DMG Newsletter for March 17th, 2017

Where does it Begin and How will it end?!?
Confused or not sure or who knows..where or when?
Snow storms today, Disasters Coming our Way?
It is just another Day in the Life of Those who Need
Creative Music to help us Survive, to keep us Alive,
With New Music from These Folks to help us turn the Tides:

Ned Rothenberg & Hamid Drake! William Parker & Stefano Scodanibbio! Whit Dickey / Mat Maneri / Matthew Shipp! Elliott Sharp & Zeitkratzer! Alfred 23 Harth & Kazuhisa Uchihashi! Miles Okazaki / Craig Taborn / Anthony Tidd / Sean Rickman! Eivind Opsvik Overseas V: Tony Malaby / Jacob Sacks / Brandon Seabrook / Kenny Wolleson! Gary Lucas & Toni Dezso!

Amina Claudine Myers! Two from Philip Gibbs! Leah Paul with Chris Speed & Mark Feldman! Plus Archival Music from Spiritual Jazz 7! More Lovely Music Reissues! LP’s from Luc Ferrari! Painkiller (John Zorn/Bill Laswell/Mick Harris), AMM, Zeitkratzer! Albert Ayler & Octopus from ESP on cassette!?! And much more!

***********

The FREE DMG Weekly New Music In-Store Series Continues on Sundays::

Sunday, March 19th:
6pm: JULIAN KIRSHNER / DAN FANDINO / SAM WEINBERG / GERRIT HATCHER
7pm: JEFF PLATZ / DMITRY ISHENKO / DALIUS NAUJOKAITIS

Sunday, March 26th Triple Header with:
6pm: NLH - Solo Guitar!
SEAN ALI - Solo Contrabass!
VLAD LUCHANSKY & DAVID GROLLMAN!

Sunday, April 2nd, 2017:
6pm: LEAP OF FAITH Return!
7pm: MOPPA ELLIOTT - Solo Bass
8pm: LEAP OF FAITH & MOPPA ELLIOTT

Sunday, April 9th:
6pm: GIANT DWARF: MARTIN PHILADELPHY & JEREMY CARLSTEDT!

DMG is located at 13 Monroe St. (between Catherine & Market Sts) in a basement below a former Buddhist temple & beauty salon. 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 Cosy

******

ZION80 PLEDGE DRIVE! Please Help Them Succeed as Zion80 rules!

Jon Madof and Zion80 are doing a campaign for PledgeMusic to release a new EP of original music. Pledge levels start at $10 and include a pre-release album download, exclusive updates and much more. They are aiming for 50% by this Friday, March 17; if we reach our goal, we’re going to release a selection of unreleased live recordings as a thank-you. Pledging now will really help build momentum for the project and ensure that we reach our funding goal by the deadline. Here’s the link to see the video and make a pledge: https://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/zion80/


*****


NED ROTHENBERG & HAMID DRAKE - Ned & Hamid (Listen Foundation! FSR 02; Poland) Featuring Ned Rothenberg on alto sax, clarinet & shakuhachi and Hamid Drake on drums, frame drum and vocal. Recorded live in Lodz , Poland in July of 2106. Although both os these musicians often work in different scenes, Ned in NYC and Hamid in Chicago & elsewhere, they do have mutual collaborators like Adam Rudolph, with whom both have worked. Over the past few years, I’ve noticed that Mr. Rothenberg has consistently widened his network of musicians: Nels Cline, Peter Evans, Marc Ribot and the Mivos String Quartet. Considering that Hamid Drake has remained one of the most in-demand percussionists on the planet, his circle of collaborators also is constantly getting bigger.
I love the way these two master musicians play together, it sounds as if they are dancing to the same inner groove, pulse or flow. There are phrases, which sound like fragments of songs that Rothenberg plays on alto sax, repeating them and then altering them as they evolve through the rhythmic currents that Mr. Drake provides. Mr. Rothenberg is one of the original Downtown reeds wizards who is known for solo performances which involve long periods of circular breathing (with streams of notes). Rothenberg also formed a double band with two rhythm teams which featured many, infectious grooves. This duo captures that joyous spirit just right with both musicians locked into a similar ritual/dance. When Ned switches to clarinet for the second long piece, the duo glide into a more calming section which slowly gets more agitated as it evolves. Shakuhachi (traditional Japanese wooden flute) and frame drum sound especially great together on the third piece which also includes some charming, chanting vocals from Mr. Drake. Ned switches back to clarinet for “Full Circle” and the duo go further out, weaving a series of tight lines around one another in a most splendid fashion. This disc ends with a spirited version of “Amazing Grace”, which brings this set to a wonderful, righteous conclusion. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14 (we just got a dozen of these in stock and will get more in a few weeks)


WILLIAM PARKER & STEFANO SCODANIBBIO - Bass Duo Centering 1013; USA) Bass Duo presents the historic and only performance meeting of these two re- nowned and innovative bass masters, each representing distinct musical tra- ditions; both fully committed to the summit at hand. It was recorded during the Udin&Jazz 2008 Festival in Udine, Italy at Teatro San Giorgio. Both William Parker and Stefano Scodanibbio are bassists, composers and improvisers possessing a deep sense of musical poetry, organic inventiveness, and personal style.
“Each of these artists has emerged through musical communities with distinct tra- ditions. In this sense, their collaboration is unexpected. Though this recording is totally improvised, the two traditions from which these artists emerge have signifi- cant differences. In one tradition, composition tends to be explicit in all parameters – including the notation of extended techniques, microtonal pitch, hyper specific- ity of rhythm, articulation, dynamics – and generally there is no improvisation. In the other tradition composition is a blueprint for improvisation. Personal modes of expression like extended techniques and microtonal inflection aren’t notated but rather are left to the performer to personally signify upon.
Though both bassists have singular languages, they also have in common an understanding of musical function – utilizing sound, space, melodicism, pulse, harmonic underpinning, extended techniques, and pedal points to create states of multiplicity. Both bassists share the ability to give the impression of more than one person playing at a time. Together they project a musicality bigger than the two individuals. At times they are so connected that it is difficult to tell one from the other. At other times their signature approaches are evident. This live recording demonstrates their great ability to share and co-create. We are lucky indeed for this document!” - Mark Dresser
CD $14


WHIT DICKEY / MAT MANERI / MATTHEW SHIPP - Vessel in Orbit (Aum Fidelity 101; USA) Vessel in Orbit presents the first new group music in over a decade from singular drummer-composer Whit Dickey. It is a richly melodic and deeply focused album; structural integrity and emotional resonance are paramount throughout.
Created together with the impeccable improvisers Mat Maneri on viola and pianist Matthew Shipp, each of these men has a lifetime commitment to creative music, and they share a musical relationship with one another that dates back decades. Dickey’s wonderfully inviting compositional structures provide fruitful platforms for his esteemed colleagues and, par for his work as a leader, he cedes the spotlight to the collective as a whole. Wide-open listening and fluid expression abound here.
CD $14


ELLIOTT SHARP / ZEITKRATZER - Oneirika (Zeitkratzer; Germany) Zeitkratzer features: Frank Gratkowski, Reinhold Friedl, Hilary Jeffery, Matt Davis and others. Commissioned by the festival Maerzmusic Berlin for a premiere performance by Zeitkratzer in 2012, Elliott Sharp's ONEIRIKA is a soundscape inspired by Cage-ean tradition and taking the waking-dream as the source of its title. Not an improvisation, the score to ONEIRIKA makes use of standard notational practice but also relies on Sharp's innovative use of Photoshop to filter and process his self-generated musical manuscripts in much the same way that he might digitally process the sound of an instrument in performance with his computer. These scores are visually evocative on their own and to the musician, present a clear path to a sonic manifestation directly related to the images presented. There is much latitude for interpretation by musicians of the caliber of Zeitkiratzer, able to translate from a frequency of light and image into sound and motion. I have only listened to this disc once and need to spend more time digging in so I will do my own review for next weeks newsletter. - BLG/DMG
CD $14


