DMG Newsletter for Friday, February 21st, 2020

“Friends” by Buzzy Linhart & Mark Klingman

And I am all alone.
There is no one here beside me.
And my problems have all gone.
There is no one to deride me.

But you got to have friends.
The feeling's oh so strong.
You got to have friends
To make that day last long.

I had some frends but they're gone,
Somethin' came and took them away.
And from the dusk 'til the dawn
Here is where I'll stay.

Standing at the end of the road, boys,
Waiting for my new friends to come.
I don't care if I'm hungry or poor,
I'm gonna get me some of them.

'Cause you got to have friends.
Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, friends.
That's right you, oh you, yeah you,
I said you gotta have some friends,
I'm talkin' about friends, that's right, friends.
Friends, friends, friends.

I had some friends, oh, but they're all gone, gone,
Someone came and snatched them away.
And from the dusk until the very dawn, you know,
Here is where I gotta stay, here is where I gotta stay.

And I'm standing at the end of a real long road
And I'm waiting for my new friends to come.
I don't care if I'm hungry or freezin' cold,
I'm gonna get me some of them.

'Cause you gotta have friends,
That's right, friends, friends.
I gotta me my, I gotta me my, I gotta me my,
Look around and see all of my friends.
Oh, friends, that's right, friends, friends,
Friends, friends, friends, friends, oh,
Friends, you gotta have friends. ..

Earlier this week I got a text from my sister Bonnie, that Buzzy Linhart had passed away. This made me sad as I am a longtime fan of Mr. Linhart, one of the most distinctive 1960’s/1970’s singer/songwriter/musicians. Mr. Linhart was a quintessential sixties iconic figure, impossible to really pin down to one any one style or expectation. Mr. Linhart traveled up to NYC in 1963 along with his friend Fred Neil, both from Coconut Grove in Florida and plunged into the burgeoning East Village Folk Scene. Fred Neil was considering to be the guru or godfather folk/rock/psych underground and worshipped by members of Jefferson Airplane, The Byrds, Tim Buckley & many others. Mr. Linhart was not just a great singer & songwriter, but also a strong vibes player who loved to jam with other members of the scene. His vibes playing ended up on seminal records like ‘Electric Ladyland’ by Jimi Hendrix, as well as for Richie Havens & Carly Simon. Linhart’s first recorded band was the Seventh Sons who recorded an obscure odd raga-rock record for the ESP, avant-jazz label, which is long out-of-print but well worth hearing. There are other interesting parallels between Mr. Linhart and Fred Neil, both recorded five essential solo efforts during their heydays and both blurred the lines between the established categories of music: folk/rock/psych/jazz/Indian/etc. Between 1969 and 1974, Mr. Linhart recorded 5 albums, all very different and each of which I still cherish. I recently listened to two of these: ‘buzzy’, his first album from 1969 and ’The Time to Live is Now’ from 1971. On his first album, Linhart is back by the Eyes of Blue, an early Welsh progressive band, as well as with UK sitarist Big Jim Sullivan. Certainly an odd combination yet Linhart & Co. jam at length doing a long versions of “Willie Jean” and “Sing Joy” (18 minutes!). On his second album, ‘Music’ from 1970, he has a strong quartet (with John Siomos on drums, future member of Frampton’s Camel) and boy do they rock hard, doing a great version of Fred Neil’s classic “The Bag I’m In”! Mr. Linhart’s third album, ‘The Time to Live is Now’ (1971) is perhaps his best. He has just a trio with el. bass and drums, seasoned session players who could jam. I just played this album last night and it still sounds marvelous, every song inspired, touching, moving and engaging. Buzzy has a unique, quirky, oddball voice, that occasionally reminds me of Dr. Chadbourne and makes me crack up time & again. The above song, “Friends”, was an FM hit for Mr. Linhart, but an even bigger hit for Bette Midler, who made it her theme song. Mr. Linhart plays some strong vibes on “Cheat Cheat Lied” which segues into “Hit the Road Jack” and where he quotes “Sabre Dance” during his vibes solo. I caught Buzzy Linhart live around a half dozen times during the early 1970’s, often on the bill with bands like Labelle, Osibisa and Mandrill. He was always a hoot live and it makes me smile to think about those gigs and to listen to his music now. Time to put that third album on again, dance around the kitchen and feel better. Long live Buzzy Linhart! The Time to Live is Still Now! - BLG

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The Downtown Music Gallery 29th Anniversary Celebrations will begin in 2020 & Will Continue throughout the year! May 1st is our Actual Anniversary! Every In-store throughout the Year Helps Celebrate the Spirit of Creative Music Performed Live.

