February 1st - Feb. 6th and then on a US tour soon thereafter. Check out Dave's website - www.davedouglas.com for more tour details.
CD for $16


CYRO BAPTISTA - Beat the Donkey Beat (Out Of My Mind 01/self-produced) Brazilian percussion wizard, Cyro Baptista has played with a ridiculously long list of musicians from John Zorn and Derek Bailey to Paul Simon and Wynton Marsalis, but Electric Masada is my favorite of the batch. Beat the Donkey is Cyro's fabulous percussion-based band, that has been around since the mid-nineties, and anyone who has been lucky enough to see/hear them live, knows what a wonderful and hilariously fun experience they can be. The first Beat the Donkey CD is on Tzadik and had many guests, this new one is really their first as a full band and captures them at their best. The personnel features Cyro, Tim Keper, Amir Ziv & Ze Mauricio on tons of percussion & drums; Peter Apfelbaum on saxes, flute & organ, Viva Deconcini on guitar & vocals; Max Pollak on surdo & vocals; Robert Curto on accordion, Chikako Iwahori on tap & other ethnic dancing & vocals and Scott Ketner on alfala & flexa, plus guests Jamie Saft on keyboards, Mark Feldman on violin and Art baron & Chuck MacKinnon on horns. Each of the ten members was born in a different place and each brings their own unique vibe to this spicy concoction. Each piece is a rhythmic celebration, combination of festive spirits, all completely infectious and fun-filled. Cyro and his crew have combined the best of many genres, world, jazz, rock, funk, downtown and uptown, and rolled them into one long, love-filled joint of intoxicating grooviness. A most impressive world of wonders can be yours...BLG
CD for $12


3 NEW DISCS from OUR FRIENDS at CREATIVE IMPROVISED MUSIC PRODUCTIONS:

BURTON GREENE/ROY CAMPBELL QUARTET With ADAM LANE/LOU GRASSI - Isms Out (CIMP 316) Burton Greene (piano) & Roy Campbell (trumpets) Quartet with Adam Lane (bass), Lou Grassi (drums) Playing the music of Bill Evans, Jim Hall, Ali Akbar Khan, and its own originals, the Burton Greene-Roy Campbell 4tet goes pretty straight ahead but without compromise as four strong instrumental voices document their music following an East Coast tour. The expressions and themes are exceptional. It's been almost two decades since Burton recorded in quartet and over 30 years since he recorded with trumpet. This is Roy's first recording with Burton and from the looks of it, this all-star quartet should be pretty amazing. Recorded June 29, 2004. Bruce's review next week
CD $14

KEN WESSEL/KEN FILIANO/LOU GRASSI - Jawboning (CIMP 318) There may be better known guitarists but none of them get to the heart of an improvisation better than Ken Wessel. A sideman on other CIMP sessions, we've been waiting for him to stand up and do his own date. The anticipation is justified as you'll hear on this mostly original music that also includes "I Remember You" and "Softly As In a Morning Sunrise." Recorded on September 9 & 10, 2004. Songs include: I Remember You - Jawboning - Behind the Mirror - Softly as in a Morning Sunrise - Sunset - Collectivity - Diminutive Innuendos. Bruce's review upcoming.
CD for $14

JOHN GUNTHER TRIO - In This World (CIMP 319) Featuring John Gunther (bass clarinet, soprano & tenor sax) Trio with Leo Huppert (bass), Jay Rosen (drums). This trio has been the core for John Gunther's previous four CIMP discs. For this date they return to the original trio root of 1997 and boldly address eight Gunther originals including the hippest cowboy type tune (that's also it's title) to come off the range in many a moon. Tucked in amongst the ever-memorable Gunther compositions is one by Monk ("Ruby My Dear"). Recorded October, 2004.
CD for $14

WAYNE HORVITZ/RON SAMWORTH/PEGGY LEE/BILL CLARKE/DYLAN VAN DER SCHYFF - Intersection Poems (Spool/Canada) Anything that former downtown/Seattle based keyboard wiz, Wayne Horvitz, does is fine with us. This is Wayne collaborating with members of the all-star Vancouver based Peggy Lee Band, two of whom, the marvelous cellist Peggy Lee and the ever-creative drummer Dylan van der Schyff, are also on the last two releases by Dave Douglas. Guitarist Ron Samworth has also played wonderfully on numerous CDs by Francois Houle. Hopefully, a promo copy is on its way, so Bruce's review should come your way soon.
CD for $16

PAUL ROGERS/ANDREW BALL/PHILIP GIBBS/JONATHAN IMPETT/PAUL DUNMALL - Undistracted (Duns Ltd. 040/UK) Featuring Paul Rogers on 7 string A.L.L. contrabass, Philip Gibbs on guitar, Jonathan Impett on trumpet AND Paul Dunmall on tenor sax. Most of you know of Dunmall's most constant companion and contrabass god Paul Rogers, as well as the fine guitarist Philip Gibbs, who has appeared on some 25 Dunmall discs so far. Pianist Andrew Ball is a name I am less familiar with and this is the debut for trumpeter Jonathan Impett, who Dunmall recently raved to me about. As with most (all?) Duns CDs, this was recorded at the Victoria Rooms by Jonathan Scott and has perfect, well-balanced sound. Philip Gibbs remains one of the best, under-recognized acoustic guitar improvisers and here taps on his guitar, as well as picking flashes of notes with immense speed and craft. Both Gibbs and Rogers are remarkable, tossing ideas back and forth in frenetic, yet focused abandon while Dunmall chatters on tenor, Ball plays often dreamy minimal excursions both inside the piano and on the keyboard. Dunmall is certainly right about new trumpet wiz Impett, who takes his time but plays marvelously, somewhere in between Euro improv quirkiness and modern classical colors and control. On "Mind Listen to Me", they begin with extreme restraint and build beautifully in waves working their around one another, levitating the spirits as they rise upwards. On "The Final Hour", both Dunmall's tenor and Andrew Ball's piano play with immense warmth and elegance, soon complemented by Gibbs' delicate guitar, Roger's supple bowed bass and Impett's playful (Herb Robertson-like) trumpet. Again slowly building to another cosmic conclusion, the spirits rising to the heavens. Although someone might complain that there are just too many Dunmall discs out there to choose from, I have no complaints, since I've yet to hear one yet that didn't blow me away. - BLG
[P.S. -Certain Duns titles are currently out-of-stock and may or may not be repressed in the future. The in-limbo Duns include #'s 1, 2, 6, 14, 15, 17, 19, 22, 23, 24 & 27. We might have one copy left of a few of these, but not for very long. Complete-ists please take note.]
CD-R for $14

RAVISH MOMIN TRIO TARANA With SHANIR BLUMENKRANZ/JASON HWANG - Climbing The Banyan Tree (clean feed 30; Portugal) Superb NY based super-trio featuring Jason Kao Hwang on violin, Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz on bass & oud and Ravish Momin on drums, percussion & voice. Ravish has become one of downtown's most creative drummers over the past few years playing in bands for Kalaparush, Ursel Schlict and Sabir Mateen. Shanir also is one of the best and busiest bassists in town, known for his inspired playing with Satlah, Jon Madof's Rashanim and various Zorn projects & improv situations. Jason is the eldest member of this great trio and has a long and varied career playing with the CT String Trio, Far East Side Band, for Henry Theadgill & Ned Rothenberg and recently with William Hooker. Ravish has Asian Indian ancestry and you can hear some of those tabla-like or middle-eastern rhythms at the center of some of his pieces. "Dia Genyo" has an enchanting middle-eastern melody with Shanir playing oud and Jason also that exotic melody most righteously. Ravish also plays hand percussion, which works nicely with Shanir's great oud playing. Ravish wrote all but two of these tunes, with one swell cover of "Peace for Kabul" by Hakim Ludin and one tune by Shanir. What's great about this CD is that all the tunes have enchanting melodies and its great to hear Jason Hwang playing them with such strong melodic flair instead of that the usual improvised insanity. Shanir also sounds inspired throughout and also plays these righteous melodies just right on both bass and oud. Ravish sounds like he is dancing upon the drums, elegantly and intricately, the same way a tabla player seems to be playing the melody and rhythm simultaneously. This superb trio has done a marvelous job of combining various cultures (Indian. Israeli & far-Eastern) into one seamless sound that takes us on a grand journey, yet rarely sets down in any one place for very long. So nice to hear Shanir's enticing oud playing throughout this fine blend of strings and percussion, it is so rare to hear very much oud in our local scene. In the past two decades, I can only recall hearing an oud with Thomas Chapin on his first CD ('Radius'), one gig with Prima Materia (Ahmed Abdul-Malik) and with Henry Threadgill's Zooid band. One of the year's best and yes it is still only January! - BLG
CD for $17

DANIEL CARTER / STEVE SWELL / FEDERICO UGHI - Concrete Science (577 Records #5) Featuring the ever-present Daniel Carter on alto & tenor saxes, flute & clarinet. Steve Swell on trombone and Federico Ughi on drums. This is the sixth fine release from Italian-born, Brooklyn-based drummer Federico Ughi, who started on Slam and now runs his own 577 Records. He's done a solo disc, duos with saxists & with poet Steve Dalachinsky and then a couple of discs with Daniel Carter, downtown reeds & horn legend that has played with just about everyone, no matter what their background or genre is, appearing on a dozen discs in the past couple of years. This marvelous trio also features the amazing trombone of Steve Swell who seems to really get around in a large of bands & projects, will upwards of ten CDs in the CIMP/Cadence labels alone. This is high-end improv, this trio moves together just right, swirling around one another, intensely concentrating and combining forces. Building to a fury, bending notes around each other and eventually exploding, yet always listening as they combine forces. Although there is no bassist present or needed, there is indeed a fine balance between three strong spirits working together as one solid force. All three get a chance to solo and show off their unique talents, and each digs deep in the well of creativity to unleash their inner forces/spirits. Federico does a fine job of balancing the trio without pushing too hard so that they rarely go over the top into screamsville. All in all, quite an impressive trio. - BLG
CD for $14

T. J. KIRK [WILL BERNARD/JOHN SCHOTT/CHARLIE HUNTER/SCOTT AMENDOLA] - Talking Only Makes It Worse (Ropeadope 93137) The T. J. Kirk sound brought together the music of patriarchs "T"helonious Monk, "J"ames Brown, and Rahssan Roland "Kirk," spiced with Little Richard, Prince, and Bob Wills, in a sensuous and heady brew of guitars, grooves, and historical anxiety. With a dizzying predilection for cutting across a wide range of stylistic genres and leavening the results with a healthy dose of self-deprecating humor, T. J. Kirk put on a musical variety show that was not to be missed. And in case you did miss it, ropeadope now brings back the fabled "lost tapes" - tj kirk's brightest moment, recorded "someplace, sometime in 1996" - the best live show you would have ever seen. Mostly available on line only, except for at a few select stores like those fine folks at DMG.
CD for $12


ADRIAN BELEW - Side One (Sanctuary) Finally! After more than two decades of Belew releases that, aside from their constant level of honest creativity and listenability, have never interested me as much as his work with King Crimson [with the exception of Lone Rhino, and his electric and acoustic instrumental solo projects], here is a great power trio - with Les Claypool of Primus on bass and Danny Carey on drums - that contains a tour of all the things that are Belew at his best! Instrumental textures and ensemble playing that remind of the complexity of Crimson while not being a rip-off or second rate. This is great fun from beginning to end...and it's the first installment of a trilogy of releases: 'Side 2' and 'Side 3" are yet to come. The only caveat is the it's only 34 minutes long, and yet it's a high end [18.98] list price (GEE! Is that's what's meant by 'Side One'?) otherwise...All Thumbs UP!! - MannyLunch
CD for $16



TWO [MORE] NEW EXCLUSIVES FOR DMG FROM FRIPP'S 'DGM' LABEL!!!

KING CRIMSON - Live in Warsaw, Poland 2000 [2 CD set] (DGM KCCC 28) The 27th Collectors' Club release (October, 2004). King Crimson Live in Warsaw, Poland June 11th 2000. One of the very first live shows by the last quartet line-up! "I love Poland. And I'm not entirely sure why. I remember this feeling when we were here with the double trio. There was an incredible warmth. Perhaps it is Chopin, one of the classical composers who's music I most identify with. I don't know The venue tonight was doing a long run of Peter Pan. We just came in for the two nights and then they would go back to their Peter production. What this meant was that all of the stage props were behind us and just off the stage. There was the giant crocodile and the pirate ship and all sorts of other strange things"- Trey Gunn
2 CD set for $18

KING CRIMSON - Power To Believe Tour Box [CD & Booklet] (DGM 0301) Contains an audio CD with music and interviews + 20 page booklet. All material - "Happy With What..." demo, "Message 22", "Superslow" and the soundscape piece "Sus-tayn-Z Suite" - all unreleased elsewhere!!! Total time: 65:09
Limited Tour CD for $25

AND THESE TWO BACK IN STOCK [as well as all previous Crimson Club #s xcept #16]

[KING CRIMSON] PROJEKCT THREE - Live in Austin TX 1999 (DGM KCCC 27) The 27th Collectors' Club release (October, 2004). ProjeKct Three Live in Austin, TX March 25, 1999 "Yesterday's rehearsals went gently, & well. We have some titles and key areas from earlier ProjeKct work, but they're only meaningful to Trey & myself. Pat continues to amaze me: he moves forward all the time. Trey has the responsibility for tonight's "set list". This provides only the guarantee that when we get lost we'll know that we are lost." RF Sound Quality 4.5+ [out of 5] - A complete show, 79+ minutes! Robert Fripp - guitar Trey Gunn - touch guitar, talker Pat Mastelotto - electronic traps and buttons [A note to the suspicious: These are the legitimate DGM product, not the Russian counterfeit copies that are found on eBay and elsewhere!]
CD for $16

HAROLD BUDD - Avalon Sutra/As Long As I Can Hold My Breath [2 CD set] (SamadhiSound 004; EEC) Avalon Sutra is to be California-born American minimalist composer and pianist Harold Budd's last recorded work. Best known for his collaborations with Brian Eno, contributing his stunning piano work to key recordings such as 1980's Ambient 2: Plateau of Mirror, Budd has produced a series of remarkable minimalist compositions and recordings, including Pavilion of Dreams, The Pearl and The Room, which have earned him worldwide respect. There's a cumulative sadness and beauty to the way that the Avalon Sutra pieces linger briefly, stop and transform into something new. Budd's gorgeous, angular string arrangements amplify this feeling. Avalon Sutra brings to a conclusion thirty years of sustained musical activity. Asked for his reasons, Budd says only that he feels that he has said what he has to say.
2 CD set for $20




DAFNIS PRIETO - About The Monks (Zoho 200502) Personnel features Brian Lynch on trumpet, Yosvany Terry on saxes, Luis Perdomo on piano & Fender Rhodes, Hans Glawischning on bass, Ilmar Gavilan on violin (1 track) and Dafnis Prieto on drums, percussion & all compositions. In 1999, Dafnis decided to settle in New York, where he was immediately asked to join the groups of avant-garde saxophonist Henry Threadgill, Steve Coleman, Jane Bunnett, and of trumpeter Brian Lynch, also featured on this recording. From 1999 onwards, Dafnis became first-call drummer in an ever-widening circle of important Latin Jazz groups, now including the ensembles of Eddie Palmieri, Papo Vazquez, Arturo O'Farrill, Chucho Valdes, Michel Camilo, the Caribbean Jazz Project, and many others. "He is extraordinary," comments Eddie Palmieri, the great salsa pianist / bandleader, "a rhythmic stimulus. He comprehends the two most incredibly difficult rhythmic genres -- being Cuban and being an extremely talented jazz drummer." At the same time, Dafnis developed his skills as a composer / arranger. 'About the Monks' demonstrates his wide range and grasp of highly divergent material, from the more traditionally oriented "Tumba Francesca" to the cutting edge, jagged rhythmic explosions of "Mechanical Movement".
CD for $15

MOUNT ANALOG [TUCKER MARTINE] - New Skin (Film Guerrero 18) "New Skin" is the second full-length album from Seattle based musician/producer Tucker Martine's Mount Analog collective. You should remember his fine and funky, space/rock collaboration with Wayne Horvitz called Mylab from recent times. Martine has become a highly sought-after producer and musician, and has worked on records by artists as accomplished and diverse as, Bill Frisell, Sam Rivers, Jesse Sykes, John Zorn, Lori Carson, Jim White & Modest Mouse. This new sonic treasure is immediately engaging and cinematic; repeated listenings reveal intricate layers of early American folk, classical vibes, subtle electronic seasoning, as well as Martine's extensive field recording work in Morocco, Mali, Turkey and the US, some of which has been released on the Sublime Frequencies label. The result is a strikingly original and haunting collage. Guest musicians include Eyvind Kang, Doug Weiselman, Tim Young, Keith Lowe & Fred Chalenor (all from Zony Mash) and Bill Frisell, although no-one really gets any solo space. What Tucker does best is add that spacious, mesmerizing ambiance to his productions, giving them a radiant glow that is eternally enchanting. - BLG
CD for $15

MICHAEL BLAKE NEW QUARTET - Hammond Rens [2 CD set] (ILK 740) Featuring Michael Blake on soprano sax, Lonnie Smith on Hammond B3 organ and Kristin Osgood on drums. Former saxist for Lounge Lizards and Slowpoke, Michael Blake, seems to have more bands playing different styles of music than he has fingers on his hands. Does this cat ever sleep? Haven't heard this band yet, but I would think they are as greasy as they come, what with the might Dr. Lonnie Smith on organ!?!
2 CD set for $22



THREE NEW RELEASES from the ADVENTUROUS NINE WINDS LABEL:

VINNY GOLIA - Music for Like Instruments; The Flutes (Nine Winds 269) Featuring Ellen Burr, Jennifer Roth, Fawntice McCain and Vinny Golia all on a variety of flutes. LA based reeds master, Vinny Golia, has a series ongoing projects called "Music for Like Instruments", this one features four flutists playing different flutes. Vinny has composed and arranged all of the pieces on this extraordinary release, giving the other flutists some solo space as well. There are a series of short interludes called "The Wasabi Series" overdubbed by Vinny and placed in-between the more notated pieces. The written music here is closer to modern classic than jazz in sound and Vinny has done a marvelous job of pushing all four flutists to play these complex and intricate layers of ideas as well as take breathtaking solos. What makes this disc even more fascinating is the endless variety of extended techniques and strange sounds that these flutists coax from their different flutes. It is wonderful to hear some exciting new music for flutes from the west coast for a change, as us downtowners are lucky to hear local flute virtuosos like Robert Dick and Jamie Baum. - BLG
CD for $14