ALFRED 23 HARTH With KAZUHISA UCHIHASHI / CLAYTON THOMAS / FABRIZIO SPERA ELLIOTT SHARP [LTD Edition CD-R] - Berlin Ensembles (Kendra Steiner Editions #363; USA) Featuring Alfred 23 Harth on tenor sax, bass clarinet, trumpet, synth, jaw harp, etc.; Kazuhisa Uchihashi on electric guitar & saxophone; Clayton Thomas on double bass & objects, Fabrizio Spera on drums plus Elliott Sharp on electro-acoustic guitar (1 track). The one thing that this unique international quartet/quintet have in common, is that each of the members were living (or visiting) in Berlin at the time of this recording (November of 2015). All five members have varied resume’s and hail from different scenes around the world. Lead instigator, Alfred 23 Harth, is a rather slippery figure who is impossible to pin down: from early LPs on FMP to collaborations with Heiner Goebbels,Cassiber & Lindsay Cooper to his current situation in Korea. The ever-adventurous guitarist, Kazuhisa Uchihashi, was once a member of the Altered Sates & Ground Zero and has worked with: Ned Rothnberg, Shelley Hirsch and once with Lee Konitz!?! I recall when bassist, Clayton Thomas lived in NY and played in MAP with Mary Halvorson & Tatsuya Nakatani and went on to work with Ken Vandermark, Sonny Simmons and Alex Von Schlippenbach. I once caught Italian drummer, Fabrizio Spera, with the awesome 7K Oaks, he has worked with many formidable players: Wadada Leo Smith, Ossatura, Mike Cooper and Blast.
There are three long pieces on this disc. “Scheueniertel Aufsturz” is first and it is an intense, free piece with molten tenor sax and electric guitar back by a tight, rambunctious rhythm team. The music was recorded live at the Aufsturz Klub in Berlin. The music is well recorded but does sound like it was recorded in a large room with a single stereo mic. Both Harth and Uchihashi can be and are often explosive yet never step on each others toes, both taking their turn at inspired solo and playing tight fractured lines around one another impressively. At one point while Mr Thomas takes an eerie bowed bass solo, someone (Harth?) adds odd synth sounds, making things even more disorienting. As he did in Altered States (an incredibly tight, jazz-rock power trio), Uchihashi often comes up with focused riffs that makes sections sound pre-composed. |Tacheles Smombie” opens with an intense, agitated bass clarinet and drums duo, with Uchihashi soon adding bent guitar lines, occasionally slashing away most selectively.
CD-R $10


MILES OKAZAKI With CRAIG TABORN / ANTHONY TIDD / SEAN RICKMAN - Trickster (Pi Recordings 68; USA) Trickster is guitarist Miles Okazaki’s first album in five years and his much anticipated debut on Pi Recordings, having been featured on six other releases in the label’s catalog in groups led by Steve Coleman, Jonathan Finlayson, and Dan Weiss, along with associations with other Pi artists such as Matt Mitchell, Jen Shyu, and Amir ElSaffar. Perhaps best-known as a member of Steve Coleman and Five Elements, with whom he has played for the last eight years, Okazaki has also built a solid reputation for himself as one of the most adventurous composers and guitarists on the current scene. The New York Times says of Okazaki, “Even by the standard of his hyper-literate post-bop peer group, Mr. Okazaki is an unusually calculating musical thinker,” and as a guitarist, “exceedingly skilled with a head for rhythmic convolution.”
Originally from Port Townsend, Washington, Okazaki began playing classical guitar at age six, and was playing regular gigs on electric guitar by age fourteen. He moved to New York after graduating from Harvard University (he also holds degrees from Manhattan School of Music and The Juilliard School) to pursue a career in music. His teacher on guitar at the time was Rodney Jones, who got Okazaki’s career in motion by recommending him for early gigs with Stanley Turrentine, Lenny Pickett, Regina Carter, and studio session work. He has received many awards as a guitarist including placing second in the 2005 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. Okazaki spent four years on the road with vocalist Jane Monheit and became known as an expert vocal accompanist, but he also started to develop an experimental streak in his own music. His first album as a leader, Mirror (2006), received a “Critics Pick†in the New York Times, who called it “a work of sustained collectivity as well as deep intricacy.†His second album, Generations (2009), was described by pianist Vijay Iyer in Artforum as “the sonic equivalent of Escher or Borges, but with real emotional heft.†His next album, Figurations, was selected as one of the New York Times top ten albums of 2012, described by Ben Ratliff as “slowly evolving puzzles of brilliant jazz logic.” - Pi
CD $15


EIVIND OPSVIK OVERSEAS With TONY MALABY / JACOB SACKS / BRANDON SEABROOK / KENNY WOLLESON - Overseas V (Loyal 12?; USA) Featuring: Eivind Opsvik, double-bass & compositions; Tony Malaby, tenor saxophone; Jacob Sacks, piano; Brandon Seabrook, guitar; Kenny Wollesen, drums. Eivind Opsvik’s Overseas – one of Sound It Out’s favorite bands – returns to the series to celebrate the release of the group’s latest album, “Overseas V.” Eivind has developed an utterly individual musical soundprint, one that blends the song-minded composition and creative studio craft of art rock with the virtuosic edge and spontaneity of progressive jazz. The fifth Overseas LP features the usual hooks-galore writing, imaginative production and sublime playing, along with fresh post-punk accents. The New York Times has praised Eivind’s series of albums as “strikingly modern” and “imaginative,” while All About Jazz has extolled his gifts as a “masterful tunesmith” with a vision for producing music “unlike anything else.”
CD $15 (In stock soon!)


GARY LUCAS / TONI DEZSO - Gary and Toni Go Nuts! (Rare Lumiere 017; USA) Featuring Gary Lucas on guitars & effects and Toni Dezso on alto & baritone saxes plus guest Attila Dora on tenor sax & bass clarinet. This disc was recorded in a studio in Budapest, Hungary. A few weeks ago (in January of 2017), I reviewed a fine trio CD with Gary Lucas and two musicians from Hungary, a vocalist named Eniko Szabo and a saxist, Toni Dezso. Longtime Downtown guitar great, Gary Lucas, keeps busy by developing musical collaborations from around the world, especially from eastern Europe. I didn’t know about either saxist here, Toni Dezso or Attila Dora, but they sound like all three are kindred spirits. Commencing with an acoustic guitar bathed in layers of effects, Mr. Lucas sails in with that space-rock like sound, a ghost-like sax sailing in the distance. Both saxists appear together on 4 of 13 tracks here and sound fine together. On “The Nervous Smokers”, Mr. Lucas adds a bit of ragtime like flourishes with both saxes playing connected patterns around him. Both reedmen work well together, trading lines on bass clarinet and bari sax on “Trout Fishing in Trump Amerika” which Mr. Lucas adds several waves of echoplexed guitars. I like that much of this is laid-back yet still hypnotic with the tone.sound of the guitars altered somewhat on each track. The music here is often like a soundtrack to a series of imagined scenes from a movie. Neither saxes do any screaming or go very far out, they work head to add shades to the many sounds that Mr. Lucas comes up with on his ever-changing guitars. The cover art is a cartoon of a man and skeleton duking it out on a battle field. The title, ‘Gary and Toni Go Nuts!’ seems misleading since rather than going wild, these tow work well together and complement each other in different ways. They do go wild here and there but seem to favor some more restrained sections as well. A healthy balance of extremes makes this a successful disc. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14


AMINA CLAUDINE MYERS - Sama Rou - Songs from my Soul (Olaya 43271; USA)“There are very few musicians who make the blood scorch the heart and the pulse roar quite like Amina Claudine Myers. She does that with infallible regularity, performance after performance, recording after recording. What a splendid recording Amina Claudine Myers Salutes Bessie Smith was, the same year she recorded Song For Mother E with Pheeroan akLaff. Thirty-six years after those iconic recordings, Myers has continued to advance her illustrious career with Sama Rou – Songs From My Soul. Here, it pays to raise a famous ghost; that of the great Ludwig van Beethoven who once encouraged the living artist of his day with the following words: ‘Don’t only practice your art. But force your way into its secrets, for it and knowledge can raise men to the Divine’. Amina Claudine Myers is the very quintessence of that exhortation. And Sama Rou is that record that makes it so.
Amina Claudine Myers Sama RouIt is no coincidence also that Amina Claudine Myers channels the spirits of the ancestors who dwell in the rarefied realm. In her music Paul Robeson and Marion nestle cheek-by-jowl with Igor Stravinsky; even Anton Webern. But Myers is a singular artist and her work who – certainly in Jazz – has created dramatic pianistic innovation in the schematic organization of pitch, rhythm, register, timbre, dynamics, articulation, and melodic contour, further enhancing the sonic splendour of her music with the depth of her glorious contralto. Myers’ setting for the ‘Songs From My Soul’ emphasises her sense of wonderment, humility and devotion. The highly derivative idiom (The Great Negro Spiritual that is) is thoroughly tonal, the tone luxurious and the work cast at a predominantly prayerful slow pace.
The opening medley, ‘Steal Away/Athan (Call to Prayer)/Fatiha (Sura Prayer)’ is especially haunting, with its unhurried and repetitive, whispered echoes of ‘Steal Away’ melting into the adhan called out as if by a muezzin from a minaret. The somber introverted orchestration of Christian and Muslim tradition, far from being contrasting, enters somberly into a lovely, hushed unified spiritual. There is a magnificent glow to every Negro Spiritual in this repertoire and one can only gasp in wonder at the spacious dedication with which Myers brings them to life. Their flashes of drama carry over from one spiritual into the other as she adorns each with a lyrical radiance. ‘My Soul’s Been Anchored In The Lord’ and ‘Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child’ are followed by ‘Go Down Moses’, a seraphically rendered Spiritual that crowns the sequence of truly great music.
I would be remiss if I did not pay homage to the three compositions on this disc by Amina Claudine Myers. Each is an example of majestic melody and dissonant harmony with strong plagal cadence. ‘Crossings’, and ‘Ain’t Nobody Ever Gonna Hear Us?’ are classics of their kind: anthemic pieces fulfilling their declared brief to be an aspiration towards recognition and happiness. ‘Thank You’ to the Lord speaks to the magisterial beauty of another vivid performance by an artist not only emboldened by the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) – New York chapter, but by a singular genius of Black Music.” - Raul da Gama, JazzdaGama
CD $15


