The Weather is Weird and Hard to Predict
The News is Even Weirder and Hard to Believe
Creative Music Helps us to Inspire us in Times of Trouble
So check out this Week’s Sonic Menu of Gems from:
John Zorn’s Final Book of Angels: Volume 31: Brian Marsella Trio & Complete ‘Book of Angels’ Sale! JR3: Olaf Rupp / Rudi Mahall / Jan Roder! Thollem McDonas & Rob Mazurek! Dave PEK’s Chicxulub Trio! New from Sunnyside: Mike McGinnis / Art Lande / Steve Swallow! Kurt Rosenwinkel & Eric Clapton! Rebecca Martin & Guillermo Klein! Enrico Pieranunzi & Bruno Canino!
Plus Archival Discs from Miles Davis Sextet - Fillmore West, 1970! Bill Evans / Scott LaFaro / Paul Motian Trio 1960! Albert King & Dickie Betts! Rare LPs from Don Cherry / Karl Berger Quartet - 1967! Pierre Henry’s ‘Maléfices’! Bert Jansch! Ken Ikeda & David Toop! More and more!
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The FREE DMG Weekly New Music In-Store Series Continues on Sundays with:
Sunday, April 23rd:
6pm: J. A. GRANELLI & MR. LUCKY TRIO with: J.A GRANELLI - Piccolo Bass, Lap Steel Guitar / NATE SHAW - Keyboards / OWEN HOWARD - Drums
Sunday, April 30th:
6pm: NO SIGNAL: AARON NOVIK & JEREMIAH CYMERMAN - Clarinets and AVA MENDOZA & BRANDON SEABROOK - Guitars!
&pm: GUILLERMO GREGORIO / VINCENT CHANCEY / BRANDON LOPEZ -
Clarinet / French Horn / ContraBass
Sunday, May 7th:
6pm; BEN STAPP & ELIJAH SHIFFER - Tuba and Sax & Clarinet
7pm: CATHERINE SIKORA & BRIAN CHASE - Tenor Sax and Drums
Sunday, May 14th:
6pm: ALEC HARPER & TYLER GILMORE
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
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In 2003, John Zorn completed his second Book of Masada songs called ‘The Book of Angels’. There were some 300 songs composed in a short burst and since the original Masada Quartet was no longer (or very rarely) playing, Mr. Zorn gave these songs to a couple of dozen bands or individual musicians to record. Starting in 2005, Tzadik records has released thirty (!) volumes of the Book of Angels. This month, Tzadik releases Volume 31, the last 16 Masada Book of Angels songs. Rejoice, this volume is amongst the best of all!
JOHN ZORN // BRIAN MARSELLA / TREVOR DUNN / KENNY WOLLESON - Buer: The Book Of Angels Volume 31 (Tzadik 8353; USA) 16 Masada compositions performed by a dynamic piano trio featuring Brian Marsella, the astonishing and passionate pianist from Banquet of the Spirits, Zion80 and The Flail. Joined here by the classic Masada rhythm section of Trevor Dunn and Kenny Wollesen, the performances are powerful, focused and incredibly varied. Each piece presents a different musical world, referencing McCoy Tyner, Don Pullen, Erik Satie, Conlon Nancarrow, Horace Silver, Lennie Tristano, Bill Evans, Bach, Bud Powell, Richard Twardzik, Debussy and many others.
‘Volume 31’ is allegedly the very last of the ‘Book of Angels’ series as all 300 songs from the second book of Masada have been recorded and released. The final Book of 90 Masada songs, ‘The Book of Beria’ will be released as a ten CD set sometime in the fall of this year. Will this the the end of vast amount (650) of Masada songs that John Zorn has written since 1993? Will Mr. Zorn ever record his large book of Bagatelles? He claims not to be considering this, so we shall see…
CD $14
(The Brian Marsella Trio will perform a CD release set at The Stone on Monday, June 4th)
A HUGE JOHN ZORN BOOK OF ANGELS CD SALE STARTS NOW!
$1.00 Off on all previous Volumes of the Book of Angels if you take 3 or more!
$1.50 off of each, if you take 6 or more!
I happen to dig all volumes but decided to recommend 5 to start if you don’t know where to begin - There is an asterisk (*) next to my 5 recommendations - BLG
JOHN ZORN MASADA BOOK TWO//GARTH KNOX and THE SALTARELLO TRIO With AGNES VESTERMAN/SYLVAIN LEMETRE/JULIA ROBERT - Leonard: The Book of Angels Volume 30 (Tzadik 8350)
CD $14
JOHN ZORN MASADA BOOK TWO: AUTOYNO - Flauros: The Book Of Angels - Volume 29 (Tzadik 8346)
CD $14
JOHN ZORN MASADA BOOK TWO: NOVA EXPRESS QUINTET [JOHN MEDESKI / KENNY WOLLESEN /TREVOR DUNN / JOEY BARON CYRO BAPTISTA] - Andras: The Book of Angels Vol. 28 (Tzadik 8343)
CD $14
JOHN ZORN//CRAIG TABORN/CHRISTIAN McBRIDE/TYSHAWN SOREY - Flaga: Book of Angels - Volume 27 (Tzadik 8341)
CD $14
JOHN ZORN MASADA BOOK TWO: SPIKE ORCHESTRA - Cerberus: Book of Angels - Volume 26 (Tzadik 8338 ,USA)
CD $14
* JOHN ZORN MASADA BOOK TWO: MYCALE [BASYA SCHECTER/AYELET ROSE GOTTLIEB/MALIKA ZARRA/SOFIA REI KOUTSOVITIS] - Gomory: 'Book Of Angels' Volume 25 (Tzadik 8332)
CD $14
JOHN ZORN MASADA BOOK TWO: KLEZMERSON - Amon 'Book Of Angels' Volume 24 (Tzadik 8328)
CD $14
JOHN ZORN MASADA BOOK TWO: ROBERTO RODRIGUEZ - Aguares: The Book Of Angels Volume 23 (Tzadik 8322 ,USA)
CD $14
JOHN ZORN MASADA BOOK TWO: ZION80 [With JON MADOF/FRANK LONDON/GREG WALL/JESSICA LURIE/SHANIR BLUMENKRANZ/et al - Adramelech: 'Book of Angels' Volume 22 (Tzadik 8319)
CD $14
JOHN ZORN MASADA BOOK TWO: EYVIND KANG - Alastor: 'Book of Angels' Volume 21 (Tzadik 8316)
CD $14
* JOHN ZORN MASADA BOOK TWO: PAT METHENY With ANTONIO SANCHEZ - Tap: 'Book Of Angels' Volume 20 (Tzadik 8307)
CD $14
* JOHN ZORN MASADA BOOK TWO: SHANIR EZRA BLUMENKRANZ With EYAL MAOZ/ARAM BAJAKIAN/KENNY GROHOWSKI - Abraxas: 'Book Of Angels' Volume 19 (Tzadik 8302)
CD $14
JOHN ZORN MASADA BOOK TWO: DAVID KRAKAUER - Pruflas: Book Of Angels - Volume 18 (Tzadik 7396)
CD $14
* JOHN ZORN MASADA BOOK TWO: BANQUET OF THE SPIRITS [CYRO BAPTISTA/BRIAN MARSELLA/SHANIR EZRA BLUMENKRANZ/TIM KEIPER] - Caym: 'Book Of Angels' Volume 17 (Tzadik 7388)
CD $14
JOHN ZORN MASADA BOOK TWO: MASADA STRING TRIO [MARK FELDMAN/ERIK FRIEDLANDER/GREG COHEN] - Haborym: 'Book Of Angels' Volume 16 (Tzadik 7384)
CD $14
JOHN ZORN MASADA BOOK TWO: BEN GOLDBERG QUARTET - Baal: Book Of Angels Volume 15 (Tzadik 7381)
CD $14
JOHN ZORN MASADA BOOK TWO: THE DREAMERS [MARC RIBOT / JAMIE SAFT / KENNY WOLLESEN /TREVOR DUNN / JOEY BARON / CYRO BAPTISTA] - Ipos: 'Book Of Angels' Volume 14 (Tzadik 7380)
CD $14
JOHN ZORN MASADA BOOK TWO: BASYA SCHECTER/AYELET ROSE GOTTLIEB/MALIKA ZARRA/SOFIA REI KOUTSOVITIS - Mycale: 'Book Of Angels' Volume 13 (Tzadik 7378)
CD $14
JOHN ZORN MASADA BOOK TWO: MASADA QUINTET [JOE LOVANO / DAVE DOUGLAS / URI CAINE / GREG COHEN / JOEY BARON] - Stolas: 'Book Of Angels' Volume 12 (Tzadik 7375 ,USA)
CD $14
JOHN ZORN MASADA BOOK TWO: JOHN MEDESKI, BILLY MARTIN, CHRIS WOOD - Zaebos: 'Book Of Angels' Volume 11 (Tzadik 7368 ,USA)
CD $14
JOHN ZORN MASADA BOOK TWO: BAR KOKHBA CHAMBER ENSEMBLE - Lucifer: 'Book Of Angels' Volume 10 (Tzadik 7367)
CD $14
* JOHN ZORN MASADA BOOK TWO: SECRET CHIEFS 3 [TREY SPRUANCE et al] - Xaphan: 'Book Of Angels' Volume 9 (Tzadik 7364)
CD $14
JOHN ZORN MASADA BOOK TWO: ERIK FRIEDLANDER - Volac: 'Book Of Angels' Volume 8 (Tzadik 7363)
CD $14
JOHN ZORN MASADA BOOK TWO: MARC RIBOT / TREVOR DUNN / G CALVIN WESTON - Asmodeus: 'Book Of Angels' Volume 7 (Tzadik 7362)
CD $14
JOHN ZORN MASADA BOOK TWO: URI CAINE - Moloch: 'Book Of Angels' Volume 6 (Tzadik 7360)
CD $14
JOHN ZORN MASADA BOOK TWO: CRACOW KLEZMER BAND [JAROSLAW BESTER/OLEG DYYAK/JAROSLAW TYRALA/WOJCIECH FRONT/JORGOS SKOLIAS] DAFO STRING QUARTET - Balan: 'Book Of Angels' Volume 5 (Tzadik 7358)
CD $14
JOHN ZORN MASADA BOOK TWO: KOBY ISRAELITE - Orobas: 'Book Of Angels' Volume 4 (Tzadik 7356)
CD $14
JOHN ZORN MASADA BOOK TWO: MARK FELDMAN & SYLVIE COURVOISIER - Malphas: 'Book Of Angels' Volume 3 (Tzadik 7354)
CD $14
JOHN ZORN MASADA BOOK TWO: MASADA STRING TRIO [MARK FELDMAN/ERIK FRIEDLANDER/GREG COHEN] - Azazel: 'Book Of Angels' Volume 2 (Tzadik 7351)
CD $14
JOHN ZORN MASADA BOOK TWO: JAMIE SAFT TRIO With GREG COHEN/BEN PEROWSKY - Astaroth: 'Book of Angels' Volume 1 (Tzadik 7348)
