DMG Newsletter for Friday, January 25th, 2019

“Mr. Tambourine Man” - Written by Bob Dylan

Hey, Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to
Hey, Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me
In the jingle jangle morning, I'll come following you
Though I know that evening's empire
Has returned into sand
Vanished from my hand
Left me blindly here to stand but still not sleeping
My weariness amazes me
I'm branded on my feet
I have no one to meet
And the ancient empty street's too dead for dreaming
Hey, Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to

Hey, Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me
In the jingle jangle morning, I'll come following you
Take me on a trip upon your magic swirling ship
My senses have been stripped, my hands can't feel to grip
My toes too numb to step,
wait only for my boot heels To be wandering
I'm ready to go anywhere, I'm ready for to fade
Into my own parade
Cast your dancing spell my way
I promise to go under it
Hey, Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to
Hey, Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me
In the jingle jangle morning, I'll come following you
Though you might hear laughing, spinning
Swinging madly across the sun
It's not aimed at anyone, it's just escaping on the run

And but for the sky, there are no fences facing
And if you hear vague traces of skipping reels of rhyme
To your tambourine in time, it's just a ragged clown behind
I wouldn't pay it any mind, it's just a shadow
You're seeing that he's chasing
Hey, Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to
Hey, Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me
In the jingle jangle morning, I'll come following you
Then take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind
Down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves
The haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach
Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow
Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free
Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands
With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves
Let me forget about today until tomorrow
Hey, Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to
Hey, Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me
In the jingle jangle morning, I'll come following you”

“Mr. Tambourine Man” was written by Bob Dylan and appeared on his album, ‘Bringing It All Back Home’ in March of 1965. It was soon covered by The Byrds, a shorter version lyrically, and was the Byrds’ first hit single as well as the beginning of what would become known as folk-rock. It captures the power of music (a song) to inspire those who listen closely…

Since every day seems to bring more bad news from out current political situation, I have been trying to find a way inspire those of us who are affected by the waves of negative energy produced by the world wide web connecting us. Creative music specifically and all creative arts in general, have a way bringing we humans together as a positive force, a real example of the way true democracy should work. So let’s gather together in libraries or concert halls, join hands, rejoice, sing and most important talk to one another. Turn off your cell phone and don’t look at your computer for one hour a day. You are being manipulated by… See if you can do that, try hard, it is not impossible! Get out of your chair and stretch, breathe some fresh air, search for some sunshine and make someone else smile! - BLG at DMG

***********
This Week’s New Sounds and Featured Releases from These Monster Musicians:

John Zorn // Sofia Rey & JC Maillard! Andrew Cyrille / Wadada Leo Smith / Bill Frisell! New from Cantaloupe: Michael Gordon & Bill Morrison Kronos Quartet! Bang on a Can All-Stars! David Lang’s Mystery Sonatas! New on Leo: Slava Ganelin Duo! Exodos w/ Gerry Hemingway! Stephen Rush/Andrew Bishop! Pago Libre & Christy Doran! Ivo Perelman & Jason Stein!

Reut Regev R*Time w/ Jean-Paul Bourelly! Steve Kuhn/Steve Swallow/Joey Baron! Plus Historic Discs from Dexter Gordon! Howard Riley! Keith Tippett Group! Amalgam! LP’s from Maya Deren! Hampton Greaseband and Axiom Funk Cronomicon!

********** 
Upcoming Sets at Downtown Music Gallery - FREE, every Sunday at 6pm

 Sunday, January 27th:
6pm: MATTEO LIBERATORE / JON IRABAGON / TOM RAINEY - Guitar / Saxes / Drums
7pm: SAM WEINBERG / ANDREW FURLONG - Saxophone / Bass

Sunday, February 3rd:
6pm: JESSE DULMAN QUARTET: RAS MOSHE / DAVE SEWELSON / LEONID GALAGANOV / JESSE DULMAN
7pm: THE BEYOND GROUP: CHERYL PYLE - C Alto Flutes / MICHAEL EATON - Soprano Sax /
CLAIRE de BRUNNER - Bassoon / GENE COLEMAN - Bass Flute & Piccolo

Sunday, February 10th:
6pm: XANDER NAYLOR / RYAN DUGRE - Guitar Duet
7pm: OUTSIDE WORLD: HAZEL RIGBY / BEN SCOTT / TAYLOR ADAMS

Sunday, February 17th:
6pm: LIOR MILLIGER / HILLIARD GREENE / JOE HERTENSTEIN
7pm: DAVID MEIER / DANIEL CARTER…

Sunday, February 24th: The REGGIE SYLVESTER Double Header:
6pm: ED KELLER / REGGIE SYLVESTER - Guitar & Drums Duo!
7pm: RETROGRADE ESP CD Set: MATT LAVELLE & REGGIE SYLVESTER!

DMG is located at 13 Monroe St. (between Catherine & Market Sts) in a basement below a small gallery. Take the F train to East Broadway or the 6 train to  Canal or the B or D to Grand, or the M-15 bus to Madison & Catherine. Come on Down, the Sunday Music Series is Always Free & the Vibes are Always Cosy. You can check the weekly in-store sets through our Instagram feed

ANNOUNCEMENT to All Drummers who have played here at DMG!

We are soon going to be losing our Gretsch drum kit which will go back to the rehearsal studio from where it came. We still have two drum kits left but both are not very good. Plus our hi-hat stand recently broke!?! To any drummers, if you can donate any parts, drums, cymbals, hardware, etc., please do so and let us know. Former Dutch drummer Michael Vatcher is currently living uptown and helps out here on Mondays. He will be helping us take better care of what we have as far as the drums and gear. Thanks for your time and any help. - BLG

*****************

This Week’s Great Music Discs Start Off with this Classic:

JOHN ZORN // SOFIA REI and JC MAILLARD - The Book of Beri’ah: Vol 1 - Keter (Tzadik 5101; USA) The fabulous voice of Sofía Rei has graced several Zorn vocal projects, from the accappella quartet Mycale to the dynamic Song Project, and here she interprets eight compositions from the Book Beri’ah, the third and last book completing the Masada legacy. Featuring the remarkable JC Maillard on saz bass, the arrangements are incredibly varied, and range from lyrical heartfelt ballads to driving grooves. Intimate and intensely personal, this is one of the most unique Masada CDs in the entire series! Unforgettable.
CD $16


ANDREW CYRILLE / WADADA LEO SMITH / BILL FRISELL - Lebroba (ECM 2589; Germany) Featuring Andrew Cyrille on drums, Wadada Leo Smith on trumpet and Bill Frisell on guitar. “Andrew Cyrille’s title Lebroba is a contraction of Leland, Brooklyn and Baltimore, birthplaces of the protagonists of an album bringing together three of creative music’s independent thinkers. Each of them made his first ECM appearance long ago: drummer Andrew Cyrille on Marion Brown’s Afternoon of a Georgia Faun (1970), trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith on his own classic Divine Love (1978), and guitarist Bill Frisell on Eberhard Weber’s Fluid Rustle (1979); these are, of course, players of enduring influence. Mr. Frisell contributed to Cyrille’s previous ECM disc The Declaration of Musical Independence, but Lebroba marks a first-time meeting for the guitarist and Wadada Leo Smith. A generous leader, Cyrille gives plenty of room to his cohorts, and all three musicians bring in compositions, with “Turiya”, Wadada’s elegant dedication to Alice Coltrane, unfurling slowly over its 17-minute duration. In his own pieces, including the title track and the closing “Pretty Beauty”, Cyrille rarely puts the focus on the drums, preferring to play melodically and interactively, sensitive to pitch and to space. There are references to West African music and the blues as well as the history of jazz drumming, but Cyrille’s priority today is an elliptical style in which meter is implied rather than stated.” - ECM
“It’s an unusual line-up, but it works well – their instruments so different in timbre and range, but pleasing in combination. They all have diverse musical backgrounds and each can draw on many traditions. Their collective musical palette is therefore vast. Cyrille and Smith in their younger days could be wild and free, but there is no storming or squalling. Here, they play with great delicacy. Frisell is the fitting third member of the trio. There are plenty of his odd but lovely harmonies, electronic effects and gentle folk overtones. Smith’s far-away sounding melodic lines sit nicely with Frisell’s unfussy playing, the two of them occasionally in unison, or in pleasing harmony. Cyrille’s percussion work is fascinating. The range of sound is surprising, from gentle taps, like a wooden spoon being knocked on the rim of a mixing bowl, to drum beats like the sound of a distant marching band blowing in through a briefly opened window. There is also elegant, brushy cymbal. The music is fragmented yet lyrical, and full of space. […] ‘Lebroba’ is a fine album which repays repeated listening. Cyrille is quoted as saying: ‘I didn’t want to play all the time – I wanted to play rhythms with spaces between them, and to play melodically, in relation what they were doing… and like a fibrillating heart.’ Cyrille does just that, with this thoughtful and inventive trio. - Jane Mann, London Jazz News
CD $18


The below Historic Gem will be released in about 1 week, so we are taking pre-orders now. The word is that this will be the quintessential archival disc of the year and yes, it is still January of 2109!