BERTRAM TURETZKY / NANCY TURETZKY - Music for Flute(s) and Contrabass, 1 (Nine Winds 261) Performing the music of Barney Childs, Elliott Schwartz, Richard Feliciano, James Marshall, Ulfar Haraldsson and Walter Ross. Contrabassist supreme, Bertram Turetzky, has been the featured bassist for new music in the US since the sixties. Many of the 20th Century's most engaging composers have written works especially for Mr. Turetzky. Nancy and Bertram Turetzky have been collaborating as the premier new music duo for flute and bass since they were married in 1959. Each of the six pieces featured here provide a different challenge for this amazing duo and most of the pieces have been written specifically for them. Barney Child's "The Location of Music" balances between explosive and quieter moments, with solemn moments interwoven within. Richard Feliciano's "Primal Balance" features some intense bowing of the bass and cautious breath-like flute sounds, with both instruments played percussively at times. Icelandic composer and bassist, Ulfar Haraldsson wrote "Sonnets: Seven Studies in Color and Rhyme", which consists of seven movements played over an electronic music track. The piece has a tentative vibe with some mysterious tapping on the strings sounds, as well as some swell back and forth dialogue between the flute and bass, completing each other's phrases. Walter Ross' "Rated X" moves very slowly with certain notes drifting and occasionally droning. Quite somber and eerie at times, each note is placed selectively in the spacious terrain. James Marshall's "Ciel Luminaire" or "Sky of Light", is a constantly changing work, moving between shadows and light, with each musician exploring a variety of textures and odd techniques on their respective instruments. Elliott Schwartz is a professor at Bowdoin College in Maine who once collaborated with Marion Brown. His work is called "Travelogue for flute and contrabass" and is divided into 5 parts. Fragments of folk melodies are used to give one the feeling of traveling through some exotic lands. I dig when the duo take a certain melody and deconstruct or turn it inside-out, sometimes punctuating it with their voice(s). You can tell that this duo has been working together for quite a while, there is always an underlying connection and respect for each other's abilities. A splendid endeavor, indeed. - BLG
CD for $14

SoNu - Sounds from the Source (Nine Winds 222) SoNu features Alan Lechusza on woodwinds, Gustavo Aguilar on percussion, Nina Eidsheim on vocals & electronics, Phil Curtis also on electronics and guests Vinny Golia on more woodwinds & Arash Haile on vocals. The five pieces on this release include three compositions by Wadada Leo Smith, Anthony Braxton and George Lewis, plus two improvised works, each featuring a different guest. Can't say that I am very familiar with any of the musicians on this unusual disc (except for the ubiquitous Vinny Golia), although I do recall Mr. Aguilar from a couple of CDs he had on Acoustic Levitation. Leo Smith's "the lady of the dark sonnets/Mississippi delta" features some bizarre, shape-shifting electronic sounds, deep toned sax playing and strange operatic vocals. The overall vibe is one of restraint, so that nothing is too extreme or goes on for too long. "rebound" features Vinny Golia and SoNu together quietly weaving their sound palette with Vinny(?) on flutes. Nina's voice is well placed, minimal and rather hushed here with some fine free percussion, wooden flute and subtle electronics. Mr. Braxton's "compositions nr. 287 + 98a" sounds mostly charted with strong tenor sax, tight percussion and intricate vocal sounds. Ms. Eidsheim puts her voice through some electronic processing here, but uses it selectively. Someone (Vinny?) is playing bari sax or contrabass clarinet and doing some intense growling and grumbling. George Lewis' "players" is a wonderful work for cautious, spacious sounds, perhaps a bit scary with disembodied voices floating through the dark landscape and elegant electronic textures moving in subtle waves. Some of the electronics are triggered by other instruments like the clarinet, sax or voice. Each textural change takes us through another section of our journey. Vocalist/poet Arash Haile is featured on "sound on sound for Roscoe Mitchell", which gives us something to think about with her provocative Afrocentric words and occasional beats to back her rhythmic discourse used most effectively. You would think that a blending of these extreme ideas couldn't work, but it does work well and doesn't sound forced in any way. This is another intriguing gem and tasty sonic salad from those eclectic folks at Nine Winds. - BLG
CD for $14




A HALF DOZEN DISCS from the WORLD of MODERN CLASSICAL & ELECTRONIC MUSIC [ALSO, check our 'OO Disc' list in parts 3, 4 & 5 for even more contemporary composer goodies!]


MAURICIO KAGEL - Die Stucke der Windrose (W&W 109; Germany) Schonberg Ensemble: Pierre Woudenberg [clarinet]; Marijke van Kooten [violin]; Wim de Jong [violin]; Susanne van Els [viola]; Hans Woudenberg [cello]; Thom de Ligt [double bass]; Marja Bon [piano]; Ger de Zeeuw [percussion]; Gerrit Hommerson [harmonium]; Reinbert de Leeuw [conductor]. The three previous Kagel releases on W&W have all been great, so we have high hopes for this one as well. Review next week.
CD for $15

PAUL DRESHER - Cage Machine (New Albion 125) Featuring works by Paul Dresher. Soloists: David Abel, Julie Steinberg, Joel Davel, Paul Dresher. The Electro-Acoustic Band - featuring Phil Aaberg, Paul Hanson & Amy Knoles, David Abel (violin), Julie Steinberg (piano), Joel Davel (marimba lumina), Paul Dresher (Electric Guitar & Quadrachord). "His' Concerto for Violin & Electro-Acoustic Band, for violinist David Abel, travels from the rhythmically interlocked intensity in the 1st movement, Cage Machine (driven by samples of John Cage's invention, the prepared piano) to the slow moving and harmonically complex 2nd movement, 'Chorale Times Two', whose highlight is an extended and rhapsodic violin melody. 'In The Name(less)' is for two invented instruments. The Quadrachord, Dresher's invention, has four 160 inch strings and is a kind of a giant electra-acoustic slide guitar that can be plucked, bowed, prepared or hammered."
CD for $14

ORLANDO JACINTO GARCIA - Fragmentos Del Posado (New Albion 124) Featuring works by Orlando Jacinto Garcia. Ensembles: Venezuela Symphony Orchestra, Latin Americano String Quartet. Conductor: Alfredo Rugeles. "This collection of new classical Latin American work by the Cuban born, Miami based, composer Orlando Jacinto Garcia is a series of pieces that involve lyrical acts of memory set against a time free present. There are abstract references to music listened to by the composer in his past. Repetition and slow evolution of materials result in a temporal stasis that is similar in effect to some Asian and Latin American ethnic music - the perception of the moment is of utmost importance. The exploration of the counterpoint between register, densities, timbres, and pacing are the aesthetic basis for the music. Great core is given to the point where silence begins and sound ends. At times the music seems to be far away, like the chiming of church bells in a distant town, or a memory of childhood, or an insight almost grasped - kind of twinkling like a night sky; and at other times it is strong and intense, full of current and direction, deep colors and powerful gestures."
CD for $14

BARRY SCHRADER - Lost Atlantis (Innova 629) While 'Lost Atlantis' uses Plato's account of the Atlantis legend as programmatic background, the music itself is concerned not so much with specific portrayals of places or events but rather with interpretations of impressions. In a more personal sense, Atlantis is the past that never was and the future that can never be. I believe that my reasons for composing Lost Atlantis are best expressed by the words of the poet Robert Lowell: I want to make something imagined, not recalled. "Barry Schrader's Lost Atlantis reveals Schrader as a composer born to the electronic medium. He paints with veiled and mysterious tone colors, creates descending sine-tone scales of exquisite delicacy and spins out dramatic crescendos climaxing in peaks of brassy brilliance. He generates sequenced rhythms with various percussive envelopes: woodlike clacks, hollow drum sounds, giant xylophones and steel drums. - Philip Springer, LA Times
CD for $14

CHRISTIAN FENNESZ/SACHIKO M/OTOMO YOSHIHIDE/PETER REHNBERG - s/t (Erstwhile/ ErstLive Series 04) This Erstwhile all-star quartet is from the first night of performances in the Cologne half of AMPLIFY 2004 Festival. The Cologne shows consisted of six well-known duos of electronic musicians rotating into three new quartets each night, and ErstLive 004 contains one of the most successful results, the initial meeting of these two pairs of electronic pioneers, short and extremely focused. This is a one-track 24-minute piece, with all four sonic manipulators sitting in a square facing each other. Fennesz & Pita are both playing computer, Otomo is on turntables and Sachiko plays her standard sinewaves plus amplified objects. This is a strong blend of whirrs, hums, drones, rumbling, high-end kettle-whistling sounds, static, snap, crackle and pops. The brittle textures shift and warp and mutate most effectively. Short bursts of feedback, as the density thickens, the sounds become more violent and intense. Fragments of radio transmissions, quietly disturbing miasma and other fractured electronic noises provide us with a soundtrack for the darker side of life. A well-sculpted mass of sound. - BLG
CD-EP for $13

BURKHARD STANGL/CHRISTOF KURZMANN - schnee...live (Erstwhile/ErstLive Series 003) The duo of Burkhard Stangl and Christof Kurzmann played the final show on the last night of AMPLIFY 2004 Festival. Stangl and Kurzmann began working as a duo in late 1999, releasing 'Schnee' in 2000, and playing numerous concerts over the past four years throughout Europe, the US, and Asia. 'schnee_live' documents how much their duo has changed since the initial recording of 'Schnee', which was the first time they ever played together as a duo. Burkhard Stangl plays guitars and has worked with Polwechsel, Efzeg, Ton Art and Franz Koglmann. Christof Kurzmann plays computer and has worked with Orchestra 33 1/3, Fennesz, Scanner, Philip Jeck and has a solo effort out on Charizma. Beginning with the audience talking a bit too loudly, Christof gives a spoken word intro in English with some acoustic guitar soon to be accompanying him. When he starts singing, we might ask if this really an Erstwhile disc or not. At least until the electronic drone begins and soon some eerie feedback as well. They go back to a spoken word section about Spring-time. Although I dig this, it is certain to shock some Erstwhile fans out there, even the vocals are minimal and few. Very odd and rather unexpected, but still kinda nice. - BLG
CD-EP for $13




CORRECTION FROM LAST WEEKS LISTING...this item HAD been on CD before...

THELONIUS MONK - Piano Solo 1954 (Coppens 6002; EEC) Previously released on CD by Vogue in France, this has been almost impossible to get for a long time! Superb solo piano offering recorded in Paris on June 7, 1954, less than 2 weeks before yours truly was born. Nicely recorded studio date featuring eight Monk classics plus a fine version of "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes".
CD for $17



NEW REISSUES, RESTOCKS and HISTORIC DISCS OF OLD and GREAT STUFF!!


ALBERT AYLER with NORMAN HOWARD/HENRY GRIMES/EARLE HENDERSON/SUNNY MURRAY - Spirits [a/k/a Witches & Devils] (Breathless 52006) "Originally released on Debut in 1964, 'Spirits' is Albert Ayler in his prime mid-Sixties period, recorded in NYC in February '64. Features Sunny Murray on drums, bassists Henry Grimes and Earle Henderson, and trumpeter Norman Howard."
Except for the fact that this has the original classic Debut cover on it with the original title, you can get cheaper sale copies of the music from us for $10 under the name "Witches & Devils" [while they last]. Amazing and essential in any case!
CD for $16


DEXTER'S CIGARS CLASSIC ISSUES BACK IN PRINT!!!

DEREK BAILEY - Aida (Dexter's Cigar 05) Originally released in 1981 on Incus Records, UK. Represses of some key reissues on the new defunct O'Rourke/Grubbs -ignited Dexter's Cigar label. Aida is a reissue of a long-gone Incus album, originally issued in 1981 (recorded in Paris & London, 1980). "AIDA is possibly the finest of Derek's several solo LPs, records that forever changed what it meant for a guitarist to play alone. He transforms the guitar into a small orchestra of strings and percussion; the music is simultaneously lyrical and aggressive...rated 'Number One' in Robert Nedelkoff's 'Top 100 LPs of the 80s'."
CD for $14

ARNOLD DREYBLATT & THE ORCHESTRA OF EXCITED STRINGS - Nodal Excitation (Dexter's Cigar 15) Originally released on LP in 1982 by India Navigation Records. Reissue of a key minimalist masterwork. Dreyblatt's documentation in the past has been slim, with albums on Hat Art, Tzadik and Table of the Elements. This album features a 39 minute performance by Arnold's group known as The Orchestra of Excited Strings, recorded in 1981/82 Dreyblatt, Michael Hauenstein (bass violas with Excited Strings), Peter Phillips (Midget Upright Pianoforte), Kraig Hill (Portable Pipe Organ) & Greg Lewis (Hurdy Gurdy)."
CD for $14

RAFAEL TORAL - Wave Field (Dexter's Cigar 14) Reissue of the 2nd album by this Portuguese guitarist/composer, originally issued by the small Moneyland label 1995, which was not widely distributed. "This record is what every guitar/drone/crunch/snap, crack and pop afficionado has ever wanted. It's epic, it's intimate, it's a personally served 10 course meal at a table for two at the edge of the Grand Canyon.
CD for $14



BOY, IF WE HAD A NICKEL FOR EVERY PERSON WE TURNED AWAY FOR A COPY OF THIS NEXT ONE...BACK IN PRINT IN A NEWLY MASTERED EDITION!...

JONAS HELLBORG With BUCKETHEAD/MICHAEL SHRIEVE - Octave Of The Holy Innocents [Reworked] (Bardo 132) This is the 2005 version of this much-requested out-of-print classic!!! "14 years ago I felt it was time for another installment in my ongoing collaboration with Michael Shrieve, the legendary drummer of the Santana Band. I had also just heard a tape at Bill Laswell's house of Buckethead, an exciting new guitarist who has since become one of the most important voices in the electric guitar community. 'Octave Of The...' has been out of print for 3 years [originally released in 1995] and I felt it was time to bring it back. When looking over the multi-track tapes, I discovered parts that did not make it onto the album the first time around -- so much great stuff that I almost look on this re-issue as a new album. There are no extra songs, but the guitar and keyboard performances shed new light on the music." - Jonas Hellborg.
No review available of the new mix; what follows is written of the original mix: "Those familiar with the respective musicians discographies might normally expect this affair to be a turbocharged, jazz/fusion set also featuring wacko, prog metal type characteristics. Such is not the case with this production, as these artists opt for the "unplugged" route. On the other hand, there's no lack of excitement here, as this acoustic-based power trio generates quite a bit of momentum in concert with a few ethereally enacted dreamscapes. On this release, Jonas Hellborg uses a custom made acoustic bass guitar. The electrified and generally dazzling, heavy metal-like inclinations of guitarist Buckethead are tempered into an acoustic format here, as drummer Michael Shrieve lays down a series of torrid backbeats to complement his hard-hitting, polyrhythmic fills. However, most of the album's highlights reside within Hellborg and Buckethead's deft plucking, and uncanny implementations of counter melodies, sparked by reverberating flows. They explore odd-tunings to coincide with several high-octane movements, as Hellborg even slaps his bass strings on occasion, thus injecting techniques normally used by electric bassists. Yet it's all about the sparkling chemistry that prevails throughout this wonderfully conceived and executed project! (Strongly recommended!)" - Glenn Astarita, AMG
CD for $15

PETER CUSACK - Your Favourite London Sounds (LMC FLS1; UK) "Field recordings by one of Britain's leading electro-acoustic artists that comprise an astounding audio portrait of London. Taken as a whole the favorite sounds reveal a fascinating perspective on London -- that of the ear. It is quite different from that of the eye. London's soundscape is regularly described as general urban noise, loud, undifferentiated and not usually pleasant. The amazing variety suggested here shows otherwise. Sounds range from the extremely loud to the very quiet, from the natural to the digital electronic. There are those found under, at or above ground level, indoor and out. Some are deeply personal and others all-encompassing atmospheres. They clearly distinguish between season and time of day and take London's unpredictable weather very much into account. No two suggestions are exactly identical. London's sounds are appreciated with a surprising degree of detail that obviously relates closely to individual lives. The tiniest sound differences can become significant if they are within the pattern of someone's daily life. It is also good to be reminded that, even with the ever increasing levels of background noise in urban areas, we can still be sensitive to the smallest and most local sounds of everyday London life."
CD for $17



NEW JMT REISSUES on Winter & Winter

HANK ROBERTS - Little Motor People (W&W/JMT 919062; Germany) Hank Roberts: cello, vocals, jazz-a phone-fiddle; Django Bates: piano, synthesizer, tenor horn; Arto Tuncboyaciyan: percussion, vocals. Under the direction of Stefan Winter, Hank Roberts recorded at Studio Bauer in Ludwigsburg (engineer: Carlos Albrecht) with English master musician Django Bates, who was the founder of the Big Band "Loose Tubes", member of Bill Bruford's "Earthworks" and participant of countless projects in England and all over the world. He palys piano, synthesizer and tenorhorn on this recording. "He is a deeply intelligent musician, with a very sensitive touch on the piano, he has brilliant ears and the connection between us was very strong immediately", Hank Roberts describes his colleague and new friend. The two shared the musical efforts with Armenian percussionist and vocalist Arto Tuncboyaciyan, who is mainly known for his contribution to the Arthur Blythe Group and Marc Johnson's "Right Brain Patrol" (JMT 919 051-2). "For the percussion section I was looking for something different, something, that would fit perfectly to my now more percussive approach to play the cello. And I found Arto. With him - he brought Armenian, Turkish and Persian rhythms and influences to the music - our sound is crosscultural, and that is something that has to happen in the world more than ever."
The music of "Little Motor People" doesn't fit into an existing category. Although the ingredients are obvious - ethnic sounds, jazz, standards, folk and contemporary improvised music - an overall definition can't take place. Hank, Django and Arto are coming from completely different cultures (Mid-West in the US, England and Armenia), completely different styles and technics are involved, and the musical background of each musician is also completely different. However "Little Motor People" is one unit, because Hank is using the individualism of each musician and is creating an unlimited sound concept with worldmusic character.
Cellist Hank Roberts also plays a "jazz-a-phone fiddle" - for example on "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" - the "jazz-a-phone fiddle" is an old american folk instrument with just one string played at barn dances in the countryside. Besides "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" Hank Roberts recorde d also the following standarts in a very unusual style: "My Favorite Things", "Donna Lee" and "Autumn Leaves". All of them have a real spacy, nearly spooky image. "Maybe that is , because I have a very strong feeling about things that are magical.."
CD for $15

GABRIELLE GOODMAN With MARK FELDMAN/KEVIN EUBANKS/GARY THOMAS et al - Little Motor People (W&W/JMT 919063; Germany) Gabrielle Goodman: vocals; Don Alias: congas, percussion; David Bunn: piano, synthesizer; Tony Bunn: electric bass; Mike Cain: piano; Anthony Cox: bass; Kevin Eubanks: guitar; Mark Feldman: violins; Barry Miles: piano, synthesizer; Wolfgang Muthspiel: guitar; Ruben Rodriguez: bass; Gary Thomas: soprano and tenor saxophones; Buddy Williams: drums. Gabrielle Goodman - she sings like an angel. I know you'll agree..." Travelin' Light is Gabrielle Goodman's long overdue debut as a jazz singer. It shows a complete vocal artistry ranging from highly out-of-time settings to contemporary funk and fusion sounds. Guitarist Kevin Eubanks, bass player Anthony Cox and saxophone player Gary Thomas (whom she has been working with for a long time) are among the outstanding jazz artists on the album to keep her company.
CD for $15

PAUL MOTIAN And The E.B.B.B. [ELECTRIC BEBOP BAND] With JOSHUA REDMAN - The E.B.B.B. With Joshua Redman (W&W/JMT 919061; Germany) Featuring Paul Motian: drums; Joshua Redman: tenor saxophone; Brad Schoeppach (now Shepik): electric guitar; Kurt Rosenwinkel: electric guitar; Stomu Takeishi: electric bass "This CD features new readings of bebop classics composed by Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Tad Dameron and Thelonious Monk. The idea of contemporary electric group improvising on themes from the bebop era might seem a little strange, but the result is surprisingly successful. The quality of the material helps greatly. It's well worth checking out." Vox, Canada, September 1993. "Just when you thought bebop had been sanitized and fossilized comes a variation out of left field. With two mod-bop guitarists and sax wiz Joshua Redman, the band swings fervently and freshly." Entertainment Weekly, USA, December 1993
CD $15



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SOME MORE RESTOCKS FROM THE ELUSIVE OGUN LABEL - AND A LIMITED TIME OFFER: Any order that includes an Ogun item will receive a free 5" yellow & black "African Mask" sticker that is the 'corporate logo' of Ogun records!