PHILIP GIBBS - Infinite Spirit Perfect Now / Solo Guitar Improvisation (Environmental Studies 08; UK) “This is a set of solo guitar improvisations, which gives us the chance to hear Gibbs’ intricate and often delicate sound structures and textures that have furnished other recordings, often groups, without any other distraction. Derek Bailey comments in his book Improvisation (1992) that for the majority of improvisers the work is about playing with other people, however at some time or another most improvisers explore the notion of solo playing, even though it may seem to contradict the relational content of improvisational collectivism. Personally, I find the exploration of solo playing to be at the very point of improvisation, with the development of a personal vocabulary, complete self-exploration, inward focus, sustainability and a singular vision honing the overall musicality of the musician into something coherent, consistent and individually creative. With Infinite Spirit Perfect Now this is exactly what we get.
The album consists of a set of pieces ranging in length from one minute through to thirteen minutes that provide us with explorative playing, a unity within the material and a coherent outlook throughout the whole of the album. The album starts with one of the shorter tracks ‘A Mad Dreaming’ which is a beautiful vignette with harp-like glissandos and something which sounds like a cross between an African instrument, such as the Kora, with a slight hint of Flamenco guitar added in. This is then followed by the longest piece ‘The Cosmic Mirror’, a much more worked through piece with relation to the material and technique being presented. With an array of similar but subtly differentiated sounds resembling percussive drumming, prepared piano, hammered dulcimer, and musical boxes all being produced through a tour de force of his two handed tapping technique. ‘Alignment’ offers another slight colouration with the exploration of a narrow envelope administered through a ‘wah-wah’ type pedal to good effect, whilst ‘Multiversal-Dance’ a binary form piece contrasting what sounds like the imitation of a balafon (Wooden African Xylophone), produced by virtuosic tapping in a smooth legato style, with that of an object being slid and bounced over the strings in the latter half. The use of pointillistic textures, the gradation of subtlety of tone and the variation of references to ethnic instrumentation produces a complex and interesting set of pieces presented in a very modest way.” - Chris Haines, FreeJazzBlog
CD $14


PHILIP GIBBS / MARK LANGFORD / ROGER SKERMAN / PAUL ANSTEY / HUGH KIRKBRIDGE - Exchange (Freestone Records 002; UK) Featuring Philip Gibbs on guitars, Mark Langford on bass clarinet & tenor sax, Paul Anstey & Hugh Kirkbride on double basses and Roger Skerman on drums. Although UK guitarist Philip Gibbs, has appeared on some three dozen discs with his longtime collaborator Paul Dunmall, Mr. Gibbs is still under-recognized on this side of the Atlantic. After years of singing his praises in the DMG newsletters, Mr. Gibbs finally made his way here to play in New York during the week of Hurricane Sandy, sadly cutting back his half-dozen planned gigs to two. Mr. Gibbs and myself, have remained friends and he recently sent us tow fine CDs, a solo guitar and a quintet.
I don’t know any of the other players on this disc, although Paul Anstey does appear on a quartet disc that Mr. Gibbs sent us a couple of years ago, which is on the same label as this one. The first thing I noticed on this disc was that saxist Mark Langford has one of those laid-back, slow burn (Chris Speed-like) tones on tenor. The guitar and tenor are well matched, quickly exchanging lines around one another in several spiraling streams. The two basses provide a robust bottom end, one bowing, one plucking, keeping things slightly off-balanced yet somehow connected. Gibbs has a unique way of tapping on the strings and pushing things further out into more unpredictable territory. Eventually things get more dense, to an almost disorienting extent. At one point, not far from the end of the last piece, I had to hold on to something secure, since I felt like I was about to drown. I held my breath, listened closely and finally found a way inside. Almost too much. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14


LEAH PAUL With CHRIS SPEED / NICK MANCINI / MARK FELDMAN / JOYCE HAMMANN / JUNAH CHUNG /DAVE EGGAR AFTON HEFLEY - We Will Do the Worrying (Skirl 035; USA) Featuring: Leah Paul on flutes, compositions & backing vocals, Chris Speed on clarinet, Nick Mancini on vibes, Afton Hefley on lead vocal, Joyce Hammann & Mark Feldman on violins, Junah Chung on viola and Dave Eggar on cello. This is Ms. Paul’s third disc for the Skirl label and again, I am puzzled at where to place this disc as far as other precedents. Ms. Paul has continued to expand the size of her ensemble from quartet to sextet to this, her octet. Actually it is a sort-of double quartet: flutes/vocal/clarinet/vibes quartet plus a string quartet. The opening piece, “This One’s Coming True”, reminds me of perhaps Philip Glass composing for Free Design (sunshine pop group from late sixties). Ms. Hefley’s voice is most charming, kind of melancholy and rather fairy-tale like. Often her voice is double-tracked to give it a chorus-like sound yet it is more a part of the ensemble, not in the spotlight. Like her earlier discs, Ms. Paul’a music sounds like it is coming from an ancient (Renaissance-like) tradition. Burying the vocals a bit gives this music a quaint, dreamy quality. It took a while to get used to this music as it is unlike anything I’ve heard in a long while. I must admit that I am both enchanted and mystified by this disc and figure that it will take several listens to comprehend what it is that makes so magical and indescribable. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14


THE SHRINE BIG BAND - Swamp Music (Self-released; USA) The Shrine Big Band is led by pianist & composer Eric Plaks, who you might recall from his work with Blaise Siwula. I don’t recognize the names of any of the other band members aside from Mr. Plaks. Soloists include: Justin Wood on tenor sax & flute, James Rogers on trombone and Justin Rothberg on guitar. This disc was recorded just hours before the arrival of Hurricane Sandy at the Manhattan School of Music Studio. Although Mr. Plaks wrote the first two pieces here, other members of the 14-piece ensemble contributed as well: James Rogers and Matt McDonald. Mr. Plak’s first piece is called, “Cecilian Mafia”, and it is a robust, hard swigging work featuring some spirited tenor from Justin Wood. The piece is relatively short yet just long enough to that infectious vibe pumping. “Swamp Music for Bill Dixon” is more cerebral, with several currents weaving around one another carefully conducted(?). I love the way the muted brass, flutes and other reeds sound together as one focused spirit. I like the dig the title “Anger Management”, but it doesn’t sound anger, just tight and intense with occasional bursts of quick eruptions. “Theme 3” is a frantic paced yet super-tight balancing act between swinging jazz and nervous rocking rhythms. Appropriately, there is short, uproarious song called, “Quickie”, which makes perfect sense. There is something rather modest and clear-minded going on here, never sloppy of unfocused yet consistently spirited in its own way. As Hurricane Sandy got closer, the large ensemble starts to erupt into a storm-like force for the last piece. Eventually, the rhythm team lays out and the the brass and reeds explode together..! This piece is not very long and the band fades out organically but quickly. I wished that this went on for a long while but I understand that the band members wanted to get home before the hurricane hit and wreaked havoc on New York and New Jersey. Another under-recognized gem from one section of the vast NY underground. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $10