ERIC DOLPHY with WOODY SHAW / SONNY SIMMONS / PRINCE LASHA / BOBBY HUTCHERSON / RICHARD DAVIS / et al - Musical Prophet: The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions (Resonance Records 2035; USA) Musical Prophet: The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions is the first official release of previously-unissued Eric Dolphy studio recordings in over 30 years! This release contains the masterpiece albums Conversations and Iron Man recorded in NYC in July, 1963. This set features jazz greats such as saxophonist Sonny Simmons, trumpeter Woody Shaw, bassist Richard Davis and NEA Jazz Master vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson. The 100 page booklet includes rare and unpublished photos, essays and interviews.
3 CD Set $30 [In stock in a week, pre-orders accepted now!]


Five Newer Cantaloupe Releases for January 2019:

MICHAEL GORDON & BILL MORRISON // SEATTLE SYMPHONY / TOMOKO MUKAIYAMA - The Unchanging Sea (Cantaloupe 21141; USA) ”The Unchanging Sea is the latest collaboration in a long-running partnership between composer Michael Gordon and filmmaker Bill Morrison. This is their fifth work for orchestra over the course of nearly two decades; starting with Decasia in 2001, the two developed a style that combined Gordon’s haunting, hypnotic music with Morrison’s artful manipulations of old, deteriorating film reels to craft a dreamlike experience that’s by turns whimsical, nostalgic and inspiring.
Co-commissioned and performed by the Seattle Symphony and featuring piano soloist Tomoko Mukaiyama, The Unchanging Sea flows from Gordon’s fascination with our connection to our watery source, in all its turbulence, majesty and mystery. While the title and visual material originate with a 1910 short film by silent era director D.W. Griffith, Morrison’s film sources 17 obscure or lost titles dealing with sea travel, including footage shot in Seattle in 1897, when the S.S. Willamette sailed out of Puget Sound at the height of the gold rush.
‘The Unchanging Sea’ is a double-disc CD DVD package. The CD includes the companion piece Beijing Harmony, also performed by the Seattle Symphony. Inspired by a visit to the Echo Wall at Beijing’s Temple of Heaven, Gordon “imagined that the sound would bounce off the stone floors and buildings to create a fanfare of echoes — an acoustical rebounding and ringing that would slowly grow in zeal and fierceness.”
2 CD DVD Set $20

BANG ON A CAN ALL-STARS // RENE LUSSIER / ANNA THORVALDSDOTTIR / NICO MUHLY / GLENN KOTCHE / BEN FROST / et al - More Field Recordings (Cantaloupe 21136; USA) “This is the second, and perhaps more aggressively experimental, installment in the Bang on Can All-Stars’ acclaimed commissioned composer series. Like its predecessor, More Field Recordings once again explores strange new terrain where found sound, samples, and archival audio collide with contemporary classical music, written by a wide range of artists and performed by the All-Stars.
In keeping with the “ground rules” of the Field Recordings project, each composer was asked to go into the field of recorded sound itself — to find something old or record something new, and to respond with their own music, in dialogue with what they found. Featuring new works by Richard Reed Parry (Arcade Fire), Caroline Shaw, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Dan Deacon, Ben Frost, Glenn Kotche and more, this two-disc set embraces the classical and electronic influences of the first Field Recordings collection (released on Cantaloupe in 2015) and extends its reach into an adventurous palette of sound that includes ambient textures, off-kilter dissonance and electro-acoustic forays into the unknown.”
2 CD Set $18

DAVID LANG // AUGUSTIN HADELICH - Mystery Sonatas (Cantaloupe 21142; USA) Back in April 2014 at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall, Augustin Hadelich’s performance of David Lang’s "mystery sonatas" was praised by the New York Times as a riveting display of “magisterial poise and serene control.” That same magic penetrates this starkly beautiful recording of the work, played by Hadelich on the exquisite 1723 “ex-Kiesewetter” Stradivari, on loan to him by its current owners since 2011.
Mr. Lang based his "mystery sonatas" on the famous pieces by Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber, but with a modern twist. “I decided to make my own virtuosic pieces about my most intimate, most spiritual thoughts,” he explains, “[but] mine are not about Jesus, and the violin is not retuned between movements. I did keep one of Biber’s distinctions. He divides Jesus’s life into three phases—the joyous, the sorrowful, and the glorious. The central pieces of my mystery sonatas are called ‘joy,’ ‘sorrow,’ and ‘glory,’ but these are all quiet, internal, reflective states of being.”
CD $15

MICHAEL GORDON // KRONOS QUARTET - Clouded Yellow (Cantaloupe 21140; USA) Over the course of a decade, Michael Gordon has collaborated with the world-renowned Kronos Quartet on a series of provocative works that have sought to stretch, bend and otherwise reshape the boundaries of modern classical music. Clouded Yellow assembles these works for the first time, perfectly encapsulating the breadth and complexity of this long-standing creative partnership.
‘Clouded Yellow’ features four pieces: the title track (composed in 2010), Exalted (2010), The Sad Park (2006) and Potassium (2000). The title of the first refers to the clouded yellow butterfly, which is known in England for its mass migrations; the word “clouded” is also meant to describe the blurred harmonies and melodies of the piece.
‘Potassium’ is for amplified string quartet and electronics, with a fuzz box used throughout to lend a mysterious distortion to the sound. The Sad Park is accompanied by recordings of children ages 3 to 4 and their responses to the tragic events of 9/11. Exalted, which also features the Young People’s Chorus of New York City, conducted by Francisco Núñez, sets the opening of the Jewish Kaddish in Aramaic, connecting the choral voices of mourning to those of the children in The Sad Park.
CD $15

DAVID LANG // MAYA BEISER - The Day (Cantaloupe 21135; USA) “Composed by David Lang, the day was commissioned in 2016 by cellist Maya Beiser as a “prequel” to world to come (2003), which Lang also wrote for Beiser in response to the tragic events of 9/11. Both pieces are meditations on life, but from very different perspectives.
“'the day' looks at ways we review our lives,” Lang explains, “exploring remembered moments as a chronicle of a life.” Lang sourced the text from the internet by searching for the phrase “I remember the day that I...,” and then cut and compiled lyrics based on his findings. The spoken word accompaniment by actor Kate Valk lends an emotional charge to Beiser’s poignant cello lines, which gradually build in multi-tracked layers to emulate a small string ensemble.
In 'world to come', Beiser echoes the cello with her own voice, with the separation between the two growing more pronounced as the piece progresses. It’s a metaphor for the separation of the soul from the body at the moment of death, and their struggle to reunite in a peaceful, post-apocalyptic spiritual world.”
CD $15

New from the Ever-Adventurous LEO Label, this is the first of two or three batches!?!:

After releasing some 30 discs from the ever-prolific Ivo Perelman, the great LEO label returns with some 20 discs which will be listed over the next few weeks and only 4 from Mr. Perelman. I just finished listening to around eight new ones and am mightly impressed by this batch. Hence, we are having a sale: all single CD’s below are $17. If you take 3 or more of these, take $1 off of each one. - BLG