DEDICATION ORCHESTRA [LOUIS MOHOLO/KEITH TIPPETT/EVAN PARKER et al] - Ixesha (Time) [2 CD set] (Ogun 102/103; UK) Maggie Nicols, voice; Julie Tippetts, voice; David Serame, voice; John Law, voice, additional piano; Harry Beckett, trumpet; Claude Deppa, trumpet; Jim Dvorak, voice, trumpet; Pat Higgs, trumpet; Henry Lowther, trumpet; Kenny Wheeler, trumpet; Ian Hamer, trumpet; Mark Charig, cornet, tenor horn; Dave Amis, trombone; Roland Bates, trombone; Malcolm Griffiths, trombone; Paul Rutherford, trombone; Andy Grappy, tuba; Dave Powell, tuba; Neil Metcalfe, flute; Lol Coxhill, soprano, tenor saxophones; Mike Williams, alto saxophone; Elton Dean, alto saxophone; Evan Parker, tenor saxophone; Sean Bergin, tenor, alto saxophones; Chris Biscoe: baritone saxophone; Keith Tippett, piano; Paul Rogers, double bass; Louis Moholo, drums, voice. Recorded on January 3-5, 1994 at Gateway Studios, Kingston Hill, Surrey, England.
2 CD set for $28

DEDICATION ORCHESTRA [LOUIS MOHOLO/KEITH TIPPETT/EVAN PARKER et al] - Spirits rejoice (Ogun 101; UK) Phil Minton, voice; Maggie Nicols, voice; Julie Tippetts, voice; Guy Barker, trumpet; Harry Beckett, trumpet; Claude Deppa, trumpet, voice; Jim Dvorak, trumpet, penny-whistle; Kenny Wheeler, trumpet; Django Bates, E-flat peckhorn; Dave Amis, trombone; Malcolm Grifiths, trombone; Radu Malfatti, trombone; Paul Rutherford, trombone; Dave Powell, tuba; Neil Metcalfe, flute; Lol Coxhill, soprano sax, tenor; Ray Warleigh, alto sax, flute; Elton Dean, alto sax; Evan Parker, tenor sax; Alan Skidmore, tenor sax; Chris Biscoe, baritone sax; Keith Tippett, piano; Paul Rogers, bass; Louis Moholo, drums, voice. Recorded at Gateway Studios, London, January 2 and 3, 1992. Line producer Steve Beresford; post production Evan Parker and Steve Beresford.
CD for $18

FRANCINE LUCE With KEITH TIPPETT/LOUIS MOHOLO/EVAN PARKER/PAUL RUTHERFORD/PAUL ROGERS/CLAUDE DEPPA - Bo kay la vi-a (Ogun 012; UK) Featuring Francine Luce, voice, water; Evan Parker, tenor and sopranoa saxophones, water; Claud Deppa, trumpet, flugelhorn, water; Paul Rutherford, trombone; Keith Tippett, piano, music box; Paul Rogers, double bass; Louis Moholo, drums, percussion. Recorded September 1996 at Gateway Studio, London.
CD for $18

CHRIS McGREGOR'S BROTHERHOOD OF BREATH - Live at Willisau (Ogun 001; UK) Chris McGregor, piano, leader; Dudu Pukwana, alto saxophone; Evan Parker, tenor saxophone; Gary Windo, tenor saxophone; Mongezi Feza, trumpet; Harry Beckett, trumpet; Marc Charig, trumpet; Nick Evans, trombone; Radu Malfatti, trombone; Harry Miller, bass; Louis Moholo, drums. Recorded live at Willisau, Switzerland, 27 January 1973.
CD for $18

HARRY MILLER [Feat. KEITH TIPPETT/MIKE OSBORNE/LOUIS MOHOLO/RADU MALFATTI/WILLEM BREUKER/TREVOR WATTS/SEAN BERGIN/HAN BENNINK/MARC CHARIG/MALCOLM GRIFFITHS/JULIE TIPPETTS [DRISCOLL]/WOLTER WIERBOS] - The collection 1941-1983: Children At Play/Family Affair/Bracknell Breakdown/In Conference/Down South [3 CD Box Set] (Ogun HMCD 1/2/3; UK) This 3CD set, including 28-page booklet, was released on 30 November 1999 as a memorial to Harry Miller and to mark the 25th anniversary of Ogun Records. It includes all of four previously released Ogun LPs led by Harry Miller in addition to the entirety of his LP for the Vara Jazz label:
HMCD 1: HARRY MILLER - Children at play [tracks 1-5] Harry Miller, double bass, flute, percussion effect. Recorded in 1974 in Hastings. HARRY MILLER'S ISIPINGO -Family Affair [tracks 6-9] Harry Miller's Isipingo: Harry Miller, bass; Marc Charig, trumpet; Mike Osborne, alto saxophone; Malcolm Griffiths, trombone; Keith Tippett, piano; Louis Moholo, drums. Recorded at Battersea Arts Centre, London on 6 January 1977.
HMCD 2: RADU MALFATTI/HARRY MILLER - Bracknell breakdown [tracks 1,2] Harry Miller, double bass; Radu Malfatti, trombone. Recorded on 29 July 1977, at South Hill Park, Bracknell. HARRY MILLER SEXTET - In conference [tracks 3-7]Harry Miller Sextet: Harry Miller, bass; Willem Breuker, soprano and tenor saxophones, bass clarinet; Trevor Watts, alto and soprano saxophones; Julie Tippetts, voice; Keith Tippett, piano; Louis Moholo, drums. Recorded at Redan Recorders, London on 27 January 1978.
HMCD 3: HARRY MILLER QUINTET - 'Down South' features Harry Miller, bass; Marc Charig, cornet, alphorn; Wolter Wierbos, trombone; Sean Bergin, tenor, alto and soprano saxophones; Han Bennink, drums. Recorded at Vara Studio 2, Holland on 3 March 1983. Box and book design (front cover reproduced above) by Strong Silent Type. Children at play first released as Ogun OG 200 LP; Family affair originally released as Ogun OG 310 LP; Bracknell breakdown originally released as Ogun OG 320 LP; In conference originally released as Ogun OG 523 LP; Down South originally released as VARAJAZZ 4213 LP.
3 CD set for $40

LOUIS MOHOLO meets KEITH TIPPETT/MERVYN AFRICA/PULE PHETO - Mpumi (Ogun 014; UK) Extraordinary drum and piano duos from that marvelous. South African expatriate percussion wizard Louis Moholo with two young South African pianists plus three more amazing duets (a 45 minute 'suite') with our favorite piano hero on this planet - the almighty Keith Tippett!
CD for $18

LOUIS MOHOLO'S VIVE-LA-BLACK - Freedom tour: live in South Afrika 1993 (Ogun 006; UK) Louis Moholo, leader, drums, vocals; Thebe Lipere, African percussion; Claude Deppa, trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals; Sean Bergin, tenor saxophone, flute, concertina, vocals; Toby Delius, tenor saxophone, vocals; Jason Yarde, alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, vocals; Roberto Bellatalla, double bass; Pule Pheto, piano. Recorded 1993 in concert in Capetown, Port Elizabeth, Durban, Johannesburg.
CD for $18

MIKE OSBORNE: TRIO & QUINTET With HARRY MILLER/LOUIS MOHOLO/MARC CHARIG et al - Border Crossing/Marcel's Muse (Ogun 15; UK) Possibly THE most awaited classic '70s Brit-Jazz reissue in years! Two of Brit alto monster Mike Osborne's super-rare Ogun LPs unabridged on 1 CD! 'Border Crossing', with his main - and legendary - rhythm section of the early '70s, bassist Harry Miller and drummer Louis Moholo, is a powerhouse spectacle. Recorded live at the Peanuts Club 9/28/74 'Marcel's Muse', a quintet recording from 5/31/77, is another tour-de-force and features Harry Miller, guitarist Jeff Green, trumpeteer Marc Charig, and the late Peter Nykyruj on drums [to which this CD edition is dedicated] The digital remastering for CD was done by Martin Davidson, founder of the Emanem label.
CD for $18

KEITH TIPPETT'S ARK - Frames (Music for an imaginary film) [2 CD set] (Ogun 010/011; UK) Featuring Keith Tippett, piano, harmonium; Stan Tracey, piano; Elton Dean, alto saxophone, saxello; Trevor Watts, alto and soprano saxophones; Brian Smith, tenor and soprano saxophones, alto flute; Larry Stabbins, tenor and soprano saxophones, flute; Mark Charig, trumpet, tenor horn, Kenyan thumb piano; Henry Lowther, trumpet; Dave Amis, trombone; Nick Evans, trombone; Maggie Nicols, voice; Julie Tippetts, voice; Steve Levine, violin; Rod Skeaping, violin; Phil Wachsmann, electric violin, violin; Geoffrey Wharton, violin; Alexandra Robinson, cello; Tim Kramer, cello; Peter Kowald, bass, tuba; Harry Miller, bass; Louis Moholo, drums; Frank Perry, percussion. Recorded on 22, 23, 24 May 1978 at Wessex Studios, London N5 and produced righteously by Hugh Hopper.
2 CD set for $28


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COIL - Scatology (Some Bizarre FFK; UK) [warehouse find of the previous CD edition; more recent eskaton versions are no longer available due to the demise of world serpent] CD reissue of the first full fledged Coil LP from 1984 (following their debut album-length single How to Destroy Angels), containing 3 bonus tracks: an unreleased alternate version of 'The Spoiler', 'Restless Day' from the Devastate to Liberate compilation, and their cover of the Gloria Jones/Soft Cell chestnut 'Tainted Love' from the post-album 12".
CD for $23

COIL - Horse Rotovator (Some Bizarre ROTA; UK) [warehouse find of the previous CD edition; more recent eskaton versions are no longer available due to the demise of world serpent] CD reissue of their 1986 LP (their second, discounting music composed for Derek Jarman's film The Angelic Conversation which didn't see the light until 1994's Threshold House CD issue) containing one bonus track; 'Ravenous' from the Anal Staircase 12". Features the track 'Blood from the Air' (also from the 'Anal Staircase' EP) as well as a cover of Leonard Cohen's 'Who by Fire'.
CD for $23

THE SLITS - Cut...Plus (Koch 9672) "The Slits are one of the most significant female punk rock bands of the late '70s. Through sheer emotion and desire they created some great music. Working with veteran reggae producer Dennis Bovell, they helped set the stage for a future generation of riot grrrls. This remastered reissue of the influential and ground-breaking punk act's 1979 debut album. Includes two bonus tracks, a remix of 'Love und Romance,' 'Liebe And Romanze' (Slow Version) and the legendary cover version of Marvin Gaye's 'I Heard It Through the Grapevine' that only ever appeared previously as the B-side of the 'Typical Girls' single. The CD booklet includes notes by Mojo editor Mark Paytress, and previously unseen photos from the session that produced the notorious front cover shot."
CD for $16

SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES - Downside Up: B Sides And Rarities [4 CD Box set] (Polydor 21823; UK) Featuring 55 tracks on 4 CD's, 34 of them for the first time, including the Thorn EP. Includes a 76-page booklet with an introduction by Siouxsie and full track annotation by all 3 band members. Full lyrics for all B-sides printed for the first time with sleeve notes by Mark Paytress. "Siouxsie Sioux first came to our attention in 1976 as a Sex Pistols acolyte who was standing behind the band during the notorious interview with Bill Grundy on the Today programme. Yet with hindsight, her work doesn't seem to belong to punk at all. Her debut album didn't appear until 1978, by which time untutored three chord thrashing was beginning to appear passe. Instead, with the Banshees she helped invent a form of post-punk discord full of daring rhythmic and sonic experimentation that was as influential as it is underrated. Downside Up features 55 tracks spread across four discs, some of which have not previously appeared on CD. The result is a collection that constitutes an alternative history far more revealing than a greatest hits package, for here is a group that never filled b-sides with inferior throwaway tracks. Rather they saw them as an outlet for some their most radical and challenging work. Standouts include the spiky 'Drop Dead/Celebration', the sinister 'Eve White/Eve Black' and the chopped up industrial funk of 'Tattoo', tracks that prove that the Banshees stand proudly alongside PIL, Gang Of Four and The Fall as the most audacious and uncompromising musical adventurers of the post-punk era." -- Nigel Williamson.
4 CD set for $65

NEIL YOUNG - Trans (Geffen; UK) European-only reissue, not available in the US. A reissue of Neil's 1982 album, in a "controversial" vocoder electro-style. "When it was released, Trans was Neil Young's most baffling album. He had employed a vocoder to synthesize his voice on five of the album's nine tracks, resulting in disembodied singing, the lyrics nearly impossible to decipher without the lyric sheet. And even when you read the words, "Computer Age," "We R in Control," "Transformer Man," "Computer Cowboy," and "Sample and Hold" seemed like a vague mishmash of high-tech jargon. Later, Young would reveal that some of the songs expressed a theme of attempted communication with his disabled son, and in that context, lines like "I stand by you" and "So many things still left to do/But we haven't made it yet" seemed clearer. But the vocoder, which robbed Young's voice of its dynamics and phrasing, still kept the songs from being as moving as they were intended to be. And despite the crisp dance beats and synthesizers, the music sounded less like new Kraftwerk than like old Devo. A few more conventional Young songs (left over from an earlier rejected album) seemed out of place. Trans had a few good songs, notably "Sample and Hold" (which seemed to be about a computer dating service for robots), a remake of "Mr. Soul," and "Like an Inca" (an intended cross between "Like a Hurricane" and "Cortez the Killer"?), but on the whole it was an idea that just didn't work." - William Ruhlmann/AMG
CD for $15

GENE CLARK - White Light (A&M 93209; Germany) "2002 European reissue release of the first solo album from the Byrds' Gene Clark, first released in 1971 (Clark intended it to be titled White Light, but the actual title was left off the artwork). With five bonus tracks not found on the previous Japanese edition & new liner notes by Sid Griffin. "When the Byrds launched 'Eight Miles High,' Gene Clark -- the main composer of the song that defined the psychedelic era -- had already left the band. Fed up with being confined to tambourine, the least-accomplished musician but songwriting heart of the Byrds, craved a solo career. Ironically, the official reason given for the departure was fear of flying. After the stunning Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers LP and two albums with Doug Dillard, as Dillard and Clark, Clark released White Light, his first 'real' solo LP. Clark's most singer/songwriter-ly release is one of those albums that needs a few spins to crack its code. Its appeal lies in the lyrics and songcraft genius. No Rickenbacker salvos or dazzling vocal harmonies be found here -- the understated instrumentation is simply there to carry Clark's velvet voice, and resembles prime electric Dylan and the first two Band albums. Of course it's no coincidence that 'Tears of Rage,' the only non-Clark composition, is a song from The Basement Tapes sessions that Dylan handed to Clark. It's a pleasure to have this long out-of-print nugget from the Byrds universe available again." -- Frank van den Elzen
CD for $15

ANNE BRIGGS - Sing a Song For You (Fledg'ling 3008; UK) Recorded back in 1972 but never previously released -- Sing A Song For You captures Anne Briggs at her glorious best. Ten songs -- five original by Anne along with beautiful traditional material like 'Sovay', 'The Bird In The Bush' and 'Sullivan's John'. Backing by Barry Dransfield and Steve Ashley's Ragged Robin band." Feat: Anne Briggs - vocals, bouzouki, guitar; Steve Ashley - vocals, harmonica, whistle; Barry Dransfield - violin; Richard Byers - vocals, guitar, mandolin; Brian Diprose - bass guitar; John Thompson - drums.
CD for $16

SHIRLEY COLLINS - Adieu To Old England (Fledg'ling 3023; UK) "Another classic Shirley Collins recording, this time from 1974 and long out of print. Beautiful interpretations of Southern English songs and toasts with some fine arrangements by Dolly." Feat.: SHIRLEY COLLINS with Albion Morris Men : dancing; Dolly Collins : flute organ; John Harrington : concertina; Ian Holder : accordion; Bill Molan : melodeon; Simon Nicol : electric guitar; Terry Potter : mouth organ; Geoff Singleton : fiddle; Bob Stewart : plucked psaltery; Roger Swallow : drums; John Watcham : anglo concertina; Bill Molan, Geoff Singleton & John Harrington : vocals & percussion.
CD for $16




2004 REMASTERS OF THE TYRANNOSAURUS REX ALBUMS CONCLUDE WITH THE FIFTH ALBUM - THE FIRST WITH THE NAME T-REX...NOW ALL AT LOWER PRICES!!!


TYRANNOSAURUS REX [MARC BOLAN] - My People Were Fair And Had Sky In Their Hair..But Now They Are Content To Wear Stars On Their Brows [Expanded Edition] (A&M 9822509/Germany) This expanded edition has 16 BONUS CUTS in addition to the original 12 from the LP, which includes the mono versions of the LP cuts! My People Were Fair... was the first album, originally issued by Regal Zonophone in the UK in 1968. Unlike the more commercially viable T. Rex of the post-1970 era, Tyrannosaurus Rex were steeped in a magical psychedelic elfland. The group was simply a duo of Marc Bolan (vocals, guitar, ex-John's Children) and Steve Peregrine Took (vocals, bongos, Chinese gong, assorted percussion, Pixiephone) and their music was largely acoustic (exclusively so on the first 2 albums). Peaking the UK hippy trip, they wandered through their musical terrain of magic, mystics, elves, witches, with Bolan's ethereal vocals sung in a voice that on occasion could not be proven to have any relation to the English language. Pixiehood never sounded so desirable.
CD for $16

TYRANNOSAURUS REX [MARC BOLAN] - Prophets Seers & Sages, The Angels Of The Ages [Expanded Edition] (A&M 9822510/Germany) This expanded edition has 14 BONUS CUTS in addition to the original 14 from the LP! The second album, originally released in the UK by Regal Zonophone in 1968. Similar in style to the first album, again with just Bolan (guitars, vocals) and Took (bongos, vocals, African talking drums, percussion, kazoo, Pixiephone and Chinese gong).
CD for $16

TYRANNOSAURUS REX [MARC BOLAN] - Unicorn [Expanded Edition] (A&M 9822511/Germany) This expanded edition has 15 BONUS CUTS in addition to the original 15 from the LP! The third album, originally released in the UK by Regal Zonophone in 1969. The final album to feature the duo of Bolan & Took, it is still almost totally acoustic and generally considered as the most developed and masterful Tyrannosaurus Rex album. The sound was fleshed out a bit: Bolan (vocals, guitar, Harmonium, lip organ, Fonofidels), Took (bongos, vocals, African Talking Drum, bass, guitar, piano, drumkit, pixiepipe, gong), with guest children's story reading from John Peel.
CD for $16

TYRANNOSAURUS REX [MARC BOLAN] - A Beard Of Stars [Expanded Edition] (A&M 9822512/Germany) This expanded edition has 16 BONUS CUTS in addition to the original 14 from the LP! "The fourth and final Tyrannosaurus Rex album, originally released by Regal Zonophone in the UK in 1970. Took was replaced on this album by Micky Finn (backing vocals, Moroccan Clay Drums, table, bass, finger cymbals). and Bolan introduced electric guitar to their sound for the first time. Finn's theory on bongo fury was a lot less inspired than Took's and Bolan's songwriting/singing seemed to aim more squarely at the anthemic/glam protocol that was soon to emerge. But this was the final chapter in Tyrannosaurus Rex, T. Rex was next.
CD for $16

T-REX [MARC BOLAN/TYRANNOSAURUS REX] - T-Rex [Expanded Edition] (A&M 9822512/Germany) This expanded edition has 9 Bonus Tracks (two 7" tracks, 2 alt. takes, 4 unreleased tracks & 1 poem) in addition to the original 15 from the LP. Reissue of the first T-Rex album, following the 4 Tyrannosaurus Rex albums, originally issued in 1970. In essence this is really the final Tyrannosaurus Rex album, as it is continuation of the duo sounds found on the prior A Beard Of Stars, featuring Marc Bolan (guitars, vocals, bass organ) and Micky Finn (drums, bass, vocals, pixiephone). A meshing of acoustic and electric integration, and more Bolan pixie-vision.
CD for $16



...AND THE MOST RECENT MASTERS OF THE HAWKWIND CLASSICS...

