DMG Newsletter for June 7th, 2019

LAUGHTER is Still Our MEDICINE!
The VISION FEST Is About to Erupt!

It is June of 2019 and I am glad to be alive!
How do I stay so inspired when I’m turning 65?!?
MUSIC is my fuel & I ain’t giving you no jive
Dancing in my kitchen, dancing at the store,
Listening to the Dead, Little Feat & Fela and always wanting more!
Rock & Soul, Country, Folk & Bluegrass and all sorts of Jazz
Ethnic Music, Psych, Punk Rock, Noise, Dark Metal and Free Sounds Galore!
Still listening to Albums, Compact Discs, Cassettes & DVD’s
And other Ancient Forms & Formats, Nothing to get in my Way
I Never listen to Downloads or Music on my phone
Since it sounds so fake and I know I am not alone
Only a good Stereo System or a Live Performance will do the Trick!
Music Remains the Healing Force of the Universe, Time & Time Again
So Spend some time and listen closely to the Special Sounds that we all need to Embrace

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THE 14th ANNUAL VISION FESTIVAL Takes Place Next Week:
From June 9th - June 16th, 2019
The full schedule is listed at the end of this newsletter or
just go to: www.artsforart.org/vision.html
Tickets can be purchased here: visionfestival.brownpapertickets.com

DMG Welcomes all Vision Fest Travelers from around the World!
Yours truly, BLG, has attended every year since the first one
And will continue to do so, for as long as I can!
The annual VISION FESTIVAL remains one of Beacons of Healing
Through Spiritual Music, Poetry, Visual Art and Dance

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The Downtown Music Gallery 28th Anniversary Celebrations began on May 1st & Continues!
Every In-store This Summer Helps Celebrate the Spirit of Creative Music Performed Live.

This Sunday, June 9th:
6pm: BRANDON SEABROOK & JESSE DULMAN - Guitar / Tuba Duo
7pm: VIV CORRINGHAM / DAVE MANDL / MARCUS CUMMINS / AARON MOORE -
Voice / Bass Guitar / Soprano Sax / Percussion!

Rare Monday, June 10th Event!
6:30pm: WILLIAM PARKER - Conversations - Volume III - New Book Celebration!
Master Bassist / Composer / Multi-Bandleader William Parker will talk
about & sign copies of his new book, ‘Conversations III’ on Rogue Art.

Sunday, June 16th: Vision Festival (June 12-16th)
No In-store on this night, check out the Vision Festival!

Rare Monday, June 17th Post-Vision Fest/BLG Birthday Celebration!
6:30pm: CHRIS PITSIOKOS / MICHAEL VATCHER / Mystery Bassist - Special DMG Set!

Sunday, June 23rd:
6pm: TOMCHESS / ZACH SWANSON - Oud, Ney & Morsing / ContraBass
7pm: TERRENCE McMANUS - Solo Guitar

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

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BLG/DMG Recommended Gigs/Films of the Week:

Eric J. Stern’s House  Of Improv Series:
Friday, June 7, 2019 @ 8:00 pm
SHAKESPEARE MEETS JAZZ featuring
Joe Fonda, Harvey Sorgen, Jake Sorgen,   
Jeff Lederer and actor Peter Rouffaer.

This is a rare New York appearance by Shakespearean actor
Mr. Rouffaer who lives in Gent, Belgium.  

Taking Place At 244 Rehearsal Studios
244 West 54th Street, New York, NY

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This Friday June 7th at 7 pm
Straw2gold Pictures
Invites you to a party and screening of

Robert O’Haire & Jeff Burns'
“Cecil Taylor – In Context”
a frenetic close-up of the jazz master
rehearsing his amazing ensemble and

David Francis'
“Memory Journey”
a symbolist film
about youth and time

The two shorts will be shown
at 9 (or nightfall)
in the back garden
with directors' discussion
and songs by David Francis

At 240 Frost Street 1R
Brooklyn 11211
no rsvp - first come first served

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This Week’s Cosmic Sonic Goodies Begin with this Hard to find Treasure:

MILES OKAZAKI - WORK - The Complete Compositions of Thelonious Monk (Self-Produced; USA) “Monk was a polisher. He was known to sit for hours at a time at the piano playing the same piece over and over again. As a result, his improvisations were not just based on “playing the changes” but rather “playing the tune”. He used the full gamut of materials from a composition, beyond simply its harmonic progressions, as fodder for expansion and play. To achieve a type of comfort with a composition that enables this sort of unforced creativity takes an immense amount of patience, discipline, and joy. What is so astonishing about guitarist Miles Okazaki’s new 6-volume compilation of solo Monk pieces is that he has gone through this process 70 times, assimilating each piece fully into his own vocabulary.
Take, for example, Okazaki’s version of one of my favorite Monk pieces, “Pannonica.” Throughout his rendition of the melody, he uses harmonics and muted strings, as well as perfect fourths. It is clear that he has listened to Monk’s excellent version of the song on Brilliant Corners, in which Monk actually plays celeste on the melody rather than piano. Vijay Iyer has likened Monk’s unique approach to upper harmonics to spectral composition. Okazaki beautifully translates these distinctive harmonies, based almost as much on register and articulation as on actual notes, to the guitar.
Playing Monk this way on guitar is a substantial challenge. Even playing some of these pieces on piano can be an exercise in dexterity, but to take them to an instrument that functions so differently requires no small amount of planning. Although Okazaki’s solutions to this problem are novel, they never feel inauthentic. On “Evidence”, for example, he invents an underlying rhythmic figure to highlight Monk’s off-kilter rhythms in the absence of a drummer. Okazaki doesn’t make an arranging decision just for the hell of it (and there are artists whom I would frankly criticize for doing so). Instead, he engages even more deeply with the source material whenever he faces a practical challenge in bringing this music to guitar. The result strikes a difficult balance between the personal and the reverential.
I must confess that I am still in the process of combing through this massive oeuvre and that I likely will still be for years. One of the joys of this compilation is that, between stellar versions of classics like “Crepuscule with Nellie” and “Little Rootie Tootie” lies a wealth of more obscure tunes. There’s even a Christmas song buried in there! I would be remiss if I did not mention fellow guitarist Steve Cardenas and trumpeter Don Sickler’s meticulously notated collection of Monk sheet music, the Thelonious Monk Fake Book. As a pianist myself, I’ve spent many hours combing through this book, so I was overjoyed to find that Okazaki used its scores as his source material. I get a similar sense when listening to Okazaki as when reading the Monk Fake Book of rediscovering details in familiar pieces and finding new songs altogether.
It is tempting to call this compilation a “tribute album”, but in a way I feel to do so would be a misnomer. Of course, it shares a lineage with other albums like Alexander von Schlippenbach’s Monk’s Casino and, perhaps even more directly, Wadada Leo Smith’s Solo: Meditations and Reflections on Monk. Work, however, is more a document of continued, concerted study, one which affords us new visions of Monk’s work and which feels beautifully inconclusive. It is full of brilliant corners.” - Alexander Dubovoy, FreeJazzBlog
6 CD Set $40 (5 in stock & more coming next week)


New from The Great Underground FOU RECORDS Label:

Jean-Marc Foussat, who runs this, the Fou Records label is widely known as the premier engineer/producer/archivist for the creative music scene in France. His label now has some 30 releases, all of which are superbly recorded. We just got five titles in stock, all of which are highly recommended for the creative free/music connoisseur.

DEREK BAILEY / HAN BENNINK / EVAN PARKER - Topographie Parisienne - Dunois, April 3rd, 1981 (Fou Records FR 34/35/36/37; France) Featuring Derek Bailey on guitar, Evan Parker on tenor & soprano saxes and Han Bennink on drums & other instruments. This particular trio of European free/improv giants recorded just one studio album in June of 1970 which was called ’Topography of the Lungs’. It was released on the Incus label soon thereafter, a label co-founded by Derek Bailey, Evan Parker and another financial friend. The musical relationship between Mr. Bailey & Mr. Parker eventually soured and ‘Topography of the Lungs’ went out of print. It wasn’t until 2005 when Mr. Bailey passed away that Mr. Parker was reissued that gem oh his own label, Psi. These three musicians did collaborate with each other only on a few large group recordings: Manfred Schoof (‘European Echoes’), Misha Mengelberg (‘Groupcomposing’ - now on CvsD) and Globe Unity (1970).
Eleven years after this trio recorded ’Topography of the Lungs’, they played at the Theatre Dunois in France for a long evening on April 3rd of 1981. This impressive 4 CD Set captures that night with two set long trios, five duos and two solos from Evan Parker. Jean-Marc Foussat’s recording is superb, al the music is well-captured, warm, clean and well-balanced. It is wonderful to hear this trio in all of their splendor. Besides drums, Mr. Bennink sounds like he is playing scissors and assorted odd objects. The first trio set works its way through trio and duo sections, from quiet sections to more explosive chatter. Much of the duo segments with Mr. Parker on soprano and Mr. Bennink on drums are just incredible. There is way too much great music here to comment on here and I have two more discs to get through. Thanks to Mr. Foussat and the Fou Records label for great opportunity to hear they trio, duos and solos at length. Truly an historic moment! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
4 CD Set $38