SLAVA GANELIN / VLADIMIR HOMYAKOV - Neuma (Leo 846; UK) Featuring Slava Ganelin on piano, synthesizers, two Korgs & percussion and Vladimir Homyakov on a large pipe organ. This is a concert date, recorded at the Hall of Organ and Chamber Music in Chelyabinsk, Russia from March of 2018. Most of you are no doubt pretty familiar with keyboard wizard, Slava Ganelin, leader of the legendary Russian avant/jazz unit known as the Ganelin Trio, whose long career stretches back to the seventies, a long time before and after the fall of the Iron Curtain. Mr. Ganelin eventually moved to Israel and has continued to collaborate with musicians there and elsewhere. I hadn’t heard of the other musician here, Vladimir Homyakov, but he is also Russian and a fine organist as well. The organ utilized for this concert is large, the sound rich and dynamic. Both keyboardists take their time, exchanging lines, creating a spellbinding dialogue, weaving organ, piano and synths around one another. The results are most often riveting, hypnotic, explosive, organic, thoughtfully, constructed, section by section. The blend of pounding to sparse piano, spooking organ, mind bending synth spirits and ritualistic percussion evokes an ever enchanting ceremony in sound. When Frank and I listened to this disc in the store on Tues, we were blown away and had a hard time focusing on in store activities. Outstanding! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $17

EXODOS with GERRY HEMINGWAY / GUY BETTINI / FABIO MARTINI / LUCA SISERA - Heuristics (Leo 832; UK) Exodos features Guy Bettini on cornet, trumpet & flugel, Fabio Martini on clarinets & alto sax, Luca Sisera on double bass and Gerry Hemingway on drums. Even before master percussionist, Gerry Hemingway, moved to Switzerland to teach and live, he has long worked with a variety of European musicians. His network has continued to expand while in Europe, with a Swiss trio called Tree Ear on Clean Feed. This quartet appears to be Swiss-based since two of the members, Mr. Martini and Mr. Sisera, have both worked with several Swiss projects for labels like: Intakt, Leo and Bozo. Guy Bettini is the only name with whom I wasn’t familiar. On the opening piece, “Prologos”, it is My Bettini who is featured playing on both flugel and trumpet, erupting with over a hard, swinging rhythm team, sparring with Mr. Martini on alto, who then takes an explosive solo of his own. The quartet slows down for the second piece, “Parados”, bringing interplay down to a cautious simmer, building up again with somber, dreamy interaction between all four members. Although this appears to be an all-improvised affair, there is still something magical going on here as the quartet create a variety of moods without pushy directions. “Epeisodia 1” sounds like a ballad and features some lovely muted trumpet in the last section. Contrabassist Luca Sisera, who has a couple of strong discs out as a leader on Leo, if often at the center of this quartet, navigating tight rhythmic rapids with Mr. Hemingway, an extraordinary rhythm team throughout. There are certain improv dates just seem to work perfectly, the balance and interaction just right. This is one of those so dig in soon. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $17

NAKED DANCE! With STEPHEN RUSH / ANDREW BISHOP / JEREMY EDWARDS with TIM FLOOD - Something Nearby (Leo 834; UK) Featuring Stephen Rush on piano, Rhodes electric piano, MicroMoog, trombone, Euphonium & compositions, Andrew Bishop on clarinet & bass clarinet, Davy Lazar on trumpet, Tim Flood on bass & synth and Jeremy Edwards on drums. I recognize the name of keyboardist & composer, Stephen Rush, from the work he has done with Roscoe Mitchell, as well as a trio called Yuganaut (CD on ESP). Reeds player, Andrew Bishop, also hails from the Detroit area and has worked with former Detroit resident, Gerald Cleaver, on several occasions. Bassist Tim Flood has also worked with Mr. Bishop as well as with Frank Lowe & Jacob Sacks.
“Something Nearby”, features tight electric piano and clarinet interaction over an infectious rocking’ groove, with Rush adding some selective wah-wah effects to his ancient (mid-seventies) sounding piano. This disc contains seven versions of “Time Cycle”, which is based on a graphic score created by Mr. Rush as well as four other original pieces. Each version of “Time Cycle” sounds different, as the combinations of players & instruments changes on each version. The drums are featured on “Time Cycle 0”, along with the synth and clarinet, all swirling together tightly. “Four Uncles” is dedicated to four uncles w ho passed away within a year of each other. It is a rather poignant, reflective tribute with some lovely clarinet from Mr. Bishop. I really dig the sounds that Mr. Rush gets on his MicroMoog, an old school synth that was pretty popular in the mid-seventies. It is featured on “Time Cycle 5” and sounds the we thought the future would sound way back when. On “Simple Subtraction”, Mr. Rush takes a great, intense, two-handed free piano solo, another highlight, which followed by a crazed mutant double synth duo. Mr. Rush calls “See Ya!” a harmolodic ballad and it does have some slightly bent harmonies for the various horns, it is most hypnotic nonetheless. The balance between the written parts and the ’Time Cycle’ of freer sections is well selected so that things see to flow organically from section to section. Things come to a(n almost) close with a sort of New Orleans-meets Sun Ra like groove called, “Ninth Ward from the Sun”. It always great to hear the influence of Sun Ra on so many contemporary projects, this one, however rises above many others with just the right amount of space-ago spice. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $17

PAGO LIBRE & FRIENDS with JOHN WOLF BRENNAN / ARKADY SHILKLOPER / CHRISTY DORAN / ABO - Got Hard (Leo 835; UK) Pago Libre are/were an international quartet whose have had recording out since 1990. Their members currently are Arkady Shilkloper (alphorn & horn from Russia), John Wolf Brennan (piano & melodica from Ireland & Switzerland), Florian Mayer (violin from Dresden, Germany) and Tom Gotze (bass also from Dresden). The guests for this disc include: Christy Doran (guitar), Christian Zehnder (voice & accordion from Basel, Switzerland), Patrice Heral (drums from Perols, France) plus Alpentone Blasorchester/Wind Orchestra (ABO). The last time that Pago Libre had an album released, it was 2011 and called, ‘Fake Folk’, I can’t recall ever seeing a copy of it. The addition of four other musicians plus the ABO orchestra, makes this the most ambitious project that quartet has done.
The disc was recorded live and we can hear the great response from the audience in between songs. The title track, “Got Hard, FunPhare for Common Sense” is for wind orchestra and Patrice Heral on drums. Lush, warm and still quirky, and rather ‘Felliniesque’ (as it says in the liners). “Randulin Variaziuns” features the strange, soft overtone singing of Christian Zehnder, which is something else entirely. It is an adapted old folk song and it is most enchanting no matter how odd the vocals go at times. “Robin” has a most familiar melody, an infectious vibe and a short slammin’ drum solo. The title track features a trio called, Triangulation: Doran, Brennan & Heral, the trio gets to stretch a bit with Doran playing some twisted guitar seasoning. The ABO, an adhoc wind orchestra with some 20 members, is featured on several pieces and have a wonderful, warm, immensely-charming sound. John Wolf Brennan is the main composer on this disc and he brings something special to each piece in the way that each musician is utilized best. From a touching duo for alphorn & contrabass to the Pago Libre quartet to the 20 piece ABO, each song sounds connected to the same positive spirit. The entire disc gives off a most enticing vibe, kind of alike a fairy take unfolding around or in front of us. So blow away the dark winds of current events and let some sunshine shine through the clouds. Smile and put on your dancing shoes and get carried away. A new day is dawning! Best mood enhancing disc of the current batch! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $17