CD $14
More New Stuff well worth checking out:
JR3 [OLAF RUPP / RUDI MAHALL / JAN RODER] - Happy Jazz (Relative Pitch 1055; USA) The JR3 are Rudi Mahall on clarinet & bass clarinet, Olaf Rupp on electric & acoustic guitar and Jan Roder on double bass. The title of this disc, ‘Happy Jazz’, as well as the modest picture of three “normal†looking musicians on the cover are meant to be rather ironic or at least tongue-in-cheek. All but one of the tracks were recorded in a studio called Happy Barn so consider that as well. No doubt you should recognize the names of these three Berlin-based musicians from a host of previous sessions: Olaf Rupp (solos, duos & trios with Tristan Honsinger, Joe Williamson & Michael Wertmuller; Rudi Mahall: prolific sessions with Alex Von Shlippenbach and Aki Takase and Jan Roder: Die Enttauschung (w/ Mahall), Schlippenbach and Ulrich Gumpert.
This sounds like an all improvised session and a strong, spirited and often intense one. There are moments when it is difficult to tell who is playing what since Mr. Rupp sounds like he is manipulating his strings with objects and the bowed bass and quirky clarinet play in similar timbral or textural areas. There is also a dark, brooding, hypnotic quality to much of this, certainly not happy jazz but equally effective. Guitarist Olaf Rupp does a fine job of creating these eerie swirls which sound great with ever-shifting clarinet and contrabass excursions. There is section on the fourth track where things erupt and move into a furious exchange, all three players navigating quick rapids together and sounding like one focused force combined. What I find most interesting about this is that even though it is referred to as “happy jazzâ€Â, it doesn’t quite sound like “jazzâ€Â. It does sound like some incredibly creative free improvisation which is restless and always engaged. This activity does make me smile and will no doubt make that serious listener happy as well. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14
THOLLEM / MAZUREK - Blind Curves and Box Canyons (Relative Pitch 1054; USA) Featuring Rob Mazurek on cornet, modular synth, sampler & voice and Thollem McDonas on modified electric piano & analog effects. Founder of the Chicago & Sao Paolo Underground units, Rob Mazurek has been incredibly prolific over the past few years with a dozen discs on the Cuneiform, Clean Feed and Rogue Art labels. Besides being one of the best pianists around, nomadic improviser, Rob Mazurek has also kept busy working a variety of other like-minded musicians: William Parker, Nels Cline and Arrington De Dionyso.
Extraordinary! There is something magical going on here, a pulsating, swirling, tapestry of different waves moving carefully around one another. Mazurek uses some echo devices with his cornet and voice, chanting at times while the electric piano flows in and out, becoming more dense or squeezing down as the flow continues. When Mazurek switches to muted cornet, Thollem does a fine job of matching him with that electric Miles like voodoo vibe. The intensity increases twofold on “Hollersâ€Â, with Thollem altering his sound on his electric keyboard, speeding up and slowing down and weaving several lines at once: electric clavichord, broken or bent drum machine (samples), all adding to the unraveling mystery taking place. Thollem changes the sound of his keyboard or effects, for each segment that the duo wind through. Both of these musicians know how to alter their sounds so that each section evokes a different spirit or vibe. At times it sounds as if there instruments are overloading and are about to explode or fall apart. Yet they remain in control and take us all of a great journey. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14
ROB MAZUREK - Chants and Corners (Clean Feed 416; Portugal) Featuring Rob Mazurek on cornet, modular synth & sampler, Thomas Rohrer on flutes, soprano sax & rabeca, Guilherme Granado on keyboards & synth, Philip Somervell on piano & prepared piano and Maurico Takara on drums. This disc was recorded in Sao Paolo in Brazil, where Mr. Mazurek spends a good deal of time, often working with his band, the Sao Paolo Underground. This disc appears to be a quintet version of the Sao Paulo Underground, often just a trio. Three of the five musicians here play electronics, synth or sampler, yet all of these altered (synthetic) sounds are are selectively. Mr. Mazurek’s superb cornet is often at the center of the storm, leading the way but rarely taking over completely. Although it sounds as if things are about to fall or spin apart, they rarely do. The quintet do a marvelous job of creating intense rolling waves with Mazurek’s cornet sailing on top, the density increasing or decreasing as the winds of change blow through. It sounds as if Mazurek is guided by some elusive spirit since the music often evokes feelings or vibrations or something transcendent. Things occasionally get chaotic, yet Mazurek has a way of holding things together so that we don’t get (too) lost. It takes time to absorb his discs in their entirety as the flow of events is always in flux, turning from one spirit to the next. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15
CHICXULUB [PEK / JASON ADAMS / YURI ZBITNOV] - Creative Event (Evil Clown 9130; USA) Chicxulub features Dave PEK on clarinets, double reeds, sax, dax, metals & percussion; Jason Adams on bass, electric cello & interstellar grain clouds (?) and Yuri Zbitnov on drums, percussion & balafon. Outside of a couple solo discs by Leap of Faith, Dave PEK, this is the smallest number of participants of any of the two dozen LoF or offshoot discs that I’ve reviewed so far. This disc was recorded at Evil Clown Headquarters in January of this year (2017), just three months ago. From the look and list of instruments found in EC Headquarters, there are dozens (100’s?) if instruments to choose from: avalanche of reeds, percussion, electronics, rare and uncommon instruments.
“Impact†is a set-long single piece of some 67 minutes. Layers of resonating gongs, cymbals and assorted metals, near ominous in their dark, ritualistic sound. Is that an electric kazoo, are those sirens, gamelan gongs?!? It is quite unnerving yet someone it does a fine job of transporting us to another world, weird yet exotic in its own way. Industrial music?!? Eventually, the throbbing beast calms down to a more hypnotic, ritualistic groove. There is a long section of somber percussion: glockenspiel, bells, glimmering cymbals or electronic reverberations?!? Dinosaurs conversing? Godzilla vs. Gidra?!? PEK cuts loose on a large, deep sax in the second half, blasting with an immense, rather scary sound… but it doesn’t last for long as a more restrained, trance-inducing throb takes over, the beast calms down to a more tame segment. Is that a tribal, dance groove we hear towards the end?!?! It sure sounds that way and it sure feels good to me. Eventually settling into a long, coming in for a landing and a dream-like, space-music conclusion. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $10
New from Sunnyside and Cam Jazz labels, In stock Next Week:
MIKE McGINNIS With ART LANDE / STEVE SWALLOW - Recurring Dream (Sunnyside 1431; USA) The romantic dream of many aspiring jazz musicians is to sail into New York City, drawn by the magnetism of the metropolis, and to seek an apprenticeship amongst the heroes and legends of the music. It isn’t often that these dreams come true, but for saxophonist/clarinetist/composer Mike McGinnis they did in his friendship and collaboration, with jazz legends Art Lande and Steve Swallow, showcased on the trio’s Recurring Dream.