DAUNIK LAZRO / JOELLE LEANDRE / GEORGE LEWIS - Enfances 8 Janv. 1984 (Fou Records FR 18; France) Amazing to think that 30 years of Joëlle Léandre’s many collaborations with Daunik Lazro and George Lewis began with a recording we’ve never heard in full before now. As I’ve been soaking in all the writing this week, I revisited a couple of seminal albums also recorded in the 1980s, particularly the Intakt releases The Storming of the Winter Palace (the epic quintet featuring Léandre, Lewis, Maggie Nicols, Irène Schweizer, and Günter Sommer) and Paris Quartet (Léandre’s album with Lazro, Schweizer, and Yves Robert). A portion of this trio performance appeared on Lazro’s HatHut set, Sweet Zee, but if I’m not mistaken, this is the first release of the complete session. Thinking about how this is likely the first recorded meeting of these three, the clarity of the recording would be enough to recommend it, for its historical value. But the real prizes here are the vibrancy and ingenuity of three great improvisers in collaboration.
The opening 30 seconds of “Enface 1” contain a scattering of percussive noises (think Art Ensemble of Chicago-style little instruments), Léandre’s voice, and the briefest tease of Lazro’s sax. A minute later, the trio is fully awoken. Lazro and Léandre have long been collaborating, and the genesis of their partnership illuminates how well matched they’ve been since the beginning. All three musicians boast tremendous talent and commitment to the moment, but there’s also sly humor and a passionate drive to urge listeners to out of their traditionally passive role. “Enfance 4” is a wonderful examples of this, with Léandre’s arco solo suddenly interrupted by Lewis and Lazro’s riffs and squaks.
“Enface 5” is something of preview of the past 30 years in retrospect. Early on, Lazro takes a lyrical solo, which Léandre quickly picks up on bass. The two continue moving forward, somewhat hesitantly, before ceding the floor to Lewis for an extended solo. The three come together in a swirling passage of singing, bass, trombone, and sax, which contrasts staccato passages with brassy outbursts. Hearing it all hang together in synchrony, I was somewhat on edge, waiting to hear how long the passage would sustain itself.
With most of the tracks clocking in at sub-4 minutes, the 20-minute “Enface 5” and 12-minute “Enface 6” form the centerpiece of the album. Toward the middle of “Enface 6” is a Lazro/Lewis duet, with the two weaving their lines together into a dense run. Gradually, Léandre joins, then quickly takes centerstage for a solo that sets the path forward for the piece’s conclusion. The final track, “Enface 10,” plays like a strident plea that could be a call for peace, a call to action, or a call simply echoing out into space, perhaps never to be answered.” - Lee Rice Epstein, FreeJazzBlog
CD $17

WILLEM BREUKER KOLLEKTIEF with ROY RAAYMAKERS / WILLEM VAN MANEN / BERNARD HUNNEKINK / BOB DRIESSEN / MAARTEN VAN NORDEN / HENK de JONGE / ARJEN GORTER / ROB VERURMEN - Angouleme 18 Mai 1980 (Fou Records 09 & 10; France) “Recorded live at a crucial period of its existence, this Angouleme May 18, 1980 is a splendid testimony of the Willem Breuker Kollektief, a flagship of the new European jazz orchestra. Founded in 1974 to set to music the musical and social ideas Willem Breuker, the WBK brought together musicians that were somehow his students, and he had leverage their individual qualities although initially many of them were not properly improvisers as could be colleagues such as Bennink, Mengelberg, Maarten Altena, Evan Parker, Derek Bailey, Fred Van Hove, Brötzmann and co.
Digging in the aesthetics of Kurt Weil, whose work on WB was authoritative, curiously summoned his arrangements, popular music (circus marches, tango), innovations minimalist and expressionistic free jazz, combining power and subtlety. In May 1980, the pianist Henk de Jonge replaced Leo Cuypers and hornist January Wolff had left the ship, but the trumpeter Andy Altenfelder had not yet joined. Also the music is a little closer to jazz with more elaborate arrangements and the group has earned a reputation explosive. Not less than 4000 people attended these concerts Angoulême and made them public rampaging reminders.” - SoundOhm.com
2 CD Set $24

URS LEIMGRUBER & JEAN MARC FOUSSAT - Face to Face (Fou Records 32/33; France) Featuring Urs Leimgruber on soprano & tenor saxes and Jean-Marc Foussat on AKS synth & voice. Last week (5/31-6/3/19), I had the opportunity to hear Swiss saxist, Urs Leimgruber, play live on three separate occasions, playing solos & duos with Jessica Pavone & Brandon Lopez. Each set was superb, but in very different ways. I have long followed & enjoyed the work of Mr. Leimgruber whose career reaches back to the mid-seventies with the great quartet Om, as well as working with John Wolf Brennan, Joe McPhee and Quartet Noir. Mr. Leimgruber has recorded a number of solo sax discs throughout his evolution and it seems as if he has recorded/performed even more in the duo context: Fritz Hauser, Thomas Lehn, Evan Parker and Vinny Golia.
For this 2 CD set, Mr. Leimgruber collaborates with the French recording engineer/producer/archivist Jean-Marc Foussat. Mr. Foussat plays an AKS synth here, uses his voice and recorded these two sessions in two towns in Switzerland, Zurich and Lucerne, on October 19th & 26th of last year (2018). After hearing Mr. Leimgruber play in three very different settings, I see/hear how he adapts to the room & person he is playing with. On Disc one, ‘Rive de Reves’, the duo take their time with breath-like radiator hissing sounds, the rhythmic tapping of the keys, subtle electronics, squeaks and other carefully bent notes. Mr. Leimgruber twists those notes inside out, the tension ever expanding. Mr. Foussat sounds as if he has sampled voices (a suspenseful chorus) and other odd sounds, also bending the samples to work well with variety of sax & mouthpiece sounds. Eventually it sounds as if Mr. Leimgruber’s sax is being played through the synth and manipulated in part. Mr. Foussat is a fine collaborator and consistently finds ways for adding a variety of haunting or disorienting sounds to Mr. Leimgruber’s sax playing. When Mr. Leimgruber switches to tenor sax, his sound is even more impressive, expansive, intense and explosive at times. The second was recorded in another hall, a week earlier. Again, we hear the way Mr. Foussat adds right amount of sonic seasoning to the solo sax work of reeds wiz Urs Leimgruber. If you are patient and listen closely, you will hear layers of subtle electronics, samples and sax explorations. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
2 CD Set $16

URS LEIMGRUBER - Broken Silence (Creative Works 1063; Switzerland) Featuring Urs Leimgruber on soprano & tenor saxes. Earlier this week (5/31/19-6/3/19), I had the opportunity to hear Swiss saxist Urs Leimgruber play in solos and duos (w/ Jessica Pavone & Brandon Lopez) over three different nights. Each of these sets were very different as Mr. Leimgruber approaches each setting differently. I have been following Mr. Leimgruber ever since hearing an album by his early quartet Om in the late seventies. I’ve caught him live on just a few occasions (twice with Quartet Noir), but this was a rare opportunity to hear him soloing twice in a short visit. The feeling that I took away from all of the current sets is that Leimgruber has worked hard at his playing, is still searching and coming up with new ideas, new sounds.
This disc, ‘Broken Silence’ was recorded in a studio in Lucerne in August of 2917. All of the pieces here, are recorded live in the studio except for two pieces with overdubs. “Ko Mu” begins with soft drones which almost sound like a whistle. Slowly, carefully Urs is twisting those notes, just a few notes at a time. In the liner notes, Leimbruber says that much of this begins in silence and evolves from there. What is interesting about this disc is this: Leimgruber takes a line of notes and manipulates them, bending and stretching out certain notes, making it difficult to tell exactly what instrument he is playing at times. The very way that Leimgruber bends notes, makes what he does unique. After a while certain patterns emerge, certain lines of notes sound somehow familiar. The music here is intense, focused, making each not os sound count. The second piece with overdubs, “Umber”, sounds more like a percussion piece with Urs tapping on different parts of his sax, with somer sawing or rubbing sounds while also adding a few muted notes here and there like selective seasoning. On the final piece, “Seeping into the Rocks”, Urs pushes his sounds further out, bending & twisting his lines with intense abandon. This disc does a good job of capturing what makes Mr. Leimgruber unique. It just a bit of time to adjust to his distinctive approach. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15

Back in stock:

DEREK BAILEY / JOELLE LEANDRE / GEORGE LEWIS / EVAN PARKER - 28 Rue Dunois Juillet 1982 (Fou Records 06; France) Previously unreleased and outstanding! Two complete sets equaling 78 1/2 minutes in length.
CD $17


Five Phenomenal New & Archival Discs from CORBETT VS DEMPSEY!