WALTER FAEHNDRICH / CHRISTY DORAN / REMO SCHNYDER / SAMUEL WETTSTEIN - Ame Seche (Leo 827; UK) Featuring Christy Doran on electric guitar, Walter Faehndrich on viola & voice, Remo Schnyder on sax and Samuel Wettstein on synth. Although Swiss guitar great, Christy Doran, can be found on some 50 records since his early days with the band OM (1975-1980), he remains difficult to pin down, working in such diverse circumstances. After an ongoing Jimi Hendrix tribute project, as well as his post/rock/prog band New Bag, he recent work includes a project for some 20 guitars, as well as a newer Swiss/Argentinian trio (CD on Intuition), plus two current discs on Leo. And now this, a new quartet project with three (Swiss?) musicians whom I have never heard of.
The music of Ame Seche is careful, sparse, suspense-filled, restrained… None of the thirteen pieces have names, just a number and their lengths- 1:37 to 6:52. When the volume is way down and the playing so minimal, it become hard to hear who is doing what. Soft talking in the distance, humming, soft drones… It takes some patience to appreciate the level of restraint going on here. By midway, things finally pick up and erupt, furious but still restrained somehow. This is when the magic kicks in and we take off sailing for parts unknown. The placement and shape of each note or sound becomes more important. The last piece brings things down to another spacious, sparse, simmer or drone. It feel just right, a great way to bring this quietly transcend at CD to a tasty conclusion. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $17

IVO PERELMAN / JASON STEIN - Spiritual Prayers (Leo 842; UK) Featuring Ivo Perelman on tenor sax and Jason Stein on bass clarinet. Brazilian-born, Brooklyn-based saxist, Ivo Perelman, has been on a never-ending quest to record as many improv sessions as is possible over the past decade or so with some thirty discs now released by the Leo label. Often these sessions are released in groups of 5-7 CD’s. Over the last year, Mr. Perelman, has decided to do something different, so his last Leo release is a triple CD set (duos with Matt Shipp) and now two CD’s have been released and both are duos with great bass clarinetists. This disc features a duo with Chicago bass clarinet hero, Jason Stein. Like the other current Perelman CD, both Mr. Stein and Rudi Mahall both play bass clarinets exclusively. No doubt you recognize the name Jason Stein from his extensive catalogue with Hearts & Minds, Ken Vandermark or dozen discs as a leader. Hi most recent disc is a quartet with Keefe Jackson, Josh Abrams and Tom Rainey, is a particular fave of the DMG staff. The duo of Ivo Perelman and Jason Stein seem to be extremely well-matched. From the beginning, they take off and start spinning several layers of lines together, creating a cosmic tapestry of intricate weaving. The title of this disc, ’Spiritual Players’, come from the an observation that both Mr. Perelman and Mr. Stein, come from Jewish backgrounds but are not really involved with any religious study. Both did feel an inexplicable bond which does seem to emanate from their collective improvising. This disc starts off slowly and quietly, a reflective sense of calm at the center. The intensity builds as these two get to know each other, their lines erupting and creating a connected web of activity. Aside from recognizing the distinctive dry tone of a bass clarinet, it is often hard to tell these two apart as they explore similar tonalities and timbres. When things speed up at times, criss-crossing lines have away of evoking restless spirits set free and soaring together. There is great section when both reedmen are bending & twisting their notes together and sound like two agitated birds having a fascinating discussion. Although the central vibe is one of calmness, these two master musicians continually dig deep into their vast vocabulary and keep pushing each, interacting and connecting on different levels. This disc is nearly an hour long and I found myself at the edge of my seat for the entire length. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $17

THE AARDVARK JAZZ ORCHESTRA - Democratic Vistas (Leo 833; UK) The Aardvark Jazz Orchestra have been around for some 45 years, hail from Boston and are still run by Mark Harvey. This is their 10th disc, and like many of the previous efforts, this one is also thematic. This disc was inspired by our current socio-political situation with influences from Charles Ives, Charles Mingus, Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra, Sun Ra Arkestra and Dada’s sly sense of humor. The only names here I recognize well are Bill Lowe and Taylor Ho Bynum, although a few other names have turned up on some lesser known Boston units. Starting with “Franklin’s Wagner”, the orchestra opens with several embers of the brass section all spinning out their lines in furious, tight spirals before things calm down to a more contemplative section with small waves or currents surrounding our slightly rocking boat. |Dreaming” is a somber ballad inspired our current immigration problems created by our fake prez. “De-Evolution Blues” features an actual laid-back blues riff some inspired simmering sax solos from Chris Rakowski and Dan Zupan. Half of this disc is taken up by the epic length piece called “The Swamp-a-Rame Suite”, in 10 parts. Starting with “March of the Delusional, Dysfunctional Demagogues”, which sounds like a riff taken from a Grand Wazoo sort of march, with layers of chattering horns. Mr. Harvey loves to compose infectious and occasionally cheesy repeating lines for the orchestra while different brass or reeds take solos on top. These pieces are often based on some basic dance form rhythmic schemes like a two-step, tango, polka or waltz. What I like about this is that there is always a sense of humor, a sense of the absurdity of life going on which is often subtle and never overdone. Even the political/satirical humor mentioned in the liner notes is not so obvious while listening to this disc. Eve web things do go out, they do so in more restrained, dreamy, laid back ways. This disc ends with a two-part fanfare called, “No Walls”, which has joyous, infectious groove at the center. The balance between the brevity and darker undercurrent is well done so that there is a final festiveness going on helping us back to our feat after you-know-who kicks our collective tushes down the stairs of our fallen democracy. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $17

GABRIELA FRIEDLI TRIO With DANIEL STUDER / DIETER ULRICH - Areas (Leo 828; UK) Areas is the Gabriela Friedli Trio’s second album. And, what a powerful album it is. For those of us out of the Swiss loop, this trio consists of Daniel Studer on bass, Dieter Ulrich on drums, and, of course, Gabriela Friedli on piano. Composition credits split almost evenly between Friedli and Ulrich, but these seem to vary between loose graphic scores and more traditionally composed structures.
I originally had trouble describing the music on this disc. It is at once abstract and straightforward, thoroughly contemporary but rooted in earlier traditions. One hears echoes of ECM-styled jazz, deconstructed blues, and contemporary classical spaciousness. The first track begins with a slow plodding that gives way to scraped strings and ominous piano lines based around short, meticulous clusters of notes. Studer is quiet, but energetic. Ulrich, meanwhile, plays with a measured freneticism that adds depth to the billowing tension of the piece. As with most of the album, this piece is structured around arrhythmic variation rather than melodic or chordal shifts. The second track, “Fil da Ramosa,” is one of few exceptions. Friedli and Studer recite a repeated angular phrase in unison, while Ulrich plays around the theme. The track dips into quiet, then improvisation after the first minute and is eventually brought to its conclusion in a final return to the theme.
The rest of recording fluctuates in a similar fashion between energy and restraint, composition and free playing. To address a few standouts: “Mildew Lisa” opens with string of staggered heavy bass thumps that is soon joined by Ulrich’s inquisitive drum explorations and the alternatively playful and nervous keys of Friedli, again more frequently opting for clusters rather than chords. In contradistinction to the wooly bass and Ulrich’s feints at laying a discernible groove, the piano is particularly crisp. The groove-laden “Miedra” begins with a jagged walking bass and maintains the most consistent jazz structure of any piece on the album. Clearly this trio has the chops to play in a more conventional vernacular while retaining its more meandering tendencies. The seventh track, “Um Su” (an alternate take of which graces the end of the album), is curious in its inclusion of Ulrich on a bugle. The horn sounds wounded, but tender. This mood is reflected in Studer’s bass explorations in friction and juxtaposed against Friedli’s concerted clarity and economy of notes. The effect is a disorienting but rewarding.
According to the liner notes, the album originated in a sojourn Friedli took in the mountainous region of Graubünden. Rather than composing as she had planned, she began to hike, converse with neighbors, and, apparently, internalize her temporary surroundings. A vast and jagged mountainscape makes perfect sense for this recording. Or, rather, it helps me better understand the album’s contours. The music rarely repeats or flows in a single direction, but instead rebounds and refracts. Stilted and augmented echoes outshine the few lengthier melodies. The sounds are spacious, but, as in the penultimate track “Masse,” can well and collide into claustrophobic outbursts that inevitably collapse back into their discrete elements. Absolutely recommended.” - Nick Ostrom, FreeJazzBlog.org
CD $17