Sunday, February 23rd:
6pm: LAURENT DAVID - Solo Electric Bass
7pm: JOE McPHEE / RAF VERTESSEN - Reeds Brass / Drums
8pm: LELE DAI - Solo Sewing Machine

Sunday, March 1st 2020:
6pm: LUCIANO PAGLIARINI and MICHEL EDELIN - International Sax Flute Duo!
7pm: JUAN PARRA CANCINO / JONATHAN IMPETT - Rare Appearance by Belgian Duo!
8pm: HANK JOST - Solo Alto Sax!

Sunday, March 8th:
6pm: IMPLICIT ARCHES: KURT GOTTSCHALK - Guitar / MIGUEL FRASCONI - analog synth /
WILL GLASS - Drums
7pm: DARREN JOHNSTON - Trumpet / PETER HESS - Woodwinds /
ADAM DOTSON - Flugel-Bone!
8pm: TOMCHESS - Oud / ZACH SWANSON - ContraBass!

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. For the next month we have four triple bills in a row! More & more creative musicians want to play here at DMG and we are honored to have them. If you can, please do come down to capture the spirit of creative music live!

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This Week’s Groovy Gems Begins with This one:

JOHN ZORN // BILL FRISELL / JULIAN LAGE / GYAN RILEY - Virtue (Tzadik 8370; USA) A moody and evocative book of spiritual music passionately performed by the remarkable acoustic guitar trio of Bill Frisell, Julian Lage and Gyan Riley, whose previous CD for Tzadik Nove Cantici per Francesco d’Assisi was universally acclaimed as one of Zorn’s most beautiful recent projects. Inspired by anchoress Julian of Norwich, a 14th century abbess and one of the founders of Christian mysticism, Virtue is marked by a stunning, seductive lyricism. Softly mystic music that is perfect for meditative late night listening on a cold rainy night, alone or with a loved one.
CD $16


TIM BERNE’S SNAKEOIL - The Fantastic Mrs. 10 (Intakt 340; Switzerland) “Tim Berne recorded for Intakt Records for the first time in 2019 as the saxophonist in Michael Formanek’s Very Practical Trio with Mary Halvorson. Now the New York saxophonist, composer and bandleader presents a new album with his ensemble Snakeoil. After three albums this is the first Snakeoil record to be released on Intakt. The band balances the possibilities of composition, improvisation and the tonal possibilities of an acoustic and electric playing jazz band in an unmistakable way. The Fantastic Mrs.10 is one of Snakeoil's most mature and at the same time most edgy releases. Guitarist Marc Ducret joins the core quartet of Tim Berne, Matt Mitchell, Oscar Noriega and Ches Smith. The band’s sound is also influenced by sound engineer and Berne's musician cohort David Torn, who completes the postproduction. Tim Berne says in the liner notes “I think this is the best one yet. That’s a stupid thing to say, but it’s kind of a culmination. Ches, Matt, Oscar – it’s almost like we always forget what we did the last time out, and that’s a really healthy amnesia. There’s a dedication to moving ahead. They’re truly into it, and it motivates me.”
CD $18