ICP TENTET With PETER BROTZMANN / JOHN TCHICAI / ALAN SILVA / MISHA MENGELBERG / TRISTAN HONSINGER / PETER BENNINK / HAN BENNINK / et al - Tetterett (CvsD 0060; USA) "Recorded in 1977, the Instant Composers Pool’s Tetterettet is the first classic of the band’s larger incarnations. Assembled out of elements recorded live in Uithoorn, Utrecht, and the band’s home base of Amsterdam, with Misha Mengelberg using a cut-and-paste collage method akin to Teo Macero’s work with Miles Davis, the record features an all star lineup that added three leading lights of free music: bassist Alan Silva and saxophonists John Tchicai and Peter Brötzmann. In this period, Brötzmann made the long train trip from Wuppertal, Germany, to A’dam on a weekly basis to rehearse with ICP, bassist Silva coming in from Paris. Well known for his work in pioneer creative music ensembles such as the New York Art Quartet and the New York Contemporary Five and on John Coltrane’s Ascention, Tchicai was the Paul Desmond of free jazz, with a softer, more subtle phraseology than many of his peers. These international figures joined pianist Mengelberg and drummer Han Bennink – whose ICP co-founder Willem Breuker had broken off to form what would be come his long-time working band, the Kollektief – and their outrageous, hyper-inventive big band. Michel Waiswicz, who invented the crackle box, a user-friendly, portable electronic instrument, is a defining presence on Mengelberg’s multipart “Tetterettet,” and along with the heavyweight outatowners the band includes composer, oboist, and saxophonist Gilius Van Bergeyk, whose sequence of compositions nestle perfectly into Misha’s, Han’s gifted brother Peter Bennink on saxes, trombonist Bert Koppelaar, and cellist Tristan Honsinger, who has continued to work with the ensemble even after Misha’s death in 2017. One of the landmark records of Mengelberg tunes, with classics like “Rumboon” and “Alexander’s Marschbefehel,” Tetterettet presents a program full of musical surprises, intelligence, and ICP’s own brand of uproarious humor. A shaggy masterpiece, available here for the first time as a stand-alone CD, remastered from the original tapes, with Han Bennink’s original cover design and a contemporaneous photo from the archives of Gérard Rouy."
CD $15

DUDU PUKWANA / MISHA MENGELBERG/ HAN BENNINK - Yi Yole (CvsD 061; USA) “Recorded at the ICP Jubileum, a festival in Uithoorn, Holland, in 1978, Yi Yole brings together the core of the Instant Composers Pool – pianist Misha Mengelberg and drummer Han Bennink – with legendary South African alto saxophonist Dudu Pukwana. Longtime member of the Blue Notes, Pukwana was a beloved figure in European free music after he left South Africa in the mid-sixties and settled in London. There he worked with all of the leading lights of free improvised music, recording extensively with the Brotherhood of Breath and eventually releasing LPs under his own leadership before his untimely passing in 1990 at the age of 51. What the three tracks on Yi Yole make clear is how surprisingly well the Dutch and South African sensibilities fit together, an overall relaxed vibe leading to unforeseen directions in the music. Han Bennink ranges far beyond his drum kit and its metallic add-ons, playing trombone, clarinet, and viola; his collage design for the record, as with all ICP productions, is brilliant and perfectly matched to the music. This is the only time these three prime movers of free music would record as a trio, hitting just at the moment when the Instant Composers Pool was gaining momentum and South African jazz was growing in international stature. Released on ICP, Mengelberg/Bennink’s self-produced label, Yi Yole saw limited distribution and attention in its time, but it remains an absolute classic of improvised music, presented here in all its glory with Bennink’s design, remastered from original tapes, the box of which is reproduced on the interior spread, replete with never-seen hand notations…”
CD $15

SOUNDS OF LIBERATION with BYARD LANCASTER / KHAN JAMAL / MONNETTE SUDLER / DWIGHT JAMES / OMAR HILL / et al - Sounds of Liberation (CvsD 057; USA) Previous unreleased 1973 session by Philly free/jazz/soul future supergroup including Byard Lancaster on alto sax, flute & bass clarinet, Khan Jamal on vibes, Monnette Sudler on guitar, Billy Mills on bass and Rashid Salime, Omar Hill & Dwight James on drums & percussion. Those of us who knew our Philly jazz history should recognize most of these names from a number of later recordings . Most prominent is reeds wiz, Byard Lancaster, who worked with Sunny Murray, Material and who has a dozen plus solo efforts. Vibesman, Khan Jamal, is another Philly legend who also can be found on many discs with Billy Bang, Matt Shipp & Jemeel Moondoc.
There was a previous release from Sounds of Liberation which was released in 1972 and later reissued by Porter Records and is long out-of-print. Guitarist Monnette Sudler, went on to work with Sam Rivers, Sunny Murray & Khan Jamal and later had a few swell albums out on Steeplechase.
Starting with Ms. Sudler’s “Thoughts”, the septet has a sly, jazz/rock/funk groove fronted by Ms. Sudler’s slinky guitar and Mr. Jamal’s equally infectious vibes. Byard lancaster’s “Keno”, which much later was recorded for a Lancaster solo effort from 1993, has another infectious groove and splendid vibes throughout. “Sweet Evil Mist” (also by Byard) features some mesmerizing wah-wah guitar and flute interaction, followed by some great alto sax (with occasional effects) & vibes interplay. At only 7 minutes, you don’t want this gem to end anytime soon! Oddly enough, the last song, “New Horizon/Backstreets of Heaven” features some superb soulful singing by an unnamed chorus?!? This song could’ve been a hit, had it been released and promoted correctly. Strange, but still a great way to bring this unknown gem to righteous close. Music like this makes me feel good to alive! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15

TORBJORN ZETTERBERG & THE GREAT QUESTION with JONAS KULLHAMMER / ALBERTO PINTON / SUSAN SANTOS SILVA / MATS ÄLEKLINT / et al - Live (CvsD 058; USA) "If you’ve missed out on bassist Torbjörn Zetterberg, now’s your chance to play some catch up ball. He’s one of creative music’s most eloquent exponents, having emerged from the fertile Swedish jazz scene a little over 15 years ago. With his band Torbjörn Zetterberg Hot Five, he began a fruitful relationship with the thoroughly excellent Moserobie label, run by his frequent band mate, saxophonist Jonas Kullhammar, and by the time he was making records like Skildrar Kvinnans Kamp and Och Den Stora Frågen, we were completely hooked. Zetterberg is a Mingus for our times. He’s a composer of unusual means – great sense for how to harmonize his inventive melodies; how to make a sextet sound like a big band and how to clear space for an unaccompanied solo; his slightly devious sense of humor underlying all the drive and swing that make the best in a bass player; and best of all a respect for his musicians, who have always found ways to push his great compositions up a notch. This luminous set of tracks was recorded in performance at Stockholm’s famed Jazzclub Fasching. It presents a newly named ensemble, Torbjörn Zetterberg & The Great Question, with Kullhammar and Alberto Pinton on saxophones and clarinets, Portuguese trumpeter Susana Santos Silva, trombonist Mats Äleklint, and drummer Jon Fält. With the exception of the opening passage, which adapts the traditional “Cherry Tree Carol,” all compositions are by Zetterberg, and they make a solid case for him as a jazz writer to be taken seriously. Joyful, powerful, irreverent, and utterly fearless, The Great Question presents its case, answers the initial query, and asks more probing ones.”
CD $15

CURATED BY KEN VANDERMARK / TIM DAISY Featuring: KRIS DAVIS / SUSAN ALCORN / WAYNE HORVITZ / GREG KELLEY / LaDONNA SMITH / INGRID LAUBROCK / DOUGLAS EWART / DAVE REMPIS / HAVARD WIIK / BEN GOLDBERG / SARAH SCHOENBECK / LOUISE DE JENSEN / SANDY EWEN / BONNIE JONES / et al - Option 1 (CvsD 059; USA) ”Since 2015, Chicago’s Experimental Sound Studio has been the host of Option, a series of intimate concerts of improvised music. Featuring an uncommonly wide range of players representing virtually all haunts of free music, the series has fostered not only an important exchange of ideas in musical form, but it has also promoted literal conversation about the music, usually substituting a dialogue with the musician or musicians for the requisite second set. In 2018, the series was funded by a consortium of major international art galleries, each of whom underwrote a month of events. As is always the case at ESS, the music was recorded, and in the end an astonishing archive of tapes was produced, from which 15 tracks were selected and programmed onto two CDs for Option 1, the first compilation of the series. The artists featured on the program are Susan Alcorn (lap steel guitarist and winner of the 2018 Instant Award in Improvised Music), the Chicago-based team of Lou Mallozzi & Douglas Ewart, veteran percussionist Gerry Hemingway, Norwegian pianist Håvard Wiik, Luke Stewart, Louise Dam Eckardt Jensen & Kent Kessler, trumpeter Greg Kelley, Ben Goldberg & Michael Coleman, Bonnie Jones, the impossible piano of Kris Davis, Wayne Horvitz & Sara Schoenbeck, saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, Chattanooga’s own LaDonna Smith, Booker Stardrum & Beth McDonald & Dave Rempis, and young guitar sensation Sandy Ewen. By turns haunting, abrasive, lyrical, absurd, bracing, and hilarious, Option 1 in fact offers many different options – a smorgasbord of alternatives representing the exciting, multifaceted reality of free music in its contemporary manifestation.”
2 CD Set $18