REUT REGEV’S R*TIME With JEAN-PAUL BOURELLY / MARK PETERSON / IGAL FONI - Keep Winning (Enja 9675; Germany) Featuring Reut Regev on trombone, flugabone & piano, Jean-Paul Bourelly on guitar, Mark Peterson on basses and Igal Foni on drums & percussion. This is the third disc from Israeli-born/NJ-based quartet led by Reut Regev and her husband Igal Foni. The quartet also includes the mighty guitarist, Jean-Paul Bourelly, who lives in Europe and rarely makes his way back here. As soon as I slipped this into the CD player, I had to smile… infectious groove, that great riff that just won’t quit. Ms. Regev is an incredibly creative trombonist, her sound and her playing consistently inspiring. Jean-Paul Bourelly is/was one of the best guitarist to emerge from the Downtown scene in the early/mid nineties, working with Elvin Jones, Cassandra Wilson & Butch Morris as well as fronting a handful of his own bands. He seems to be consistently inspired here, taking a number of incredible solos as well as adding seasoning to the arrangements. “No Justice No Peace” is a duo for just drums & guitar and has a sly Hendrix-like vibe. “Up in the Sky” has a great slamming groove with burnin’ trombone & electric bass playing their furious lines tightly together, just incredible! Ms. Regev has a way of writing these great riffs which combine elements of jazz, rock and funk, giving Mr. Bourelly and herself chances stretch out and take a number of inspired solos, the great rhythm team always nailing those dynamite riffs or grooves. Unexpectedly the quartet break into a kind of dub/reggae groove on “With a Winning Smile”, which works well due to the strong playing from Ruet’s trombone and Igal’s powerful drumming. The one cover here is Ornette Coleman’s “War Orphans”, of which I’ve heard several covers. The song is deconstructed somewhat so it evolves in spurts and has a dreamy vibe. R*Time is a marvelous quartet where each member is integral to the group sound and playing. This is another modest gem to be savored by those who know where to go to hear great music. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14

Three Newer Releases from Sunnyside in Stock Early Next Week!

STEVE KUHN TRIO With STEVE SWALLOW / JOEY BARON - To and From the Heart (Sunnyside 1490; USA) “Now an octogenarian, Steve Kuhn's career has in 2018 spanned nearly sixty years, never having a long lull of time without recording new music. It becomes something of a marvel then that after all this time, the pianist still finds something new to say; he is still able to surprise listeners with songs they don't expect and improvisations they don't anticipate.
He continues with the same trio he used on his previous release, At This Time... (Sunnyside, 2016) It should surprise no one how well these three mesh, considering their history. Kuhn and bassist Steve Swallow have worked together as far back as the 1960s, when they recorded with trumpeter and flugelhornist Art Farmer. Joey Baron meanwhile, has played drums on four albums with Kuhn, dating as far back as 1995.
The trio has ‘To And From the Heart’ open with the radiant "Thinking Out Loud," an original composition by Swallow, before easing perfectly into a beautiful and instantly recognizable rendition of the now classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory tune, "Pure Imagination." With it's warm, romantic tone the song conjures the images of a crisp, cool city night, strolling hand in hand past pool halls, restaurants, and towering hotels. Swallow's long electric bass solo is rained over by Baron's cymbals before Kuhn masterfully brings the melody around for a final pass. In both these first songs it becomes clear how perfectly complementary the members of this trio are to each other. It's a kind of chemistry often taken for granted, but which exists only within a group of musicians such as this one.
"Pure Imagination" is followed by two tender ballads, "Away" and "Never Let Me Go," the former of which is the second Swallow original and a simple, romantic song that feels just at home on the album.
Baron's cymbals spur Kuhn forward on Michika Fukumori's mid-tempo "Into the New World" before descending into a 16-minute long convalescence of two of Kuhn's original compositions, titled "Trance/Oceans in the Sky." The lengthy, latter half of this musical concoction is a wonderful, emotional ride. At times ominous, at others hopeful, yet never jarring. It's this song that draws the listener in, demanding full and complete attention to the band's technical prowess. Baron's drums weave through speakers left and right while Kuhn's piano lays out a remarkable turn reminiscent of the spectacular finale to a fireworks show. It's not just the perfect ending to a thoughtful, emotional album, it's the song that makes the entire 50 minute ride memorable. - Peter Hoetjes, AllAboutJazz
CD $15

CAROLINE DAVIS with MARQUIS HILL / JULIAN SHORE / TAMIER SHMERLING / JAY SAWYER - Heart Tonic (Sunnyside 1506; USA) Heart Tonic opens like a Jefferson Airplane or Soft Machine record—with long, eerie, psychedelic organ tones. It ends like West African funk, with a slippery bass leading interlocked 9/4 rhythms. Between these brackets is knotty, complex postbop that doesn’t sit still long enough to be described less broadly. Fortunately for alto saxophonist Caroline Davis, her music is even better than it is audacious.
The aforementioned organ freakout (courtesy of Julian Shore) at the beginning of “Footloose and Fancy Free” lasts 11 seconds before the eight-minute tune completely changes the subject, shunting into an anxiety- and Rhodes-driven convolution that Davis and trumpeter Marquis Hill navigate steadily. Tension further mounts on “Constructs,” a long piece that changes tempo, key and character often and suddenly; Davis and Hill’s shared combination of warmth and daredevilry is its through line. Davis in particular has such a warm, rich alto tone that it often sounds like a tenor being played in its upper register, as on the album’s lovely highlight “Fortune.” The track also features a long, sublime upright solo from Tamir Shmerling and excellent organ work by Benjamin Hoffman, who adds subtle color behind Shore’s supple piano. Drummer Jay Sawyer gets a thunderous turn on “…TuneFor,” a coda to “Fortune” based on one of its motifs.”
Ms. Sawyer keeps busy on this record of many rhythms, a project often based on the human heart and/or Davis’ father’s arrhythmia (though you may have to be a cardiologist—or Steve Coleman—to make sense of these concepts). Shore, too, significantly shapes the music, working two synthesizers (best heard in the weird ostinati of “Dionysian”) as well as his piano and Rhodes. But Heart Tonic remains Davis’ triumph, a gauntlet of complex, often fraught music that remains approachable. It’s the finest album yet by an artist who has many fine records ahead of her.” - Michael J. West, JazzTimes
CD $15

JOHN RAYMOND with GILAD HEKSELMAN / COLIN STRANAHAN - Real Feels Live - Vol. 2 (Sunnyside 1535; USA) An aspect of the jazz music business that tends to be ignored is touring. There are only so many venues with budgets and booking agents. Artists who manage to find both are either popular sensations or lucky, especially in a country as spread out and diverse as the United States. It takes a lot of motivation, courage and a devil-may-care attitude to strike out on the road on your own. Brass wizard John Raymond felt that the investment he and his Real Feels bandmates had put into their music should be heard by a larger audience, no matter the cost.
Raymond instituted Real Feels in an effort to create a small, focused ensemble with a strong band dynamic and identity. Alongside guitarist Gilad Hekselman and drummer Colin Stranahan, Raymond has recorded three albums, including 2018’s Joy Ride on Sunnyside Records. As they had done for their earlier records, Real Feels hit the road for an extended tour over four months that allowed their material, along with the ensemble, to grow and refine itself. Their final concert on this tour, at the Blue Whale in Los Angeles, was preserved, and is now released as Real Feels Live Vol. 2.
Originally from Minnesota, Raymond brought his Midwestern sensibilities and flugelhorn to New York, eventually leading to the formation of Real Feels with Hekselman and Stranahan. The music the trio makes is forthright and listenable. The band found that as they played more and more their approach to music making became more and more oriented toward serving the tune, akin to a rock song rather than the typical blowing jazz pieces. This honing mostly came on the bandstand, where the trio would respond to the reactions of the crowd to inform where the music went.
When Real Feels recorded Joy Ride, the pieces they played were in nascent form, some only having been played in rehearsals. By the end of the tour, which spanned the United States, venues of all types and sizes, and audiences of all description, the pieces began to have new personas, the road and routine shaping them in different ways that can be heard on Live Vol. 2.
The recording was made at Los Angeles’s home for fresh and outstanding jazz performances, the Blue Whale. The venue had previously played host to Real Feels a number of times and had provided young and enthusiastic audiences for the band. The group recorded a number of performances while on the road but weren’t very surprised to find that the best of the bunch was done at their favorite West Coast venue, which provided a perfect blend of sound and vibe.
CD $15