EVAN PARKER / PAUL LYTTON - Collective Calls (Intakt 343: Switzerland) “A big anniversary is celebrated on this recording: Evan Parker and Paul Lytton got to know each other in 1969 and after months of rehearsals their first performance followed in 1970. It was the time of the jazz avant-garde, which renewed and expanded the traditional ways of playing and the Parker-Lytton Duo was an active part of this process. “Over the past fifty years, they have each minutely sorted through aesthetics, methods, and protocols, maintaining an ongoing dialogue. The years have yielded a rich diversity of music, complemented by the current recording, the first to feature only tenor saxophone and a jazz kit,” writes the American jazz journalist Bill Shoemaker in the liner notes. Shoemaker, who supervised the recordings in Chicago, goes on to say: “The dynamic of free improvisation and a long personal history documented on this Chicago studio session bears out what Parker told Bailey forty years ago: ‘In practice, the closest I would get to a laboratory situation is working with the people I know best … the people I’ve played with the longest actually offer me the freest situation to work in.’ On the basis of this unprecedented music, that assessment has stood the test of time.”
CD $18


ROSS HAMMOND / OLIVER LAKE / MIKE PRIDE - Our Place on the Wheel (Prescott; USA) Featuring Ross Hammond on steel guitar, Oliver Lake on alto sax and Mike Pride on drums. Over the past decade & dozen or so releases, I’ve watched Sacramento-based guitarist, Ross Hammond, evolve as a gifted guitarist and strong improviser who works a number of other inspired players: Vinny Golia, Alex Cline, G Calvin Weston & Catherine Sikora. Hammond played mostly electric guitar in the earlier sessions but has more recently switched to acoustic and now steel guitar. One of my favorite sets ever here at DMG (from 2012) was an amazing quartet with Oliver Lake, Vinny Golia, Adam Lane and Mr. Hammond, which was later released on CD. The last couple of times that Mr. Hammond played here, he was playing steel guitar, an instrument more known for older blues musicians and occasional younguns like Dr. Chadbourne.
For this studio session, Mr. Hammond organized a formidable trio with alto sax legend Oliver Lake and beyond-the-categories drummer Mike Pride (Locksmith Isidore to MDC to Pulverise the Sound!?!). Hence all three men have diverse histories. The first piece here is called, “Low Rent” and it is a sly sort of blues with infectious slide guitar, equally old school down-home blues-drenched sax and righteous skeletal drums. Perfect music for an old western film noir, hot & sticky with the soft breeze blowing the sagebrush across the desert. One of the things that makes this disc special is the way it is recorded, superbly, warm and balanced just right. Another highlight is that this music is not about soloing but creating a vibe in which all members are integral to the tight group sound. On every piece, it is Mr. Hammond’s steel guitar that is the central figure, like a ghost/voice crying out, “I hear you” is all we can respond. Here at DMG, we all got the blues, more & more every day. This week, we’ve been playing an Allman Bros. Tribute, an old blues comp with Muddy Waters & Howlin’ Wolf, E. Sharp’s Terraplane and some early Rolling Stones. This disc fits in perfectly, it the Real Thing as Taj Mahal used to say. From the righteous beginning to the heart-tugging end, take a sip of some wine or beer, hard stuff or juice (if you’re on the wagon), kick back and savor the moment. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $10 [LTD Edition of 200]


THREE NEW ONES FROM THE SLAM LABEL:

HOWARD RILEY - More Listening, More Hearing (Slam 2109; UK) Featuring Howard Riley on solo piano, recorded in July of 2019 at Porcupine Studios in London. There is a long tradition of great British modern jazz pianists which stretches back to the fifties and really took off during the 1960’s. The giants of the sixties included: Stan Tracey, Pat Smythe, Michael Garrick, Chris MacGregor, John Taylor, Mike Westbrook, Gordon Beck, Keith Tippett and Howard Riley. Of this list, only Mr. Tippett and Mr. Riley are still with us and still recording. Howard Riley’s first album was released in 1967, a trio effort with Barry Guy and Jon Hiseman. Since around 1990, Mr. Riley has upwards of 20 solo piano efforts released (singles, doubles & a 6 CD Set), hence this appears to be his favorite format. For this effort Mr. Riley wrote all but one of the songs with just one cover, “Long Ago and Far Away” by Jerome Kern. Mr. Riley states in the liner notes that these are all first takes to keep things fresh. Listening to this disc, I can almost hear Mr. Riley thinking, taking his time, slowly stretching things out, concentrating on certain phrases, starting in a moderate tempo and slowly building, increasing in intensity, bit by bit. The one cover here, “Long Ago and Far Away” was first recorded by Mr Riley for one of his first trio dates, more than fifty years ago. It is a lovely ballads and is played with restrained grace. Much of this sounds like Mr. Riley is starting with a (partial) ballad, which slowly morphs into assorted fragments. Some of those freer bits are then expanded, twisted and stretched out. The mood here is mostly reflective, so it does take some time to calm down to the essence of what is going on. What works best for me is when Mr. Riley takes a phrase and then twists it in a variety of ways. This is a subtle gem of the more modest kind. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $12 