FIRE! ORCHESTRA with MATS GUSTAFSSON / JOHAN BERTHLING / ANDREAS WERLIIN SOFIA JERNBERG - Arrival (Rune Grammofon 2205; Norway) Their first two albums, Exit (RCD, 2013) and Enter (RCD, 2014), were presented with sizable and ambitious line-ups of 28 musicians. Ritual (RCD, 2016) saw it reduced to 21 and with Arrival it's been trimmed down to a "mere" 14, with the core trio of Fire! and the two singers Mariam Wallentin and Sofia Jernberg being the only constant members since the beginning. Apart from this reduction, the main line-up difference is the introduction of a string quartet. This "cleanup" has worked wonders, keeping the rhythm and horn sections to their bare necessities, with the string quartet expanding the canvas and bringing a new, exciting dimension to the table. And on top of their game; the two powerful and sublime singers, quite different, but still blending perfectly. Drummer and producer Andreas Werliin should also be mentioned for his work in the audio department; rarely has there been such a detailed, warm, deep and dynamic mix from a relatively complex combination of instruments. Arrival is a collection of more individual compositions and songs, including two stunning cover versions. "Blue Crystal Fire" by visionary guitarist Robbie Basho was first heard on his 1978 album Visions of the Country. "At Last I Am Free" was originally written by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rogers of Chic. Although the rest of the tracks are credited to Berthling, Gustafsson, Werliin and Wallentin, it's important to stress that this time the orchestra members have had considerable creative input throughout the process. Arrival is light and shade, joy and despair, structure and improvisation, performed by an ensemble of excellent musicians.
CD $15

Five More Important CLEAN FEED & SHHPUMA CD’s:

* SCHEEN JAZZORKESTER & THOMAS JOHANSSON - As We See It… (Clean Feed 526; Portugal) Here’s some fantastic music with an agenda, or more exactly, an entire program of action. Since the days of the researches developed by the likes of Globe Unity Orchestra and Chris McGregor’s Brotherhood of Breath the challenge remains the same: how to make a big band improvise without the restraints usually applied when there’s the idea that a large ensemble needs a tight organization? In the mentioned cases the musicians involved were free improvisers wanting to establish some kind of order through scores structures, arrangements and conduction. This time, the point of departure is the inverse one: how to make a conventional jazz orchestra, usually working inside very defined parameters, to open its perspectives and be more spontaneous? Norway’s Scheen Jazzorkester has six records behind them with more structured and arranged music, with the particularity of only using compositional materials by their own members. The last one, “Commuter Report”, had a commissioned piece by keyboardist Eyolf Dale, known from the projects Albatrosh and Wolf Valley. Now it’s the co-founder of the free-form bands Cortex and Friends & Neighbors who takes the lead in this new step documented in “As We See It...”: the music he wrote had from the start the intention to be reconverted by the orchestral interpretations, with instructions clear enough for musicians who aren’t used to the particularities of free jazz and free improvisation. The final result is astonishing, with everybody’s personal expressions being fundamental in the mix. Music liberation has a new victory.” - This one is the best of the current batch - highly recommended! - BLG
Personnel: André Kassen soprano & tenor sax, Guttorm Guttormsen - alto sax, flute & clarinet, Jon Øystein Rosland - tenor sax, Line Bjørnør - bass clarinet, Finn Arne Dahl Hanssen - trumpet, Thomas Johansson - trumpet, Magne Rutle - trombone, Frøydis Aslesen - trombone, Åsgeir Grong - bass trombone, Even Helte Hermansen - guitars, Rune Klakegg - piano, Jan Olav Renvåg - bass and tuba , Dag Erik Knedal Andersen - drums.
CD $15

LUÍS LOPES - Love Songs: Post Ruins (Shhpuma 050; Portugal) Featuring Luís Lopes - electric guitar. Here is the second opus of Luís Lopes’ project Love Song, the opposite of his (also) solo investigations of extreme guitar noise. The title, “Post-Ruins”, follows the idea that it’s always possible to love again and again. Because of that, «love, or that mysterious force we call love, can’t be measured in seconds, days or years». The Lisbon musician wanted to create «a sort of harmonic infinity», with the performance of the music functioning like a sound installation, «occupying the space like a sculpture, without temporality or any feeling of sequencing». The piece is entirely written, with the exception of an improvised part in-between, but even that one rotating around a fixed tonality. All the notes, intervals and chords were chosen with the purpose to transmit a perception of stagnation, of marasmus - «or of a wandering through marasmus», says Lopes, transmitting the sensation of a stop in time. An eternalized moment, full of emotions, necessarily limited by the musical performance, but infinite «in itself». Everything sounds as a suspended cadence, very slow and melancholic. This beautiful, enigmatic edition has complementary contributions by the photographer André Cepeda, his images also giving a sensation of unreality and sadness.”
CD $13

ILIA BELORUKOV / GABRIEL FERRANDINI - Disquiet (Clean Feed 521; Portugal) Personnel: Ilia Belorukov - alto sax and Gabriel Ferrandini - drums and percussion. There’s souls in the world who, no matter the distance between them, seem destined to meet: alto saxophonist Ilia Belorukov is from Saint Petersburg and drummer Gabriel Ferrandini has Lisbon as his home. Their respective backgrounds, their cultures and the music scenes they belong to couldn’t be more different, and yet, they’re soul brothers. Yes, they share the same disquietness announced by the title of this album, but that’s only the manifestation of something more deep in both of them: their common aloofness to the notion that an artist has to express himself or herself inside tight frames, those of a genre, an aesthetic current, a style. Belorukov is known for his wide range collaborations with musicians and bands going from creative jazz, free improvisation and classical contemporary music to hardcore punk, metal and noise, in every one of those situations always sounding like himself because his own musical universe has aspects we find in all of those tendencies. The use of extended techniques, preparations and electronic devices help him to take the saxophone to unsuspected ranges. The same way, Ferrandini’s approach to the drumkit can fit as much in a free jazz context as, for instance, an art rock one. In a recent interview he said that our contemporaneity is a mix of everything: in his opinion, every jazz drummer should hear Aphex Twin and Squarepusher to become more complete. Here they are together, opening our ears..”
CD $15

NICOLA L. HEIN - The Oxymothastic Objectar (Shhpuma 048; Portugal) "A philosopher, besides being a musician and a sound artist, German guitarist Nicola L. Hein continues to find different ways of integrating philosophical ideas into music and to create music as a form of philosophy with his solo project “The Oxymothastic Objectar”. With a guitar, either prepared or unprepared and with or without some electronic effects, he follows a process of philosophically questioning the possibility of scepticism in music, an aesthetic of idiosyncratic skepticism. The process is directed towards riding along the impossibility of a globally skeptic improvisation, which philosopher Jacques Derrida talked about when he said "And so I believe in improvisation and I fight for improvisation. But always with the belief that it’s impossible.", or Ludwig Wittgenstein: "If you are not certain of any fact, you cannot be certain of the meaning of your words either [...] If you tried to doubt everything you would not get as far as doubting anything. The game of doubting itself presupposes certainty". The impossibility of a global skepsis becomes the pushing and pulling other of the musical process, forcing the music to revolve around its own impossibility. And yet in this scenario of impossibility the music realizes itself as a non-conclusionary process of the self inquiring dialog of musical voices, which generate an exciting and unpredictable musical journey, driving the performer into a situation of the biggest musical and logical challenges: Music as a self-accomplishing Skepticism."
CD $13

Back in Stock, Last Few Copies:

THE SEEN With JOHN BUTCHER / DAVID TOOP / MARK WASTELL / OLIE BRICE / DOMINIC LASH / PHIL DURRANT / BERTAND DENZLER / CHRIS BURN / et al - Archive: Volumes VI-X - 2014 to 2016 (Confront CCS 87; UK) Since the turn of the century, the London Underground Creative Music Scene, has continued to grow and expand with several dozen musicians, groupings (i.e. the London Improvisers Orchestra), workshops (led by Eddie Prevost) and labels (FMR, Slam, Another Timbre, Matchless & Emanem) all involved in documentation. Cellist/multi-instrumentalist, Mark Wastell started to Confront label which also continues present and record new and older musicians, releasing more than hundred discs so far. Mr. Wastell has been organizing larger formations of musicians, collectively known as THE SEEN, for over 10 years. Using predominantly improvised material with occasional instructions or themes distributed to individual musicians just prior to performance. No formation has ever been repeated, THE SEEN never stays static. Each disc contains an entire concert given by THE SEEN spanning the years 2014 to 2016. I have been working my way through the five discs of this fine set and have checked two so far and more to listen to tonight. I recognize many but not all of the names here, all from varied backgrounds. I recognize some of the more established musicians like John Butcher, David Toop, Chris Burn and Bertand Denzler, but I was glad to see the participation of Olie Brice, Dominic Lash and Dimitra Lazaridou-Chatzigoga, musicians I’ve met and appreciate their hard work. These discs are well recorded, often close mic’d and balanced so that we can here all of the participants. I am unsure of how much of this was directed or freely improvised but, the sound is often focused, careful and unfolds organically. There are a series of drones on Volume VI: harmonium, melodeon (diatonic button accordion), strings, shruti box or electronics? Hard to tell but fascinating as well. Each of the five sets was recorded at three locations in London: Cafe Oto, Hundred Years Gallery or Limehouse Town Hall. Expanding and contracting, notes/sounds being stretched out in different ways, several layers moving together and around one another. Is that a siren in the distance, electronics or something else?!? There are some 5 hours of serious listening to to check out here so take the time to experience each disc. Limited to 100 copies only and we have five only. All of the aluminum outside cases are slightly banged up due to their long journey from across the great pond. The music is well worth it, either way. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
5 CD Set [LTD Edition of 100/numbered] $48

BURNT FRIEDMAN - Musical Traditions in Central Europe: Explorer Series Vol. 4 (NONplace 048; Germany) Burnt Friedman with Explorer Series Vol. 4, original ethnic music of the peoples of the world/full spectrum stereo dominance. With such a complicated amalgam of races, religions, and language as there is in central Europe, it is not surprising, that the musical life is endless in variety. Before the upheavals engendered by immigration policies, the introduction of 5 G technology, and the gaining of maximum self-expression, the separation of cultures must have been even more noticeable, yet now in the sphere of music one can see them drawing more closely together. This is especially true of an under-populated melting pot such as Berlin, where the sense of beauty is innate and one hardly meets a white male or a woman not being a painter or a dancer, or a musician. The system of scales, and also the fact that the western central Europeans rely on recorded or written script in order to conserve the themes of their music, could lead us to look upon it as a form of art music. Remarkably enough, traditional house or techno which existed 30 years ago, still flourishes today. Moreover, all the time new forms and musical styles are being discovered, tried out and eventually overlooked. The present record can offer but a modest sampling of extinct splendors, political or individual sufferings, gloomy sadness, love, resentment, exquisite delicacy, laughter and delectable wisdom of rural and urban central European music. Burnt Friedman's essential function is to perform music that ensures the repose of the dead and render their ghosts harmless; in the case of whole communities, to dispel evil spirits and restore to Berlin its pristine purity; and in the case of individuals, to expel the demands of possession. Despite the limited scope of sound carriers, these ten highlights of central European culture contain an emotional force and documentary value of inestimable importance. Although it would be incorrect to consider the various selections contained herein as authentic ethnological documents insofar as the performances were for the most part "mystified", on the other hand one can certainly consider them significant examples of the attempts of white males to develop their own modes of expression and communication. Chat Noir would like to thank the National Music Council For Comparative Studies And Documentation in Berlin, who contributed a large part of the financial assistance. Features Lucas Santtana and Hayden Chisholm. Photographs taken by the author for Musikethnologische Abteilung Des Museums Für Völkerkunde. Mastering by Rashad Becker, February 2019.
CD $16

THE MODERN JAZZ QUARTET with JOHN LEWIS / MILT JACKSON / PERCY HEATH / KENNY CLARKE or CONNIE KAY - The Early Years 1952-1956 (Acrobat 3296; UK) “The Modern Jazz Quartet were one of the most innovative, distinctive and influential groups in jazz in the 1950s and subsequent decades, pioneering a refined, classically-influenced style of cool jazz which retained the blues-based traditions of the genre, and reflected the changes wrought by bebop.
2 CD Set $16

AKIKO YANO - Iroha Ni Konpeitou (WeWantSounds 018; UK) Wewantsounds present a reissue of Akiko Yano's Iroha Ni Konpeitou, originally released in 1977. Another superb Akiko Yano album and one of her funkiest, highlighting her singing and songwriting talents. Iroha Ni Konpeitou is perhaps Akiko Yano's best-known album in the Western world not just because of its striking front cover -- a shot by famed photographer Bishin Jumonji featuring Akiko holding an inflatable dolphin. A slick mix of Japanese pop and New York funk, the album was recorded in Tokyo except for the title track which was recorded in NYC with an all-star line-up consisting of Rick Marotta, David Spinozza, Will Lee, and Nicky Marrero. For the rest of the album, Akiko is accompanied by some of the best musicians from the Tokyo music scene gravitating around the groups Happy End and Tin Pan Alley: the ubiquitous Haruomi Hosono on bass, Tatsuo Hayashi on drums, Shigeru Suzuki on guitar, to name just a few. Interestingly, two Hosono compositions are featured on the album: "Ai Ai Gasa" which he recorded on his 1973 landmark debut Hosono House and "Hourou" originally recorded in '75 by singer and musician Chu Kosaka, on the eponymous album Horo. Last but not least, Hideki Matsutake is handling the keyboard programming duties on the album as Yano is playing a wide array of keyboards: Moog IIIc, Mini Moog, String Ensemble, on top of the Fender Rhodes, Clavinet, and Yamaha CP7C. Matsutake would soon become programmer in chief for Yellow Magic Orchestra, touring and playing with them around the world (like Yano herself). Although the album feels very accessible and funky, there are complex keyboard layers underneath as on the first short introduction "KAWAJI", a short electro fantasy, or on such tracks as "Ai Ai Gasa" and "Kino Wa Mou" on which Akiko is playing bass with her Moog, making the album a richly textured and inventive one once you scratch its surface. The tracks on the album flow effortlessly also highlighting Akiko Yano's superb songwriting and knack for creating fascinating pop song. "Iroha Ni Konpeitou" sounds as fresh and beautiful as when it first came out more than forty years ago and will please the growing circle of Akiko Yano fans around the world as a welcome addition to her brilliant discography. Remastered sound. First release outside of Japan.
CD $18

JULIE COKER - A Life In The Limelight: Lagos Disco & Itsekiri Highlife, 1976-1981 (Kalita Records 004; UK) “Kalita Records release the first ever compilation focusing on the musical career of Julie Coker, the queen of Nigerian television. Here the label collates seven of Julie's most sought-after Afro disco and hauntingly-beautiful Itsekiri highlife recordings, accompanied by extensive interview-based liner notes and never-before seen photos. After gaining fame as Miss Western Nigeria 1957, Julie began her career in the Nigerian entertainment industry as the country's first ever (and Africa's second) female television presenter, as well as a popular national radio host. In 1976, having been surrounded by close musical friends, including Fela Kuti and Kris Okotie, Julie entered the Nigerian music scene with the now-invisible psychedelic highlife album Ere Yon (Sweet Songs) (1976), followed in 1981 by the highly sought-after disco-centric Tomorrow to great acclaim. Both now fetch eye-watering prices on the rare occasion that they become available for sale. Kalita Records select four recordings from Ere Yon (Sweet Songs) and three from Tomorrow, all as contemporary-sounding today as they were when first released forty years ago. These include Julie's "Ere Yon", which was recently re-interpreted by Anderson .Paak on Oxnard released on Dr. Dre's Aftermath imprint in 2018, and the lost Afro disco classic "Gossiper Scandal Monger". In partnership with Julie, Kalita Records believe the time is right to share Julie's phenomenal story and music with the world once more. CD version comes in a digipack; includes booklet.”
CD $15

Five Fine Discs from The NEOS Label:

ENSEMBLE SCHWERPUNKT // LUCIANO BERIO / SOFIA GUBAIDULINA / BENEDICT MASON / et al - Schwerpunkt (Neos 11804; Germany) “Five first-class brass players have joined together to form a quintet called Ensemble Schwerpunkt. Their brilliant debut CD contains Luciano Berio's "Call" and Sofia Gubaidulina's "Quattro", standard works from the brass repertoire, but the focus is on compositions written specifically for the ensemble. After all, these five musicians are dedicated to promoting a broad, demanding repertoire for their instrumentation. This means taking risks and pushing the boundaries of what's technically possible: Benedict Mason's "Brass Quintet" lay in a drawer for 25 years until any quintet dared to undertake it. Ensemble Schwerpunkt's first performance and the world premiere recording here capture their fiery interpretation of this work. Ensemble Schwerpunkt is: Matthew Brown - trumpet; Matthew Sadler - trumpet; Cecilie Marie Schwagers - horn; Mikael Rudolfsson - trombone; Janne Matias Jakobsson - tuba.
CD $16

RENE WOHLHAUSER - L'amour est une duperie - l'amour n'est pas une symbiose (Neos 11824; Germany) Hommage à Jean-Paul Sartre et Simone de Beauvoir. A chamber opera about love based on texts by Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre -- that's what René Wohlhauser wanted to compose in the spring of 2014. When Sartre's estate categorically refused permission for the texts to be used, Wohlhauser refused to abandon the project. He replaced Sartre's words with his own sound poetry and stated a concertante version of the work with Ensemble Polysono during its 2015 and 2016 European tours. This CD documents this production in the form of a studio recording.
René Wohlhauser is a composer, singer, pianist, and conductor. After some years' experience as a rock and jazz musician, he now composes primarily contemporary classical music. He tours regularly throughout Europe with Ensemble Polysono and the Simolka-Wohlhauser duo.”
CD $16

YOICHI SUGIYAMA - Kinderszenen (Neos 11901; Germany) “The album Kinderszenen with music by Yoichi Sugiyama is a portrait CD in the best sense. It not only shows various facets of the composer, but the works also have strong biographical connections. Like many Asian composers of his generation, Sugiyama combines Eastern and Western influences in his music. At times this is readily apparent, as in the work Kuguhi for 17-string bass koto (a Japanese zither), or quite subtle, as when he used Schumann's Kinderszenen as the initial material for a complex and richly differentiated viola quartet.
After growing familiar with the Japanese new music scene -- and also influencing it himself, it was Sugiyama's fascination with contemporary Italian composers that led him to travel to Europe. Today he is internationally established as a composer and a conductor. Performers include: Kazue Sawai - 17-string bass koto; Wonjung Kim - voice; Richard Stoltzman - clarinet; Ah Ling Neu - viola; Stephen Gosling - piano; Tokyo Gen'On Project; The Imai Viola Quartet.”
CD $16

PETER IVAN EDWARDS - Ionobia (Neos 11908; Germany) “Peter Ivan Edwards was born in New York, studied in the USA and Germany, and is now a professor of composition in Singapore. Extramusical influences can often be found in his work, such as computer-supported processes, algorithmic processes, or a linguistic model as in ionobia. Edwards also teaches computer music, though the computer itself is only used once on this CD: in "Ssoonro" for bassoon and electronics. Otherwise, this CD focuses on a variety of instrumentations. The number and quality of the interpreters is evidence of both the fact that Edward's music is performed internationally and of the surprisingly diverse and colorful new music scene in Singapore. Performers include: Trio SurPlus; Ensemble Interface; Ensemble Wu Xian; Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Orchestra; Jason Lai - conductor; Matteo Cesari - flute; Pieter Jansen - violin; Christoph Wichert - bassoon.”
CD $16

CLAUS-STEFFEN MAHNKOPF - Vocal Music (Neos 11928; Germany) “Music for voice(s) is one of the richest and perhaps unexplored areas in contemporary music. Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf wrestled for many years with himself and dedicated serious thought to fundamental issues before composing vocal music. Today, he has written a number of compositions with quite different approaches: While he was radically committed to incomprehensible texts in the 1990s, he later did just the opposite. The breadth of vocal forces is also enormous; on this CD they range from solo baritone in "Esė apie vandenis" to a work for a 24-voice ensemble, "voiced void". Again and again, Mahnkopf deals with the topic of the void: "void -- un diletto italiano" for six voices is an epitaph for Pier Paolo Pasolini. Performers include: ExVoCo; SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart; Rupert Huber - conductor; Neue Voklasolisten; Jeffrey Gavett - baritone.”
CD $16

LP (Only?) Section:

DON CHERRY - Complete Communion: Live in Hilversum May 9th, 1966 (DBQP 010; Italy) “This is the Don Cherry Quintet caught in action in Hilversum (Holland) in 1966 and featuring the strong tenor sax voice of Gato Barbieri and the highly interactive rhythm section of Karl Berger (vibes and piano), Bo Stief (bass), and Aldo Romano (drums). A very distinctive line up which fits somewhere between two of the greatest Cherry's studio sessions of the time, "Complete Communion" and "Togetherness". A very energetic performance including a couple of Don Cherry original compositions and some highly personal renditions of classics and standards such as Luiz Bonfa's "Orfeo Negro", Mongo Santamaria's "Afro Blue", and Benny Golson's "I Remember Clifford".
LP $18

JIM O'ROURKE & CM VON HAUSSWOLFF - In, Demons, In! (Ideal 189; Sweden) “The time-stopping tract of In Demons In! is a naturally elemental drone collaboration between eminent experimentalists Jim O'Rourke and CM Von Hausswolf for their eternal admirers at iDEAL Recordings. Offering a transfixing peek behind the curtain of pure black hole drone dynamics, In Demons In! finds the American in Japanese exile and the proclaimed monarch of the imaginary kingdoms of Elgaland-Vargaland meeting on common ground after 26 years of international correspondence. Initiated in Tokyo 2016 and completed over the following two years in Japan and Sweden, the uncompromisingly adventurous results are galactic in scope and viscerally metaphysical in presence, conjuring scales of abyssal bass and diffused, atomized, abstract dark matter that make the listener feel like a speck of stardust floating in infinity. Using sound as a magickal tool for psychic transport and to finely model notions of the metaphysical that typically elude human comprehension, the near 40-minute work feels to collapse billions of years into a glacial moment. Location recordings made in Kathmandu lend a barely-there iridescence, like microbial filaments flickering in the endless darkness, to their plunging, subharmonic basses and vaporized mid-upper registers, where spectral forces comb thru the piece, only very gradually altering the weightless keen of its planetary mass and mental traction. Ultimately, and fans are likely to agree, In Demons In! amounts to a vitally definitive entry in both artists' catalogs, marking right up there with the most abstract wonders of O'Rourke's electro-acoustic Steamroom volumes, while manifesting some of the most fascinating results from Von Hausswolff's ongoing investigations into drone music's paranormal properties. In other words: it's Grade A zoner music. Master and cut by Dubplates & Mastering, Germany. Pressed on neon yellow vinyl. RIYL: Roland Kayn, Jaap Vink, Deathprod. Edition of 500.
LP $24

DOME - Dome 2 (Editions Mego 002LP; Austria) “With the demise of Wire in 1980, founding members Bruce Gilbert and Graham Lewis joined forces to create Dome. With the assistance of engineer Eric Radcliffe and his Blackwing Studio, Dome took the ethic of "using the studio as a compositional tool" and recorded and released three albums on their own label in the space of 12 months: Dome (DOME 001LP, 2019), Dome 2 (1980), and Dome 3 (1981). A final fourth album, Will You Speak This Word: Dome IV was released on the Norwegian Uniton label in 1982. These albums represent some of the most beautifully stark and above all, timeless exercises in studio experimentation from early the 1980s alternative music scene. Previously issued in the out of print DOME 1-4 5 box set in 2011, Dome 2 is now available as standalone LP, with new artwork by Dave Coppenhall. Floating-point re-master by Russell Haswell, August 2011. Cut at Dubplates & Mastering by Rashad Becker. Includes download.
LP $23

SCORN [MICK HARRIS] - Feather (Ohn Resistance 051EP; USA) “The master of dark simplicity: beat, bass, drift, drone - Mick Harris has re-engaged with his longest running, primary artist identity, Scorn. His first salvo upon return, the Feather EP is anything but light. It is the darkest possible bass weight, a vortex of low frequency into which all light is subsumed. The three entirely separate versions of the title track plumb unknown depths with harried atmospheres, reminiscent of Scorn's earlier days, a time before bass music became a popular movement and Harris was the absolute pioneer in the genre.
12” EP $22

SUBMERGED - The Eradication of Untruth (Ohm Resistance 050EP; USA) Ohm Resistance founder Submerged returns to pure drum & bass, bringing the most cutting-edge producers in the game to the forefront on his new EP. "Transformation" is an epic duet with Estonia's Ajamari. "Cell" is a serious bruiser, with hardcore 4/4 action courtesy of Hungary's Savage. "Surrealistic Dystopian Nightmares" sees the distinctive strings of Masamune paired against the crushing weight of Submerged amens. "Abyss" is a punk tribute to Prodigy created with Latvia's Molecular at the time of Keith Flint's passing. There's special remix by Triamer & Nagato of the Submerged classic "Servant".
12” EP $22 (vinyl)