HAWKWIND - In Search of Space (EMI 30030; UK) New mid-line EMI reissue from 2001 of the second Hawkwind album (originally issued by UA in 1972), with deluxe 24-page booklet of photos & credits
CD for $16

HAWKWIND - Doremi Fasol Latito (EMI 30031; UK) Mid-line EMI reissue from 2001 of the third Hawkwind album (originally issued by UA in 1972), with 12-page booklet of liner notes, photos & illustrations. The first Hawkwind album to feature the unbelievably heroic bass playing of Lemmy Kilmeister, this is pure classic 70s space thunder
CD for $16

HAWKWIND - Hall Of The Mountain Grill (EMI 30035; UK) Reissue of the classic 5th Hawkwind album, following Doremi Fasol Latido & Space Ritual.
CD for $16

HAWKWIND - Space Ritual [2 CD set] (EMI 30032; UK) Mid-line EMI reissue from 2001 of the fourth Hawkwind album (originally issued as a double LP by UA in 1973).
2 CD set for $30



...AND EDGAR BROUGHTON!!!...

EDGAR BROUGHTON BAND - Inside Out (EMI 66175; UK) 2004 digital remaster, originally released by Harvest in 1972. Three bonus tracks (2 b-sides, one prev. unreleased). This was the 4th EBB album. Previous reissue on Repertoire is deleted. "If one casts a furtive glance back at the British rock music scene of the late 1960's, the perceived image of this era is one of peace, love and gentle vibes. A deeper look would reveal that underneath all this veneer, a band existed that were rebellious, anarchic and serious about the social and political injustices of the day. The Edgar Broughton Band was all of these things and more. In 1972, the band released Inside Out, inspired by the extremely original album sleeve design by Hignosis. The front cover of the album was a striking photograph of an ex-Wormwood Scrubs inmate stood by the imposing walls of the prison. A live recording from the extensive Inside Out tour mixed from the original 16-track master tape in 2004 appears as a bonus track on this expanded CD release."
CD for $16

EDGAR BROUGHTON BAND - Oora (EMI 66177; UK) Originally released in May 1973 on Harvest Records. 1 Bonus Track. This was the 5th EBB album. "Released in an elaborate sleeve designed by artist Barney Bubbles (noted for his work with fellow musical anarchists Hawkwind), the album was perhaps the most sophisticated of all the Edgar Broughton Band's releases for Harvest, notably on the track 'Face >From a Window/Pretty/Hi-Jack Boogie/Slow Down'." On this record, guests include: David Bedford (piano), Madeline Bell (backing vocals)
CD for $16




NEW TO OUR '7 for 6' CD SALE LIST [AND A COUPLE OF TIMELY RESTOCKS]


TIM SPARKS - One String Leads To Another (AcousticMusic; Germany) Building on his tradition of producing gorgeous world-folk influenced solo guitar music, with One String Leads to Another, Tim Sparks has issued another winner. Rather than merely imitating one particular style throughout a certain song, he instead absorbs the techniques and melodies of many different cultures and fuses them together to make them his own. ~ Stacia Proefrock, All Music Guide
CD for $10 7 for 6 SALE

[ALBERT "TOOTIE" HEATH With] HERBIE HANCOCK [/DON CHERRY/ED BLACKWELL/BUSTER WILLIAMS/JIMMY HEATH/JAMES MTUME/BILLY BONNER] - [KAWAIDA] JAZZ MASTERS (Folio 20015; EEC) This is actually Albert "Tootie" Heath's very rare 1971 album KAWAIDA with Don Cherry, Herbie Hancock, Jimmy Heath, Ed Blackwell, Billy Bonner, James Mtume, and Buster Williams!!!!! Unfortunately this only-CD-edition of this great album is being marketed as a Herbie Hancock album with the generic title Jazz Masters. Never Mind The Packaging - this album boils over! An unearthed 100% gem!!!
CD for $10 7 for 6 SALE

MICHAEL GIBBS ORCHESTRA With BILL FRISELL/DAVID FIUCZYNSKI/IAN CARR/BOB MOSES/JOHN SCOFIELD et al - Big Music (Act 9231; USA) The Gibbs Orchestra -- 24 pieces strong, including the leader on piano and trombone -- has a contemporary funk base, a stratospheric, horn-fired belly, and a multi-guitar head that searches for dark clouds. Billy Martin, Bob Moses, and Ben Wittman provide the rhythms. Stoking the furnace are such notable horn players as saxophonists Lou Marini, Bob Mintzer, Jim Odgren, Dave Tofani, and Chris Hunter; trumpeters Lew Soloff, Earl Gardner, Allan Rubin, and Brit Ian Carr; French hornist John Clark; and trombonists Dave Bargeron and Dave Taylor. Guitarists John Scofield, Bill Frisell, Kevin Eubanks, Duke Levine, and Dave Fiuczynski, bass guitarist Kai Eckhart, and keyboardists Brad Hatfield and Dave Bristow provide the rawer, electric edge. Of the hardest funk, "Wall to Wall" has a contemporary feel, with Odgren's alto reaching David Sanborn proportions amongst a nice under-the-surface flute chorus and subtle "Freedom Jazz Dance" inferences. "Watershed" hosts a similar rhythm, with Scofield sneaking in and out on solos. This piece is preceded by the previously unreleased duet "Waterfront" between gliding soprano saxophonist Julian Arguelles and floating pianist Django Bates. The Gil Evans influence is all too pervasive. Examples are found in the density and polyphonic interplay of "Mopsus," and in the swelling, mysterious, psycho-dramatic funk-to-hard swing of "Pride Aside"; the former is layer laden with a spacy ending, and the latter with Frisell's skyscraper sound and Hunter's alto in parallel, streaking over the horizon, landing firmly on urban landscape territory. The highlight is "Adult," a hip, distended funk with a monster horn chart and again, Scofield soloing. This is followed by the finale, "Pride Outside," another rubato space and stars concept. Also quite inventive is a South African townships flavored 6/8 funk on "Kosasa" replete with percussion workouts that merge into an Afro-Cuban groove coda. Gibbs certainly has a unique approach, mixing many different jazz, ethnic, and rock elements into a seamless whole, his band loaded with talent and his orchestrations thickly settled. This album is not for everybody, particularly not for jazz purists, but some big music is no doubt present, and roaring. ~ Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide
CD $10.00 7 for 6 SALE.

BOB MOSES With STEVE KUHN/CHRIS WOOD/SCOTT ROBINSON et al - Nishoma (Grapeshot 9001; USA)
CD for $10 7 for 6 SALE

JAMAALADEEN TACUMA - Renaissance Man (Gramavision) 1st 4 cuts are with Tacuma's jazz fusion outfit Jamaal, including the definitive fusion [title] track of the '80's; the last 4 are different all-star lineups for each cut, including the not-to-be-missed Ornette Coleman solo over a hip-hop cover (!) of the head from his Dancing In Your Head album (Jamaaladeen played on the original at age 19 under the name Rudy McDaniels), and the track Sparkle, featuring the quartet of JT, David Murray, Vernon Reid, and Bill Bruford! TEN THUMBS UP! - MannyLunch
CD for $10 7 for 6 SALE

JAMAALADEEN TACUMA - Showstopper (Gramavision) Electric bassist Jammaladeen Tacuma's debut as a leader is still his best recording to date. A brilliant free funk player who excels in laying down some eccentric funk in overcrowded ensembles, Tacuma is heard in six different settings on this album. His own group Jamaal (a quintet with altoist James Watkins and guitarist Rick Iannacone) plays four noisy numbers; he takes "Tacuma Song" as an unaccompanied bass feature; is backed by the Ebony String Quartet, a harp, and pianist Anthony Davis on "The Bird of Paradise"; is accompanied by four percussionists on "From the Land of Sand"; and has a couple of jams featuring altoist Julius Hemphill, cornetist Olu Dara, and guitarist James "Blood" Ulmer. Stimulating and unpredictable music! ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
CD for $10 7 for 6 SALE

JAMAALADEEN TACUMA - Jukebox (Gramavision) One of the top graduates of Ornette Coleman's Prime Time, electric bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma features his own free funk group Spectacle on this noisy and generally interesting album, his fourth for Gramavision. With Byard Lancaster on tenor, alto, flute and bird calls (!), keyboardist Alan Sukennik, guitarist Ronnie Drayton and drummer Dennis Alston (plus a couple of guest musicians), the emphasis is on Tacuma's heavy bass lines and the crowded ensembles; two songs (a solo piece and a duet with Alston's drums) are showcases for the leader. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
CD for $10 7 for 6 SALE


PETER HAMMILL - In A Foreign Town (Restless) Although not considered one of Peter Hammill's best by longtime fans, 1988's In a Foreign Town does contain some worthwhile material. Produced by Hammill himself, the album is far more upbeat than most of his past work, and sounds like mid-'80s Genesis at times. But it may be one of Hammill's most musically varied albums; just give a listen to the new wave sound of "Invisible Ink" (one of the album's catchiest and strongest tracks), the Talking Heads-like "Sci-Finance (Revisited)," and the Adrian Belew/King Crimson sound of "Auto." But the anemic '80s production of the material tends to take away from the compositions; it's the complete opposite of earlier Hammill releases, where he kept things more straight-ahead. The song "Under Cover Names" contains completely un-Hammill-like, cheesy Miami Vice keyboard sounds. The only track where the Peter Hammill-of-old resurfaces is on the stark piano/voice composition "The Play's the Thing." If the one-dimensional production was replaced with more interesting sounds, In a Foreign Town would have turned out better, since there was still plenty of strong Hammill songwriting present. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide
CD for $10 7 for 6 SALE

PETER HAMMILL - Out Of Water (Restless) This release from English maverick singer/songwriter Peter Hammill exhibits something of a holding pattern after release of the excellent In a Foreign Town, which itself was a recovery from the abysmal ...And Close As This. It isn't that there's anything vastly wrong with the album; it just gives off a feeling of having been to all these places before. There's no doubting one thing, though, Hammill is taking to MIDI by leaps and bounds, and improving his command of the technology with each successive release. Where In a Foreign Town had some amazingly good sampled horn work, Out of Water does it with strings and orchestral arrangements -- so sufficiently that you can forgive the few lapses into the stodgy electric piano-type sounds that happen here and there, and the odd choice of the wrong type of reverb or gating on a couple of tracks. Plus, there's Hammill associate Stuart "Hooligan" Gordon, a Scottish violinist who looks like Benny Hill and plays like Jascha Heifetz (certainly a more-than-adequate replacement for violinist Graham Smith, whose "Cat's Eye" performance Gordon easily equals in concert), and longtime Hammill sidemen Nic Potter (bass), John "Fury" Ellis (guitar), and David Jackson (saxes), all of whom contribute to various tracks. Mostly, though, it's Hammill's show, and he carries it off very well indeed, even if longtime Hammill fans miss the drum work of Guy Evans (last seen working with Hammill on the improvisational Spur of the Moment and Union Chapel). It's the songs, more than anything, that bring about the sense of deja vu; themes, perhaps, that Hammill has visited a few times too many over his career. He echoes relationships, the traumas of personality, political awareness, a cosmic angst; all together, the album seems more of a summing-up before a major next step rather than anything truly fresh. At times, as with the end of "Our Oyster," he manages to scuttle a practiced commentary on the realities of geopolitics by making a forced and self-conscious reference to the Tiananmen Square massacre. As an indicator, it's intriguing, and gives hints of other directions to come. On the other hand, Hammill's periodic tendency to over-complicate an arrangement and song design comes to the fore with "Green Fingers," which goes awry and never recovers. As usual, then, Hammill is somewhat challenging and, as always, frustrating, as he continues to evade pigeonholing while not quite getting a focus on what direction he's off in. On the other hand, this gentle and seemingly befuddled (going by his appearance in concert) singer/songwriter is doing far more with his songs than most of his ilk can ever manage to contemplate. ~ Steven McDonald, All Music Guide
CD for $10 7 for 6 SALE


STEVE HOWE - Mothballs: Groups And Sessions 64-69 (Big Eye) Before joining Yes, Howe had nearly a decade's worth of experience with other groups under his belt. This is a first-rate 25-track compilation of his '60s work, with six previously unreleased cuts, starting in 1964 with the raw R&B/beat band the Syndicates, moving to soul-mod with the In Crowd, psychedelia with Tomorrow (six of the better tracks from their sole LP are included), and progressive rock with Bodast. Howe's playing is always interesting, and the material is pretty solid, serving almost as a road map of British rock trends of the '60s. It also includes the unreleased instrumental single he cut under his own name in 1967, a rare single by Tomorrow singer Keith West, and an unreleased track by the short-lived Canto, which was renamed Bodast. Although the six tracks by Tomorrow and the three by Bodast are easily available on separate CDs devoted to those groups, the remaining 16 are quite hard to find [6 of those are previuosly unissued!]. As a whole, it shows him as a player nearly the equal of Jimmy Page in versatility and imagination, although Howe's work from this time is much less widely recognized. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
CD for $10 7 for 6 SALE

HENRY KAISER & SERGEY KURYOKHIN - Popular Science (Ryko; USA) 19 tracks of inventive & wacky improvised guitar and keyboard duo shenigans from two masters!
CD $10.00 7 for 6 SALE.

NEW AGE STEPPERS - MASSIVE HITS VOL. 1 (On-U Sound; USA)
CD $10.00 7 for 6 SALE.

DAVE STEWART/BARBARA GASKIN - Spin (Ryko; USA) Another album of playful pop/covers from these two Canterbury legends!
CD $10.00 7 for 6 SALE.

COLOSSEUM - Daughter Of Time (Castle; USA) A concept album loosely based on man's fascination and allure for war throughout the ages, Daughter of Time contains all the elements required to create a pure progressive rock album. Joining Jon Hiseman, David Greenslade and Chris Farlowe is Louis Cennamo from Renaissance, who plucks away at the bass guitar with a heavy hand. A multitude of instruments combine to create a brilliant melange of music on every one of the eight songs. Vibrant spurts of trombone, trumpet, and flute are driven to the height of each song, which gives way to some implements of jazz fusion. Rich organ and vibraphone can be heard in behind "Three Score and Ten Amen" and "Take Me Back to Doomsday" adding to the melancholy theme. Countering this are beautiful string arrangements made up of violin, viola, and cello used effectively to conjure up mood, and doing an excellent job. Even a flugelhorn is blared from time to time on top of the accentuated drums. A spoken word passage from Dick Heckstall-Smith creates an eerie aura, as his voice echoes on about the coming of the apocalypse. Colosseum's music works extremely well in that it builds suspense and reels the listener into the songs. As far as the lyrics go, they're stark and foreboding and have a mediaeval taste to them, coinciding with the music perfectly. Each song, all around six minutes in length, should have been longer to let the instruments play out with their illustriousness. Except for the fact that it is a short album, Daughter of Time is a sturdy example of progressive rock. ~ Mike DeGagne, All Music Guide
CD $10.00 7 for 6 SALE.


You can also pick from over 700 [other] eligible items from the "7 For The Price OF 6" CD SALE LIST!!! - meaning for every 7 you pick, the lowest priced 7th is FREE!!!

PLEASE meet us halfway by including at least two alternates [or additional wants] for every 7 picked, so you can be sure to get your '7th Free'!