FRANK GRATKOWSKI / SEBI TRAMONTANA - Live at Spankski Borci (Leo Records 779; UK) Featuring Frank Gratkowski on bass & B-flat clarinets & alto sax and Sebi Tramontana on trombone. German reeds pioneer Frank Gratkowski is pretty prolific with more than hundred releases as a leader or co-leader, thirty plays as a leader plus working with ensembles: Zeitkratzer, Bik Brent Braam and Klaus Koenig Orchestra. Italian trombonist, Sebi Tramonatana, has worked with an impressive list: Anthony Braxton & Italian Instabile Orchestra, Giorgio Gaslini, Joelle Leandre and Cecil Taylor. This duo work extremely well together and appear to have a similar, diverse language to draw from. Tight shadows and focused interplay,from quiet and calm to some intense eruptions. There is something immensely charming about this disc, it is as if they are trying not to deal with extended techniques that much. It is more about a thoughtful dialogue of tow old friends joking with one another and still coming up the occasional surprise when the direction organically shifts. There are very few fireworks here yet the interplay is consistently engaging.
CD $16


IVO PERELMAN / KARL BERGER / GERALD CLEAVER - The Art of the Improv Trio - Volume 1 (Leo Records 771; UK) Featuring Ivo Perelman on tenor sax & artwork, Karl Berger on piano and Gerald Cleaver on drums. Mr. Perelman & Leo Records have just released four volumes from Mr. Perelman’s ‘Art of the Trio’ series, with two more volumes on the way. This pushes the number of Perelman’s discs on Leo past the forty mark and this began around 1996. Jeez!?! Word is now that there will be an upcoming 6 or 7 CD set with Ivo P., Matt Shipp and others.
After two fine duo offerings with Mr. Perelman and Mr. Berger, this is their first trio disc with the great Gerald Cleaver added on drums. Karl Berger recorded his first (and only) album for the New York-based ESP label in 1966, worked with Don Cherry (on ;Symphony of the Improvisers’ also 1966) and moved to America nearly fifty years ago, soon founding a school called the Creative Music Studio in the Woodstock area with Ornette Coleman. Besides organizing & conducting his own Creative Music Ensemble and still doing a series of workshops, Mr. Berger has been recording more often in recent years doing solo CD for Tzadik and several improv duos with Dom Minasi, Kirk Knuffke and two with Ivo Perelman.
The trio take their time and play with the utmost restraint on the first piece. Building, ascending, assembling melodic and quietly fractured fragments interwoven… Mr. Berger is in especially fine form, adding several layers of lines while Mr. Perelman lays back, selecting fewer notes and bending those worth stretching out. There is a strong ongoing dialogue going on throughout this disc, a balancing act of sorts. Mr. Cleaver, one of Downtown’s best drummers, is especially minimal at times. Cleaver is on three of the four volumes of ‘Art of The Improv Trio’ series. Let’s see how he is in the other two trios. In the meantime, this trio is pretty solid. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $16


SPIRITUAL JAZZ - 7: Islam (Jazzman Records 092; UK) Esoteric, modal, and progressive jazz, inspired by Islam and recorded between 1957-1988. Songs ancient and divine - the seventh volume of Jazzman Records' acclaimed Spiritual Jazz series examines the influence and impact of Islam on four decades of jazz innovation. Through Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali, the civil rights era in America saw African American liberation politics famously associated with Islamic belief. This was not the first time that radical developments in African American cultural life had been widely and famously associated with Islam - that distinction belongs not to political or sporting giants, but to the progressive jazz musicians of the bebop generation. Kenny Clarke, Art Blakey, Sahib Shihab, Gigi Gryce, Idrees Sulieman, Ahmad Jamal, Yusef Lateef; all these legendary jazz pioneers - and countless more - were early converts to the spiritually charged Ahmadiyya school of Islam. Their faith profoundly influenced the music that they made, and the presence of prominent and innovative Muslim musicians at the heart of jazz culture in America has been recognized ever since. The tracks on this collection follow the story of Islam and jazz from the 1950s to the 1980s. Recorded by Muslim jazz musicians, they often draw specifically on Middle Eastern or Islamic music, dream of an esoteric or spiritual Afro-East, or invoke the landscape and sound worlds of Islamic Africa. Spiritual Jazz 7 presents a selection of visionary music - inspired by faith, powered by jazz. Many tracks never before reissued. Features: Maurice McIntyre, Kahil El'Zabar's Ritual Trio with Malachi Favors & Ari Brown, Pharoah Sanders, Emmanuel Abdul-Rahim, Creative Arts Ensemble, East New York Ensemble De Music, Idrees Sulieman, Jamila Sulieman, Yusef Lateef, Sabu Martinez & Sahib Shihab, Abdelrahman 'Abdo' Elkhatib, Solar Plexus, The Lightmen Plus One, Ahmed Abdul-Malik, and Dawan Muhammad. CD version comes with a 24-page color booklet.
CD $15
2 LP Set $27


More Great Reissues from the Lovely Music Label on CD:

MEREDITH MONK - Key (Lovely 1051; USA) Originally released in 1971. Key contains Meredith Monk's earliest compositions for voice. The songs that make up Key were composed and performed in a three year period between 1967 and 1970, when Monk collected them into this 45-minute "invisible theater" experience. Meredith Monk on the release: "In Key I wanted to create a constantly shifting ambience. Each song dealt with a different vocal character, landscape, technical concern or emotional quality. I was trying for a visceral, kinetic song form that had the abstract qualities of a painting or a dance. I knew that I didn't want to set music to a text; for me, the voice itself was a language which seemed to speak more eloquently than words. I chose certain phonemes for their particular sound qualities. In a sense, each song became a world in itself with its own timbre, texture and impulse." Personnel: Meredith Monk - voice, organ, jews harp; Daniel Ira Sverdlik, Dick Higgins, Collin Walcott, Lanny Harrison, Mark Monstermaker - voices.
CD $13

LEROY JENKINS - Solo (Lovely 3061; USA) Leroy Jenkins plays violin and viola in a concert recorded live at the Center for Contemporary Art in Santa Fe. Carl Baugher on the performance: "Among improvising violinists, Leroy Jenkins is preeminent where innovation, imagination and individualism are considered. Not only has he expanded the improvising violinist's palette via extended technique, but his sound and approach are unique. This solo concert recording can be seen as a follow-up to the much-admired 1977 India Navigation LP, Solo Concert (1977). Leroy Jenkins is an artist to be treasured. He makes music of great depth, passion and intellectual substance. The Santa Fe audience experienced the special magic of a Leroy Jenkins solo concert on October 24, 1992. Now, with this compact disc, you can too."
CD $13

ALVIN LUCIER - Crossings (Lovely 1018; USA) Three works for classical instruments and oscillators (1982-85). Alvin Lucier explains the process: "The three works on this compact disk explore interference phenomena between sound waves. When two or more closely tuned tones are sounded, their oscillations periodically coincide to produce audible beats of sound. The speed of the beating depends upon the distances between the pitches of the sounds. The further apart, the faster the beating; at unison, no beating occurs. Furthermore, under certain conditions, the beats may be heard to spin around the room....." Personnel: Alvin Lucier - electronics; Thomas Ridenour - clarinet; The New World Consort of Wesleyan University.
CD $13

DAVID BEHRMAN - On The Other Ocean (Lovely 1041; USA) Originally released on Lovely Music in 1978. David Behrman's On The Other Ocean is an improvisation by Maggi Payne and Arthur Stidfole centered around six pitches which, when they are played, activate electronic pitch-sensing circuits connected to the "interrupt" line and input ports of a microcomputer, Kim-1. The microcomputer can sense the order and timing in which the six pitches are played and can react by sending harmony-changing messages to two handmade music synthesizers. The relationship between the two musicians and the computer is an interactive one, with the computer changing the electronically-produced harmonies in response to what the musicians play, and the musicians influenced in their improvising by what the computer does. Figure In A Clearing, made a few months before On The Other Ocean, was the first piece of Behrman's to use a computer for music. For Figure, the Kim-1 ran a program which varied the time intervals between chord changes. The time intervals were modelled on the motion of a satellite in falling elliptical orbit about a planet. David Gibson's only "score" was a list of six pitches to be used in performance, and a request that he not speed up when the computer-controlled rhythm did. The timbral richness and concentrated eloquence of his playing sprang from his own sources. Personnel: David Behrman - electronics, Kim-1 microcomputer; Maggi Payne - flute; Arthur Stidfole - bassoon; David Gibson - cello. Recording engineers: "Blue" Gene Tyranny and Richard Lainhart. Charming booklet notes by David Behrman.
CD $13