BRUCE RUSSELL & LUKE WOOD - Visceral Realists (VHF 146; USA) "Debut album by the New Zealand duo of Bruce Russell (Dead C, Handful Of Dust, etc) and Luke Wood. Visceral Realists is a high-concept commentary on the state of vinyl, analog recording, music culture, art, etc. A 45-rpm bullet of short bursts of free electric sound, the music here is tactile and rough but not 'noise music.' Russell and Wood play over loops of scratchy records, with their guitars and electronics surging to get over the wall. Russell's guitar sound from his vintage transistor amp and anti-style is instantly recognizable from countless classic Dead C sides, but the tracks are more painterly than recent DC epics -- these are celebratory vignettes of thoughts -- singles, if you will. Originally made as an unfindable edition of twenty by Wood's Ilam Press label to accompany an exhibit of NZ lathe-cut records, this new edition is beautifully packaged in a debossed and letterpress printed sleeve designed by Wood and printed by Stumptown in Portland. Two color risographs printed by Wood in NZ are tipped onto the jacket, and an additional two inserts provide revelatory notes by Russell and glam shots of the instruments that made the sounds. Also includes download slip.
LP $24

ASTRAL SOCIAL CLUB & GRUMBLING FUR TIME MACHINE ORCHESTRA - Plasma Splice Trifle (VHF 147; USA) "Debut collaboration between these like-minded English underground titans, perfectly mixing the long-form pop eccentricities of Grumbling Fur with the free electric sound of Astral Social Club to produce four epic and memorable tracks. The music is dense and layered, with hidden hooks, haunting vocals, unidentifiable electronic shuddering, delicate ambience, etc. Challenging but completely accessible and beautiful stuff. After a brief vocal declaration of purpose, 'Back To The Egg' rides a motorik pulse ala Harmonia or Kraftwerk for ten hypnotic minutes. 'Three Years Apart' pulses gently in a burbling cloud, reminding that along with crafting song gems, Grumbling Fur has collaborated with noted avant-composer/performer Charlemagne Palestine. 'Ozone Antifreeze Intelligence' layers electronics over a haunting piano and vocal melody, framed by subliminal fuzz guitar. 'Toejam Boxdrum' closes the album with an uproarious polyrhythm hidden by more layers of soft-focus electro-fizz, gradually giving way to thick bass riffs and tremelo'd interjections."
LP $24

ROKY ERICKSON with PAUL LEARY / CHARLIE SEXTON - All That May Do My Rhyme (Play Loud! Productions 066; Germany) R.i.P. Roky! LP version. Play Loud! Productions present the first reissue of Roky Erickson's All That May Do My Rhyme, originally released in 1994. Roky Erickson is a legend. Former member of the 13th Floor Elevators, he was considered the white James Brown. Drug problems and diagnosed schizophrenia made him an outsider. By the '90s, he was struggling to survive on a $200 monthly social security check. In 1990, artists like R.E.M., ZZ Top, and the Jesus and Mary Chain recorded his songs for a tribute album. Erickson performed publicly for the first time in many years at the Austin Music Awards. In 1994, he returned to the studio with guitarists Charlie Sexton and the Butthole Surfers' Paul Leary to record All That May Do My Rhyme. This record was released on CD, cassette, and vinyl in 1994 on Paul Leary's Trance Syndicate Records. Notes from the original press release: "Trance Syndicate is pleased to present the first studio recording in almost a decade by one of the most gifted, most influential, most inspired singer/songwriters from the Republic of Texas since Buddy Holly. Roky Erickson is back! performing new songs and a few classics in one of the best studios in Texas, backed by some of Texas' finest musicians." This is no cheap live tape, crummy reissue, nor a slimy bootleg. This is the real thing.
LP $21

AIRTO with HERMETO PASCOAL / SIVUCA / RON CARTER / FLORA PURIM - Natural Feelings (Real Gone Music 884; EEC) "First vinyl reissue in over 45 years for a long-lost, pivotal jazz fusion record! This album, originally released in 1970 on the thinly-distributed Skye label, marks Airto's debut as a bandleader and captures the percussionist right at the time he recorded Bitches Brew with Miles Davis, and right before he joined Weather Report for their first album. Indeed, the line-up on this album reflects the fact that Airto had one foot in the NYC jazz scene and one foot in his native Brazil, as bassist Ron Carter joins Airto's countrymen Sivuca and Hermeto Pascoal, along with Airto's wife Flora Purim. The music's a fascinating blend of jazz-funk-fusion and Brazilian tropes, here presented on 180-gram black vinyl, housed inside the original wild, Hieronymus Bosch album art. Limited to 500 copies."
LP $26

DOROTHY ASHBY AND FRANK WESS - In A Minor Groove (Real Gone Music 847; EEC) "Dorothy Ashby was probably the greatest -- and certainly the most swinging -- jazz harpist of all time, re-purposing an instrument best known for ethereal glissandos into a fully versatile voice in combo settings, capable of providing both instrumental embroidery and rhythmic drive. But she was always fighting an uphill battle in terms of garnering critical and commercial success; both her gender and the exoticism of her instrument often prevented her from being taken seriously among the hidebound environs of late '50s and '60s jazz. But it is that very uniqueness of her sound and station in the jazz world that has made her one of the most collectible musicians of her era, as her music has been sampled and celebrated by modern-day hip hop and world music artists (e.g. Jurassic Five, Bonobo) alike. In A Minor Groove is one of two albums she made in 1958 with flautist/saxophonist Frank Wess, and it is a marvel; backed by fellow Detroit native Herman Wright on bass and the great Roy Haynes on drums, she and Wess weave mesmerizing melodic threads through standards like 'Alone Together' and 'Yesterdays'. But perhaps the most amazing track is 'Bohemia After Dark', which displays Ashby's uncanny ability to turn her harp into a rhythm guitar! For this first ever domestic vinyl reissue of In A Minor Groove, we are using the original mono sources -- not the rechanneled stereo and jumbled track listing that showed up on Prestige's later repackaging called Dorothy Ashby Plays for Beautiful People -- and pressing up a limited edition of 1000 in neon green vinyl! Original album art with Ira Gitler's sleeve notes, too."
LP $25

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

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

THE STONE RESIDENCIES - URI GURVICH - JUNE 4–8

6/7 Friday
8:30 pm - Blues Quartet - Uri Gurvich (sax) Adam O’Farrill (trumpet) Edward Perez (bass) Clarence Penn (drums)

6/8 Saturday
8:30 pm - Uri Gurvich Quartet - Uri Gurvich (sax) Leo Genovese (piano) Edward Perez (bass) Francisco Mela (drums)

THE STONE RESIDENCIES - MYRA MELFORD - JUNE 11–15

6/11 Tuesday
8:30 pm - QUARTET: Myra Melford (piano) Ben Goldberg (clarinet) Michael Formanek (bass) Hamir Atwal (drums)

6/12 Wednesday
8:30 pm - TRIO: Myra Melford (piano) Mark Dresser (bass) Matt Wilson (drums)

6/13 Thursday
8:30 pm - QUARTET - Myra Melford (piano) Mary Halvorson (guitar) Ingrid Laubrock (sax) Tomeka Reid (cello)

6/14 Friday
8:30 pm - QUARTET: Myra Melford (piano) Cuong Vu (trumpet) Stomu Takeishi (bass) Rudy Royston (drums)

6/15 Saturday
8:30 pm - SNOWY EGRET - Myra Melford (piano) Ron Miles (trumpet) Liberty Ellman (guitar) Stomu Takeishi (bass) Gerald Cleaver (drums)

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

********
JOHN ZORN Presents The STONE SERIES at Happy Lucky No. 1:

2 night residencies
Friday-Saturday weekends
Friday, June 7 & Saturday, June 8, 2019 - 8:00 PM 9:00 PM
Kris Davis- piano
Ingrid Laubrock - tenor & soprano saxes

$20 ADMISSION
Happy Lucky No. 1: 734 Nostrand Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11216
646 623 0414 / www.happyluckyno1.com
by subway: Take 2, 4, or 5 trains to Franklin;
Take 3 train to Nostrand Ave.
Take A or C to Nostrand Ave.