LOCKED with BRUCE COATES / BARRY EDWARDS / TREVOR LINES / ED GAUDEN - Locked (Slam 5526; UK) Featuring Bruce Coates on soprano, sopranino, alto or tenor saxes, Barry Edwards on guitar, Trevor Lines on bass and Ed Gauden on drums. Thanks to Paul Dunmall and labels like Slam, the UK underground avant/jazz scene continues to be documented for those who still care about creative music. Mr. Coates can be heard on nearly 10 discs with Mr. Dunmall, as well as a few other more obscure characters like Han-Earl Park. Guitarist Barry Edwards and drummer Ed Gauden are also members of the Crux Trio, as well as having a few out on the FMR label. This disc was recorded live at Hermon Chapel in Oswestry in April of 2019. All of the song titles here have the word “Locked” in them, which I find odd since the sound/vibe here is pretty free, flowing and dream-like at times. Both Mr. Coates’ soprano sax and Mr. Gauden’s drums are often sailing together with bowed bass interwoven in places, at least for the first long track. Things slow down a bit for the second track with Mr. Coates playing what sounds like tenor sax. This is another long track which features some strong tenor from Coates plus strong backing from the modest rhythm team especially the inspired mallet work by Mr. Gauden. For “Locked Out”, all four members of the quartet, working well together, listening, reacting and building quite nicely. Guitarist Barry Edwards rubs the strings softly with an object, tapping on the strings carefully, nearly getting noisy at times while the skeletal drums, somber bowed bass and slightly bent Lol Coxhill-like soprano sax float on top. It takes a while but I can hear how well the sax and guitar work well together, creating similar sonic textures which are tightly interwoven as they evolve higher and further out. Another win for the Slam label. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $12

PERLIN NOISE - John Eats Bacon with Francis in the Cage (Slam 5526; UK) Featuring Irene Kepl on violin, Stephanie Schoiswohl on alto sax, Villy Paraskevoulos on piano, Allesandro Vicard on double bass & compositions and Mark Holub on drums. The Slam, FMR and Leo labels seem to consistently release discs from dozens of musicians, many of whom are relatively unknown. Perlin Noise is a quintet who I think are based in Vienna, Austria. I am previously familiar with just 2 of the 5 members, violinist Irene Pepl, who has played here at DMG a couple of years ago and who has a duo disc out with Mark Holub. Drummer Holub is also the leader of the UK progressive band Led Bib, who have a half dozen records out, including a newer one from 2019 on Rare Noise. The leader here is bassist Alessandro Vicard, who is all the main composer. The opening piece, “Barocco”, seems to mix intensely free sections with tight blasts of conducted or written episodes. Mr. Holub is a strong and is featured on “Meloda”. The violin, alto sax and piano play some challenging, tight, written passages throughout most of this piece, in between interludes for just one instrument to play its written part. It is an odd way to balance things and takes some time to get used to since the changes are mostly unpredictable. When things become minimal in certain sections, we start to slow down and listen closer. I like when the piano, bass & drums play one repeating line while the violin and/or alto sax play another intersecting line, with short blasts of solo bits interspersed. I had this disc on in the store then other day when a composer/musician friend commented that he thought it was one the better discs he had heard recently. Good news and he did buy a copy. Time to play it again and listen closer so that there magic is revealed further. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $12