DAVID BEHRMAN - Leapday Night (Lovely 1042; USA) Originally release on Lovely Music in 1987. A series of three pieces/suites; "Leapday Night", "A Traveler's Dream Journal", and "Interspecies Smalltalk" involving Rhys Chatham/Ben Neill (on trumpet/mutantrumpet), Fluxus mainstay Takehisa Kosugi (violin), and David Behrman himself on electronics. Behrman creates thickly layered liquid sounds utilizing this complex computer music system which absorbs, actually hears, the sounds of instrumentalists, and then plays off their improvisations with its own synthesized reactions. The system consists of pitch sensors ("ears" with which it listens to the performing musicians), various music synthesizers (some homemade), a computer graphics color video display and a personal computer. "Heavy period-synth float with bare accompaniment, thankfully just-pre DX-7."
CD $13

DAVID TUDOR - Neural Synthesis Nos. 6-9 (Lovely 1602; USA) ‘Neural Synthesis Nos. 6-9’ combines the art of music, the engineering of electronics, and the inspiration of biology. In it, David Tudor orchestrates electronic sound in ways analogous to our biological bodies' orchestration of consciousness. The performance originates from a neural-network synthesizer conceived and built especially for Tudor. He surrounds this synthesizer with his own unique collection of electronic devices, and in the recording on this CD made for headphone playback, he uses a new binaural technique for translating sound into out-of-head localizations in which sound seems to originate from specific, changing points within a space around the listener. Performed by David Tudor; produced and recorded by David Tudor and John D.S. Adams. Binaural and stereo mixes on two CDs.
2 CD Set $24

GORDON MUMMA - Studio Retrospect (Lovely 1093; USA) Studio Retrospect is a collection of six compositions made in electronic music studios by Gordon Mumma from 1959 to 1984. All were composed for concert hall or theater performance with choreography, as well as for distribution on recordings. Music from the Venezia Space Theatre, The Dresden Interleaf, and Echo-D were composed for quadraphonic theater systems, and were later spatially remodeled for release on stereophonic recordings.
CD $13

TOM JOHNSON//FREDERIC RZEWSKI - An Hour For Piano (Lovely 1081; USA) Originally released on Lovely Music in 1979. Tom Johnson's trance music piece made up of repeating 4/4 cells in which an absolutely steady eighth-note motion predominates. Often several cells are going on simultaneously, and one cell frequently mutates into another through the addition or subtraction of a note or two. One has to step back far enough to get a perspective on the large-scale shifts in density and tonality before the impact of An Hour For Piano can be felt. Frederic Rzewski plays very percussively throughout, giving the piece an intense forward motion. CD booklet includes Tom Johnson's, "Program Notes to be read while hearing An Hour for Piano", and an essay by Kenneth Goldsmith, "An Hour of Tom Johnson".
CD $13

LOIS SVARD - Other Places (Lovely 3052; USA) ‘Other Places’ is an exploration of Lois Svard's interest in new concepts and ideas in music. This disc features works written for her by composers Elodie Lauten, Jerry Hunt, and Kyle Gann. Lois Svard has received enthusiastic acclaim internationally for her performances of contemporary piano music. Critics have praised her for her "lucid interpretations of unusual and seldom-heard repertoire," and for the "extraordinary musicianship" of her playing. She has performed extensively throughout the United States and Europe, commissioning and premiering several works by such American composers as Robert Ashley, William Duckworth, Annea Lockwood, Alvin Lucier, "Blue" Gene Tyranny, Stephen Scott, Kirk Nurock, and David First. The three works on Other Places share the ability to expand the performer's and listener's musical parameters in unique ways. Elodie Lauten's Variations on the Orange Cycle is a richly-textured combination of transcribed improvisation and intentional notation that creates lush, ever-changing tapestries of sound. Jerry Hunt's Trapani (stream) is a contemplative work exploring different facets of sound through a progression of tremolo chords played with a variety of voicings, dynamics, and pedalings. Trapani's slowly-changing harmonies are serene in their simplicity, yet mesmerizing in their unfolding. Kyle Gann's Desert Sonata is based on his unique rhythmic language developed from the multi-tempo structures of Conlon Nancarrow and the dances of the Hopi, Zuni, and other Pueblo Indians. Gann's juxtaposition of widely divergent musical ideas creates an atmosphere that is both compelling and enchanting.
CD $13

TAKEHISA KOSUGI - Violin Improvisations (Lovely Music LCD 2071; USA) Originally released in 1989 as Violin Solo. Sept. 3-4, '89. Takehisa Kosugi's improvisations, both with violin and miscellaneous sounding objects, have a sense of emerging from the bottom of a spiritual unconscious. From this place comes a music based more on the feeling of sounds than conscious arrangement. Memory, physical action, tactile perceptions, environmental conditions, and awareness of subconscious microcosmic and macrocosmic extremes inform his work as much as the intention to assemble sounds into music. When listeners connect with his sounds, a direct identification of experience occurs between audience and performer. Personnel: Takehisa Kosugi - electric violin.
CD $13

ANNEA LOCKWOOD - A Sound Map of the Hudson River (Lovely Music LCD 2081; USA) Originally released on Lovely Music in 1989. An aural journey from the source of the river, in the high peak area of the Adirondacks, downstream to the Lower Bay and the Atlantic Ocean; Annea Lockwood traces the course of the Hudson through on-site recordings of its flow at 15 separate locations. Annea Lockwood has recorded rivers in many countries to explore the special state of mind and body which the sounds of moving water create when one listens intently to the complex mesh of rhythms and pitches. The listener will find that each stretch of the Hudson has its own sonic texture, formed by the terrain, varying according to the weather, the season and downstream, the human environment whose sounds are intimately woven into the river's sounds.
CD $13

ANNEA LOCKWOOD - Breaking the Surface (Loevly Music LCD 2082; USA) Two of Annea Lockwood's dramatic works dealing with issues of spiritual wholeness. Duende (1997), about shamanic transformation, is written with and performed by Thomas Buckner. Lockwood selected sounds which reminded her of certain vocal transformations heard in recordings of shamanic ceremonies. In such singing, changes in the voice mirror and also help to bring about changes in the singer's mind and awareness. Within an improvisational framework, Buckner explores the possibility of change of state through such transformations, moving through three stages: preparation, a first flight, and a final flight, in which he moves beyond the self he knows. Thus, Duende is a not a prepared, performed work, but a vehicle for experience. Buckner is partnered by a tape drawn from the sounds of the cuica (an African and South American instrument), a large glass gong and other glass sounds, wind, a Cameroonian rattle, a kea (New Zealand mountain parrot), and a bullroarer. Delta Run (1979-81) is an expression of the thoughts and experiences of a sculptor who talked with Lockwood just over a day before he died in 1979, aged thirty. He knew that he was dying and wanted to communicate his perceptions of death as something "only natural, you know - now is my time", seeing this piece as a form of continuing creativity now that sculpture was out of reach. Interwoven with his voice are wind, water, ambient sounds from the hospice where they talked, and some of the ordinary sounds of daily living, embodying the sense that dying is a part of living, not separate from it, and that in dying we are incorporated back into the elements from which we emanate.
CD $13

THOMAS BUCKNER//LEROY JENKINS/JOSEPH KUBERA/J.D. PARRAN /SEM ENSEMBLE - Inner Journey (Lovely 3023; USA) Inner Journey contains works by William Duckworth, Thomas Buckner, Jacques Bekaert, David Wessel, and Somei Satoh - united by their themes of the quest for self-knowledge. Composed of fragments from the works of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry Miller, Gertrude Stein, and Thomas McGrath, William Duckworth's text reveals the multiple perspectives of an unknown couple whose post-modern love story emerges. Thomas Buckner's improvisation, "Inner Journey", is dedicated to the spirit and musical techniques of a beloved friend. Jacques Bekaert takes musical material from a popular Cambodian song to reflect some of the emotions, hopes and pains anyone approaching that tragic land must feel and evoke an inner landscape. In the David Wessel's piece, Buckner's musical discourse is with the computer. Finally, Somei Satoh compares his work for voice and orchestra to his own meditation, "serene on the surface, yet burning vehemently like a flame." Personnel: Thomas Buckner - baritone; Leroy Jenkins - viola; Joseph Kubera - piano; J.D. Parran - bass clarinet; Stefani Starin - flute; David Wessel - synthesizer; Orchestra of the SEM Ensemble, with Petr Kotik as conductor. Recorded and mixed by Tom Hamilton.
CD $13


LP Only/Mostly Section:

LUC FERRARI - Heterozygote/Petite Symphonie... (Recollection GRM 017; Austria) In the field of biology Heterozygous (Hétérozygote) means: a plant whose heredity is mixed. It implies that Hétérozygote, composed between December 1963 and March 1964, is an attempt to engineer a language located both on the musical and on the dramatic plane. You could call this music "Anecdotal Music" for if the organization of events is purely musical, their choice suggests situations justified at two levels: the music and the anecdote. Luc Ferrari explains the piece Petite Symphonie Intuitive Pour Un Paysage De Printemps (1973-1974) in 2002: "This electroacoustic music is part of a series that could be called 'imaginary soundscape'. Unlike 'Presque Rien Ou Le Lever Du Jour Au Bord De La Mer (Almost Nothing Or Daybreak By The Seaside)', where the landscape narrates itself, here a traveller discovers a landscape which he tries to convey as a musical landscape. Brunhild and I were in the Gorges du Tarn area. We chose to take a small path that was going up a rocky mountain for about ten kilometres. After a last turn, a totally unexpected landscape opened before my eyes. It was sunset. Before us, a vast plateau spread open with soft curves up to the horizon, up to the sun. The colours ranged from dry grass yellow to purple, in the distance, with the darkness of a few small groves punctuating the space. The almost bare nature was presenting itself to the eye, free from any obstacle. We could see everything. Later, when I recollected this place and the sensations I had experienced there, I tried to compose a music that could revive this memory. The 'Causse Méjean' is a high plateau, about 1000 m high, in the Massif Central mountain range. It is dotted by scattered farms. A few people bring their flocks of sheep home. I thought about evoking this solitary and hazy human presence by including snippets of conversations I had had with some of the shepherds. Human language is woven into the musical texture; the sound of the voice says more than its actually meaning. Once, a shepherd told me '... I am never bored. I listen to the landscape. Sometimes I play my flute and then I listen to the echo responding...' Thinking of him, I used the flute and its echo in my music."
LP $22


PAINKILLER - Execution Ground (Karl Records 025; Germany) The seminal 1994 double album Execution Ground, by the original Painkiller with the line-up of Bill Laswell, John Zorn and Mick Harris on vinyl for the first time. When Painkiller started in 1991, their first two albums Guts Of A Virgin (1991) and Buried Secrets (1992) (both released on extreme metal label Earache) were heavy attacks blending grindcore and free jazz that brought together the musical backgrounds of the three protagonists: drummer Mick Harris had just left grindcore legend Napalm Death, John Zorn explored new extremities with his Naked City project while Bill Laswell had as a member of roaring free jazz quartet Last Exit (with Peter Brötzmann, Sonny Sharrock, Ronald Shannon Jackson) proven that he was not only a visionary producer but also an accomplished bassist. But it is their 1994 double album Execution Ground remains the opus magnum of the brilliant trio: Zorn's unmistakable shrieking saxophone, Harris's pounding drums and Laswell's growling sub-bass lines were given heavy mixing desk treatment, resulting in extended tracks that are no less intense than their early works but display the full range of the musicians's skills. Avant-jazz, grindcore, dub and ambient melt into eerie tracks of haunting atmospheres - even more so in the "ambient" versions of the second disc. Mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at D&M Berlin. Available here as a double 180 gram vinyl. Includes a download code and insert. Edition of 500.
2 LP Set $26


AMM - AMMMusic (Black Truffle 018; Australia)limited repress... First vinyl reissue of the landmark 1967 debut album by AMM, AMMMusic. Remastered and cut by Rashad Becker at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin. Exact replica sleeve by Stephen O'Malley. "Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of its recording in 1966, this reissue makes one of the cornerstones of the experimental music tradition available again in its original form, replete with Keith Rowe's beautiful pop art cover and the terse aphorisms by the group that served as its original liner notes. A testament to the interaction between the experimental avant-garde and the countercultural underground, the album was originally released on Elektra, recorded by Jac Holzman (the label's founder, responsible for signing The Doors, Love, and The Stooges) and produced by DNA, a group that included Pink Floyd's first manager, Peter Jenner (the title of Pink Floyd's 'Flaming' is a tribute to AMM's 'Later During a Flaming Riviera Sunset'). Formed in 1965 by three players from the emerging British jazz avant-garde -- Keith Rowe and Lou Gare had played with the great progressive big band leader Mike Westbrook and Eddie Prévost played in a post-bop group with Gare -- AMM quickly evolved from a free jazz group into something decidedly more difficult to categorise. By the time these recordings were made, two more members had joined the group: another Westbrook associate, Lawrence Sheaff, and the radical composer Cornelius Cardew. Then at work on his masterpiece of graphic notation Treatise, Cardew brought with him extensive experience of the post-serialist and Cageian currents in contemporary composition. Using a combination of conventional instruments and unconventional methods of sound production (most famously Keith Rowe's prepared tabletop guitar, but also prepared piano and transistor radio), the group performed improvised pieces often running for over two hours and ranging from extended periods of silence to terrifying cacophonies. On AMMMusic, long tones sit next to abrasive thuds, the howl of uncontrolled feedback accompanies Cardew's purposeful piano chords, radios beam in snatches of orchestral music. AMM's clearest break with jazz-based improvisation concerned the idea of individuality. Initially through an engagement with eastern philosophy and mysticism and later though a politicized communitarianism, AMM sought to develop a collective sonic identity in which individual contributions could barely be discerned. In the performances captured on AMMMusic the use of numerous auxiliary instruments and devices, including radios played by three members of the group, contribute to the sensation that the music is composed as a single monolithic object with multiple facets, rather than as an interaction between five distinct voices." - Francis Plagne
LP $21


ZEITKRATZER - Performs Songs From The Albums "Kraftwerk" And "Kraftwerk 2" (KarlRercords 035; Germany) Karlrecords celebrates its tenth birthday, and Zeitkratzer celebrate their 20th with necessary re-interpretations of early compositions by electronic pioneers Kraftwerk. Founded in 1997 by Reinhold Friedl, Zeitkratzer have since been creating an impressive catalog of recordings that embraces 20th century avant-garde composers (Cage, Stockhausen, Lucier) as well as electronic artists (Carsten Nicolai, Terre Thaemlitz) or underground experimentalists like Throbbing Gristle or Column One. In their 20th anniversary year, the critically acclaimed ensemble will release a series of diverse albums that will explore new grounds in the typical, adventurous Zeitkratzer way - the first of these albums is dedicated to Kraftwerk and their early, kraut-esque albums Kraftwerk (1970) and Kraftwerk 2 (1972). As Kraftwerk never re-released these albums, Zeitkratzer gave its best to cover the first tranche of the songs. Recorded in Marseille/France in May 2016, the six tracks reveal a bucolic and even psychedelic aspect of the ensemble that's mostly known (or feared) for its interpretative and aesthetic acerbity. And yet there's no doubt that Songs From The Albums "Kraftwerk" And "Kraftwerk 2" is a true Zeitkratzer recording in the best and fullest meaning. Zeitkratzer directed by Reinhold Friedl are: Frank Gratkowski - flute, clarinets; Elena Kakaliagou - french horn; Hilary Jeffery - trombone; Reinhold Friedl - harmonium, piano; Didier Ascour - guitar; Maurice de Martin - drums; Lisa Marie Landgraf - violin; Burkhard Schlothauer - violin; Elisabeth Coudoux - violoncello; Ulrich Phillipp - double bass. Presented here on 180 gram vinyl; Includes insert and download code; Edition of 500.
LP $21


GERRY & THE HOLOGRAMS - Gerry & The Holograms (Cache Cache 018; UK) Well-documented as one of Frank Zappa's favorite ever groups and instantly recognizable as the blueprint of '80s Mancunian electro pop, the inflated alter-egos of Gerry & The Holograms (and their unrivaled brand of conceptual sarcastic synth pop) successfully remodeled, ridiculed, and redefined plugged-in punk before hitting the self-destruct button and burying the evidence under a pile of hand-mutilated microgrooves for over 35 wet summers. Having risen from the electronic embers of Manchester's first genuine psychedelic band, via Vertigo commissioned prog and experimental theater, then refined through the musical mind behind the most inspired vinyl moments of Martin Hannett, John Cooper Clarke, and Jilted John - the discography of the GATH anti-band remains unrivaled as the most idiosyncratic and enigmatic pivotal post-punk artifact from the first electronic entrenchment of pop. The first-and-only listenable two track record by this masked art-rock studio duo, entitled Meet The Dissidents, originally appeared in record racks in 1979, selling-out instantly only to be sequel-ized by a totally unplayable situationist-inspired follow-up which was glued into its own sleeve destroying the grooves in the process (rivalling that of Peter Saville and Durutti Column's Debordist sandpaper re-hash by at least three years). With a life-span shorter than the hours on their studio bill, the band would find bedfellows amongst other incognito groups like Naffi Sandwich, The Mothmen, and Blah Blah Blah within the Absurd Records stable - a daring Mancunian imprint that sat awkwardly between older and younger half-sister labels Rabid and Relentless. With an 11 release library of mostly non-returning faceless atonal electronic punk/DIY industrial bands, Absurd would spearhead and pre-empt the subsequent decades of Mancunian independent record labels that followed in the footsteps of the more commercially successful Factory Records. Despite just one official title to their name however, the true identity behind Gerry And The Holograms would unify those sister-labels and collectively play an important supporting role in Manchester's independent music history with a story which goes back as far as most rain soaked memories can attempt to forget. On Thursday July 2, 2015, The Guardian Newspaper published an article with the snappy title "The Great Rock'n'Roll Swindle - 10 Classic Stolen Pop Songs From Saint Louis Blues To Blue Monday" in which journalist Clinton Heylin made the claim that "If 'Blue Monday' had a starting point, it was Gerry and the Holograms" illustrating the vivid similarities between the two tracks.
LP $26