CD $15
KURT ROSENWINKEL With ERIC CLAPTON / MARK TURNER / FREDERIKA KRIER - Caipi (Sunnyside 4618; USA) Guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, a multiple DownBeat Critics and Readers Poll contender, signals a new musical direction with the March 10 release of Caipi, the long-awaited debut album on his new label, Heartcore Records.
Ten years in the making, Caipi features Kurt Rosenwinkel playing all the instruments (drums, bass, piano, synthesizers and percussion) and showcases his vocals on a bevy of deeply personal tunes, such as the ballad “Ezra,†named for his youngest son, and “Little B,†a tribute to his elder son, Silas, who was nicknamed Little Bear as a toddler. Nine other original compositions round out this 11-track program.
On ‘Caipi’, the title takes its name from a Brazilian cocktail similar to a mojitoâ€â€elements of rock and jazz co-exist with all the recognizable features of Rosenwinkel’s lucid modern-jazz style. Brazilian music features prominently as well, to some extent symbolizing Rosenwinkel’s natural inclination toward melodies that are instantly accessible yet emotionally impactful.
CD $15
REBECCA MARTIN & GUILLERMO KLEIN - Upstate (Sunnyside 1416; USA) Sometimes it is just a matter of timing and proximity that makes attractive collaborations possible. For years, singer/songwriter Rebecca Martin knew that she wanted to work with pianist/vocalist/composer Guillermo Klein. Klein’s recent relocation to upstate New York, where Martin had made her home, made the opportunity of making music together possible. The beautiful results of their work can be heard on their new recording, The Upstate Project. // Martin is well known for her elegant songwriting and performance, commingling jazz and folk music. Aside from her solo work, she has regularly collaborated with a coterie of celebrated musicians, including Kurt Rosenwinkel, Paul Motian and Tillery, the celebrated vocal trio featuring Becca Stevens and Gretchen Parlato. Always community minded, Martin has become an advocate of sorts for collaboration in her musical and social endeavors, most notably in her adopted home of Kingston, New York. // For his part, Klein has become a celebrated songwriter and composer, utilizing elements of jazz, modern classical, rock and Argentinean folkloric music. He had spent more than a decade living outside of the United States, both in Spain and Argentina, before returning and settling in Beacon, New York, a short distance from Martin.
CD $15
ENRICO PIERANUNZI & BRUNO CANINO - Americas (CAM Jazz 5057; Italy) Enrico Pieranunzi’s second live album at the Village Vanguard was recorded in the spring of 2015; the 80th year in the life of a club immune to ageing and that seems to live both in the present and in some endless, timeless moment. For “New Springâ€Â, Pieranunzi put together a quartet of some of the most prestigious musicians on the current New York scene: Scott Colley, Clarence Penn and Donny McCaslin. The material performed consists exclusively of original pieces signed by Pieranunzi and arranged for the occasion. Two of these – Amsterdam Avenue and New Spring – are new entries, never previously been recorded by anyone.
CD $15
Archival Recordings, Reissues and Restocks:
MILES DAVIS SEXTET With STEVE GROSSMAN / CHICK COREA / DAVE HOLLAND / AIRTO MORIERA / JACK DeJOHNETTE - Fillmore West 1970 (Hi Hat 3083; UK) Miles Davis Sextet, live from the Fillmore West Auditorium, San Francisco April 9th, 1970. The revolutionary Bitches Brew was released on March 30th, 1970. By that time, Miles Davis had started performing in rock venues, bringing his music to a much broader audience. His remarkable band displays near telepathic interplay throughout the fiery, confrontational performance captured on this set, originally broadcast on KSAN-FM. Taking the form of one continuous piece, it's a vital and exciting document of one of jazz's greatest innovators at his peak. The entire broadcast is presented here, digitally remastered, with background notes and images.
CD $17
BILL EVANS TRIO With SCOTT LaFARO / PAUL MOTIAN - Birdland 1960 (Hi Hat 3061; UK) The Bill Evans Trio, live at Birdland, 1960. This is an essential document of Bill Evans's quintessential trio performing at its peak. Evans showcases his unique sensitivity at the piano throughout, while Scott La Faro displays breathtaking virtuosity on his bass, and near-telepathy with drummer Paul Motian. La Faro's tragic death a year later would profoundly affect Evans and his music, making these historically vital performances indispensable for jazz fans. Recorded over various dates: March 12th, 1960 (tracks 1-3), March 19th, 1690 (tracks 4 and 5), April 30th, 1960 (tracks 6-9), and May 7th, 1960 (tracks 10-12). Originally recorded for radio broadcast, the entire broadcast is presented here, digitally remastered, with background notes and images. Songs include: Directions, Miles Runs the Voodoo Fown, Sanctuary, Spanish Key and Bitches Brew.
CD $17
ALBERT KING With DICKEY BETTS - Live At The Bottom Line (Echoes 2068; UK) Albert King, featuring Dickey Betts, live at the Bottom Line on September 29th, 1976. "Everybody has the blues, everybody understands the blues." A lasting statement from an immensely revered blues icon who passed from this life on December 1st, 1992 and who left a hole in the music world that has yet to be filled and most certainly, never will be. King related the blues to a whole new world of listeners, mainly white, young kids from across the Atlantic and at home who would embrace the blues and the Kings with a feverish passion. Here are two of those legends. Echoes presents the entire WNEW-FM broadcast of Albert King featuring Dickey Betts live from the Bottom Line, New York on September 29th, 1976. Professionally remastered original broadcast with interviews, background liners, and rare archival photos.
CD $17
AKWABA ABIDJAN - Afrofunk In 1970's Ivory-Coast (Oriki Music 006; France) Akwaba Abidjan: Afrofunk In 1970's Ivory-Coast, the new Oriki Music compilation, includes serious 1970s Afro dancefloor hits - A promising favorite among DJs, Afrofunk, and tropical music revival aficionados. Vinyl diggers can finally play some of Ivory Coast's hardest to find deep funk, Afrobeat, Manding, and tropical rhythms tunes, recorded by such legends as Moussa Doumbia, De Frank Jr, or Francis Kingsley. Compiled by pioneer African music digger and respected DJ Greg De Villanova, a legend among Afro/tropical music collectors and DJs. The consistent liner notes focus on the original label history of Société Ivoirienne Du Disque, based on interviews with the producer. This compilation also marks the great return of the dormant French record label, which released such wonders as Orchestra Baobab's A Night At Club Baobab (2006) or Moussa Doumbia's Keleya (2007). Also features: Afro Train, Sewa Jacintho, Les Frères Kante, Les Nidrou, Afro Soul System, and L'orchestre De La RTI. Includes original and unreleased pictures of the artists and the city of Abidjan in the 1970s, and great artwork. CD version comes in a digipack.