TIM HODGKINSON - Under the Void (ReR Megcorp ReR TH4; UK) Considering that Tim Hodgkinson was a founding member of Henry Cow, my favorite progressive band of all time, and that he is the least prolific (release-wise) of the other ex-Henry Cow musicians, I choose to spend more time savoring whatever he does, especially since we have so much time to listen between releases. As a composer/solo artist, he has just a handful of releases since the demise of Henry Cow in 1979, more than 40 years ago now. I have listened to this disc just a few times in the past week and really need to listen more closely without any distractions. The liner notes tell us very little about the way this music was constructed so if we need more to consider, then go here: /www.timhodgkinson.co.uk/void.html. The title piece, “Under the Void”, was scored for is scored for flute, oboe, clarinet (doubling bass clarinet), bassoon, trumpet, horn, trombone, 2 violins, 2 violas, cello, bass, piano, and 2 percussion. There is something dark and completely fascinating going on here. It sounds like different sonic events are floating in and out of our hearing or sight. On a good stereo, like the one I have at home, there is quite a bit of depth and richness to this music. Mr. Hodgkinson does a marvelous job of mixing acoustic & electronic sounds, avant-jazz and contemporary classical instrumentation, ritualistic & more calculated or written types of music, into a superbly homogenous flow. Starting with the post-modern, ultra diverse music of the Mothers of Invention in 1966 and evolving through rock, jazz, modern classical, electronic and ethnic streams, I find this music, this disc to be the best of the many worlds of music that inspire me the most. I sat at the edge of my seat throughout this entire disc and am reminded of why I chose to take music listening so seriously. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $16


CAT HOPE / ERKKI VELTHEIM // GABRIELLA SMART - Works For Travelled Pianos (Hat Ezz-Thetics 1012; Switzerland) As part of her Colonial Piano Project, Australian pianist Gabriella Smart commissioned and performs "Kaps Freed" by Cat Hope, a contemplation of composer Percy Grainger's Free Music ideals, with Stuart James on electronics; and the alliterative "Two New Proposals for an Overland Telegraph Line ..." by Erkki Veltheim, inspired by the 1st piano to arrive in Alice Springs, Astralia. Ms. Hope’s piece, “Kaps Freed” was inspired by Percy Grainger’s microtonal explorations and utilizes electronics to help illustrate or set free the notes between the notes, not readily available on most Western instruments. This piece begins slowly, spaciously with just one note at a time carefully placed with the space between the notes of equal importance. The spaces here are not just silence but seem to resonate with some sort of subtle distant drones. That ongoing hum reminds us that most spaces we live in or visit are not completely silent but soon to have some sonic fingerprint going on, on a most subtle level. The shape of each note is also something to observe and consider since it is not just one note but a collection small fragments which we often hear or think of as one thing. This disc is nearly 79 minutes long so it will take some time to get through the entirety of a 20 minute and the hour long pieces. The Hat label and current Ezz-Thetics series is extremely selective about what they release, hence we often need to take some time get accustomed to what is going on here. The piece by Erkki Veltheim, “Two New Proposals for…”, is the one where the electronics are utilized. Hence, we hear both the piano and other sonically ultra-subtle sounds, some are static-like yet keep changing as they go. The piano is actually in the background a tapping out a repeating phrase (like a telegraph line in the long version of the title) while there are layers of electronic sounds which keep changing as the piece evolves. It is actually the selective use of electronic sounds that keep changing and make this piece consistently fascinating. This disc is another outstanding addition to the ongoing treasure chest of Hatology gems. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $17 [In stock Next Week]