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THE 'OO DISCS' LABEL

FOUNDED BY COMPOSER/DOUBLE-REEDIST JOSEPH CELLI, THIS IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF A GREAT LABEL CURATED BY A MUSICIAN THAT DELVES INTO NEW MUSICS ON ALL FRONTIERS;
YOU WILL NOTICE SEVERAL COMPOSERS AND MUSICIANS LISTED HERE HAVE ALSO HAD ALBUMS MORE RECENTLY ON THE 'TZADIK' LABEL...AND YOU WILL NOTICE THAT SOME OF THE LATER CATALOG #S ARE ACTUALLY FROM THE 'WHAT NEXT' LABEL THAT JOSEPH CELLI TOOK OVER FROM STEVE PETERS.
THOUGH NOT HAVING HAD NEW RELEASES FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS NOW - AND THE BACK-CATALOG THOUGHT TO BE UNAVAILABLE BY MANY OF OUR CUSTOMERS - HERE IS WHAT REMAINS AVAILABLE AT THE MOMENT:


BRUCE ARNOLD/THOMAS BUCKNER/TOM HAMILTON/RATZO HARRIS - Act Of Finding (OO Discs 18) The experimental New York-based improvising quartet Act of Finding creates sophisticated and compelling musical relationships on its debut recording oodiscs #18, Act of Finding. The quartet is comprised of veteran new music pioneer Thomas Buckner (voice); America's foremost performing composer of analog electronics, Tom Hamilton; innovative jazz bassist Ratzo Harris; and processed guitar wizard Bruce Arnold. The group structures its compositions to make use of the members' deeply informed playing and spontaneous interactions. The opening track To Dick Dickson is a musical response to the new socio-political direction in which this country is heading. Culling its lyrics from e-mail correspondence giving advice on tax resistance, a book of labor songs and other found texts, To Dick Dickson is a Dadaist evocation of the random-access world of e-mail, where disparate ideas float in cyberspace. Other pieces with lyrical content include the cryptically nostalgic AnotherFamilyResemblance, Quiet is the Movement of the Moon, and Now and Then, which examines the perception of time with its paradoxical statement, "...now comes first, then now is then, then must come before...", repeated throughout the song. oodiscs #18, Act of Finding explores the abstract elements of music as well as the listening and performing experience itself. In SilentTravels, sound and silence play equally important roles. Textural Threads and Fast, Fast, Fast, Fast, Fast, Slow explore texture and tempo, respectively. Can't See the Figure for the Ground tests the band's ability to discover a group sound. Should any performer find himself to be playing either as a soloist or as an accompanist in this piece, he is instructed to immediately switch to the other role. Baritone Thomas Buckner provides the welcome familiarity of the human voice, employing a wealth of vocal gestures and tones. This voice fully interacts with the guitar, synthesizer and bass to create stimulating, exhilarating and truly new music. Act of Finding is another way of saying "invention." The ensemble is collectively dedicated to group improvisation, discovery and creating sounds and interactions that deny preconceptions. This musical concordance prompted bass-player Ratzo B. Harris to note, "Between the four of us, we are one soloist."
CD $14

DEREK BAILEY & GREGG BENDIAN - Banter (OO Discs 20; USA) features pioneering guitarist Derek Bailey and percussionist Gregg Bendian in a lively game of musical ping pong. WEBSTER's defines "banter" as a way of "speaking in a witty teasing manner, a verbal rally," but on this release, Derek Bailey and Gregg Bendian push the geometric limits of improvised musical exchange. They've toyed with linear rhythm, they've rearranged the white space, and gone on to redefine and reorganize the shape of melodic dimension and sonic possibilities. Gregg Bendian puts it this way, "I don't want to create imaginary sound worlds...I want to create sounds you can taste. Sounds you can walk into." Banter does this and more. It startles and plays with sound images that are so alive they walk into the room and announce themselves. They don't take off their hats. They don't bother to sit down. They just appear--with an attitude.
CD $14

EVE BEGLARIAN - Overstepping (OO Discs 33; USA) Overstepping by composer Eve Beglarian is her first CD release on oodiscs . The disc features sixty-four minutes of music with four different works composed between 1984 to 1995 with performers Kathleen Supove (keyboards), Margaret Lancaster (flute), and Eve Beglarian. Composer Beglarian has had works performed by many respected ensembles and individuals in locations ranging from Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (I Have My Own Room, choreographed by Robert LaFosse at the New York City Ballet) and the Kennedy Center (Overstepping, choreographed by Monica Levy for the Washington Ballet) to CBGBs and the Nuyorican Poet's Cafe (Machaut a GoGo, for Dadadah with Kitty Brazelton) as well as in Europe, Mexico, South America, Asia and the Baltic States.
CD $14

MAYA BEISER/STEVEN SCHICK PROJECT - Caught By The Sky With Wire (OO Discs 67; USA) The first CD by the Maya Beiser/Steven Schick Project. The duo featuring Beiser on cello and Schick on a wide range of percussion perform a repertoire entirely commissioned by and written for their duo. This disc features new works by five composers including Jack Body (New Zealand), Nick Didkovsky (USA), Chinary Ung (Cambodia), George Lewis (USA), and Franghis Ali-Zade (Azerbaijan). Maya Beiser and Steven Schick, members of the Bang on the Can Ensemble, are two of the liveliest musicians around. They have helped with the re-positioning of 'contemporary classical music' moving it into a lively, virtuosic, medium that has veered away from the rigid, formal and academic aura that has surrounded it in the past. As a duo their theatrical genre-bashing concerts are innovative and exhilarating. This disc ranges from pieces influenced by world music to downtowner Nick Didkovsky's gritty, electric Caught by the Sky with Wire. Cellist Beiser and percussionist Schick are helping to create a new language that is woven from diverse cultural strands including arrangements of African and Balinese gamelan music, from the electricity of the New York avant-garde and the culturally diverse voices of new Americans.
CD $14

ROBERT BLACK - State Of The Bass (OO Discs 14; USA) New Music on the double, electric, midi, upright Bass. State of the Bass showcases the artistry of Robert Black, a leading figure in contemporary bass performance, playing compositions by new music greats John Cage, Paul Dresher, Orlando Jacinto Garcia, Amy Knoles, James Sellars and Richard Zvonar. State of the Bass features performances on the traditional doublebass, the electric bass guitar, the electronic upright bass and the MIDI base. In his own inimitable style, Black strums, picks, slaps, hugs and plucks music out of these instruments with both a wild emotional abandon, as well as an intellectual control. The recording includes the compositions Two in the Hand by Robert Zvonar, Composed Improvisation for Steinberger Bass Guitar and Snare Drum by John Cage, Radio Sonata by James Sellars, Piece #1 for Doublebass and Tape by Orlando Jacinto Garcia, Big and Cheap by Amy Knoles, Mirrors by Paul Dresher and Trio by Richard Zvonar and Robert Black. Every piece on OO#14 , State of the Bass exists as a unique interaction between composer, performer, instrument studio environment.
CD $14

JOSEPH CELLI - Organic Oboe (OO Discs 01; USA) features the music of composer/double reed virtuoso Joseph Celli and was originally released in 1978 on vinyl as a small, independent edition. The impact of the recording in 1978 was significant with DOWNBEAT MAGAZINE writing, "...boldly experimental, startling..." and composer Anthony Braxton claiming, "I was shocked to first hear this music, very advanced, ...a surprising use of instrumental techniques."
CD $14

JOSEPH CELLI - Video Ears Music Eyes (OO Discs 22; USA) It's been twenty-five years since American composer/virtuoso Joseph Celli began his work in the field of intermedia performance. A lot has happened in that time--most obviously, the evolution and propagation of video for commercial purposes. Not so obvious, has been the work of Celli, as he has quietly, perserveringly, yet most certainly opened the doors to video as a means of exploring a new musical and instrumental syntax through performance. The culmination of Celli's video work, experimentation, and travel is oodiscs #22, Video Ears-Music Eyes, featuring 74 minutes of Joseph Celli's music for video, with written commentary by Tony Conrad, and poster art created by artist/designer, Robert Appleton. The performances include Jin Hi Kim, komungo; Brian Johnson, percussion; Grupo de Musica Folklorica del Peru; Ulrich Krieger, saxophones, and Malcolm Goldstein, violin. Video Ears-Music Eyes strips away instruments to their most minimal form. We hear the violin bow in a constant 360 degree rotation, Peruvian musicians "playing through" their instruments, the endless glissandi of mallets, and new innovations on the ancient komungo. This system of organizing sound is part of Celli's long-standing investigation into generating sound that relates solely to the instrument that is being played, rather than to pre-established notions of Western, Asian or African scales. While Celli was in college, training with top symphony musicians, he spent nights playing in R&B clubs and late-night rent parties in the East Coast inner cities. These roots, along with his study of Korean and Latin music, coupled with his travels to Peru, Korea and forty other countries, reveal themselves in these compositions, as well as his willingness to explore new turf. Celli shares an aesthetic path with major experimental figures, and over the years, has worked and performed with such innovative giants as John Cage, Ornette Coleman, and the Kronos Quartet. His work has always been known for its unique American spirit, a determined individualism, and a steadfast willingness to explore a singular experimental path.
CD $14

LOREN MAZZACANE CONNORS & SUZANNE LANGILE - Come Night (OO Discs 35/What Next 04; USA) Come Night by the avant-blues guitarist Loren Mazzacane Connors with vocalist Suzanne Langille is his first release in national distribution, his first release for oodiscs and the first release that he did not put out on his own. The disc features 47:00 minutes of music Loren Mazzacane, aka Guitar Roberts and currently Loren Mazzacane Connors, has recorded and released more than two dozen homemade albums during 20 years spent in semi-obscurity. His work is finally garnering wider recognition, thanks to the acclaim of a coterie of the left-field rock performers and a fusillade of albums. Connors, trained as a painter, originally issued his instrumental music- which combined direct, blues-derived emotion and tonality with diffuse formal structures associated with experimental music and "out" jazz- on LP pressings of the minuscule quantity associated with limited-edition lithographs. These original recordings are so rare that he doesn't even have copies of some of them today. His unique, powerfully affecting records found their way into the hands of younger performers playing on rock's fringes and some them like Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo and Gastr Del Sol's Jim O'Rourke have since become Connors' enthusiastic sponsors and collaborators. Loren's style derived from traditional blues music is totally unique and out of the mainstream of 'contemporary' music from either the downtown minimalist mode or the more academic contemporary music scene. Connors speaking generally about his music says, "It was all based in gospel and blues, but I brought it into an improv, modern, avant-garde format. It was a takeoff on blues but it's something else now. I'm not sure what it is." Despite his interest in music, Connors-who names abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko as 'my biggest influence in all arts' , attended Southern Connecticut University and the University of Cincinnati as an art major. He recalls, "I'd do paintings , and then I'd sit down with my guitar and look at the painting for half an hour and fiddle with the guitar. I never put down my guitar." Loren Mazzacane Connors' music just happens.... a breeze comes up, we hear it rustle through the trees, feel it on our skin and in our hair for just a moment....the stillness. Come Night features sixteen different cuts and includes Brian Johnson, percussion and George Cartwright on tenor saxophone and was the first that he did not release himself. It is also the largest ensemble that he has recorded with to date. The above information was extracted from BILLBOARD MAGAZINE (12/97). Come Night was originally issued on the What Next? recordings in 1991.
CD $14