******************
Bushwick Improvised Music Series Continues:

Monday June 10th
7pm Kaelen Ghandhi ensemble

8pm Stephen Gauci - tenor saxophone
Adam Lane - bass
Jeremy Carlstedt - drums

9pm Patrick Brennan - alto saxophone
Brian Groder - trumpet
Hilliard Greene - bass
Michael T.A. Thompson - drums

9:45pm Nick Lyons - alto saxophone
Adam Caine - guitar
Pete Swanson - bass

10:45pm Colin Avery Hinton - drums
Tony Malaby - saxophones
Todd Neufeld - guitar
Eivind Opsvik - bass

11:30pm Noah Becker - saxophone/clarinet
Lesley Mok - drums

Monday June 17th
7pm Camille Emaille - drums
Tom Weeks - saxophone
Alex Cohen - guitar

8pm Stephen Gauci - tenor saxophone
Sandy Ewen - guitar/electronics
Adam Lane - bass
Kevin Shea - drums

9pm CONLY/ATTIAS/RAINEY "LIVE AT THE BUSHWICK SERIES"
CD RELEASE SHOW!!!
Sean Conly - bass
Michaël Attias - alto saxophone
Tom Rainey - drums

9:45pm Brian Groder - trumpet/flugal horn/compositions
Anders Nilsson - guitar/electronics
Adam Lane - bass
Colin Avery Hinton - drums

10:45pm ALIYA ULTAN - cello
Todd Neufeld - guitar
Billy Mintz - drums

11:30pm Nina Rosalind Dante - vocals
Matteo Liberatore - guitar

Monday June 24th
7pm Paul Austerlitz - contra bass clarinet
Isaiah Obama Richardson Jr. - clarinet
Jasper Dütz - alto & bass clarinet
Ivan Barenboim - contra - bass clarinet
Charles Townsend - electric violin

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

9pm Eric Plaks - piano
Daniel Carter - woodwinds
Matt Lavelle - trumpet/bs. clarinet
Aquilles Navarro - trumpet
Andrew Hadro - baritone sax/bs. clarinet
Adam Lane - bass
Jon Panikkar - drums

9:45pm Joe Hertenstein Quartet

10:45pm Kenneth Jimenez - bass
Hery Paz - tenor saxophone/bs. clarinet
Santiago Leibson - keyboard

11:30pm Austin White - synth
Dave Miller - drums

Downstairs @ Bushwick Public House
https://bushwickpublichouse.com/ gaucimusic.com
1288 Myrtle Avenue , Bushwick
(Across the street from M train Central Ave stop)
$10 suggested donation

*********
I-BEAM Presents:

SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2019 - 8:30 PM 10:30 PM
CHES SMITH QUARTET
Mary Halvorson (guitar)
Liberty Ellman (guitar)
Nick Dunston (bass)
Ches Smith (drums, percussion, electronics)

SUNDAY, JUNE 9, 2019 - 8:00 PM 10:00 PM
LEON / DUNSTON / FUJIWARA
David Leon - Saxophone
Nick Dunston - Bass
Tomas Fujiwara - Drums

MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2019 - 8:00 PM 10:00 PM
DOUBLE FEATURE - THE MARA ROSENBLOOM TRIO BONE LABYRINTH
8:00PM - The Mara Rosenbloom Trio
Mara Rosenbloom Piano & Composition
Sean Conly Bass
Michael Wimberly Drums
9:00PM - Bone Labyrinth: The Mara Rosenbloom Trio meets
Melanie Dyer's We Free Strings
Mara Rosenbloom Piano & Composition
Melanie Dyer Viola & Ideas
Gwen Laster Violin
Leanor Falcon Violin
Sean Conly Bass
Michael Wimberly Drums & Percussion

IBEAM in BROOKLYN, NYC
168 7TH STREET
BROOKLYN, NY, 11215

**********

Zürcher Gallery invites you to our
SUMMER JAZZ SEASON - Concert Program

Luciano Pagliarini 
Lou Grassi
Joe Fonda
& Special Guest: Kenny Wessel
Thursday June 20, 2019 at 8:00 PM

Peter Evans 
Nick Joziack 
Savannah Harris
Tuesday, June 25, 2019 at 8:00 PM

LOUIE BELOGENIS Solo Tenor Sax
Performing John Coltrane’s “Meditations”
Thursday, June 27 at 8:00 PM

Zürcher Gallery
33 Bleecker St (just east of Lafayette)
New York, NY, 10012-2432

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

THE 14th ANNUAL VISION FESTIVAL Takes Place Next Week:
From June 9th - June 16th, 2019
The full schedule is listed below or
just go to: www.artsforart.org/vision.html
Tickets can be purchased here: visionfestival.brownpapertickets.com

Here is the current schedule:

Sunday, June 9th
Films at Anthology Film Archives - 32 2nd Ave, NYC 10003
Program 1 - 7:15pm
One Long Painting - Jeff Schlanger
and live performance by Oliver Lake
BIG FIRE, Kinetic Colors, Zaar, Vopots, Fireball/Metatron - Stefan Roloff
Program 2 - 9:00pm
Milford Graves Full Mantis
Directed by Jake Meginsky and Neil Young (not that Neil Young)

Monday, June 10th Event at Downtown Music Gallery - 13 Monroe St in Chinatown, NYC
6:30pm: WILLIAM PARKER - Conversations - Volume III - New Book Celebration!
Master Bassist / Composer / Multi-Bandleader / Vision Fest Co-Founder William Parker
will talk about & sign copies of his new book, ‘Conversations III’ on Rogue Art.

Tuesday, June 11th at Roulette
509 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn 11217
6:30pm - Celebrating Andrew Cyrille
Haitian Fascination
Duo with Kidd Jordan
Trio with Tomeka Reid & Beatrice Capote
Duo with Stefan Roloff - Visual Art
Duo with Milford Graves
Trio with Wadada Leo Smith & Brandon Ross
Duo with Lisa Sokolov
Duo with Peter Brötzmann

Wednesday, June 12 at Roulette
6:30pm - Nick Dunston / Marc Ribot / Jay Rodriguez / Chad Taylor
7:30pm - Tomas Fujiwara's 7 Poets Trio: Patricia Brennan & Tomeka Reid
8:30pm - Edwin Torres / Fred Moten / Brandon Lopez / Gerald Cleaver
9:30pm - Davalois Fearon Dance w/ Mike McGinnis, Peter Apfelbaum & Gerald Cleaver
10:30pm - Kidd Jordan Tribute to Alvin Fielder: Joel Futterman, William Parker & Hamid Drake

Thursday, June 13 at Roulette
7:00pm - Yoshiko Chuma School of Hard Knocks w/ Jason Hwang, Steve Swell & Devin Waldman
8:00pm - Melvin Gibbs' God Particle w/ James Brandon Lewis, Graham Haynes, Will Calhoun…
9:00pm - Alain Kirili & William Parker
9:30pm - Whit Dickey / Michael Bisio / Kirk Knuffke / Fred Lonberg-Holm
10:30pm - Alto Gladness -Tribute to Cecil Taylor: Jemeel Moondoc, Bobby Zankel,
Idris Ackamoor, William Parker & Gerald Cleaver

Friday, June 14 at Roulette
3:00pm - FreeJazz Convention Day 1
6:30pm - Ava Mendoza / Matt Nelson / Adam Lane / Hamid Drake
7:30pm - Marty Ehrlich Trio Exaltation w/ John Hebert & Nasheet Waits
8:30pm - Matthew Shipp / William Parker Duo
9:30pm - Rob Brown Quartet with Steve Swell, Chris Lightcap & Chad Taylor
10:30pm - Kris Davis Trio - January Painters with Willam Parker & Jeff “Tain” Watts

Saturday, June 15 at Roulette
1:00pm - FreeJazz Convention Day 2
5:30pm - Visionary Youth Orchestra
6:30pm - Darius Jones Quintet w/ Charlie Looker, Dezron Davis, Michael Vatcher & Carl Weinrib
7:30pm - David Virelles Mbòkó with Rahsaan Carter, Roman Dias & Eric McPherson
8:30pm - Patricia Nicholson / Val Jeanty / Cooper-Moore / Bill Mazza
9:30pm - James Brandon Lewis Unruly Quintet w/ Jaimie Branch, Anthony Pirog, Luke Stewart & Warren G. Crudup III
10:30pm - Douglas R. Ewart Tribute to Jarman w/ Brandon Ross, Mike Reed, Sara Schoenbeck, Reggie Nicholson & Manke Ndosi

Sunday, June 16 at Roulette
2:00pm - FreeJazz Convention Day 3
5:30pm - Tom Rainey / Ingrid Laubrock / Sylvie Courvoisier / Mark Feldman
6:30pm - Jason Kao Hwang Human Rites Trio with Ken Filiano & Andrew Drury
7:30pm - Jorgo Schäfer w/ Vincent Chancey Trio with Joe Fonda & Jeremy Carlstedt
8:30pm - Dianne McIntyre & Amina Claudine Myers
9:30pm - Heroes are Gang Leaders: Thomas Sayers Ellis, James Brandon Lewis, Devin Waldman…
10:30pm - D.D. Jackson Bluiett Tribute Band: James Carter, Darius Jones, William Parker & Ronnie Burrage…