DEXTER GORDON QUARTET - San Francisco '82 (Hi Hat 3116; UK) Dexter Gordon Quartet, live from Keystone Korner, San Francisco Bay Area, December 1982. This great saxophonist's long and remarkable career saw him perform alongside Lester Young, Lionel Hampton, Charlie Parker, Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, and many others. After a long spell in Europe, he returned to the US in 1976, and was named DownBeat's Musician of the Year in 1978 and 1980. This superb set was broadcast on KCSM in 1982, and finds him on vintage form, even throwing in some festive standards. The entire KCSM-FM set is presented here, digitally remastered, with background notes and images.
CD $17

Restocked CD’s:

HOWARD RILEY - Live in the USA (No Business 111; Lithuania) “The British pianist Howard Riley spent time studying, teaching and playing in the States as well as in his home country, and it is this nomadic spirit that allowed his playing and technique to develop continuously throughout his career. Riley notes in the brief liner section that he was experiencing a period of transition when these solo performances were recorded in New York City and Buffalo during the mid 1970's. The sound of the album is crisp and clear allowing the listener to hear Riley explore the entirety of they keyboard, beginning with the opening track where he frames his improvisation by playing inside the piano for a bit, creating unusual sounds that are then absorbed by his more conventional piano playing. Conventional doesn't mean stilted though, given the strength and the imagination that Riley can call upon in developing improvisations that are capable of building hypnotic narrative structures and sections of freedom that can last twenty minutes or more. The music is somewhat reminiscent of the fully improvised solo piano albums and concerts which Cecil Taylor used to perform, like Silent Tongues or For Olim. The warm accessible sections will be mixed with bracing cascading cells of freely improvised piano, and the dynamic nature of these yin and yang opposites provide the locomotion that drives the music relentlessly forward, or spontaneously composing, using the length and breadth of the instrument. The second two performances show the exciting exploration of a musician who is in the process of refining his talent, approach to the keyboard and the arts of composition and improvisation, allowing him to adjust his performance by extending and expanding his personal approach to the instrument. His skill and technique are at a very high level, but they don't overwhelm the listener and the music remains thought provoking throughout the disc, with a sense of narrative which seems to propel the sound, texture, and shading of his music. Riley is a channel for the musical information and technique to flow, refining his music as both a concept and a language, and is is fascinating to hear. This is a minimally designed package with a brief statement from Riley and discographical information. The music contained within is memorable, that of a major player during a period of growth and renewal. Riley's music is complex but never overwhelming, and fans and students of modern improvised piano should take note.” - Tim Niland, JazzandBlues. blogspot
CD $16 [listed last month but it didn’t arrive until this week]


KEITH TIPPETT GROUP With ELTON DEAN / MARC CHARIG / NICK EVANS / GARY BOYLE / ROY BABBINGTON / JEFF CLYNE / ROBERT WYATT / PHIL HOWARD / BRYAN SPRING - Dedicated To You But You Weren't Listening (Esoteric 2367; UK) Keith Tippett's name is probably familiar to those who are fans of '70s British jazz OR bands like King Crimson, the Soft Machine and Blossom Toes (all whom benefited from Tippett's ivory mastery on some of their greatest albums).This is a legendary all-time classic of '70s Avant-British Jazz, and a long time high-priced rarity on LP! Keith's (and his Group's: Elton Dean, Marc Charig and Nick Evans) 2nd album from 1971 is augmented by Robert Wyatt, Phil Howard (both members at different times in Soft Machine) and Bryan Spring on drums, Roy Babbington and Neville Whitehead on bass, Gary Boyle on guitar, and Tony Uta on percussion - on all tracks! Brilliantly structured and arranged compositions from Tippett [3], Evans[3], Dean [1] and the [mutated by Dean and Charig] Hugh Hopper/Soft Machine title tune allowed for plenty of free expression from the indivdual players and gave birth to a personalized new-jazz style that put Tippett in a class of his own. A tour de force, this energized treasure is one of our (Bruce and Manny's) favorite Euro-jazz recordings of all time and should be owned and known by avant-music freaks around the world. Esoteric remastered edition of this 1971 album, the second from this legendary British Jazz pianist. Tippett is one of the greatest and innovative figures in modern jazz. His work has also seen him cross into the world of Progressive rock, working with King Crimson and his own outfit Centipede. Dedicated To You, But You Weren't Listening took its name from the Soft Machine track of the same name and was the group's second album. Recorded for the legendary Vertigo label, the album featured such celebrated alumni as Elton Dean on alto saxophone, Marc Charig on cornet, Nick Evans on trombone, bass players Roy Babbington and Neville Whitehead, drummers Robert Wyatt, Phil Howard and Bryan Spring, along with the virtuosity of pianist Keith Tippett. A legendary work, Dedicated to You, But You Weren't Listening has been newly remastered from the original Vertigo master tapes and the booklet fully restores the original album artwork and includes a new essay. One of the greatest British avant/jazz records of all time and a personal favorite that blows my mind each time I play it! - BLG
CD $26

AMALGAM [TREVOR WATTS / JEFF CLYNE / BARRY GUY / JOHN STEVENS] - Prayer for Peace (FMR 96; UK) Outstanding early studio session from May of 1969 from an all-star SME offshoot trio featuring Trevor Watts on alto sax, John Stevens on drums, Jeff Clyne and Barry Guy (title piece only) on contrabasses. This is an aptly titled work - immensely spiritual, free flowing and sublimely cosmic. Trevor Watts has said of the title track, 'The mood of Prayer for Peace' is a very strong part of my musical personality The theme came to me during an improvisation. Afterwards I remembered it because the feeling was so beautiful for me I wanted to recreate it, and give the feeling of peace and beauty to others'
CD $14

AMALGAM [TREVOR WATTS / JOHN STEVENS / JEFF CLYNE or RON HERMAN] - Play Blackwell & Higgins (FMR 146; UK) Featuring Trevor Watts (alto), John Stevens (drums), Ron Herman (bass), Jeff Clyne (bass) Watts and Stevens are today considered true legends of the British jazz scene, and this spellbinding 1973 Amalgam release demonstrates there status wonderfully. Dedicated to drummers Eddie Blackwell and Billy Higgins for their contribution to jazz music. Without them, Watts sleeve notes reveal,”Ornette Coleman's music could not have developed as strongly as it did, even though Ornette was one of a handful of 'pure-rhythm' horn players. Playing with John Stevens and being his best friend for years had helped tremendously in making Watts a more rhythmically aware saxophonist and this re-release is as much a dedication to Stevens' contributions to music as of his heroes Billy Higgins and Eddie Blackwell. This continues FMR's list of excellent re-released Amalgam CDs bringing incredible music to a new audience. "What we find here is two side-long (21 & 26 minute) pieces titled "Blackwell" and "Higgins", each one live & from the Birmingham Arts Lab (3/72) or The Pheonix in London (1/73). "Blackwell" has does have that second-line meets free groove that Ed Blackwell so excelled at. The vibe is joyous, jubilant, almost funky, cerebral yet completely hypnotic. Stevens is using mallets and doing some amazing work on his high-hat. Trevor Watts has that swell "dancing in your head" Ornette-like tone as he rides the groove, the trio dancing together as one great spirit/force. On "Higgins", bassist Jeff Clyne, keeps the pulse going throughout with a constant throb. Stevens swings more like Billy Higgins with that astonishing light-handed, yet non-stop swing. The groove is again quite infectious with the sax and drums moving marvelously together, locked into another mesmerizing and joyous force. It doesn't get any better than this, you had better grab your copy soon or miss out on one of this year's best historic treasures." - BLG
CD-R $14