$15
Back in stock:
PETER KUHN with TOSHINORI KONDO / ARTHUR WILLIAMS / WILLIAM PARKER / DENIS CHARLES - No Coming, No Going. The Music of Peter Kuhn, 1978 - 1979 (NoBusiness 89-90; Lithuania) Featuring: Peter Kuhn on clarinets & tenor sax, Toshinori Kondo & Arthur Williams on trumpets, William Parker on bass and Denis Charles on drums. This great 2 CD set consists of a reissue of the original LP session “Livin’ Rightâ€Â, long out-of-print and an earlier never-before released session with Denis Charles. Peter Kuhn was one of the more mysterious early Downtown musicians who recorded on a few early Downtown sessions (like Frank Lowe’s ‘Lo & Behold’ from 1978) and had three albums under his own name on Hat Hut, Soul Note and his own Big City label, all released in the late seventies, around the same period of time. After that Mr. Kuhn seemed to disappeared from the Downtown scene for many years. Thanks to the lengthy liner notes here, which Mr. Kuhn wrote, we find out more about his life then and since. The original LP was recorded in December of 1978 at WKCR-FM and Mr. Kuhn organized a formidable quintet mostly with musicians we know well by now but weren’t well-known at this point. The first disc is the reissue of ‘Livin’ Right’, with a clarinet led, two trumpet & rhythm team quintet. I was fortunate to have caught Japanese trumpet madman. Toshinroi Kondo, on several occasions in the early eighties with Fred Frith, Henry Kaiser and others. The other trumpeter here, Arthur Williams is much less well known although he did work with William Parker & Jemeel Moondoc. This was the early days of William Parker who was then involved with several seminal bands like Muntu and Commitmnent. The legendary drummer Denis Charles moved to the US in the fifties and worked with Cecil Taylor, remaining in NY ever since. He is a mostly well-regarded yet under-recorded drummer, a true legend. Other than Perry Robinson (& Gunter Hampel), who was a friend of Kuhn’s, there were not very many great clarinet improvisers on the Downtown scene at that point. Mr. Kuhn plays clarinets only on this album. This disc opens with a great drum solo from Denis Charles who always had his own unique sound: exuberant but never flashy. The quintet sounds like they were inspired by the original Ornette Quartet although that clarinet & 2 trumpet frontline doesn’t quite sound like any other. The interplay between the clarinet and bass & drums is especially tight and free-flowing, expanding and contracting with ease. The trumpets also sail in and out, creating a great dialogue with several lines moving tightly together. Midway through “Manteca, Long Gone…â€Â, there is a haunting section for bass clarinet, muted trumpets, arco bass and hushed drums which sounds like we are emerging from a dream. There is also a long duo section for bass clarinet and bass which unfolds slowly and tells a long, fascinating story. Eventually the trumpets reappear and begin or add to the heated discussion already taking place. This album was/is a long-forgotten classic from the early Downtown days. So glad it is back in print for all us music freaks to hear. The second disc here is another long lost gem, a duo concert from September of 1979 featuring Mr. Kuhn on B-flat & bass clarinets & tenor sax and Denis Charles on drums. Right from the gitgo, the clarinet and drums play together perfectly, matching each others notes, spinning lines tightly and quickly. Mr Charles, who was born in the Virgin Islands, brought his own Caribbean style of drumming into the free jazz domain. Mr. Charles takes a long, wonderful drum solo on the first piece, showing that he is integral to the success of this spirited duo. In the late senates when this was recorded there were few musicians featured on bass clarinet. Both Gunter Hampel and Peter Kuhn had their own, distinctive approaches. Mr. Kuhn plays quietly and thoughtfully at times, while occasionally bending and twisting notes into odd shapes. Just 12 years after John Coltrane recorded his seminal sax & drums duo album, ‘Interstellar Space’ (1967), this duo also show how much a formidable duo can do, exploring several spirited orbits together. Extraordinary! This is one of the best historic recordings of the year! Not to be missed. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
2 CD Set $18 (price lowered)
Reggae CD Section:
SCIENTIST - Scientific Dub (Clocktower 119; Canada) Originally released in 1981. A virtual wizard of the mixing desk, Overton H Brown has been one of the key figures in dub since the late 1970s. Getting his start as a teenager at King Tubby's legendary studio in Waterhouse, Brown was known as The Scientist because his imaginative approach to the mixing desk and electronic gadgetry seemed to derive from magical powers that linked him to some intangible, futuristic realm.
CD $13
ROOTS RADICS - Dubbing At Channel 1 (Jamaican Recordings 065; UK) As the 1970s turned into the 1980s, reggae's beat took another turn, slowing down to allow more space for the music to breathe. The new sound became reggae's focus, and the Roots Radics became one of Jamaica's finest session/backing bands at the forefront of this radical change. The Roots Radics were based around the nucleus of Errol "Flabba" Holt (bass), Lincoln Valentine "Style" Scott (drums), and Eric "Bingi Bunny" Lamont (guitar). Holt and Bingi Bunny had previously been involved in the Morwells label set up and had cut some popular tunes such as "Swine And Dine", "They Hold Us Down", and the great "Kingston 12 Tuffy". Before this, Bunny had played for one of the other great reggae sessions band, the Channel One based Revolutionaires. It was the demise of this legendary band, due to Sly and Robbie's commitments to their own Taxi label, that led to the formation of the Roots Radics. The Radics have worked with many different producers over the years including Linval Thompson, with the series of alums, Scientist's 1981 album Meets the Space Invaders (MIR 100738CD/LP) and 1982 album Scientist Wins The World Cup (MIR 100741CD/LP). They also worked as Gregory Isaacs's backing band and were responsible for the rhythms that made up his seminal Night Nurse set (1982). Jamaican Recordings have caught the Roots Radics for this set of cutting rhythms in their favorite environment, the famous Channel One Studios. On this occasion working with producer Ossie Thomas for his own Black Solidarity label. A match made in heaven. CD version includes four bonus tracks.
CD $15
BUNNY LEE - Jamaican Rockers 1975-1979 (Kingston Sounds 066; UK) The Rockers Sound (aka Steppas) came from the mid '70s and was created during sessions with The Revolutionaires band at Channel 1. Drummer Sly Dunbar came up with a new "Militant" style double drumming on the snare drum that seemed to add some credence to the political/Rasta based lyrics that were so prominent around this time. So for this compilation, Kingston Sounds have pulled together some of the best cuts from this period, when producer Bunny Lee was on the top of his game and the sound in town to get on board with was "Rockers"... So sit back and enjoy another period in reggae's history that still sounds as good as when it was created way back when. Features: Cornell Campbell, Dennis Brown, Johnny Clarke, Junior Delgado, I Roy, Leroy Smart, Lloyd Chambers, Morwells, Jackie Mittoo & The Aggrovators, Horace Andy, and Bim Sherman. CD version includes four bonus tracks featuring: Earth & Stone, Johnny Clarke, Tommy McCook & Bobby Ellis, and I Roy.
CD $15
DERRICK MORGAN - People Decision (Radiation Roots 306; Italy) Radiation Roots present a reissue of Derrick Morgan's People Decision, originally released in 1977. One of the very first artists to begin recording in Jamaica, Derrick Morgan is a beloved ska icon and a pioneer of the "skinhead reggae" style. Blessed with a rich, deep tenor, which with he belts out his clever and often humorous lyrics, Morgan became known on the Kingston music scene through Vere Johns's regular talent contests, and enjoyed a lengthy run of hits during the 1960s for producers such as Simeon Smith, Duke Reid, and Clement "Sir Coxsone" Dodd (among others), cultivating a popular vinyl feud with Prince Buster after being brought into Leslie Kong's camp by the young Jimmy Cliff. Morgan moved to England during the late 1960s to capitalize on the skinhead reggae craze, but was back in Jamaica from the early 1970s, and since Bunny Lee was his brother-in-law, the two have always maintained a close working relationship. People Decision, voiced at King Tubby's studio for Lee and released by Third World in 1977, sees Morgan in politicized roots reggae mode on songs like "Let's Build A Better Jamaica", the symbolic racetrack drama "Racing At Ballistic Park", and the title track, which all boosted the socialist policies of the ruling People's National Party; "Natty Dread Forward Out Of Babylon" updates the "Tougher Than Tough" saga, and there's a slew of rude tunes, including "My Dickie", "Rough Grinder", and "Ride Manny Fanny".
CD $15
JOHNNY CLARKE - Satisfaction (Radiation Roots 308; Italy) Radiation Roots present a reissue of Johnny Clarke's Satisfaction, originally released in 1979. Tenor singer Johnny Clarke had many false starts in his youthful days. Hanging around Studio One as a schoolboy with Jacob Miller, Clarke was supposed to record material written for him by Bob Andy, but somehow never made the grade. His 1973 debut recording for lesser-known producer Glen Stair was not released, and early work for Clancy Eccles failed to hit, though "Everyday Wondering" for Rupie Edwards made an underground impact in Britain and New York. Subsequent singles for Keith Hudson and Glen Brown also did not get very far, but the breakthrough finally came when Bunny Lee asked him to sing "None Shall Escape The Judgement", which was written by the singer Earl Zero; it became a massive hit that launched the "flying cymbal" craze (based on an open-and-closed high-hat cymbal pattern, adapted from the Soul Train theme), and Clarke became one of Lee's most reliable hit-makers, partly because Lee stoked a rivalry between him and Cornell Campbell, whom Lee had previously asked to voice "None Shall Escape". Clarke's Satisfaction LP was recorded at Harry J's studio for Lee, voiced at King Tubby's studio, and issued by Third World in 1979. It is a set largely comprised of cover tunes, such as the strong opening update of the Paragons' "Riding For A Fall", the title track adapting their rock steady hit "My Satisfaction" in a post-rockers style. Better still is the hard-hitting "reality" tune, "Play Fool, Get Wise", which uses a proverb to relate a means of avoiding trouble on the dog-eat-dog mean streets of Kingston.
CD $15
ROKY ERICKSON - All That May Do My Rhyme (Play Loud! Productions 066; Germany) Presenting 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. CD version comes in a digipak and includes an eight-page lyric sheet with band info.