HILLS - Alive At Roadburn (Rocket Recordings 112; UK) Double LP version. Alive At Roadburn is Gothenburg based Hills' third album with Rocket Recordings. Hot off the Swedish psychedelia revival of the past few years and after their hailed 2015 album Frid (Launch 079CD), Hills connect the dots to their country's rich and intoxicating past with a handful of new sepia-toned tunes. Like their predecessors unholy trinity of Pärson Sound, International Harvester, and Träd Gräs Och Stenar, Hills penchant to stretch out beyond, performing what feels like openly casual exhortations into intricate Eastern tones and primal hypnotic rhythms. These four tracks sit deeply buried in oblivion, bones, skin, sweat, grooved with fearless intensity with no diminution of the interplay, spontaneity, and feeling onstage, the band are entombed in mantric repetition while the vapor trail of The Byrds' (Untitled) epic; "Eight Miles High" descends into an Elysian Field, where the dead enjoy happy tranquility, until they come to life and rise up again.
2 LP Set $30


FUSIOON - Danza Del Molinero (Sommor Records 033; Spain) Sommor Records present a reissue of Fusioon's Danza Del Molinero, originally released in 1972. This is the first album by these Catalan psych-progsters. Traditional Spanish songs receive a psychedelic/progressive/jazz-rock treatment with a tremendous rhythm section (drum breaks galore), fuzz-tone guitar, Hammond and analog keyboards, piano, and occasional string arrangements. RIYL: Soft Machine, Egg, Goblin, Arzachel, Le Orme, Collegium Musicum. Master tape sound. Original artwork in gatefold sleeve; Comes with an insert with rare photos and detailed liner notes in English/Spanish/Catalan.
LP $26

FUSIOON - Farsa Del Buen Vivir (Sommor Records 034; Spain) Sommor Records present a reissue of Fusioon's Farsa Del Buen Vivir, originally released in 1974. This second album by Fusioon is one of the masterpieces from the '70s Catalan/Spanish psychedelic and progressive scene. Produced by the great Josep Llobell, you'll find here plenty of Hammond, Moog, effects, a solid rhythm section, distorted lead guitar, and highly inventive arrangements. RIYL: Soft Machine, Egg, King Crimson, Gentle Giant, The Nice, Focus, Goblin. Master tape sound. Original artwork; Comes with an insert with rare photos and detailed liner notes in English/Spanish/Catalan.
LP $26


STEFANO MARCUCCI - Tempo Di Demono, Papi, Angioli, Incensi E Cilici (Finders Keepers 088; UK) Finders Keepers present a reissue of Stefano Marcucci's Tempo Di Demono, Papi, Angioli, Incensi E Cilici, originally released in 1975. The mythical, mysterious and misfiled transcription disc of a lost Italian demonic religious rock opera recorded at Pierre Umiliani's Sound Workshop by Stefano Marcucci - beat group veteran, Fernando Arrabal collaborator and Libra affiliate. Featuring members of the wider Casa/Ducros family and future Federico Fellini collaborators, this previously commercially unavailable mini-LP features embryonic Minimoog, ecclesiastical organs and chorus alongside a tight psych funk rhythm section from Italian library music's golden era. Imagine Jean Pierre Massiera's Visitors rescoring a scene from Juliette Of The Spirits (1965), backed by a skeleton staff from Jean-Claude Vannier's Chorale des Jeunesses Musicales de France on a foreign exchange program; on Halloween, in the Vatican... Continuing their mission to shine light on the genuine anomalies of '70s Italian production music, Finders Keepers resurrects another unlikely transcription disc from the vaults of one of Rome's most esoteric library music archives. This bizarre one-off theatrical project, composed and recorded at Umiliani's studio, was commissioned for a short-run demonic religious performance entitled Tempo Di Demoni, Papi, Angioli, Incensi E Cilici under the musical direction of former Italian psychedelic beat-group member Stefano Marcucci. Instantly recognized by Flower Records founder Romano Di Bari as having commercial potential beyond its handful of church and small theater performances in the early months of 1975, Marcucci agreed that they should commit these bizarre recordings to vinyl as a form of preservation with hope of attracting a wider commercial audience through Di Bari's Television and Films synchronization contacts. Sitting slightly ajar to the custom-made projects of its label bedfellows (swapping schedules with experimental theme-music by Alessandro Alessandroni, Gerardo Iacoucci, and Anthonio Ricardo Luciani) and confusingly sharing an identical catalog number to another collectable Flower release called Ritimico by Paolo Ferrara (RED 402D-LP), this album has slipped under the radar of many library label completists over the years attracting confusion, skepticism, polarized opinion but nothing short of astonishment at the bizarre hidden synth-ridden psychedelic concept pop found behind some of the most striking duo-tone artwork to come out of Italy's most experimental era.
10”LP $25

Cassette Selection:

ALBERT AYLER TRIO - Spiritual Unity (ESP-PA 001; USA) ESP-Disk' Cassette Collection vol.1; Limited edition chrome cassette tape with Dolby, special sleeve include a bonus track; Cassette ONLY! NO music download! This cassette is graced by an impressive paint splatter wrap-around cover.
Cassette $12 [Limited Edition of 150]

OCTOPUS - Octopus (ESP-PA 002; USA) "Stoned out trippy acid-blues-jazz-rock. Affecting and disconcerting lyrics from 1969 about war, guns, Kennedy, MLK, and the eight arms of Octopus. Very screwed up music on this still-listenable 60s document." Tom Miller (tenor sax & vocal) Dion Grody (guitar, organ & vocal) Lanny Brooks (basvo) Craig Justin (drums & percussion).
Cassette $12 [Limited Edition of 100]

SYSTEM SCATTERING PERIOD - Oblique Motion (Personal Affair 003; USA) SSP is a computer music project by a sound engineer who lives in Flushing, Queens, NY. These pieces were made from hiss noise of a blank cassette tape, using various original Pure Data patches. The sounds/music here is like an eruption of static, glitches and bent electronic sounds. The sound collage is well-sculpted, carefully manipulated. I dig the way these two piece unfold, evolved in a way that is not very difficult to follow. The overall sound is closer to analogue synth or perhaps, even older, music concrete. This is definitely some of the better and least alienating electronic music I’ve heard recently. - BLG/DMG
Cassette $10 [Limited Edition of 75/Cassette-only release]

********

Bruce Lee Gallanter’s Recommended Gig List for March of 2017


THE STONE RESIDENCIES - DENMAN MARONEY - MAR 14 – 19

3/17 Friday
830 pm - Vocal Music - Denman Maroney (piano) Lisa Karrer (alto) Nate Wooley (trumpet) Arthur Kell (bass) David Simons (drums); “Music for Words, Perhaps” Denman Maroney (piano) Lisa Karrer (alto) “A Thought Revolved” Denman Maroney (piano) Lisa Karrer (alto) Nate Wooley (trumpet) Arthur Kell (bass) David Simons (drums)

3/18 Saturday
830 pm - Duos - Denman Maroney (piano) Mark Dresser (bass) Hans Tammen (live processing)

3/19 Sunday
830 pm - Piano Trio alt.times - Denman Maroney (piano) Ratzo Harris (bass) Bob Meyer (drums)

THE STONE RESIDENCIES - ROBERT DICK - MARCH 21–26

3/21 Tuesday
830 pm - We Are the Walrus - Thomas Buckner (baritone) Robert Dick (flutes)
Two long time musical collaborators who always surprise each other & themselves!

3/22 Wednesday
830 pm - Dissonant Geranium - Miya Masaoka (koto) Ken Filiano (bass) Robert Dick (flutes); Robert has played many times with Miya in duo and with Ken in a wide range of ensembles. This is the first outing for this intensively colorful trio.