AMALGAM [TREVOR WATTS / KEITH TIPPETT / KENT CARTER / LINDSAY L COOPER / TERRI QUAYE / JOHN STEVENS] - Innovation (FMR 119; UK) Finally one of the gems of my vinyl collection has been resurrected on CD! An historic meeting between giants Stevens (Spontaneous Music Ensemble), Watts (SME and Moire Music) and Tippett (Ovary Lodge at the time), with four tunes written by John, and one by Trevor which makes especially good use of the two bassists of Kent and Lindsay (Mr. Lindsay L Cooper, the bassist, not Ms Lindsay Cooper the composer/double-reed player from Henry Cow). Recorded in late '74 and released on the Tangent [UK] label, this has been an expensive collector's item should you even [rarely] spot it on eBay, GEMM and other sites.
CD $14

AMALGAM [TREVOR WATTS/DAVE COLE/HARRY MILLER/LIAM GENOCKEY] - Deep (FMR 120; UK) “Seventh album by the superb British Jazz / Improvised Music ensemble Amalgam, one of the precursors of British / European Free Jazz scene in the late 1960s and 1970s, founded by saxophonist Trevor Watts. On this album the lineup is a quartet, including guitarist Dave Cole, bassists Harry Miller and drummer Liam Genockey, which marks the second phase of Amalgam, characterized by the dual saxophone – guitar frontline. The music is written entirely by Watts. This album was originally released on the tiny German independent Vinyl label, and was unavailable for many years, which is now rectified by this CD issue. With the guitar and double electric bass the sound of the band becomes even more close to Fusion, but the extended improvisations and the virtuosity of the performers are still the same as always. This is again quite an accessible Amalgam album ever and easily enjoyed both by Jazz and Fusion adventurous music fans. This is still a classic and brilliant stuff as always!” - Jazzis
CD $14

AMALGAM [TREVOR WATTS / WILLIAM KUHNE / COLIN McKENZIE / LIAM GENOCKEY] - Mad (FMR 267; UK) Featuring Trevor Watts on saxes, Willem Kuhne on electric piano, Colin McKenzie on bass and Liam Genockey on drums. Recorded live in 1977. This is the 9th Amalgam disc released on FMR and each one has been a different and distinctive gem. Amalgam was saxist Trevor Watts' ever-evolving band both during and after he left the Spontaneous Music Ensemble. Amalgam had first an acoustic period with bassists Jeff Clyne or Barry Guy and guests like Keith Tippett. Their electric period featured the same rhythm team of Colin Mackenzie on electric bass and Liam Genockey on drums with different electric guitarists Dave Cole, Steve Layton and even Keith Rowe from AMM. 'Mad' seems to be the one Amalgam disc with an electric piano, Willem Kuhne, replacing the electric guitar. When Trevor left SME, he moved more into the (cosmic) groove. Hence, the electric version of Amalgam always had a great groove in the center of whatever they did. Although you can tell that this disc was taken from vinyl, the sound is still just right. The rhythm team has a consistent, joyous, somewhat funky vibe which is both in-the-pocket and mutating at the same time. Trevor does a fabulous job of riding the groove and soloing with infectious glee on top. "Jive" is fast and furious tune that approaches that over-the-top fusion intensity level. With the rhythm team slamming hard, Trevor spins cascading lines of notes as if he is running a race or being pursued some monster about to swallow him whole. Mr. Kuhne also takes a smokin' solo, giving Trevor a run for his money, as does bassist Colin Mackenzie. . The second side of the album, consists of the two-part "Berlin Wall" and "Mad". On "Berlin Wall," Trevor almost sounds like a horse as he solos (whinnies) on top of another slower yet still celebratory groove. Drummer, Liam Genockey, was also a member of Trevor's next band, the Moire Music Society which included African musicians as well. Listening to this creative groove wonder, I can hear the connection between Amalgam and MMS. I dig the way the sax and piano are always interconnected, soloing and working their way around one another seamlessly. Amalgam is/are a powerful quartet that must've really been a joy to witness live, too bad we can't just jump into a time machine and check them out live. In the meantime, this disc will have to do. - BLG
CD $14

AMALGAM [TREVOR WATTS / KEITH ROWE / COLIN McKENZIE or GEORGE LYLE / LIAM GENOCKEY] - Wipeout [3 CD Box Set] (FMR 111; UK)Trevor Watts (alto & soprano saxes), Keith Rowe (guitars), Liam Genockey (drums) plus Colin McKenzie (bass) or George Lyle (bass). Another important first-time-on-CD release for Trevor Watts' Amalgam. This excellent 3CD box set was originally released on Impetus in the early eighties. The three discs feature live recordings of twelve original Amalgam performances and features excellent guitar improviser Keith Rowe and regular drummer Liam Genockey, plus the electric bass work of Colin MacKenzie and George Lyle. [Note: This had to be transferred and mastered from vinyl as master tapes were lost] This has to be one of the strangest and most incongruent bands that emerged from the British free/jazz scene that began in the mid-sixties. Trevor Watts started out with the Spontaneous Music Ensemble, an influential group that he founded with John Stevens that developed their approach to "free music". In the seventies, Trevor put together Amalgam, another highly influential band that combined the best elements of that era: jazz, rock, fusion and freedom in their own unique and often rhythmic way. For this version of Amalgam, AMM's guitar-on-table sonic explorer, Keith Rowe, was asked to play in a more rhythm-oriented way. According to a discussion I had with Mr. Rowe last year, he claimed that he went out and bought a solid-body rock guitar solely for this tour and learned some rock guitar riffs. Anyone who is familiar with Keith Rowe's distinctive sonically manipulated sound, will be shocked to hear this triple disc set. The band actually rocks hard and powerfully with Trevor's alto sax wailing on top. Liam Genockey is an amazing drummer who adds passion, fury and rhythmic finesse to this band. He went on to work with Trevor Watts in other bands like the Moire Music Group, as well as in Steeleye Span. While the rhythm team kicks some serious butt, Trevor and Keith, push each other higher and higher, both wailing and bending their notes together into a colossal hurricane. One of the most important, unexpected and joyous releases of the year! - BLG
3 CD Set $25

LP Section:

MAYA DEREN - Divine Horsemen: Voodoo Gods of Haiti (Psychic Sounds Research & Recordings 021; USA) Restocked, last copies. "Maya Deren journeyed to Haiti to make a film of ritual dances, instead, she came to be accepted as a Voudoun initiate, whose devotees commune with the cosmic powers through invocation, offerings, song and dance of the Voudoun pantheon of deities, or Loa, whom are witnessed as being living gods and goddesses, actually taking possession of their devotees. Deren describes the relationship between magic, science and religion bringing a uniquely lyrical voice to her narrative. This paints a multi-textured, infinitely complex portrait of a spiritual tradition with roots stretching back to the very dawn of humanity. Joseph Campbell calls Divine Horsemen 'the most illuminating introduction that has yet been rendered to the whole marvel of the Haitian mysteries as 'facts of the mind.'' Included in this album are some of the first recordings ever made during religious ceremonies near Croix de Missions and Petionville featuring selections that serve as a soundtrack to the film she shot documenting Voodoo ceremonies and festivals conveying the incantatory power of the ritual drumming and singing. One can hear the sounds of nature while processions begin across the landscape further giving the effect of an audio memoir. For the first time in almost 40 years, this long out-of-print cult classic is now available in a limited edition featuring a beautiful screen printed cover by Grant Corum, risograph insert with liner notes by Cherel Ito, original cover art by Teiji Ito and mastered for the first time by Timothy Stollenwerk."
LP $18 [last copies ever!]