CD $15
LP Section:
DON CHERRY With KARL BERGER / HENRI TEXIER / JACQUES THOLLOT - Music, Wisdom, Love 1969 (Cacophonic Cack 018; UK) Reaching a near-mythical status amongst fans of free jazz's most worldly intrepid explorer, these seldom heard Paris soundtrack sessions known as Music, Wisdom, Love have evaded collectors' grasps and confused historians for exactly 50 years. Instigated in Paris in 1967 and filmed during Don Cherry's downtime on a visit to the Chat qui Pêche nightclub in March 1967, where he played with Karl Berger, Henri Texier, and Jacques Thollot, the bulk of this cinematic portrait was filmed on the streets of Paris under the direction of creative all-rounders Jean-Noël Delamarre and Nathalie Perrey, who, as their careers bloomed, would become pivotal figures in underground French cinema - straddling La Nouvelle Vague, adult entertainment, and cinema fantastique in what can only be described as speedball cinema. As the supportive creative family that primarily played home to French vampire/horrortica director Jean Rollin, both Nathalie and Jean-Noël, his brother Jean-Philippe Delamarre and a small team of other fans of oblique media would be responsible for a vibrant micro-culture that awkwardly flourished on the outskirts on the Parisian new wave - combining comic book culture, Lettrism, sexual liberation, psychedelic rock, graphic design, and, with this record as prime example, free jazz and avant-garde music. What previously might have been regarded as an unlikely coupling, with the benefit of half a century of archival hindsight, this release documents the essential cosmic collision of two fantastic planets. Available here for the first time ever and licensed from producer and director Jean-Noël Delamarre himself.
LP $25
PIERRE HENRY - Maléfices (Cacophonic Cack 006; UK) Cacophonic presents Maléfices, an outstanding film score by Pierre Henry, often overlooked in lists of the composer's work. The score is a dream record for fans of early electronics, female vocal manipulation, and horror soundtracks. Widely recognized as one of the original sonic architects of the movement known as musique concrète (having joined Pierre Schaeffer's initiative as early as 1949), Pierre Henry was arguably the first musician to entertain the notion of this defiant musical revolution coexisting with traditional and popular music. Initially using the media of modern dance and spoken word as a platform to contextualize his tape-music mutations (notably in unison with Maurice Bejart), Henry's fusion of academic with thematic ideas led to the birth of electronic sound design for film and theatre, exemplified most prevalently in the macabre. His score for Henri Decoin's 1962 film Maléfices (Where the Truth Lies) (starring Juliette Gréco) is the missing link between his earliest avant-garde recordings and his later celebrated pop experiments with Michel Colombier and Spooky Tooth. It rivals such cinematic sound as Daphne Oram's work for Jack Clayton's 1961 horror film The Innocents, and features Henry at what is perhaps his most melodic, fragile, and enchanting (especially for this unforgiving, formative era in his career). Layering vocal tape loops and gossamer feminine voice treatments with plucked strings, white noise wind, and brooding, industrial treated piano textures, Henry magnifies the film's intoxicated, hallucinatory narrative. This concise set of complete themes is presented here, fully remastered for the first time, alongside rare excerpts from two of the composer's very earliest and least obtainable forays into theatrical sound design: instrumental parts of Henry's first stereo reconstruction of Maurice Bejart's 1961 ballet Orphée, and his seldom-heard concrète interludes from Darius Milhaud and Max Gérard's opera Mariage de la Feuille et du Cliché (1958).
LP $25
JAAP VINK - Jaap Vink (Recollection GRM 018EXT; Austria) "The Institute of Sonology in Utrecht has earned its international reputation mostly for pioneering work in the field of computer-assisted algorithmic composition and digital sound synthesis by composers such as Gottfried Michael Koenig, Werner Kaegi, Paul Berg, and Barry Truax. Anyone familiar with the music of these composers would have to admit that even within this 'genre' there were no stylistic dogmas. The stylistic range of the Institute's artistic output becomes even broader when the work of other staff and frequent guests is taken into account, for example the compositions based on field recordings and audio-visual projects by Frits Weiland, the radiophonic works and pieces for tape and instruments by Luctor Ponse, the cybernetic tape compositions by Roland Kayn, or the experiments with computer graphics by Peter Struycken, to name just a few. And then there was Jaap Vink. Jaap Vink studied engineering at first, but then became interested in electronic music. He attended courses in electroacoustics at Delft University of Technology and installed a pedagogical studio for electronic music in 1961 at the Gaudeamus Foundation . . . Jaap Vink always tried to break out of the periodicity of the sounds so abundantly available in the electronic music studio. Although his music was entirely produced with purely electronic sound material, its textures resemble the richness of orchestral sounds, or large natural sound-complexes, as a result of recursive processes. The density of this sound material increases and decreases by careful control of feedback networks with configurations of analog tape recorders (delay lines), filters, and modulators. It should come as no surprise that his work is being rediscovered at a time when a new generation of musicians has conquered the stage with modular synthesizer setups and 'no-input mixers', in which feedback of audio and control signals plays an important role. And although Jaap Vink's music wasn't performed live but produced and recorded on magnetic tape in the studio, it is exactly the human interaction with feedback processes that connects his work with the current generation of live electronic music performers. To some extent Jaap Vink's pieces are indeed recorded live improvisations, and extending his patches and 'rehearsing' with them was an ongoing process. . . . The selection presented here gives an overview of Jaap Vink's works made in Utrecht, ranging from his first composition Screen up to Tide 85." - Kees Tazelaar Works selected by: François Bonnet and Kees Tazelaar.
2 LP Set $30
BERT JANSCH - Rosemary Lane (Superior Viaduct 125; USA) "By the time Rosemary Lane was released in 1971, Bert Jansch had covered a great deal of territory on numerous albums as a solo artist, collaborations with John Renbourn and records by the band in which he and Renbourn sang and played guitar, Pentangle. Returning to the intimate economy of his self-titled debut LP from a half-dozen or so years earlier, Rosemary Lane was recorded on portable equipment by engineer/producer Bill Leader and featured Jansch with no accompaniment save his guitar and voice. Rosemary Lane has elements of many of the styles Jansch covered in his extraordinarily eclectic career -- from the folk and blues that were his bedrock to medieval music -- yet cuts to the heart of his strength as spell-binding storyteller and empathic interpreter of isolation and want. Occasional instrumentals vary the mood that, like much of his work, is usually somber and introspective. Jansch once again lights the way forward with detours through the past. His sparse arrangements seamlessly merge original songwriting and traditional folk songs, while Jansch's imaginative lyrics charm every step of the way -- as if speaking directly to the listener alone. This vinyl release has been carefully remastered from the original master tapes and features liner notes by Richie Unterberger."
LP $25
PEACE, LOVING - Peace, Loving (Feeding Tube 267; USA) "First vinyl by a band that has long been in the vanguard of the neu Boston commune-hunch. Although known only via CDRs, live shows and compilation tracks, Peace, Loving has been at work crafting their mysterious völk moves for the better part of a decade. The core of the band on this record is a quartet -- ARKM Foam, who also appears on the Bang! Bros. 12/12/12 EP (FTR 170, 2014), Kate Lee, Morgan Shaker and Pancho the Kidd. Several of these souls are central to the whole Whitehaus scene in Jamaica Plain, and an array of fellow travelers pile on at various moments of this album. You can easily discern the weekly hoot roots of their sound on the studio side of the LP, which makes me think of what youthful vipers might come up with after listening to stuff like Dan Hicks, Captain Matchbox and Homegas. These tunes have a mix of naif lyricism, slightly archaic pop moves and a soupçon of stoned improvisational logic that pops up in unexpected places. It's a blend that grows on you more and more with each spin. The live side of the album is a different beast entirely. It starts with jingly minimalism that recalls 16 Bitch Pile-Up at their least noisy, but it merges into a quiet flow of banjo and the kind of dimly sparkling percussion you expect to find sprawled around the rug of a rural cabin. The music develops a deep and abstract smokiness, of the kind associated with outfits like MVEE or Mendocino, eventually erupting into a symphony of sound as thick as the climatic sequences of Hitchcock's 1963 film, The Birds. All in all Peace, Loving is a perplexing and very warm spin. One likes to imagine it might have been something Ed Denson snuck onto Takoma back in the day, when Fahey wasn't paying attention. Would have been a classic of unknown-tongue form then, and remains one now. Dig it." --Byron Coley, 2017 Edition of 400.
LP $19
FAT WORM OF ERROR - Nzznzzzznnznznnn (Feeding Tube 294; USA) "If a tree fell in the woods of Western Massachusetts in the early '00s, Fat Worm Of Error were probably around to hear it. This restless band of sonic lab technicians made such an earth-encompassing racket during their busiest era - from their spawning in 2002 til about the end of that decade - that it seemed like every random, unexpected sound that occurred within a 10 mile radius of Northampton got sucked up and spit into a song by this quavering quintet. On their third full-length, Nzznzzzznnznznnn (issued in 2004 as a CD-R and now splattered on wax for the first time), all kinds of blurps, squeaks, gasps, and dunks peal through each track in a freaked-out rush, as if the world is a huge dam with filled holes that the band is desperate to unplug. Fat Worm Of Error's stabbing percolations and bubbling prods have a hyper-mechanic feel, like a busted robot stuck in overdrive, yet there's also an organic animalism to all the dripping, heaving sound. Just look at the song titles: 'Pesky Fly,' 'Flea God,' 'Six Foot Squid.' There are lots of insects, rodents, and cephalopods rummaging around in the rotting debris of Nzznzzzznnznznnn, but they've grown human heads, like Kafka's Metamorphosis man-bug squashed into music. The anarchic sheen of Nzznzzzznnznznnn makes it tempting to call it noise, or perhaps hear it as a cartoon sound effects library become self aware, like the Frankenstein monster of Raymond Scott's dreams. There's nothing wrong with either of those interpretations, but douse your ears deeper into Fat Worm Of Error's molting constructions and you can see some sturdy skeletons buttressing all the clatter. There is careful planning inside this chaos, concentrated shapes underneath the scrawl. That's what makes all of the band's work echo long after its initial novelty-shock, but on Nzznzzzznnznznnn the resonance is particularly potent. Over a decade later, its purposeful rattles can still vibrate bones." --Marc Masters, 2017 Edition of 500.