3/23 Thursday
830 pm - Raise the River—Flutes and Drums - Tiffany Chang (drums) Robert Dick (flutes) - Primal music from the next dimension.

3/24 Friday
830 pm - The Time Between Us - Stephanie Griffin (viola) Ned Rothenberg (alto sax, bass clarinet, shakuhachi) Satoshi Takeishi (drums) Robert Dick (flutes)

3/25 Saturday
830 pm - Bermuda Rectangle - Vince Bell (spoken word, vocals) David Mansfield (pedal steel, banjo, guitars) Ratzo B. Harris (bass) Robert Dick (flutes)

NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY PRESENTATION - SUNDAY AFTERNOON—ONE DAY ONLY!
MARCH 26 from 2PM to 6PM
A Special Presentation of music performed by students and faculty of New England Conservatory. - NEC FESTIVAL
Maestro Day: Henry Fraser (bass) Conor Baker (drums, percussion) Joe Moffett (trumpet) Sam Weinberg (alto sax)—Kim Anderson (voice, composition) Pete Moffett (drums) Lucia Stavros (harp) Michael Sachs (clarinet) Sam Decker (tenor sax)—Ted Reichman (accordion, composition)—Leo Hardman-Hill (trumpet, composition)—Steven Long (piano solo)—Rubin Holbein (trumpet solo)—Utsav Lal (piano solo)—DoYeon Kim (gayeguem solo)—Greene trio: Will Greene (sax, composition) Sam Freibush (piano) Jon Starks (drums)—Christmas Gridlock: Eric Stilwell (trombone, composition) Andres Abenante (guitar) Eladio Rojas (drums) Tree Palmedo (trumpet) Zach Lavine (bass)—Ruthless Moon: Caroline Kuhn (voice, banjo) Sam Talmadge (guitar) Dan Klingsberg (bass) Elise Leavy (voice, accordion)—Aradia: Drew Wesely (guitar, composition) Dan O'Brien (reeds) Utsav Lal (piano) Burcu Gulec (voice); The program: Maestro Day—Kim Anderson—Ted Reichman—Leo Hardman-Hill—Steven Long—Rubin Holbein—Utsav Lal—DoYeon Kim—Greene trio—Christmas Gridlock—Ruthless Moon—Aradia

830 pm
Our Cells Know - Robert Dick (contrabass flute solo)

There are no refreshments or merchandise at The Stone.
Only music. All ages are welcome.
Cash Only at the door. There is no phone.
There is no food or beverage served or allowed
just a serious listening environment.
The Stone is booked purely on a curatorial basis

*********

The CORNELIA STREET CAFE - 212-989-9319
29 Cornelia St in the heart of the West Greenwich Village, NYC

Friday Mar 17
6:00PM THE DAVID LOPATO QUARTET - David Lopato, piano; Lucas Pino, saxes, clarinet; Ratzo Harris, string bass; Michael Sarin, drums
9:00PM SONG YI / VITOR / ROGERIO TRIO - Song Yi Jeon, voice; Vitor Gonçalves, piano; Rogerio Boccato, percussion, drums
10:30PM SONG YI JEON QUINTET - Song Yi Jeon, voice, comp.; Vitor Gonçalves, piano; Kenji Herbert, guitar; Rick Rosato, bass; Alex Wyatt, drums

Saturday Mar 18
6:00PM NIGHT IN THE NAKED CITY V: UMAMI NIGHTS - Steve Dalachinsky; Thomas Fucaloro; Aimee Herman; Matthew Hupert; Jane Lecroy; Puma Perl;George Wallace
9:00PM & 10:30PM MICHAËL ATTIAS QUARTET - Michaël Attias, alto sax; Aruán Ortiz, piano; John Hébert, bass; Nasheet Waits, drums

Sunday March 19:
8:35PM KATHRYN CHRISTIE QUARTET, MUSIC OF DJAVAN - Kathryn Christie, vocals; Q Morrow, guitar; Matt Aronoff, bass; Ross Pederson, drums; Helio Alves, piano

Tues March 21
8:01PM RYAN KEBERLE & CATHARSIS - Ryan Keberle, trombone, melodica; Camila Meza, voice, guitar; Scott Robinson, sax; Ed Perez, bass; Henry Cole, drums

Wed March 22
8:01PM SEBASTIAN NOELLE QUINTET - Sebastian Noelle, guitar; Marc Mommaas, tenor sax; Matt Mitchell, piano; Matt Clohesy, bass; Dan Weiss, drums

Thursday Mar 23
6:00PM KRISTIANA ROEMER QUARTET - Kristiana Roemer, voice, composition; Mike King, piano; Shin Sakaino, bass; Allan Mednard, drums
8:01PM ALAN FERBER NONET - Philip Dizack, trumpet; Alan Ferber, trombone; Loren Stillman, alto sax; Lucas Pino, tenor sax; Charles Pillow, bass clarinet; Nir Felder, guitar; Bryn Roberts, piano; Matt Pavolka, bass; Mark Ferber, drums

Friday Mar 24
9:00PM & 10:30PM GILAD HEKSELMAN ZUPEROCTAVE - Gilad Hekselman, guitar; Sam Yahel, keyboards; Kevin Hays, piano; Kush Abadey, drums

Saturday Mar 25
6:00PM THE ROGUE DIPLOMATS - Brian Donnelly, guitar, vocals; Matthew Cullen Breiner, bodhrán/tin whistle/vocals; Patrick Marran, Irish bouzouki/guitar/vocals; Nate Diehl, accordion/vocals; Christine Scharf Breiner, vocals
9:00PM & 10:30PM GILAD HEKSELMAN ZUPEROCTAVE - Gilad Hekselman, guitar; Sam Yahel, keyboards; Kevin Hays, piano; Kush Abaday, drums

Sunday Mar 26
8:35PM BEN PEROWSKY TRIO - Chris Speed, tenor sax, clarinet; Michael Formanek, bass; Ben Perowsky, drums

*****

I-Beam Presents:

Thursday, March 23rd 6:30 PM
Patrick Brennan’s transparency Kestra
open rehearsal 6:30pm — concert 7:30pm
Carter Bales – percussion, patrick brennan, saxophone & composition, Haruna Fukazawa – flutes & piccolo, Brian Groder – trumpet, Westbrook Johnson – trombone, Nicolas Letman-Burtinovic – bass viol, Aaron Shragge – trumpet, David Sidman – guitar, Harvey Valdes – guitar, Justin Wood – flute

Saturday, March 25th 8:30 PM
8:30 Zeena Parkins & Mary Halvorson
9:30 Zeena Parkins & Leila Bordreuil

Saturday, April 8th 8:30 PM
Susan Alcorn & Sylvie Courvoisier
Susan Alcorn – Pedal Steel
Sylvie Courvoisier – Piano

I-Beam is located at 168 7th Street in Brooklyn, NY 11215 - Directions: SUBWAY: Take the F or R trains to 4th Ave & 9th Street. Walk down 4th ave to 7th street. Make a left on 7th and walk past 3rd ave. We are located on the ground floor, the grey doors to the right of the stairs of #168.

***********

Shapeshifter March 2017:

Mar 17
7pm: ShapeShifter Presents: The 4 Korners Live
Tickets $10.00 adv $12.00 @door
The 4 Korners Live ( Headliner )
Special Guest The Flowdown

Mar 23
7pm: Dominant Funktion: Live at The Lab
Kevon Scott - Tenor Sax/Effects
Scott Bell - Trumpet
Darion Roberts - Keys/Aux
Kertron Mackey - Organ/Keys
Francisco Moraga - Electric Guitar
Stefano Genova - Electric Bass
Damian Chambers - Drumset

Mar 28 -
Kaoru Watanabe


Shapeshifter is located at
18 Whitwell Place in Brooklyn, NY
R train to Union stop

********

GREENWICH HOUSE SOUND IT OUT SERIES:

Sound It Out series @ Greenwich House – Concerts, January-June 2017

Saturday, March 25, 7:30 p.m. – All-star double-bill! Featuring: Wadada Leo Smith & Angelica Sanchez Angelica Sanchez Trio w/ Michael Formanek & Tyshawn Sorey, Wadada Leo Smith, trumpet; Angelica Sanchez, piano

Friday, March 31, 7:30 p.m. – Cross-generational double-bill!
Ralph Alessi solo Alex Koo, Mark Turner & Ralph Alessi - trumpet
Alex Koo Derudder, piano; Mark Turner, tenor saxophone; Ralph Alessi, trumpet

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