HAMPTON GREASE BAND - Music To Eat (Real Gone Music 722; EEC) "Why would we reissue a record that is reputed to be the second worst-selling release in the history of Columbia Records? (Legend has it that it was undersold only by a yoga instructional album.) Well, because in the 47-some years since its release, the Hampton Grease Band's Music To Eat has steadily ascended the list of Greatest Cult Records of All Time so that now it resides at the tippety-top. Indeed, modern-day jam bands genuflect at the sight of the trippy cover art alone (Col. Bruce Hampton & the Aquarium Rescue Unit was an early '90s fixture in the movement), as the jazz/prog/psych guitar licks of Glenn Phillips and Harold Kelling give such famous duos as Betts/Allman, Verlaine/Lloyd, and Bloomfield/Bishop a run for their money. Add a generous dollop of Pop Art surrealism delivered by Hampton's Dada-ist, Beefheart-ian roar and you're left with an album that inhabits a rarefied realm somewhere between Trout Mask Replica, Anthem of the Sun, Hot Rats, Happy Trails, and maybe The Allman Brothers Band at Fillmore East (particularly because the Hampton Grease Band was also from the South but far, far stranger). But what makes this record even more special is the way it points the way forward as well as back. Yes, you can hear echoes of their more famous, improvisationally-minded contemporaries, but the offhand guitar riffs, frenzied instrumental passages, stylistic about-faces, and deadpan vocals bring to mind nothing other than a psychedelicized Minutemen (and David Thomas of Pere Ubu sounds a lot like Col. Bruce). Also, the HGB wasn't afraid to antagonize audiences, as they barely escaped with their lives after opening for Three Dog Night and Alice Cooper. In short, this isn't your dad's psychedelic rock album, nor is it your son's jam band record. This is music that stands apart from time and style, a true example of Weird America. That's why original copies command ridiculous sums; and now, Real Gone Music is proud to present the first-ever LP reissue of Music To Eat in a peach vinyl edition limited to 1000 copies, complete with the original astounding gatefold artwork. This record will change you... R.I.P. Bruce Hampton."
2 LP Set $40 [In stock next week, pre-orders taken now!]

AXIOM FUNK with GEORGE CLINTON / BERNIE WORRELL / BOOTSY COLLINS / EDDIE HAZEL / BUCKETHEAD / SLY & ROBBIE / et al - Funkcronomicon (Plain Recordings 211; USA) "Producer Bill Laswell's various artists compilation Funkcronomicon, originally released in 1995 under the name Axiom Funk, is essentially a lost Parliament-Funkadelic album. Featuring former P-Funk members George Clinton, Eddie Hazel (his final recordings), Bernie Worrell and Bootsy Collins with contributions from Herbie Hancock, Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, Maceo Parker, Sly Stone, Buckethead and too many others to list. This is old school style (and new) funk, soul and rock colliding on an epic scale exemplified on tracks such as 'Hideous Mutant Freekz', Eddie Hazel's mammoth guitar workout number 'Orbitron Attack', Bootsy Collins spacey rearrangement of Hendrix's 'If 6 Was 9", spoken word tracks 'Pray My Soul' and 'Sacred To The Pain'. For fans of Parliament-Funkadelic this is an essential, must have album. On red & cyan vinyl in a gatefold sleeve with an insert. First time ever released on vinyl!"
2 LP Set $36 [In stock next week, pre-orders taken now!]


**************
Bruce Lee Gallanter’s Recommended Gig List for January of 2019:

THE NEW STONE
Is Located at the New School’s Glass Box Theatre
55 West 13th street - just east of 6th ave

January 2019 at the Stone 

THE STONE RESIDENCIES - JEN SHYU - JAN 23–26

1/25 Friday
8:30 pm - Jen Shyu (voice), Linda Oh (bass) & Val Jeanty (electronics)

1/26 Saturday
8:30 pm - Jen Shyu (voice) Tyshawn Sorey (percussion)

THE STONE RESIDENCIES - YARN/WIRE - JAN 29–FEB 2

1/29 Tuesday
8:30 pm - Yarn/Wire and Rick Burkhardt - Rick Burkhardt (accordion) Ian Antonio, Russell Greenberg (percussion) Laura Barger (piano) Ning Yu (piano)

1/30 Wednesday
8:30 pm - Yarn/Wire and Popebama - Erin Rogers (sax) Dennis Sullivan (percussion, electronics) Ian Antonio, Russell Greenberg (percussion) Laura Barger, Ning Yu (piano)

1/31 Thursday
8:30 pm - Yarn/Wire & Katie Young - Biomes - Katherine Young (bassoon) Weston Olencki (trombone, electronics) Ian Antonio, Russell Greenberg (percussion) Laura Barger, Ning Yu (piano) - Yarn/Wire premieres a new work in collaboration with Katherine Young.

2/1 Friday
8:30 pm - Powerdove - Bitter Banquet - Annie Lewandowski (voice) Ian Antonio (percussion), Laura Barger (piano) Russell Greenberg (percussion) Ning Yu (piano)

2/2 Saturday
8:30 pm - Yarn/Wire & Travis Laplante - Travis Laplante (tenor sax) Ian Antonio, Russell Greenberg (percussion) Laura Barger, Ning Yu (piano); Yarn/Wire premieres a new evening length work in collaboration with Travis Laplante.

THE (NEW) STONE is located in The New School’s Glass Box Theatre  
All Sets at The New Stone start at 8:30pm Tickets: $20
There are no refreshments or merchandise at The Stone. 
Only music. All ages are welcome. Cash Only at the door. 
A serious listening environment.
The Stone is booked purely on a curatorial basis

*********
Spectrum is at
70 Flushing Ave, Garage A,
Brooklyn, NY 11205

Friday 25 January
7 PM - Ambient-Chaos

Saturday 26 January
7:30 & 9pm - Brandon Lopez Trio with Steve Baczkowski and Gerald Cleaver

******************

Bushwick Improvised Music Series Continues:

Monday January 28th

7pm Daniel Carter - woodwinds
Rose Tang - keyboard
Ras Moshe Burnett - tenor saxophone/flute
Sean Ali - bass
Kevin Shea - drums

8pm Stephen Gauci - tenor saxophone
Adam Lane - bass
Kevin Shea - drums

9pm Kevin Murray - drums
Kaelen Ghandhi - alto saxophone
Dave Sewelson - bari saxophone
William Parker - bass

9:45pm Sean Conly - bass
Michaël Attias - alto saxophone
Tom Rainey - drums

10:45pm Colin Avery Hinton - drums
Ingrid Laubrock - saxophones
Todd Neufeld - guitar

11:30pm Andrew Furlong - bass
Emily Denison - trumpet

Downstairs @ Bushwick Public House 
https://bushwickpublichouse.com/ gaucimusic.com
1288 Myrtle Avenue in Bushwick
(Across the street from M train Central Ave stop)

*********

BURNT SUGAR - THE ARKESTRA CHAMBER
Thursday, January 31st 2019 - 7-9pm

At The Brooklyn Museum
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium, 3rd Floor
200 Eastern Parkway - Brooklyn, New York 11238-6052
Tickets are $16 and include Museum admission.
Member tickets are $14 - All Ages
www.brooklynmuseum.org/calendar/event/music_burnt_sugar_20th_anniversary_january_2019

***********

Sound It Out series @ Greenwich House — Concerts, January-February 2019 

COMING ATTRACTIONS 

Saturday February 9, 7:30pm — 
Frank Kimbrough & Masa Kamaguchi Megumi Yonezawa, Masa Kamaguchi & Ken Kobayashi; Double-bill — the duo of Frank Kimbrough, piano & Masa Kamaguchi, double-bass the trio of Megumi Yonezawa, piano; Masa Kamaguchi, double-bass; Ken Kobayashi, drums

Saturday February 16, 7:30pm — 
Double-bill — Caroline Davis’s Alula: Caroline Davis, alto saxophone/voice; Matt Mitchell, piano and synth; Dan Weiss, drums Michael Dessen Trio: Michael Dessen, trombone; Chris Tordini, double-bass; Dan Weiss, drums; and special guest Fay Victor, vocals

Greenwich House Music School: 46 Barrow Street,
just west of 7th Avenue South in New York City’s West Village;
www.greenwichhouse.org, 212-242-4770, www.sounditoutnyc.com