LP $19
VINCENT AHEHEHINNOU - Best Woman (Analog Africa AADE 005; Germany) Analog Africa present a reissue of Best Woman, Vincent Ahehehinnou's first post-Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou album, originally released in 1978. In early 1978, Ahehehinnou left the Poly-Rythmo without explanation. He had been one of their principal vocalist since 1968 and had helped transform them from a hard-charging nightclub band into a musical powerhouse and Africa-wide sensation. On a business trip to Nigeria, Vincent met with Ignace de Souza of Benin's Black Santiago band, who agreed to arrange Vincent's songs, assemble musicians, and book a session at the legendary Decca Studios in Lagos. With everything in place Vincent returned to Cotonou, gathered together all the money he had saved over the years and set out again for Lagos. The nine-piece band, handpicked by de Souza, learned the songs and set them to tape in the span of only a week ... but the results are as timeless and essential as anything to emerge from West Africa in the late 1970s. Vincent's Afrobeat credentials are in full evidence on opening track "Best Woman" (English) whose driving beat, focused horns, and intricate vocal melody recall the raucous intensity of Poly-Rythmo. But the deep funk of the title track turns out to be only a warm-up for album-highlight "Maimouna Cherie" (French), a moving expression of love and longing which kicks off with a hi-hat and wah-wah guitar workout, but shifts gears mid-way into a more concentrated and contemplative groove. The funk and Afrobeat gems on Best Woman are balanced by songs that draw upon Sato, one of the many Vodoun rhythms of Vincent's native Benin. Side one concludes with "Vi Deka" (Mina), an epic slow-burner propelled by some of the record's most soulful vocals, while album closer "Wa Do Verite Ton Noumi" (Fon) all but dares you not to lose yourself in its sublime hypnotic trance. Best Woman was released on Nigeria's Hasbunalau Records in 1978, and original pressings are now highly-prized collector's items. Reissued on Analog Africa's Dance Edition imprint -- newly mastered by Nick Robbins, cut by to vinyl by Frank Merritt at the Carvery, and approved by Vincent himself. 180 gram vinyl; Gatefold sleeve with liner notes and pictures; 30x60 inlay/poster.
LP $28
GERARDO IACOUCCI - Le Avventure (Finders Keepers FKR 089; UK) Combining all the traits of an international superhero or intrepid comic book adventurer, the true identity, whereabouts and history of the spectacular Italian composer known as Gerardo Iacoucci has been a mystery to record collectors for many years. As a result of the best efforts of secretive archivists and DJs as well as and the overprotective force field that surrounds the clandestine world of Italian library music, the commanding experimental psychedelic pop music made single-handedly by this early pioneer of the anti-genre time after time rises to the top of collectors' want lists, commands huge ransom notes, ignites dancefloors, and decimates genre tags before returning to its mythical status as one of the kings of the underworld without removing his mask. Despite the fact that original Italian copies of records by Gerardo Iacoucci are amongst the rarest, enigmatic fixtures of European psychedelia, his music simply refuses to be ghettoized and as the name of this album suggests the history of this artist reads like the memoirs of a genuine musical adventurer as well as a well-traveled prophet of experimental music and unsung pillar of Italian jazz and sound design. Recorded in early 1970, Iacoucci's wide-eyed L'Avventura suite spanned six sides of loud, heavyweight monophonic vinyl for Romano Di Bari's Deneb label and created an epically detailed blueprint for independent mood music companies whilst sharing release schedules with like-minded workaholics Alessandro Alessandroni and A. R. Luciani. However, Gerardo's adventure didn't begin here... As a published author, recorded musician, professor, film composer, gentleman, musicologist, and scholar, Gerardo Iacoucci has managed to cram the stories of nine lifetimes into one heroic existence, while maintaining a humble, earnest and near mythical status as one of the great lost progressive pop pioneers of one of the most important transitional eras of European music, cinema and general, seldom rivaled, creative super powers. When the needle drops, L'Avventura has only just begun.
LP $25
More Challenging Music for Serious Listeners:
KEN IKEDA DAVID TOOP - Skin Tones (Home Normal 090; UK) David Toop's first album, New And Rediscovered Musical Instruments, was released on Eno's Obscure label in 1975; since 1995 he has released six solo albums and curated five acclaimed CD compilations for Virgin Records. Toop has recorded shamanistic ceremonies in Amazonas (SR 379CD/LP, 2015), appeared on Top Of The Pops with The Flying Lizards, worked with musicians including Brian Eno, John Zorn, Prince Far I, and Jon Hassell, and collaborated with artists from many other disciplines, including theater director/actor Steven Berkoff, Japanese Butoh dancer Mitsutaka Ishii, sound poet Bob Cobbing, visual artist John Latham, filmmaker Jaeeun Choi, and author Jeff Noon. Skin Tones is a recording of a collaborative live performance by Ken Ikeda and David Toop. Recorded at Iklectik Art Lab, London on May 22nd, 2016, Skin Tones is a 27 minute piece that features steel guitar, flutes, DX synthesizer, and a variety of objects.
CD $15
DAN JOSEPH - Electroacoustic Works (XI Records 138; USA) Electroacoustic Works collects three major pieces from the early 21st century New York-based composer Dan Joseph. This double CD release includes Set Of Four, a group of fixed-media sound collages using the processed hammer dulcimer as the primary sound source, two live performances of Dulcimer Flight for electroacoustic hammer dulcimer, and a 64-minute version of Periodicity Piece #6, a mixed-media work that originated as a multi-channel sound installation. With roots in early minimalism, ambient music, and acoustic ecology, the works herein represent a significant subset of the composer's larger body of work from the past twenty years that he has developed alongside an active career as a composer of instrumental chamber music. Dan Joseph began his career as a drummer in the punk scene of his native Washington, DC. During the late 1980s, he was active in the experimental tape music underground. He spent the '90s in California where he studied at CalArts and Mills College. His principal teachers include Pauline Oliveros, Alvin Curran, Mel Powell, and Terry Riley. Since the late 1990s, the hammer dulcimer has been the primary vehicle for his music.
From the liner notes by Alan Licht: "What's striking about Dan Joseph's music is that it's drone oriented but also mindful of timekeeping. This would seem to be a paradox: most drone-based music and/or classic minimalism often reaches for a feeling of cosmic timelessness, or a sense of perpetuity via repetition, but the pieces on these discs all demarcate time in some way . . . Duration, another minimalist conceptual hallmark, is a means to an end rather than an end in itself for Joseph: the combination of simple harmonic material and extended lengths of time allows for more activity that is readily perceived, rather than to set up a near-static hypnotic state that is only occasionally jostled by a subtle shift in the music . . . In the computer age, digital memory and storage capacity are crucial technological attributes and an everyday concern; Dan's electroacoustic pieces set up their own kind of memory banks for both the performer and the listener. The musical information is being supplied to and retrieved from both electronic and mental repository systems. This is post-minimal music where repetition is a mnemonic device, rather than a tool for trance or head-clearing."