DESDE EL OTRO LADO/MUSIC FROM THE OTHER SIDE [V.A.] - Electroacoustic Music From Latin America (OO Discs 45; USA) oodiscs #45, Desde el Otro Lado features 67 minutes of music representing a cross-section of electronic music from Latin America curated by Ricardo dal Farra and produced by Steve Peters. This survey of recent work by nine composers from six South American countries, is in a very cosmopolitan style yet often showing traces of strong regional influences. Featured composers include: E. Reck Miranda, Elsa Justel, Nicolas Suarez Eyzaguirre, Alfredo del Monaco, Antonio Russek, Sergio Claros, Oscar Garcia, Alejandro Jose and Ricardo dal Farra. Joseph Celli, performing on the Indian Mukha Veena, appears as soloist on one work.
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ROBERT DICK - Venturi Shadows (OO Discs 07; USA) Venturi Shadows' eight tracks comprise mostly solos and duets mixed in real time, except for Times, which is a multi-tracked flute, bass flute, double ocarinas and piccolo piece. Robert Dick states, "If I can hear it inside me, I can play it." VenturiShadows was inspired by the mathematical Venturi curve, a design feature both of airplane and flute mouthpieces. The curve speeds the passage of air and fluids moving over it. Style and content ranges through composed, improvised, unification of electronic and acoustic, meditation on breath and walls of sound. Guest musicians include Neil Rolnick, sampling and processing; Ned Rothenberg, shakuhachi; Mary K. Fink, flute; and Steve Gorn, bansuri--the flute beyond the flute. Robert Dick calls it a redefinition of sound led by "a desire to express the entire sonic universe of human breath sounding a metal tube." Robert Dick has been at the forefront in developing extended performing techniques for his instrument. Some of the sounds--breathy, harmonic washes and mallet-like key tapping resonating from the mouth--will confound conventional expectations of the flute. Dick's technique is unfailingly linked to his musical intentions. "Any musical vision I might have," he says, "can be realized through the medium of the flute and I have invented countless sounds in pursuit of this."
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ROBERT DICK & STEVE GORN - Steel & Bamboo (OO Discs 12; USA) Robert Dick and Steve Gorn are both virtuosi flautists and the duo name, Steel & Bamboo, reflects their choice of instruments. Dick performs on the world's only stainless steel flute and Gorn plays bamboo flutes from India and the Orient. Their collaboration explores the meeting ground between cultures, music and instruments. Robert Dick is well known for contemporary music on the Western flute family including the bass flute and Steve Gorn is recognized as a master of the Indian Bansuri flute. Dick's pioneering development of extended techniques for Western flutes--multiple notes, glissandi, new tone colors, an extensive percussive vocabulary and the like--compliments and reflects the traditional non-western approach to bamboo flutes. Gorn is not limited to classical Indian music forms and thus frees his ancient instruments to respond to the musical and cultural milieu of the present. In all, the common ground is greater than the differences because the artists have chosen, and have lived with this multicultural approach. With the exception of Sea Of Holes, all the music on this disc was recorded in real time with no overdubbing. Instruments include: steel flute, bansuri, bamboo flute, Indian scruti box, ryuteki [the transverse flute of the Gagaku ensemble], F-bass flutes, C-bass flutes, Amazon flute, Lakota cedar flute, Balinese suling, East Indian penny whistle, A-flat wooden piccolo
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DAVID DUNN - Angels & Insects (OO Discs 49/What Next 09; USA) ANGELS & INSECTS features 53 minutes with two works, Tabula Angelorum Bonorum 49, a suite of pieces for computer-processed voices based on the mystical investigations of the Renaissance mathematician/astrologer John Dee in collaboration with psychic medium Edward Kelly. The second work, Chaos & the Emergent Mind of the Pond, is an audio collage of digital field recordings of the sounds generated by microscopic aquatic insects, recorded in freshwater ponds around North America and Africa.
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EXQUISITE CORPSES [ZEENA PARKINS/CATHERINE JAUNIAUX/IKUE MORI/GEORGE CARTWRIGHT/ANTHONY COLEMAN et al] - Exquisite Corpses From P.S. 122 (OO Discs 54/What Next 02; USA) oodiscs #54 features thirty downtown New York City improvisers applying variations to multi-track group improvisations. A wild hybrid of structure and chaos which sounds astonishing coherent. Composers include David Watson, Judy Dunaway, Anthony Coleman, Guy Yarden, Doug Henderson, Nancy Campbell, George Cartwright, Chris Cochrane, Paul Hoskin, Ikue Mori, Matthew Ostrowski, Catherine Jauniaux, Zeena Parkins, Steve Peters, Fred Lonberg-Holm, and others. The game of 'exquisite corpses', the rendering of a collectively composed portrait where each player is only given a hint of the contributions of the other participants, is both a child's game as well as a favorite pastime of Surrealists. It takes the form of a drawing, a picture, poem or a piece of writing in which one person starts a piece and folds the paper over leaving only a word or a couple of lines showing. Each successive person continues the drawing or writing in the same manner using only the last line or word of the previous contribution as a reference. This recording is the second of two sets of musical responses, or sound translations of the game. The first, Exquisite Corpses from the Bunker, was a cooperatively financed and composed project involving a loose collective of regular participants in the A. Mica Bunker improvisation series (held at the time, every Sunday night in a dungeon on E. 9th Street in NYC). All compositions were developed collectively at several meetings. They are essentially blueprints specifying time-slots to be filled by the musicians, the monitoring environment (what the player hears while recording track l ; this is always a small fraction of the piece), and some directives for mix-down. There were no instructions on what or how to play within the time-slots. Considerable thought went into the problem of translating a drawing game, which yields a concrete result, into sound, which is an ephemeral, temporally dependent form. "This, once and for all, shatters the illusion that the only good improv is live improv." THE IMPROVISER Total Playing time 56:11 Exquisite Corpses was originally released on Nonsequitur/What Next Recordings.
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KEN FIELD - Subterranea (OO Discs 25; USA) Subterranea, by Ken Field, was recorded in several underground rooms in Roswell, New Mexico below immense boulders, appearing like a Neolithic structure. Ken Field, a member of the internationally acclaimed Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, has composed eleven tracks ranging from overdubbed saxophones, 'sticks on juice cans, sticks on suitcase', and lots of percussion. The music is improvised music, but not in the traditional jazz sense of solos over chord changes. Field has stated, "Each track is a spontaneous response to the previously recorded tracks with no preconception at the outset of the final outcome." The pieces range from the melancholy Five Saxophones in Search of Meaning to the roaring Om On the Range and the rather insane Sanity - all captured with the special ambiance, resonance and gleam of the underground space.
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FIRST AVENUE - Shreds Of Evidence (OO Discs 50; USA) First Avenue is a trio comprised of Bill Kannar, Matt Sullivan and C. Bryan Rulon who banded together out of a desire to perform: not so much to interpret but to engage in the spontaneous act of composition we call improvisation. Since 1982, they have refined their craft arriving at a graceful blend of the many influences of their lives and experiences as well as the culturally dynamic place they call home: New York City. Performing in venues from Carnegie Hall to the Knitting Factory, from Merkin Hall to Roulette, First Avenue is equally at home in the performance loft as on the proscenium stage. Their collaborations with writers, actors clowns, dancers, videographers and painters as well as some of the world's most noted composer/performers have given them a reputation for bold, provocative concerts
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FIRST AVENUE With Guests ELLIOTT SHARP/PAULINE OLIVEROS/ROBERT DICK/SAMM BENNETT - Hocus Opus (OO Discs 13; USA) FIRST AVENUE is comprised of William Kannar (double bass, computer); C. Bryan Rulon (synthesizers); and Matt Sullivan (oboe, English horn and wind controller). FIRST AVENUE, an electro-acoustic music ensemble formed in 1982 by classically-trained musicians dedicated to expanding their art through improvisation, theater, extended techniques, performance art and the integration of advanced technologies with acoustic instruments. The group has presented concerts in many varied New York settings, ranging from downtown performance spaces at the Knitting Factory, LaMama's Galleria, the Palladium to uptown's Merkin Concert Hall and a broadcast program on John Schaeffer's 'New Sounds' on WNYC. A hallmark of FIRST AVENUE'S music is its application of technology within an artful, humanizing context, directing electronic sound capabilities toward the enhancement of musical expressiveness. Integrating traditional and electronically-treated acoustic instruments with keyboard and wind synthesizers, FIRST AVENUE has evolved a diverse sonic world characterized by an interplay of augmented tonal, timbral and textural elements - redefining the traditional concept of chamber music the in process. After a recent concert, THE NEW YORK TIMES described the ensemble as "...a set of musicians as curious to find out what would happen next as they were eager to assume control over it." oodiscs #13, Hocus Opus features seventeen 'takes' ranging in length from a brash 51 seconds to extended improvisations of over ten minutes presenting an extraordinary range of improvisations. The 'downtown' musicians featured as guests include the dazzling flute virtuoso Robert Dick, the meditative accordion pioneer Pauline Oliveros, the rambunctious percussionist of Sam Bennett, with the howling sounds of Elliott Sharp on soprano sax and the brilliant Steven Mackey on guitar. The VILLAGE VOICE has stated that "...the classical avant-garde still has its own improvisation tradition and is nowhere better illustrated than by FIRST AVENUE."
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DAVID FIRST - Resolver (OO Discs 05; USA) Resolver features the first CD release by pioneering guitarist/composer David First with guest artists Loretta Goldberg, piano; Joseph Kubera, piano; Joseph Celli, WX-7 midi breath controller; and the World Casio Quartet. The disc features six works with a total playing time of 74 minutes. Kyle Gann wrote extensively about First's music in the VILLAGE VOICE, stating, "First is one of the hardest composers to place. He seems nowhere and everywhere. He has a free jazz background...he favors microtonal pitch bending...I call him a Totalist...First is one of the hardest artists to classify in a scene where unclassifyabilty is a major career goal..... one of the most widely admired Downtowners....he has taken what Alvin Lucier and La Monte Young have done and gone on to the next step." First has written, "I am attempting through my music to charge the atmosphere with a directly physical presence, to disturb balances and re-focus attentions through the manipulation of subtle vibrational quantities, to play the tune for the dance between disorientation and total clarity, reconciling the unchecked senses with the logic games of the higher intellect. My ultimate wish is to transport an audience to the realm of pure feeling--to a state where all conflicting ideologies reach an harmonic concordance." On Resolver, one can hear First's early work with the World Casio Quartet, in which he explores various microtonal tuning systems. The Casio, one of the earliest (and cheapest) electric piano keyboards, allowed him to work with various systems in developing his unique tuning style. Again Gann wrote in THE VILLAGE VOICE, "David First writes for old-fashioned, "lovingly restored" Casios, but the microtones, hair-raising pitch-bending, and scintillating rhythms he wrenches from them are earning him a reputation as one of New York's most innovative composers." Jon Pareles wrote in THE NEW YORK TIMES, "Strange things can happen in the spaces between the steps of the Western chromatic scale.....David First used finely calibrated pitch combinations to make the whole gallery throb and buzz and shimmer with invisible turbulence."
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DAVID FIRST - The Good Book's (Accurate) Jail of Escape Dust Coordinates Part II (OO Discs 23; USA) Hypno-Acoustic, Electronic Minimalism First calls his oodiscs #23, "North American Teahouse Music". But there is nothing polite or quiet about oodiscs' latest release. In his passionate liner notes, First states, "The creation of a deeply joyous, ecstatic, environment that people could fall into, and revel in, has always been most important to me." And so with oodiscs #23,The Good Book, First invites us into the home of glissando, vibrato, tremolo, timbral modulation, trilling and panning. The room is set spinning, careening and flying into a whirling dervish of tone and vibrational resonance. Sound swoops into the very fiber of the listener's being, and soars up the spine, directly into the cerebral cortex. This is not easy listening. It's not easy anything. It's hard and strong and starkly beautiful music for the heart and mind.
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ORLANDO JACINTO GARCIA - Celestial Voices (OO Discs 42; USA) Celestial Voices is the second disc of the music of Orlando Jacinto Garcia that appears on oodiscs and features 78 minutes of music performed by Robert Black, Robert Dick, Paul Hoffman, Anthony de Mare, and Bertram Turetzky and Luis Gomez Imbert with the Orquesta Sinfonica Municipal de Caracas. Cuban/American composer, conductor, music educator, and new music advocate Orlando Jacinto Garcia is Professor of Composition for the School of Music at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami where he was recently named the Director of Graduate Music Programs. He was the founding Director of the Composition Program initiating the FIU Electronic Music Studio and the FIU New Music Ensemble. Garcia was born in Havana, Cuba in 1954, emigrated to the US in 1961 and has resided in Miami since 1977.
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ORLANDO JACINTO GARCIA - La Belleza Del Silencio (The Beauty Of Silence) (OO Discs 06; USA) La Belleza Del Silencio (The Beauty of Silence) features the premiere CD release by Cuban-American composer Orlando Jacinto Garcia, with guest artists Joan LaBarbara, voice; Jan Williams, percussion; the Gregg Smith Singers; and Joseph Celli, Yamaha WX-7 midi breath controller. The disc features four digitally recorded works with a total playing time of 71 minutes. Opening with On The Eve Of The Second Year Anniversary Of Morton's Death (1989), the disc is dedicated to the memory of Morton Feldman and performed by the outstanding Gregg Smith Singers. The disc was featured in the Consumer Guide of the VILLAGE VOICE, where it was noted that, "Garcia's post-Feldman aesthetic is lovely; small groups of sounds played against each other in varied permutations....On The Eve is striking, with the Gregg Smith Singers sustaining soft, sharp dissonances. Other pieces with metallic pings sound like improvised Feldman.." The remaining works all include tape manipulations and were written for the performers on The Beauty of Silence. Improvisation for Metallic Materials is performed by Celli on the WX-7. Garcia slowly sets up patterns which ebb and flow in density, suggesting at times a futuristic carillon. Soprano Joan LaBarbara sings the vast, hauntingly evocative Sitio Sin Nombre (1990), wherein computer manipulations of tapes of her voice often serves to warp it beyond recognition. Much of the tension of this multi-movement work comes from pitting her solo lines against such a distorted background. The tape treatments of percussionist Jan Williams in Metallic Images (1991) are relatively calm and benign, and evolve gently almost meditatively over a time-less twenty-one minutes.
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PETER GARLAND - Border Music (OO Discs 52/What Next 08; USA) the first CD release by this intrepid composer and former publisher of SOUNDINGS PRESS. The music includes raucous early percussion pieces inspired by Varese and Cage, contrasting with mature lyrical works for harp, violin and percussion influenced by Yaqui Indian and Mexican folks musics. The music is performed by Garland's own ensemble and the University of New Mexico percussion ensemble.
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MALCOLM GOLDSTEIN - Sounding The New Violin (OO Discs 47/What Next 05; USA) Sounding The New Violin features 72 minutes of solo violin music composed for and in collaboration with the extraordinary composer/violinist Malcolm Goldstein. The recording includes works by John Cage, Pauline Oliveros, Ornette Coleman, Philip Corner, James Tenney and Malcolm Goldstein. The disc explores the wide range of nuance and 're-invention' of the violin that Goldstein has brought to the instrument. The new violin: as an extension of our voice/body, through gesture sounding the space. New sound-textures discovered as we listen to the bow breathing within the string, revealing a rich spectrum of tonal and noise qualities; the bow floating, pressing, sliding along and sharply articulating the string to vibrate (and all parts of the string offering new possibilities). So, also, with fingers articulating the string length; overtone/harmonic scale possibilities, as well as all nuances within the continuum of the pitch-tonal landscape...to create new melodies of SOUND expressive of he human gesture."
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TOM GURALNICK - Broken Dances for Muted Pieces (OO Discs 44/What Next 17; USA) Broken Dances for Muted Pieces is the first disc of the music of Tom Guralnick that appears on oodiscs and features 52 minutes of music performed by composer/improviser Tom Guralnick. Guralnick plays a unique instrument comprised of tenor and soprano saxophones, vacuuphones, invented woodwinds and electronics. The components of the set-up are equipped with a changing array of mutes and sound-altering devices and are mounted on and within a 10 foot square sculptural structure allowing him to move quickly and freely from one personal sound to another. The movement within the instrument adds an exciting visual element to the work. By utilizing a digital delay and sampling devices he is able to build dense, textural sonic constructions live in performance. Through the actual physical manipulation of the instruments and by his own extension of traditional saxophone techniques, Guralnick has developed a highly idiosyncratic, intuitive and emotional approach to the field of extended saxophone playing and composition. Tom Guralnick has recorded with Marion Brandis, Tom Cora, David Moss, Malcolm Goldstein and Sleepy LaBeef among others. In addition to his own musical activities, since 1988, Tom has run the Outpost Performance Space in Albuquerque, a leading non-profit performance venue presenting a wide variety of local and national jazz and experimental music.
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TOM HAMILTON With ROSCOE MITCHELL/PETER ZUMMO et al - Off-Hour Wait State: Some Music About The Subway (OO Discs 26; USA) Off-Hour Wait State, by Tom Hamilton, is the debut CD by the electronic composer about which the VILLAGE VOICE wrote, "Hamilton is an expert on the old analog synthesizers...." The disc features outstanding improvisers Thomas Buckner (voice), Roscoe Mitchell (alto saxophone), Ralph Samuelson (shakuhachi), Peter Zummo (trombone) and Jonathan Haas (percussion). Hamilton writes, "Off-Hour Wait State uses the New York subway system as a basic design tool. After gaining some new experiences by traveling, listening and waiting, I composed an electronic sound environment using various measurement and transformation techniques. The sounds in this environment originate with analog synthesizers; neither site recordings nor samplers were used here. Improvising musicians were asked to interact with this environment at certain designated times. Their role was to regard this sound as an 'aural score' and to respond to its prompting of their own musical sensibility".
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FRED HO & THE AFRO ASIAN MUSIC ENSEMBLE - Turn Pain Into Power (OO Discs 30; USA) Turn Pain Into Power by composer/baritone saxophonist, writer, political activist Fred Ho, is the debut CD by Ho on the oodiscs label. The disc features the forty minute, bi-lingual suite entitled Turn Pain Into Power! as well as other works. This seven movement suite was originally developed as a counter-quincentennial performance work, opposing the glorification of Columbus's 'discovery' of what is now the Americas. More significantly, the work is a musical celebration of the resistance waged by indigenous peoples, peoples of African and Asian descent, the cultural and social hybridity that has been manifested in the repopulation of Western hemisphere. The text and narration in Turn Pain Into Power! is by Esther Iverem, an African American writer/poet; Alma Villegas, a Puerto Rican playwright/writer and Fred Ho, a Chinese American composer. Villegas' text is read in Spanish. Ho's music is an amalgamation of Caribbean, African American and Korean influences performed by his ensemble consisting of three saxophones (Ho, Sam Fumace, Allen Won); piano and electronic keyboard (Peter Madsen); bass (Kiyoto Fujiwara); and drum set with timbales (Royal Hartigan). THE WASHINGTON POST has written about Ho's work, "One thing can be said with certainty about the music of composer Ho: it is neither easily pigeonholed nor easily ignored. Turn Pain Into Power! was charged with such anger, longing, affirmation and beauty that it almost defied the listener to turn away. It combined passages of brash, daring, visceral jazz with a multicultural tapestry of melodies, textures and rhythms."
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ELEANOR HOVDA - Ariadne Music (OO Discs 46; USA) Ariadne Music features 62 minutes of Eleanor Hovda's music for chamber ensemble performed by the Prism Players with conductor Jeannine Wagar. This is the second disc of Hovda's music to appear on oodiscs and presents five previously unrecorded works from 1984-1994. Ariadne Music consists of the following works: 1. ONYX, 1991 for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, trumpet, violin, viola, cello, double bass; conductor, Jeannine Wagar 2. SONG IN HIGH GRASSES, 1986 for voice, flute, cello, piano; conductor, Jeannine Wagar 3. SNAPDRAGON, 1993 flute, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns; conductor, Jeannine Wagar 4. LEANING INTO AND AWAY, 1994 flute, oboe, clarinet, violins, viola, cello, 2 percussion; conductor, Jeannine Wagar 5. ARIADNE MUSIC, 1984 flute, clarinet, violin, cello, double bass, piano, percussion; conductor, Jeannine Wagar
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ELEANOR HOVDA With JACK VEES/LIBBY VAN CLEVE - Coastal Traces (OO Discs 29; USA) Coastal Traces by composer Eleanor Hovda, is her debut CD exclusively of her compositions. The disc features sixty-two minutes of music and eight compositions composed between 1991-97, for the Nancy Meehan Dance Company. Eleanor Hovda's music is performed extensively in the US and abroad. She has written music for such outstanding ensembles as the Netherlands Wind Ensemble, the Cassatt and Kronos Quartets, Zeitgeist, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Cuicani, the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, Relache, Present Music, the Boston Musica Viva and The California Ear Unit.. Recent performances include those of Lemniscates and Freeze But Don't Freeze (String Quartets) for Remote (Meg Stuart, choreographer, The White Oak Dance Project), Ratman(First Avenue); Dancing In Place(Elizabeth Panzer, harp); Regions (Composers Ensemble at Princeton); Hovda has collaborated for many years with choreographers Nancy Meehan, Laura Pawel, and Sharon Friedler. Featured performers on the disc are Libby Van Cleve (oboe, shenai, oboe d'amore) and Jack Vees ((electric bass, electric guitar) and Hovda on piano innards. Ms. Van Cleve has performed as a new music soloist throughout North America and with chamber ensembles including Chez Vees and the Toronto based Fifth Species. She has won numerous honors including summer residencies at Yellow Springs Institute and The Banff Centre, and grants from the Jerome Foundation, North West Area Foundation, Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust and the Minnesota Composers Forum. She holds degrees from Yale School of Music, California Institute of the Arts, and Bowdoin College and currently lives in lovely New Haven, Connecticut. Jack Vees has been active as a composer/bassist since his teenage years. His early skill as a bass guitarist (he was playing professionally at age fourteen) led him into a wide range of arenas in both popular and art music. His performances have a vitality because these elements have been encompassed into a musical voice that is unique. Vees is the co-director of the Center for Studies in Music Technology at Yale University. His interest in technology can be seen as yet another facet he has thoughtfully subsumed into his work. His own touring ensemble, Chez Vees, has gained international notoriety for vibrant and engaging performances.
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JERRY HUNT - Ground: Five Mechanic Convention Streams (OO Discs 09; USA) American music has always had a tradition of visionary composers and mystics who have carved unique art out of an intensely personal vision. This is where Texas composer, Jerry Hunt's work resides--in that spiritual, otherworldly place, standing outside the musical mainstream, only known to a devoted, almost fanatical audience. Hunt died in 1993, but prior to his demise, O. O. Discs recorded oodiscs #9, Ground: Five Mechanic Convention Streams. In this rare CD, Hunt incorporates electronic stream of consciousness laced with spoken word. His eerie sonic gestures emerge from electronic skrying with John Dee's angelic tables. In Chimanzzi (Olun):core, Jane Henry plays stream of consciousness violin while Hunt rattles jingle bells and scrapes a hardware store full of doo-hickeys. In other pieces, Hunt unleashes a barrage of nervous piano clusters, whistles, cow-horn blows, and stuttering conversation with metallic bumps and electric shimmerings. His secret language is frenetic and frustrating, producing exquisitely and mysteriously wrought compositions. Kyle Gann writing in a VILLAGE VOICE 'Pick Hit' said of oodiscs #9, "Didn't expect this Texas wild man's manic genius to survive on disc, but actually, minus the distraction of his deadpan antics, his sonic originality blares even louder. His purism is Cagean, but the frenetic gesture-language he's evolved is a purposeful, indecipherable tone magic."
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JERRY HUNT - Harmand Plane: Three Translation Links (OO Discs 38/What Next 15; USA) Haramand Plane is the second disc of Jerry Hunt's music in addition to his only video work that is available on oodiscs. The disc features 'Three Translation Links' including the compositions Chimanzzi: Link (1), Chimanzzi: Link (2) and Chimanzzi: Drape: Link, all works from 1993. Associate Producer Steve Peters wrote, "Jerry Hunt was a brilliant, one-of-a-kind artist and human being. A pioneer of live electronic music and video, he designed and built much of his own equipment long before the advent of commercial samplers, digital signal processors and computers. Because his tools were so idiosyncratic it was difficult to know exactly how it all worked; I'm not sure that anyone every really knew what he was doing. For this reason his performances were wonderfully disorienting - one never knew exactly where these sounds and images were coming from, or what their relationship was to his on-stage activity. In fact, you never quite knew if it was all "working" or not, but that was part of the mystery and the charm of it. That sense of mystery is appropriate given Jerry's interest in magic and various strains of arcane knowledge. By the age of thirteen, having already immersed himself in Rosicrucianism, he started his own mail-order church, and later investigated Crowleyism and other mystical belief systems. His work was directly influenced by such esoteric traditions, especially the angelic communications of alchemist John Dee and his medium Edward Kelley, and it isn't such a big jump to view his use of technology as a continuation of them. Surely his Elizabethan predecessors would appreciate the magical potential of the computer, the sampler, the synthesizer, and would recognize Jerry as one of their own. On the other hand, Jerry obviously saw himself as yet another in a long line of great charlatans. "All you need is a map of Texas and a couple of books from the 18th-century magicians, and you could figure the whole thing out." He never denied that it was all sleight of hand, but like the magician who claims to be showing you how a trick works, his cryptic explanations never quite reveal the secret but rather only serve to deepen the mystery. It's all there in his program notes no double, but I for one am no less confused having read them. "Shamanic" is a word that frequently comes up when people talk about Jerry's performances, and while I feel as uncomfortable as he did with that term, I understand its appeal, especially in the context of a culture which has forgotten its own magical traditions and so can only reference that experience in the exotic cultures of others. And in many ways Jerry fit this bill; his performances, like those of Joseph Beuys, were loaded with ritual overtones and inscrutable symbolism. Unlike Beuys, however, Jerry had a wicked sense of humor. I will always carry with me the image of this slightly nutty guy in a lab coat waving around some sticks with little bells attached to them, obsessively gesturing, stomping his feet and whistling as the most exquisite maelstrom of disembodied sounds and images swirled inexplicable around him. It wasn't difficult to feel that he was conjuring something, although you were never sure what or who that might be. That said, I'd like to think Jerry is still accessible, that he's just hanging out in the ether waiting for us to figure out the right combination of circuits, gestures, objects and sounds so that he can put in another appearance and get on with his work from the other side: "Now we can get on to the transaction of why I'm here. Why am I displaying for you? Why are you allowing yourself to watch me? What are you getting out of me? What can I extract from you? And how can we do this within the convention of the music being made?"
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TEIJI ITO - Meshes: Music For Film And Theatre (OO Discs 57/What Next 20; USA) Music For Films and Theater was the first commercial release of the music of visionary composer Teiji Ito and includes the score for the seminal experimental film by Maya Deren entitled, Meshes of the Afternoon. Ito may be one of contemporary music's most under-recognized composers of the later half of the twentieth century. Exploring electronic music, non-western instruments and a juxtaposition of Asian, Latin and Western European styles as early as 1952, set Ito in the forefront of music styles that developed twenty and thirty years later. This recording of Meshes includes some music that was not contained in the final film version. It is included for the sake of compositional integrity. To our knowledge, all instruments on this recording are performed by Ito. Also included on this recording are The Very Eye of Night (1952) composed for the film by the same name by Maya Deren and Axis Mundi (1982) composed for the theater work entitled, Savages by Christopher Hampton. This work includes Ito performing on rattles, didjeridoos, whistles, ratchets,, drums, flutes, bells, conch shells, berimbau, kazoos, and duck calls among other instruments.
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ARTHUR JARVINEN - Edible Black Ink (OO Discs 28; USA) Edible Black Ink, by Arthur Jarvinen (b. 1956), is the debut CD by the West Coast's most notable Totalist composer. Ranging from the relentless rhythmic drive of Part III of The Queen of Spain to the subtle manipulation of pencil sharpener and window shutters, Jarvinen's sound world is original, accessible and highly sophisticated. In a general 'dumbing down' of music and culture, Art maintains a rigorous sense of complexity and swing at the same time. The music is performed by the highly esteemed California EAR Unit joined by the wailing sound of Vinnie Golia's Indian nagaswaram (conical oboe). Kyle Gann, new music critic for the VILLAGE VOICE, has written, "The style of the new generation is sometimes called Totalism, connoting a music that has its cake and eats it too, they can appeal to both chamber-music mavens and rock fans. New York has sprouted a dozen or so totalists, but the equally brash, if more laid-back, Los Angeles scene has produced only one highly visible example so far: Arthur Jarvinen." Jarvinen's own experience in rock, jazz and blues bands accounts not only for the rhythmic vitality characteristic of his works but for many of his orchestational preferences as well. Egyptian Two-Step owes much of it's unique character to the combination of piccolo, chromatic harmonica, and baritone saxophone (not to mention the use of spray cans as rhythm instruments!) In The Paces of Yu he features percussion instruments built from household objects such as window shutters and mouse traps, and a solo part for the Brazilian berimbau. None of these choices are made for their novelty, however, but grow directly out of the composer's own interests and expertise as a performer, as well as the needs of the works themselves. Arthur Jarvinen's theatrical experiments have resulted in a unique body of works he calls 'physical poetry'. These are non-narrative audio/visual compositions for the stare, incorporating sound, text, movement, lighting and props. Images are established, then developed, juxtaposed and combined in a manner closely related to musical composition. In fact, these works can be seen as a merging of his pencil and ink drawings, written poems and musical ideas. Jarvinen has performed his physical poetry as a soloist and with the California EAR Unit and the experimental theater group Le Momo. Among Art's 40 compositions are Electric Jesus for large ensemble and juvenile piano soloist; Mass Death Of A School Of Small Herring for chamber orchestra; Be Good To Your Fingers and They Won't Kill You for chamber ensemble; and Bench Ads Work for slide guitar.
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ARTHUR JARVINEN - Erase The Fake (OO Discs 48; USA) Erase The Fake is Jarvinen's second disc for oodiscs inc., and the first recording by his own ensemble, Some Over History. The group and its music grew out of the composer's renewed interest in improv-isation and flexible structures. This is what Laurence Vittes of the LOS ANGELES READER had to say about the band's debut performance: "Playing a riveting brand of junkyard classical music, SOH performed a suite-like sequence of musical-theatrical episodes nonstop for an hour and ten minutes, in the process hugely entertaining a small audience that positively beamed intelligence neurons into the cosmos." The group, Some Over History, is comprised of: Arthur Jarvinen, bell plates/electric bass/harmonica/electronics. Robin Lorentz, violin; Marty Walker, bass clarinet; Toby Holmes, trombone/tuba/acoustic bass. The works on this disc include two pieces in an energetic rock style - the title track and Toys Do Not Walk And Talk. Both display Jarvinen's familiar rhythmic drive, laced with polyrhythms and overlapping meters. The Cheap Suit Tango is a delightful showcase for band mates Holmes and Lorentz, with violin and tuba effectively evoking the stylized dance movements and romantic voices of the idiom. Two solo works - Out Of the Blue and No Blues - feature Jarvinen on bell plates and harmonica respectively. These pieces are among the composer's most personal, resonating with a sense of the losses that inspired them. The centerpiece of the disc is The Hole-Flow Symphony, for electronic feedback and acoustic instruments. Five sections make up the work as recorded - Introduction, Edges, Musette, Drones and Bones, and Spewl - with each player featured as soloist in one of them. Mark Swed of THE LOS ANGELES TIMES wrote about the work's premiere: "It [SOH] proved most impressive in The Hole-Flow Symphony, a work-in-progress that explores the surprisingly rich possibilities of feedback, producing grainy sheets of sounds with the kind of colored, layered, irregular textures of an early Rauschenberg combine - bits and pieces of just about anything made fascinating together."
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SETH JOSEL - Go Guitars (OO Discs 36; USA) Go Guitars is the first disc by Seth Josel on oodiscs and features 75 minutes of music by composers James Tenney, Lois V Vierk, Phill Niblock, John Cage and Josel. Seth, an American living in Europe has presented solo recitals guitar music in Edinburgh, Frankfurt, Hamburgh, Koln, London, Paris and Berlin. He has worked closely with a number of contemporary music composers in presenting the World Premiers of their works. Composers with whom he has presented first performances include Louis Andriessen, Robert Beaser, Martin Bresnick, Guy De Bievre, Hans Werner Henze, Betsy Jolas, Ulrich Krieger, Ann La Berge, Simon Stockhausen, and La Monte Young among others. Since 1991, he has been a permanent member of the Ensemble Musikfabrik NRW and has performed with them throughout Europe. In addition he has developed projects and soloed with the BBC Symphony Orchestra (London), Deutsches Symphonie Orcheter (Berlin), Radio Symphony Orchestra of Berlin, South West German Radio Orchestra and many others. Mr. Josel is a graduate of Yale University with a Doctor of Musical Arts and has had Fulbright Grants in 1988 and 1989 for residency in Cologne. This recording includes James Tenney's 1981 composition entitled Septet for six electric guitars and electric bass; Lois V Vierk's Go Guitars for five electric guitars; Guitar too, for four by Phill Niblock composed in 1996 for four electric guitars and tape; John Cage's Five for five electric guitars and finally two works entitled Solitude Sessions I and II by Josel.
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JIN HI KIM - Komungo (OO Discs 70; USA) oodiscs, inc. is pleased to announce the release of OO #70 the first CD by Jin Hi Kim devoted exclusively to the Korean Komungo (6-string, fretted, board zither). The disc features Ms. Kim's improvisations and compositions on this traditional 4th century instrument in addition to the electric komungo with several guest artists. The ten pieces range in length from 2:10 to 9:20. Many scholars believe that the name of the instrument, komungo, refers to the color and translates to "black crane zither" with certain scholars believing that it is an ancient term for gods or spirits thus translating to "zither of the spirits." Scholars do not know the precise origins of the instrument or the date but have constructed a history that suggest that the 4th century is the likely time of inception. since this maters a period of considerable cultural interchange between the ancient Koguryo and China dynasties. There is a long historical relationship between zithers and cranes in Chinese though and the crane is a symbol of longevity. From the 15th to 20th century the instrument was considered an essential Korean instrument and it was performed in the indigenous music of Korea. In the 16th century the instrument appears as a instrument for the literati and also used for personal meditation. There seems to be some historical symbolism in the construction of the instrument body which is hollow except where the six twisted silk strings pass through to its back beneath the fixed frets. The strings are plucked with a small bamboo stick and it has 16 fixed frets. The most typical tuning of the open strings for the traditional Korean music is E flat, A flat, C, B flat, B flat and B flat an octave lower as the central tone. The instrument was traditionally played in Korean court music and the folk styles of sanjo and sinawi. It was not performed in any of the religious music.
Living Tones, by Jin Hi Kim, delivers a rare mix of traditional Korean music with a modern American sensibility that includes Robert Dick on flutes; Thomas Buckner, baritone; National Living Treasure Chung Jae-Guk, Park Jong-Sol and Yang Myung-Sok on piri; as well as Joseph Celli playing the oboe and English horn. With this new release, Jin Hi Kim champions the cause of cross-cultural communication through four unique compositions that skirt, weave and dart across and between Asian-American microtonal sound chambers. The results are at once spiritual, artistic and illuminating--decidedly Korean, and subtly American. Jin Hi Kim's LivingTones ushers in a new era of East-West aesthetic understanding through the creation of a new place where subcultural investigations are allowed occur and grow freely.
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JIN HI KIM & JOSEPH CELLI - No World Improvisations (OO Discs 02; USA) features the music of Korean-American composer/performer Jin Hi Kim and composer/double reed virtuoso Joseph Celli in five works that seem to cross the borders between new, experimental and world music. This was the initial No World Improvisations release by the duo about which FANFARE MAGAZINE wrote, "...one hears the Kim-Celli duo engaging in expectations across uncharted space, neither sure about where they'll land, but both so very secure in what they're doing that wherever it is, it's going to be remarkable terrain. This is very tough-minded stuff." On this disc Jin Hi Kim performs on the traditional Korean komungo, the changgo and the world's only electric komungo which she co-designed. Joseph Celli performs on the oboe, English horn (without reeds), Indian Mukha Veena, and the revolutionary Yamaha WX-7 midi breath controller. This instrument allows Celli to control various electronic storage devices, such as a computer, with his breath in performance!
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JIN HI KIM & JOSEPH CELLI - No World [Trio] Improvisations (OO Discs 04; USA) features the music of composer/double reed virtuoso Joseph Celli and Korean-American composer/performer Jin Hi Kim, in collaboration with five brilliant new music/world music improvisers, resulting in five uniquely individualistic trio improvisations. The music crosses the borders of new, experimental, and world musics, with each work developing a distinct musical statement. This is the second No World Improvisations release by the Celli and Kim duo, who are joined by adventurous improvisers Adam Plack, didgeridoo; Mor Thiam, African percussion; Shelley Hirsch, voice; Malcolm Goldstein, violin; and Alvin Curran, electronics. All of the pieces reflect the strong individuality of the musicians creating them, ranging in sound from a meditative trance state to hyper downtown improv.
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JIN HI KIM With DEREK BAILEY/HENRY KAISER/ELLIOTT SHARP/HANS REICHEL/EUGENE CHADBOURNE/DAVID FIRST - Komunguitar (OO Discs 40/What Next 12) Komunguitar is the fourth disc of the music of Jin Hi Kim that appears on oodiscs and features 48 minutes of music performed in duet with the innovative guitarists Derek Bailey, Eugene Chadbourne, David First, Henry Kaiser, Hans Reichel and Elliott Sharp Jin Hi Kim (b.1957) in Inchon, South Korea where she earned a degree in Korean traditional music at Seoul National University before coming to the USA where she received an MFA in electronic music/composition at Mills College in California. Ms. Kim has internationally pioneered the fusion of traditional and experimental music on the komungo (a Korean 4th century fretted board zither) as well as her work in developing the electronic komungo. She has performed with the Kronos Quartet in her Nong Rock (at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center); the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in the premiere of her Voices of Sigimse at Lincoln Center Festival '96; and the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players in Dasrum. Kim co-developed the world's only electric komungo and co-created an interactive piece for komungo with midi computer system under a fellowship of the National Endowment for the Arts wtih David Wessel. She has performed throughout the US, Europe, Canada, South America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Russia as both a soloist and with leading improvisers such as James Newton, Derek Bailey, William Parker, Oliver Lake, Evan Parker, Peter Kowald and Joseph Celli among others. Jin Hi Kim has conscientiously pursed working with musicians from various ethnic perspectives. In her Dragon Bond Rite, a mask dance theater, she collaborates with artists from Korea, Japan, India and Indonesia, Tuva and America. Dragon Bond Rite features Asian traditional drummers, vocalists and mask dancers in a complex overlay of contrast and similarities from these various cultures. This work premiered at the Japan Society in June, 1997, with subsequent performances at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. will be presented at the Hong Kong Festival in November, 1998.
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ULRICH KREIGER - Walls Of Sound (OO Discs 32; USA) Walls Of Sound by saxophonist Ulrich Krieger is his first CD release on oodiscs . The disc features sixty-four minutes of music with four different works of primarily multi-layered, 'walls of sound." The pieces include Saxony by James Tenney, Four5 by John Cage, Video Sax (European Mix) by Joseph Celli, and Didjiridoos and Don'ts by Phill Niblock and feature Krieger on the complete family of saxophones and the didjeridoo. "Sounds that are continuous: refrigerators, power transformers, computer fans, fluorescent lights; the heat pump, the attic fan, the neighbor's air conditioner; the spring peepers; distant traffic, tornado sirens, high-flying jets; a tree full of grackles, another full of starlings, and another full of house sparrows; lawn mowers and leaf blowers. A continuous sound defines the space that it occupies; it is not just an acoustic phenomenon. It has a center and a radius and intensity curve that peaks at the center and trails off to the edges. Place two drones into a space and then you have the interpenetration of their domains." - from the liner notes by James Pritchett The following notes were provided by Ulrich Krieger regarding this recording. "Walls Of Sound is about (very) thick textural music. A kind of music that in my opinion is truly American. It started in the fifties with composers like LaMonte Young and with a profound devotion to sound, putting texture and sound as the primary focus of the compositional interest. Then shortly after there came composers like Phill Niblock, Morton Feldman and the minimalists. During this period in Europe (and in academic American circles) composers were still working on, in and with the traditional parameters of rhythm, melody, harmony, structure, etc., trying to find abstract ways to mold these older materials in new ways. During this period European composers continued to think of sound being just a necessary tool for the manifestation of their musical ideas. American composers were interested more in sound itself, a more physical approach - both scientific and sensual - to let sound be itself, to help sound free itself of all these traditional European parameters and concerns. The four pieces on this record represent four different approaches to (and generations of) this kind of music and they use four different kinds of tuning/intonation systems. We can also find two 'pairs' of composers here: Phill Niblock and Joseph Celli are longtime friends and worked together for many years. James Tenney and John Cage knew and respected each other. The younger Tenney influenced the older John Cage through his theories of harmony in the music of the 20th century. But prior to that Tenney had been influenced by Cage."
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JEFFREY KRIEGER - AC-DC-VC: Electronic Cello (OO Discs 53/What Next 22; USA) oodscs 53, is Krieger's first disc for oodiscs inc., and the first recording of all of the works on the disc including pieces by Sarah Hopkins, Alvin Lucier, Kaija Saariaho, N. Sean Williams, and Ronald Halier. The music grew from a series of commissions and world premieres that Jeffrey Krieger did for the electronic cello. This is what WIRED MAGAZINE wrote of the discs, "Throughout, Krieger loses little of the original instrument's lyricism and grace as he coaxes a 21st-century voice from the electric-cello's strings." Jeffrey Kreiger, chamber musician, solo recitalist and specialist in the performance of new music, plays the more conventional-looking cello as principal cellist of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. He is among the new generation of solo recitalists who have incorporated technology - the computer and video - as well as an electronic cello built by Vermont craftsman Tucker Barrett into performance. Mr. Krieger was a recipient of a 1993 Solo Recitalist Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts which allowed extensive touring in the USA, and a 1996 State of Connecticut Commission on the Arts Artist Fellowship.
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ELODIE LAUTEN - Tronik Involutions: Tuning Into The Earth (OO Discs 27; USA) Tronik Involutions, by Elodie Lauten, is the debut CD in national distribution by this 'outsider' composer - neither a member of any easily identifiable group, school or downtown/uptown clique, Lauten has maintained a serious reputation and the admiration of a diverse but small group of folks 'in the know'. For years Lauten has been one of the best kept secrets of New York's new music scene. She was born in Paris in 1950, and studied classical piano since age 7. She holds Bachelors in economics from the Paris Institut d'Etudes Politiques and a Masters in electronic music composition from New York University. She studied Indian music with LaMonte Young, Marian Zazeela, Pandit Pran Nath and Akhmal Parwez, and was a disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda and Sri Chinmoy. Since the 1970's, Lauten has researched universal correspondence systems found in both Eastern and Western cultures: Indian Vedic cosmologies, systems found in the European esoteric tradition (including Kepler and Newton), the Chinese I Ching, as well as the work of modern mathematicians (Cousto, Mandelbrot) in order to ultimately find a universal life pattern to use as a template to create music. This approach leads to the questioning of the validity of equal temperament and even the reference pitch generally used, in terms of their relation to universal principles and patterns, and led Lauten to experiment with poly-microtonality with custom-built and/or custom-tuned instruments (lyre, harp, harpsichord, synthesizer and piano). The idea of universal correspondence is a source of inspiration and of many interpretations in Lauten's work. It is also used as a macro-composition tool, to organize an entire body of work, or in micro- composition, in the programming of rhythmic patterns, the use of concrete, the stacking of tones, or in Universal Mode Improvisation. Universal Mode Improvisation is Lauten's idiomatic style, in which the same modal scale is used both harmonically and melodically.
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ANNEA LOCKWOOD - The Glass World (OO Discs 59/What Next 21; USA) OO #59 is the re-issue of the seminal work of Annea Lockwood and a record of her early explorations of natural and found sounds. The Glass World originated in 1966 as a live, two hour performance work entitled, The Glass Concert, and was presented in over 70 concerts in England Scandinavia and Australasia, the final performance being at WBAI's Free Music Store in New York City in 1973. Many types, shapes and sizes of glass are used, singly or combined and are manipulated in a variety of ways so as to extract from them their latent sounds. The glass used has not been specifically prepared or shaped as with musical instruments; pieces of glass have been used which are not normally seen - fragments collected from factory floors, such as small glass discs which are rubbed together, and sea-green glass rocks which are knocked against each other; a thin glass rod is drawn across the edge of a large suspended pane, as a bow across a violin string; another pane, struck lightly like a gong is then raised and lowered in a water-filled tank, sending undulating reverberations through the glass and the water; the 'breathing machine' consists of two interlocking laboratory jars, one containing water and one air. Lockwood has been known for the last thirty years for her sensitive use of environmental and natural/found sounds that explore the music of the world around us. Out of print for many years, this recording documents her investigations into sounds drawn from glass. Using common objects and industrial castoffs, she unobtrusively allows them to sing their songs in an aesthetic with direct ties to post-Cageian art movements such as Fluxus. Lockwood wrote at that time of these concerts, "I am working with sound-as-energy, the concept and experience of sound as a natural source of energy and nourishment, there to be tapped once you are aware of its nature and effect"
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ANNEA LOCKWOOD - Thousand Year Dreaming (OO Discs 41/What Next 10; USA) Thousand Year Dreaming is the first disc of the music of Annea Lockwood that appears on oodiscs and features 43 minutes of music performed by an all-star cast of leading new music instrumentalists including Art Baron (conch shell, trombone, didgerido), Libby Van Cleve (oboe, English horn), Jon Gibson (didgerido), Annea Lockwood (voice), J. D. Parran (clarinet, contrabass clarinet), Michael Pugliese (tam-tam, clapping sticks), Scott Robinson (conch shell, frame drum), John Snyder (didgerido, waterphone), Charles Wood (tam-tam, stones), and Peter Zummo (trombone, didgerido).
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MACHINE FOR MAKING SENSE [CHRIS MANN/STEVIE WISHART/AMANDA STEWRAT/RIK RUE/JIM DENLEY] - Machine For Making Sense (OO Discs 19; USA) THE VILLAGE VOICE said, "Machine for Making Sense has the sonic purity of England's AMM, but with a scary, on-the-edge fierceness. Any sense their machine makes is psychic, not linguistic...Babble is in....orgasmic/panic-stricken vocal sounds....cheerful harmonics....there was nothing retro about MFMS's energy...." oodiscs #19, Machine for Making Sense is a cooperative venture between five of Australia's most interesting sound artists, creating a powerful interactive organic machine that explores the parameters of sense. The machine's synthesis of polemic and chaos has found the group acclaim in Europe, the USA and Australia as one of the most original developments in contemporary performance. Dispersing at the intersection of music and speech, text and improvisation, function and use, Machine for Making Sense explores distinctions between language, sound and music, as well as code, sign and meaning. Members of the ensemble include Jim Denley, saxophone and voice; Chris Mann, voice and text; Rik Rue, digital and analog samples and tape manipulation; Amanda Stewart, voice and text; and Stevie Wishart, violin, live electronics, hurdy-gurdy and voice. Mike Silverton said, "Life's in huge measure delightful because God and the devil both get their mail in the details. Machine for Making Sense sums to a cookie jar of lunacy--the lunacy, that is, that the certifiably sane, the Surrealists for example, mined for the Marvelous form the other side of the line. One needn't worry what anything's about. An opportunity, for me anyway, for unnavigated flights to reason enough to enjoy this release. Needless to say, it's not for everyone. But you might be surprised into which group you fall."
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CHRIS MANN & THE IMPEDIMENTS - 36:39 80 Tracks For Shuffle Play (OO Discs 21; USA) Deconstructionalized Sound Poetry - Play it, shuffle it and rearrange it. This 'interactive sound game' was made especially for the intellectually adventurous listener who is ready to take part in the creative process. Chris Mann, internationally reputed master of deconstructionalist sound poetry, has brought post-modern language, manipulated voices and mind-bending acoustics altogether on one huge shuffle board CD. Eighty tracks lend this disc to a new kind of "sound-surfing", sitting back with the remote control and riding the waves of such heady concerns as the meaning of existence, what is language, is there such a thing as reality? By switching from track to track, the listener becomes part of the artistic journey, jumping into the textural sounds, forever making up new sound/word combinations that change and evolve according to the listener's whim. Chris Mann has created the ultimate interactive sound game, where there is no limit to what is heard and understood and ultimately created.
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STEPHEN LUCKY MOSKO/CALIFORNIA EAR UNIT - Indigenous Music (OO Discs 39; USA) Indigenous Music is the first complete disc of the music of Stephen 'Lucky' Mosko and features 59:25 minutes of music performed by the California EAR Unit. The recording consists of the following compositions: 1. Psychotropes (1993) 2. Rendering (1995) for solo piano 3. Rais Murad (1978) for cello and piano 4. Indigenous Music II (1984) I. Piano II. Native Songs and Dances III. Het Wapen van Amsterdam
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JOCY DE OLIVEIRA - Illud Tempus (OO Discs 65; USA) The premiere American CD by Brazil's most prominent woman composer, Jocy De Oliveira. The disc features 46 minutes from a live performance presented at Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin, Germany. Illud Tempus translates to 'time now and always' in Latin. It also represents the temporal telling of dreams, of unconscious time when God was a woman, and a contemporary fairy tale. In this large music theatre work an actress, a singer and acoustic and electronic instruments ensemble present a patchwork texture of women's dreams, Yanomami (an indigenous stone age culture in Brazil) mythical texts, fairy tales and the creation and decomposition of images, words and sounds. The works electroacoustic part develops in a collage-like manner and builds a dream landscape of memories through processed and sampled sounds of text from Yanomami chants and improvisations by double reed performer Joseph Celli and Jocy De Oliveira. The text includes spoken works in different languages but also utilizes intelligible phonemic sounds to weave and combine with the music. Ms. De Oliveira utilizes her own texts and quotations from Euripedes' Media, ancient Sumero Babylonian texts, and Gertrude Stein. The texts focus on the expression from the female psyche through the ages and express through music, theater and body movement the variety and diversity of women's thought in various cultures. Illud Tempus is the second piece from a trilogy started with Inori To The Sacred Prostitute in 1993 and closed with As Malibrans from 1999.
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ELIZABETH PANZER - Dancing In Place (OO Discs 56; USA) performing works by Eve Beglarian, Kitty Brazelton, Wendy Chambers, Eleanor Hovda, Gustavo Matamoros, Elizabeth Panzer & Richard Einhorn OO #56, features the first solo recording by one of America's leading harp virtuosos, Elizabeth Panzer. Ms. Panzer performs the works of seven composers including three works by Panzer. All of the compositions composed for her span a range of styles and approaches from purely acoustic to harp with electronics. Elizabeth has been steadfast in moving the harp into position in contemporary concert music, regardless of genre, over the past decade. Whether with her boundary-less trio Talking Harp (they've issue an eponymous album on the White Tiger label), with free improvising post-jazz folk such as bassist Reggie Workman, vocalist Judi Silvano, saxophonist Ralph Simon, and conductor Lawrence Douglas 'Butch' Morris, with avant rock bands like Kitty Brazelton's Dadadah and in avant new music aggregates such as the Bang on a Can Spit Orchestra, she's out there creating a world unknown to more traditional approaches to the instrument. Elizabeth has explained about these six pieces written for her specifically by composers she cites as ".... innovators, people with clear voices and visions, who are interested in the harp but also in challenging the boundaries of composition, in the development of new music overall. Without new music written for it, the harp will die. My idea is to keep the harp evolving along with music in general, and to keep it interesting, and challenging, too. Panzer has had one particularly significant role model in this initiative: her teacher Lucile Lawrence, who in her 90s is still teaching two days a week in Boston and two days a week in New York. "Ms. Lawrence worked with Varese in the '20s," says Elizabeth, "and remembers when Debussy's and Ravel's pieces were relatively new. She's said that when she was coming up a harpist had a repertoire of five pieces, and played them all her life. But she hated that. She's been waiting now 70 years for the next harp masterpiece, and is optimistic about finding one every time she looks at a new score."
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STEVE PETERS - Emanations (OO Discs 34; USA) Emanations is the debut CD by composer and sound artist Steve Peters. This is an extremely subtle work made entirely of pure, gently pulsating drones of electro-acoustic feedback emerging out of deep silences. It is intended to be heard at very low volume over long durations, using the "repeat" function on the CD player to create a continuous sonic environment. Originally created as a sound installation for an exhibit with visual artist Claire Giovanniello, the piece has here been re-mixed to function independently in a home listening environment. "Claire's work plays with the boundary between the art and the surface upon which it hangs. Her geometrical pieces made of roofing nails and aluminum rods penetrate directly into the wall, while her white, three dimensional paintings wrapped in gauze seem to be pushing their way out of it, and are almost invisible. Inspired by the ghostly presence of those white paintings, I wanted to investigate that liminal place where air becomes sound, to make something which seemed to emanate from the room itself, as if it were seeping out of the walls." A stereo microphone, a graphic equalizer and a small sound system were used to articulate the resonant frequencies of the gallery space in which the exhibit took place. The resulting tones were digitally recorded, then taken into the studio where their pitches were determined and compositional decisions were made as to their juxtaposition, volume and duration. Other than some additional equalization, no electronic processing or manipulation of the original source material was used. From these profoundly simple means Peters has created a beautiful, elegant sound object which is also surprisingly complex. Steve Peters has written, "To me, Emanations works on a couple of different levels. On the one hand, it can be experienced as a transparent aural presence which the listener can move around in, a pleasant yet unobtrusive accompaniment to one's living. But because it is so quiet, it can also intensify one's sense of hearing; the listener has to constantly decide at each moment if the piece is "there" or not, and in doing so becomes hyper-aware of other sounds in the listening environment as the ear tries to sort through them to find the piece. It doesn't mask the sounds around us, but mixes with them, occasionally poking through, then being completely obscured by them or perhaps even interacting with them to create composite harmonies or difference tones. I consider either way of relating to the piece to be equally valid." Steve Peters makes music and sound pieces for concerts, dance, theater, radio and public spaces.
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RELACHE ENSEMBLE - Outcome Inevitable (OO Discs 17; USA) Outcome Inevitable is a digital recording of the Relache Ensemble's favorite commissioned works from recent years. Beginning with the title track, composed by world-renowned American composer Robert Ashley, the disc also includes Timberline by Lois V. Vierk, ContradictionPlease! The Revenge Of Charlie Chan by Fred Wei-han Ho and the only work on the CD not commissioned by Relache, Borealis Music by Eleanor Hovda. The ensemble chose four compositions that they have performed extensively over the past few years resulting in a brilliant compilation of stylistically different music. The title work, Outcome Inevitable by the legendary Robert Ashley, best known for his redefinition of American opera is a rare example of Ashley's purely instrumental music without voice, narration or video.
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NEIL B ROLNICK With GEORGE LEWIS/ROBERT DICK - ElectriCity (OO Discs 08; USA) ElectriCity, features The New York New Music Ensemble, avant-garde Jazz composer/trombonist George Lewis, flautist Robert Dick and percussionist Gordon Gottlieb. This is music that can't be easily categorized into the electronic/acoustic arena: it goes far beyond expectations, offering a fine, sometimes uneven, but always interesting, exploration into the interaction between the human and the machine. Rolnick's pieces include extended playing techniques for flute and solo instruments weaving between, in and around computer-generated tape. The result is a recoding of sounds, both alien and organic. This unique style has caused reviewers to compare Rolnick's serious playfulness to getting caught between two very different radio stations: somewhere on the open, uncharted road. THE VILLAGE VOICE said of Neil Rolnick, "his music is state-of-the-art computer stuff, but Rolnick has good sense of humor and showmanship, and he's never cold or inhuman."
CD $10.00 7 for 6 SALE.