2 CD Set $16
NOVI_SAD - Wound_Burner (Sub Rosa 407; Belgium) Wound_Burner is an audio project based on field recordings which took place in various locations in New York, USA, Gotland, Sweden, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, and the Greek countryside. The project consists of three main parts, and moves along high frequency slow-motion sentimental delirios to heavy bass ambient soundscapes, periodically colored by the voice of the soprano Irini Kyriakidou. Some of the sounds were constructed by using exclusively digital and electronic media. Wound_Burner demonstrates a highly emotive power and aims to trigger listeners' visceral, cerebral, and iconoclastic perception. Assembled, composed, and produced by Novi_Sad. Athens-based artist Thanasis Kaproulias, working under the moniker Novi_Sad is as much engaged by nature and the rudimentary sounds that are borne of remote environments as he is by the act of representing them. With an accomplished technical ability, as well as a sensitivity for the nuances of his considered locations, Novi_Sad carefully recontextualizes the scenery. The artist engages with the landscape by producing field recordings whose intensity is revived in spaces as sound pieces performed in-situ. Novi_Sad treats every sound with integrity with a resulting resonance that invites and immerses the listener. Using an innovative approach inspired by the idea of "cinema pour l'oreille" ("cinema for the ear"), Novi_Sad aspires to "donner àvoir" ("lead to seeing"), by means of sound. Many of the artists' projects are focused on architectural acoustics. His process brings unique field recordings into contact with various methods of audio analysis, as well as utilizing quantitative and numerical data from different sources such as NASA. Novi_Sad's projects have been presented internationally including at the Venice Biennale Film Festival, Venice; MUTEK Festival, Montreal and Mexico City; Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, Amsterdam; Le Fresnoy - Studio National D'Arts Contemporains, Lille; Roy O. Disney Concert Hall, CalArts, Los Angeles; Itaú Cultural, São Paulo; Megaron/The Athens Concert Hall, Athens; VPRO National Radio, Amsterdam; Cabaret Voltaire, Zurich; National Academy of Music, Aarhus; Einstein Kulturzentrum, Munich; and MAM/Museum of Modern Art, Rio de Janeiro. In his works with audiovisual projects and film, Kaproulias has collaborated with notable artists and filmmakers including Lars von Trier, Ryoichi Kurokawa, Isaac Niemand, Yorgos Zois, and Karl Lemieux.
CD $15
OISEAUX-TEMPETE - AL-'AN! (Sub Rosa 440; Belgium) "In Oiseaux-Tempête, Frédéric D. Oberland and Stéphane Pigneul have chosen a name, a call from the sea, of almost totemic quality. . . . AL-'AN! ('Now!' in Arabic) is the third part of a journey that commenced in 2012. A two part - aesthetic and political - proposition. How to build something that speaks of the present, that transcribes it, mirrors it, opens discourse and questions, and provokes the sharing of experience that conjures away this contemporary malaise of powerlessness and, in turn, opens doors to a common future? . . . Building something together, bearing witness, creating sense, being a part of the world, refusing the catastrophe. Rather, grabbing hold of the present, cradling it and letting it breath. . . . This was the attempt of Frédéric D. Oberland, Stéphane Pigneul, and Ben McConnell with Oiseaux-Tempête (SR 381CD/LP), their first album, an opening chapter published in 2013. . . . Following the energetic post-rock of this first, self-titled album, came Ütopiya? (SR 396CD/LP, 2015). A far more poignant piece of work, lyrical, yet with the roughness of the free music it was inspired by. Interweaving their music with the photographic images of Yusuf Sevincli and the words of poets Nazim Hikmet and Tarkovsky, Oiseaux-Tempête continued their Mediterranean voyage, this time further East. . . . With AL-'AN!, Oiseaux-Tempête have achieved a far more complex work, richer in texture, the intertwining of acoustic elements with electronica, roaming and shaking the foundations of this almost labyrinthian personal opus of an album. As ever, the group realizing both the immersive and also the total physicality on the record. . . . And in the same way, AL-'AN! remembers. Memories in the far more intimate form of the travel diary, each track the capturing of a moment, brief sketches, the first notes the faint outlines of a specific atmosphere, the chords building little by little the heavier lines of a coherent edifice, an innate sense of structure beneath the apparent fragmentation. . . . AL-'AN! proceeds from a logic of abundance, from the diversity of character to the binds that give it its structure. Not only because this opus is blending the Arabic, French, and English languages, and in doing so constructs a dialogue between Europe and the Middle-East." --Alexandre Francois Features Tamer Abu Ghazaleh and G. W. Sok. CD version includes a bonus track.
CD $15
RAFAEL TORAL - Space Solo 2 (Staubgold 147; Germany) "Space Solo 2 is the final release in the Space Program series, which started with Space (STAUB 069CD/TAIGA 001LP, 2006). Ten releases were originally projected, but the ideas I wanted to explore in a sustained and systematic way have already been fulfilled in these six records. For that, and a number of other reasons, I decided that I will be able to move with more room and freedom outside this structure that is now completed. The Solo series is meant to be reference documentation to my solo performance at the time of their release, on various instruments. Space Solo 2 showcases a different set of instruments from Space Solo 1 (QUECK 011CD/TAIGA 002LP, 2007), namely the glove-controlled sinewaves from the first years, a rarely performed modular synthesizer solo, the Theremin-controlled modulated feedback, and a contemporary approach to the electrode oscillator (featured on Space Solo 1 on a simpler configuration). All tracks are edited recordings of real-time solo performance. As a rule in the Space Program, there is no processing or transformation of sounds, all sounds are heard as originally played (except for mastering sound calibration). There is no 'programming' (as in sequencers or digital devices), no samples or software involved (except editing and mastering software and except tracks 9, 10, 11)."
CD $17
SAMUEL ROHRER - Range Of Regularity (Arujanamusic 712; Germany) Samuel Rohrer, the multi-faceted, forward-thinking percussionist and producer behind the Arjunamusic Records label, the Ambiq trio, and a wealth of other musical projects, has set out on his own with a new full-length solo album, Range Of Regularity. Constructed almost entirely upon electronically-treated recordings of acoustic instrumentation, with a bare minimum of synthesizer voicing, Range Of Regularity vibrates with a compelling organic-ism, as if old-growth Black Forest trees had conspired together to make an album of ultra-modern improvisational music. Indeed, the record feels limned with contributions from some "other" intelligence, despite being a clear extension of the fluid, percussion-driven musical technique that Rohrer has exhibited in previous years. Opening with the track "Microcosmism", the sound-forest feeling immediately takes effect, and the listener can either enjoying navigating a path through this verdant total environment or just being lost in it. "Lenina" does not abandon this unique aesthetic, but reprises the story with a different vocabulary (in this case, deep synth-bass signals, piano runs and all sorts of hyper-real ventilations). "Nimbus" temporarily dials back the feeling of modular assemblage that powers the previous two pieces, and allows Rohrer's drum kit to come to the fore, working away at a determined snare-driven beat that brings a variety of treated sound ephemera out of their hiding places. After the gentle - but never too precious - interlude of "Sunclue", "War On Consciousness" emerges as the album's infectious tour de force. As the title implies, the feeling here is of using sound to fend off some sort of invasive energy, featuring a full concert's worth of timbral variations and audio events. Incisive rhythmic patterns slice away like finely honed blades at an insistent mechanical chattering, while cautiously walking acoustic bass adds an extra layer of defense. "Uncertain Grace" closes the set out with a busy multi-layered arpeggio punctuated with bass drum hits, from which a melodic narrative gradually emerges. Although similarities are apparent to other progenitors of rhythmic intelligence (classic Can, for example), Range Of Regularity stands perfectly well on its own. Artwork by Ian Anderson of The Designers Republic.
CD $16
VALGEIR SIGURDSSON - Dissonance (Bedroom Community Hvalur 028; Iceland) History freely dilates and collapses on Valgeir Sigurðsson's Dissonance, his first solo release since 2012. Its three large-scale works are haunted by the old Western tradition, infused with the ethereal workings of electronics and sound manipulation. Recorded and produced between September 2015 and November 2016 at Greenhouse Studios, Dissonance is disarmingly human, reflecting the most extreme four years of Sigurðsson's life, full of ecstatic joy and deep sorrow. Dissonance is a personal and collective musical treatise to explore and question a world that is collapsing under its internal dissonances. Post-minimalist, post-ambient, post-something else.
CD $15
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Bruce Lee Gallanter’s Recommended Gig List for April of 2017
THE STONE RESIDENCIES - WADADA LEO SMITH - APR 18–23
Wadada’s Light-field Harmony with a View of Jupiter
Friday, April 21:
Wadada Leo Smith / Pheeroan akLaff:
The Blue Mountain’s Sun Drummer
Wadada Leo Smith - trumpet Pheeroan AkLaff - drums
Saturday, April 22:
Wadada Leo Smith’s Najwa:
Wadada Leo Smith - trumpet Bill Laswell – electric bass Brandon Ross – guitar Lamar Smith - guitar Hardedge – soundesign Pheeroan AkLaff - drums
Sunday, April 23:
Wadada Leo Smith’s Great Lakes Quartet performs The Great Lakes - Wadada Leo Smith – trumpet, Jonathon Haffner – alto saxophone Mark Helias - bass; Marcus Gilmore – drums
THE STONE RESIDENCIES - CHUCK BETTIS - APR 25 – 30
4/25 Tuesday
8:30 pm - Overishins - Mick Barr (guitar, banjo) Chuck Bettis (electronics, throat) Johnny DeBlase (bass) Mike Pride (drums)
A very rare chance to experience this murky dungeon thunder.
THE STONE COMMISSIONS - SUPHALA
In collaboration with National Sawdust The Stone presents a series of World Premieres the last Wednesday of every month through 2017.