FREDERIC RZEWSKI/ANTHONY DE MARE - The Piano Music (OO Discs 16; USA) The 'Age of Newt' is upon us, and it seems we're teetering on the brink of a Dickensian abyss. Amazingly enough, in the midst of all this end-of-the-millennium doom, there is a strong, true voice that offers us some semblance of hope. A single voice emits a passionate cry of protest, with a sound seasoned by a knowledge of historical context, yet so deeply idealistic that it is as innocent as it is profound. That voice is Frederic Rzewski. oodiscs #16 Frederic Rzewski: The Piano Music includes the composer's dramatization of Oscar Wilde's years in prison for homosexuality, as well as four ballads concerning the working conditions in textile mills in North Carolina in the 1930's. Rzewski never backs down, never compromises. He is dangerously political, with a vision that is at once steadfast, honest and courageously innocent.
CD $14

STUART SAUNDERS SMITH - Crux (OO Discs 11; USA) Twenty Years of New Music Compositions Incorporating compositions spanning a twenty year period of creative output, oodiscs #11 Crux explores the insights and sonic discoveries of new music composer, Stuart Saunders Smith. Pieces range from Smith's early composition, Here and There using short-wave radio, flute and piano interior, to the opening tour de force Tunnels for musician/actor. oodiscs #11, Crux, features some of America's most noted new music performers including the redoubtable bassist Burt Turetzky, piano virtuosi Paul Hoffmann and Thomas Moore and singer/actor/percussionist Thomas Goldstein. On oodiscs #11 Crux, the four principal areas of Smith's work include traditionally notated scores exploring extreme rhythmic complexities; improvisational structures which define various levels of composer/performer collaboration; speech-songs (text compositions) where words are put together more for their sonic design quality than for their semantic content; and trans-media systems. This term refers to a concept or system that is performable by any type of performer, such as an actor, dancer, luminist, mime, and musician.
CD $14

STUART SAUNDERS SMITH - Wind In The Channel (OO Discs 31; USA) Wind In the Channel by composer Stuart Saunders Smith is the second complete CD release of his music. The disc features sixty-four minutes of music with eight different works of primarily acoustic chamber and solo music. The dates of compositions range from the 1974 Gifts, with flutist John Fonville and Thomas Goldstein, vibraphone and Paul Hoffman, piano, to the 1995 composition entitled, California Driving with performance and realization by Sylvia Smith. Other performers on the disc include James Ostryniec, oboe; Thomas Moore, piano; Julia Whybron, recorder/voice; and Stuart Saunder Smith, voice. The American composer/theorist John Welsh has written extensively about Smith's music. We excerpt here from John's introduction to Stuart Saunders Smith 25-Year Retrospective. "Smith's story does not embody the mainstream in contemporary art today. Rather, his story is rooted in the majesty of Maine and in its isolation, Grange halls, Free Jazz groups, Beat poetry and events such as 'Art By Appointment' and 'Sound Sculptures.' Although Smith considers himself a jazz composer and drummer, his work has been absorbed into a wider range of contemporary compositional efforts, both in the United States and Europe. From experimental jazz to new music to sound-text poetry to operas to solo percussion music, his distinctly American music has been described by Milton Babbitt as ".... a personalized seamless compound, a collection of vast awareness fused into a unified, single and singular vision."
CD $14

JEFF SONG/MATT TURNER - Love And Fear (OO Discs 10; USA) Jeff Song (kayagum) and Matt Turner (cello) Love and Fear is an improvised exploration, searching and finally forging, the sonic landscape that exists between persistence and modulation. There is a push and pull that is beautiful in its fierce honesty, transcending context, mood and emotion. oodiscs #10 Love and Fear features vocals and kayagum performances from Jeff Song, and celli performances by Matt Turner. The CD was taped live in a recording studio with each piece a complete improvisatory effort. According to Song, the kayagum worked remarkably well as an instrument capable of exploring the riches of microtones and the endless circumstances of sound which create the recording's beauty. Although completely improvised, the pieces are approached compositionally, culminating in a hybrid of improvised compositions. Each sound moment serves as a dialogue, a conversation opener, responding and building on the evolving sonic exploration. Song and Turner establish a highly personal and unique musical language that truly challenges what we've come to accept as musical conventions. Creating this both specific and universal musical vocabulary, clearly pushes the limits of the technical approach, and both Turner and Song transcend their own instruments in favor of the ultimate improvised moment. The final creation dwells between the realm of swing and funk, with a healthy dose of Korean folk style, twentieth Century classics and jazz woven in for good measure--truly a sound that goes beyond definition and categorization. THE VALLEY SCENE observed that in OO#10 Love and Fear "Matt Turner and Jeff Song can be paralleled to visual abstract artists such as Pollock and deKooning of the turbulent '50s and '60s." NEW ENGLAND PERFORMER said, "Song and Turner's efforts are a testament to a newly realized musical philosophy--one which challenges musical norms in a way which can ultimately empower any musician who seeks to find a pure voice in such a personal expression of sound." When all is said and done, OO #10, Love and Fear is about friendship, honesty, trust, and taking important risks.
CD $14

TWISTED TUTU [EVE BEGLARIAN & KATHLEEN SUPPOVE] - Play Nice (OO Discs 66; USA) the premiere CD by the avant-rock-electro-new music hi-bred ensemble, twisted tutu. The disc features 72 minutes of music performed by twisted members Eve Beglarian and Kathleen Supove in an indescribable mix of high-art/low-art, electro/acoustic, written/improvised, singing, keyboarding, and generally just slamming music! twisted tutu features the extraordinary keyboard virtuosity of Supove and the digital processing wizardry of Beglarian in addition to singing and other hard to categorize musical elements. The disc features 13 - cuts, ranging from the masturbatory opening moans of Beglarian's BoyToy, to the unrelenting drive in Duke Ellington's I Let A Song Go Out of My Heart, with additional compositions by Guy Klucevsek, Kitty Brazelton, Arthur Jarvinen and Randy Woolf.
CD $14

BLUE GENE TYRANNY - Go, Blue (OO Discs 64; USA) Featuring The Digital Music Ensemble, Stephen Rush, Director oodiscs, inc. is pleased to announce the release of OO #64 the music of Blue Gene Tyranny and the performances with the Digital Music Ensemble. The recording features works taken from Tyranny's Driver's Son and De-certified Highway in addition to a duet with Blue Gene and Stephen Rush all recorded during his residency at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Stephen Rush writes, "Blue's return to Ann Arbor was thrilling and wild. He lectured to wide-eyed composition students about numerological permutations in his work, his use of everyday sounds in Country Boy, Country Dog, and his view on the cosmic force of music and beauty." Blue Gene Tyranny is a composer and pianist of avant-garde music. He has created over 50 works, for various electronic and acoustic instruments and voices, which research mysterious natural and social phenomena. Illud Tempus is the second piece from a trilogy started with Inori To The Sacred Prostitute in 1993 and closed with As Malibrans from 1999.
CD $14

ZEITGEIST ENSEMBLE/FREDERIC RZEWSKI - A Decade: Zeitgeist Plays Rzewski (OO Discs 15; USA) Collaborative New Music from Zeitgeist Ensemble and Composer Frederic Rzewski For the past ten years one of America's most influential and important composers has been collaborating with the extraordinary Zeitgeist contemporary music ensemble of Minneapolis. Their work together has helped to define one of the most important and provocative new music collaborations of the past decade. oodiscs #15 A Decade: Zeitgeist Plays Rzewski is the cumulative result of this most fortunate artistic liaison.
CD $14


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DMG RECOMMENDED NYC GIG LIST FOR JANUARY 28th & Beyond...


Fri Jan 28th -

JOHN ZORN'S 'NECRONOMICON' & 'MYSTERIUM' (World Premiere) at Miller Theatre at 8pm - 116th & Broadway / Columbia University - 7pm pre-concert discussion w/ Mr. Zorn!

PETER ZUMMO/GUY de BIEVRE/JOLIE/ANNE LA BERGE/ERNIE BROOKS/MUSTAFA AHMED at Lotus Studios - 109 W. 27th St. (8th floor) - at 8pm!

RAVI COLTRANE QUARTET at Tonic at 8 & 10pm!


Sat Jan 29th-

ELLIOTT SHARP'S CARBON ORCHESTRA conducted by BUTCH MORRIS at the Vision Series - Les Gallery Clemente Soto Velez - 107 Suffolk & Rivington at 7:30 & 9pm!!

HARRIET TUBMAN / VERNON REID'S MASQUE / DAVE FIUCZINSKI'S KIF at Tonic at 8pm - this is a fusion/guitar lover's dream gig!! Brandon Ross, Vernon Reid & The Fuze all in 1 nite!!

JACK WRIGHT / MICHEL DONEDA / TATSUYA NAKATANI at Lotus Music Studio at 8pm - 109 W. 27th St. on the 8th floor - Jack plays alto sax, Michel plays soprano sax and Tatsuya plays percussion - all three of these fine fellows are totally unique in their approach to improvising - Michael Parker says that you'd best be there!!


Sun Jan 30th -

TAYLOR HO BYNUM / STEPHEN HAYNES / NATE WOOLEY Moxie Triple Trumpet Trio here at DMG at 6pm for free!! 3 amazing trumpet heroes at one time - will wonders never cease!?!

Sunday Free-Style Series at CB's Lounge - 313 Bowery - great series starts at
7pm - Jon Lunbom & Big Five Chord: Jon Irabagon, Bryan Murray, Moppa Elliot, Andrew Bain
8pm - Ralph Allessi, Tim Berne, Mark Helias, Shane Endsley, Will Jennings
9pm - Steve Lehman Quintet w/Drew Gress, Tyshawn Sorey, Jonathon Finlayson, Chris Dingham


Mon Jan 31st-

SPECULUM MUSICAE performs STEVEN MACKEY/GEORGE PERLE/MARIO DAVIDOVSKY at Merkin Hall at 8pm!


Tue Feb 1st - Sun Feb 6th-

DAVE DOUGLAS & NOMAD at the Village Vanguard - 178 7th Ave. south w/ Myron Walden, Rubin Kodheli, Marcus Rojas & Tyshawn Sorey! Certain to be great!


Tue February 1st-

[JOHN HOLLENBECK'S] CLAUDIA QUINTET at Tonic at 8pm w/ Drew Gress (bass), Ted Reichman (accordion / piano / pump organ), Chris Speed (tenor sax / clarinet), Matt Moran (vibraphone) & John Hollenbeck (drums / percussion) - superb blend of third stream/prog/modern jazz - totally unique!

Marshall Allen (from Sun Ra Arkestra), Sabir Mateen, Michael Ray, Toshi Makihara & Jeffrey Shurdut at Tonic at 10pm!! - all-star out/jazz/noise line-up should blow some minds!


Thur Feb 3rd-

BANG ON A CAN ALL-STARS w/ PHILIP GLASS at Merkin Hall at 8pm!

MICHAEL MUSILLAMI TRIO at 9:30 Detour - 349 E. 13th St. - excellent jazz guitarist who runs the great Playscape label and rarely comes to town!


Sun Feb 6th-

Sunday Free-Style Series at CBGB's Lounge - 313 Bowery starts at
7pm - Kris Davis, Jeff Davis, Reuben Radding, Jon Irabogon
8pm - Jackson Moore, Nate Wooley, Shelley Burgon, Chris Dingman, Eivind Opsvik, Mike Pride
9pm - Louie Belogenis, Hill Greene, Roy Campbell, Michael Wimberly (CD release celebration!)