7pm at National Sawdust in Williamsburg. For details check https://nationalsawdust.org/event/jazz-stone-commissioning-series/ $25
4/26 Wednesday
8:30 pm - Die Trommel Fatale - Brandon Seabrook (guitar, compositions) Marika Hughes (cello) Eivind Opsvik, Henry Fraser (double bass) Chuck Bettis (electronics, throat) Dave Treut (drums) Sam Ospovat (drums) Pre-apocalyptic summit, oozing centuries of purloined caterwauls. A sorceric phenomenon of wood, steel and flesh featuring a clangorous array of aural spasms and geometric quickstep grotesquerie.
THE STONE AT RUSS AND DAUGHTERS CAFE! THURSDAY APRIL 27: URI GURVICH
ONE SET AT 8PMâ€â€ADMISSION FREE! The Stone is proud to present music at Russ and Daughters Cafe at 127 Orchard Street the last Thursday of every month! Drop by for smoked fish, pickles and great music!
4/27 Thursday
8:30 pm - Snake Union vs. Soft Circle - Dave Grant (modular synth) Chuck Bettis (electronics) Hisham Akira Bharoocha (drums)
A first time meeting of these pillars of the underground.
4/28 Friday
8:30 pm - Barr/Bettis/Rapport/Vogl - Mick Barr (guitar) Chuck Bettis (electronics) Evan Rapport (sax) Franke Vogl (prepared bass); Ecstatic spontaneous compositions by the collective. Featuring members of Krallice, Meta-matics and Companion Trio.
4/29 Saturday
8:30 pm - Matmos & Chuck Bettis - Drew Daniel, Chuck Bettis (electronics) M.C. Schmidt (piano, objects, electronics); The sound of surprise.
4/30 Sunday
8:30 pm - Mephista with Chuck Bettis - Sylvie Courvoisier (piano) Susie Ibarra (drums) Ikue Mori, Chuck Bettis (electronics); Calculated chaos on a razor.
All Sets 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. 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
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The CORNELIA STREET CAFE - 212-989-9319
29 Cornelia St in the heart of the West Greenwich Village, NYC
Friday Apr 21
9:00PM & 10:30PM CHRIS DINGMAN TRIO - Chris Dingman, vibraphone; Linda Oh, bass; Kenny Wolleson, drums
Sat April 22nd:
9:00PM & 10:30PM AUBREY JOHNSON GROUP - Aubrey Johnson, voice, comp.; Tomoko Omura, violin; Michael Sachs, bass clarinet, alto sax; Chris Ziemba, piano; Matt Aronoff, bass; Jeremy Noller, drums
Sunday Apr 23
8:35PM NEW BRAZILIAN PERSPECTIVES: HELIO ALVES QUARTET - Helio Alves, piano; Vic Juris, guitar; Edward Perez, bass; Edu Ribeiro, drums
Mon April 24th:
8:30PM UNREQUITED - Amanda Ferguson, vocals; Joshua Richman, piano; Dylan Shamat, bass; Will Terrill, drums
Tues April 25th:
8:30PM CHRISTINE LAVIN, JULIE GOLD, DANIEL CAINER
Wednesday Apr 26
8:00PM MAREIKE WIENING QUINTET - Mareike Wiening; Rich Perry; Alex Goodman, guitar; Glenn Zaleski, piano; Johannes Felscher, bass
9:30PM TOBIAS MEINHART QUINTET, NATURAL PERCEPTION - Tobias Meinhart, tenor sax, ewi; Charles Altura, guitar; Yago Vazquez, piano; Orlando LeFleming, bass; Jesse Simpson, drums
Thursday Apr 27
8:01PM TOM CHANG QUARTET - Tom Chang, guitar, comp; Quinsin Nachoff, tenor sax; Matt Aronoff, bass; Kenny Grohowski, drums
Friday Apr 28
6:00PM THE CRIMSON RAGDOLLS - Zoe Christianson, clarinet, accordion; Ali Dineen, piano, accordion, washboard; Megg Farrell, tenor banjo, ukulele; Joanna Sternberg, upright bass
9 & 10:30pm - Tomas Fujiwara, drums, comp.; Adam Hopkins, bass; Mary Halvorson, guitar; Brian Settles, tenor sax; Jonathan Finlayson, trumpet
Saturday Apr 29
6:00PM ALBERT MARQUES TRIO FEAT. ARI HOENIG - Albert Marques, piano; Marcos Varela, double bass; Ari Hoenig, drums
9:00PM & 10:30PM SEBASTIAN NOELLE QUINTET - Sebastian Noelle, guitar
Sunday Apr 30
6:00PM KEITH LANE'S SPRING SUN - Keith Lane, vocals, electric guitar, piano; Melody Fader, piano; Mitch Corber, videographer
8:30PM YUHAN SU QUINTET - Yuhan Su, vibraphone; Matt Holman, trumpet; Alex LoRe, alto sax; Allan Mednard, drums
10:00PM KING VULTURE - Russ Lossing, piano, comp.; Adam Kolker, tenor, sopranino sax, bass clarinet; Matt Pavolka, bass; Dayeon Seok, drums
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Shapeshifter April, 2017:
Apri 21-
8:15p-10:15p - Charles Blenzig
Apr 22
7pm: Everything is Fine! A children's show for scared adults living in a scary world. The Pregnant Baby Theater
Apr 23
9:30p - Annie Chen Octet
Annie Chen - voice and compositions
Tomoko Omura - violin
David Smith - trumpet
Alex LoRe - alto saxophone and flute
Rafal Sarnecki - guitar
Glenn Zaleski - piano
Mathew Muntz - bass
Erad Lippi - drums
Apr 25
9:30p - Andrew McGowan Trio featuring Jovan Alexandre
Andrew McGowan - Piano
Darrian Douglas - Drums
Jovan Alexandre - Tenor Saxophone
Apr 26:
7pm Mike Baggetta Trio
Mike Baggetta - Guitar / Electronics
Jerome Harris - Bass Guitar
Billy Mintz - Drums
8pm - Planet Earth
Jeremy Udden - Saxophone
Nathan Blehar - Saxophone
Aryeh Kobrinsky - Bass
Mike Johnson - Drums
APR 30
7pm: Movement and Location
Ben Russell, violin/voice
Brandon Ridenour, trumpet/piano
Yoonah Kim, clarinet
Hamilton Berry, cello
Kris Saebo, bass
8:15p - Robert Bennett tbc: date changed
Shapeshifter is located at
18 Whitwell Place in Brooklyn, NY
R train to Union stop
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I-Beam Presents:
Friday - April 28th 8:30 PM
Vinnie Sperrazza – Solo Drums
Saturday, May 6th 8:30 PM
Franz Hautzinger and Isabelle Duthoit
8:30 Franz Hautzinger and Isabelle Duthoit
9:30 Franz Hautzinger and Isabelle Duthoit with
Leila Bordreuil and Brandon Lopez
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.
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GREENWICH HOUSE SOUND IT OUT SERIES:
Sound It Out series @ Greenwich House – Concerts, January-June 2017
Saturday, April 22, 8:00 p.m. – House-rocking trio returns!
Anna Webber’s Simple Trio - Anna Webber, tenor saxophone/flute; Matt Mitchell, piano; John Hollenbeck, drums
Saturday, May 6, 8:00 p.m. – New chamber jazz!
Harris Eisenstadt’s Recent Developments - Harris Eisenstadt, drums/compositions; Nate Wooley, trumpet; Hank Roberts, cello; Anna Webber, flute; Brandon Seabrook, banjo
Saturday, May 20, 7:30 p.m. – Double album release show!
André Matos David Ambrose/Russ Meissner Sextet
André Matos, guitar solo
David Ambrose, double-bass; Russ Meissner, drums; Loren Stillman, alto saxophone; Matt Renzi, tenor saxophone; Nate Radley, guitar; Leonard Thompson, piano
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
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TRIBUTE TO THOMAS CHAPIN!
Saturday, May 6th at 7:30 at Brooklyn Jazz Wide Open
Join us for a rare evening of live Thomas Chapin music as performed by musician-colleagues of Thomas, playing his original compositions: Trio, Trio plus Brass, Quartet/Quintet selections, Brazilian tunes and more! It will be 2 1/2 hours of music, plus intermission, and also this is Thomas' 60th year birthday-anniversary. A great year to lift him!
Featuring performances of Thomas’s music by: Mike Sarin, Dave Ballou, Ned Rothenberg, Marty Ehrlich, Arun Luthra, Peter McEachern, Saul Rubin, Armen Donelian, Jerome Harris, Arthur Kell, Steve Johns, Joe Cardello, Michel Gentile, Daniel Kelly and Rob Garcia. All proceeds will go to Akasha, a nonprofit organization furthering music education and the musical legacy of Thomas Chapin.
This concert will take place at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music's Concert Hall, 58 Seventh Ave (at Lincoln Pl.) in Park Slope, Brooklyn