JOHN J. BECKER // FLUX QUARTET - Soundpieces 1-7 (New World Records 80816; USA) John J. Becker (1886–1961) is the least known of a group of composers who, by reputation, became known as “the American Five,” analogous to the better-known “Russian Five” or “French Six.” Becker’s cohorts consisted of Carl Ruggles, Henry Cowell, Wallingford Riegger, and Charles Ives. Ives, born 1874, was the oldest of the group and Cowell, born 1897, was the youngest, and in the 1920s and ’30s they were known as the most radical and dissonant of American composers.
Becker could be briefly summarized as a confluence of dissonance and Catholicism. He became known as one of the leading proponents of a style invented by musicologist/composer Charles Seeger (1886–1979), who had been one of Cowell’s mentors, known as dissonant counterpoint, an idiom in which the traditional rules of counterpoint were reversed to produce maximum dissonance rather than consonance.
In his own writings about Becker, Cowell emphasized his ties to Renaissance church polyphony, calling him “a Sixteenth-Century modern.” For a promotional pamphlet Becker produced, Cowell wrote that Becker “bases his style on the art of the great vocal polyphonists, de Lassus, Palestrina, Victoria, etc. Using their breadth and religious feeling, he has poured his own modern materials into the old polyphonic forms.”
Elsewhere Becker can fall into a kind of modernist simulacrum of Classical-era style, in conventional four-part textures differentiated by the harshness of dissonant intervals between moving lines. He picked up Cowell’s passion for tone clusters, often pitting black keys on the piano against white (in common with some other early moderns like Stravinsky and Ornstein), and he made a notational fetish of large sharps and flats that were intended to apply to an entire chord. In his music, he said, there was no dissonance, because “dissonance replaced consonance as the norm.”
Along with the Symphonia Brevis, the Concerto Arabesque, and a motoric percussion ensemble piece called The Abongo (which the percussion-loving Cage expressed admiration for), Becker’s seven chamber works abstractly called Soundpieces have proved the most public part of his output. This is the first recording to bring them all together, and indeed the first commercial recording of several of them. That John Becker will remain the least-celebrated member of the American Five is probably inevitable. But at his best he achieves considerable eloquence in the then-new idiom of dissonant counterpoint, and a textural momentum and energy that seem all his own.”
2 CD Set $28


GUIDED BY VOICES - Surrender Your Poppy Field (Guided by Voices 098; USA) "Starting off the year with a 100-song marathon in Los Angeles on New Year's Eve, Robert Pollard is setting a mighty high bar for Guided By Voices in 2020. Following three acclaimed and stylistically distinct full-length albums in 2019, Surrender Your Poppy Field, is a head spinning tour de force: a bit of everything... plus more! And hands down the most adventurous GBV album ever. There are lo-fi four-track tape recordings, there are songs recorded with a single microphone in a basement, there are big studio fully produced hook-laden pop songs, and there is a lot in between. Seemingly, the guiding concept of Surrender Your Poppy Field was to make the songs sound as different from one another as possible: sudden shifts in mood, tempo and rhythm, unexpected chord progressions, false endings and codas, string orchestrations, mysterious voices... It's an exhilarating and dizzying trip to an inventive world of strange characters: Andre the Hawk, Queen Parking Lot, the Cul-de-Sac Kids, the Hard Hitter, the Steely Dodger, the Stone Cold Moron, A Man Called Physician, A Man Called Blunder... Not content with their usual mastery of the 4 P's (punk, pop, prog, psych) Professor Pollard pushes the envelope on Poppy Field, and continues to redefine GBV from a myriad of angles. Anyone who thinks that he's gotten complacent after 104 albums hasn't been paying attention! Don't miss out."
CD $17


ULRICH KRIEGER // ALVIN LUCIER / PHILL NIBLOCK / JOHN CAGE / JOHN DUNCAN / LEE RANALDO / PHILIP GLASS / STEVE REICH / TERRY RILEY / et al - Wall Of Sound: Drones Patterns Noises (Sub Rosa 478; Belgium) “Wall of Sound is a music of sonic sensations. It is a physical and sensual approach to the phenomenon of thick sound worlds. Sound waves become physical objects, four-dimensional sonic sculptures to be experienced, bodily and mentally. Ulrich Krieger's Wall Of Sound is a series of CDs about music that invites the listener to indulge themselves in sound. It doesn't guide an audience through a narrative, like a song, but offers the listener slow changing and developing soundscapes, acoustic sculptures, to immerse themselves in. How listeners move in and through these sounds is up to them: meditative drifting along, focusing on certain small details of sounds, letting themselves be taken away by emerging psycho-acoustic phenomena or going back and forth between listening attitudes. Wall Of Sound features compositions by: James Tenney, John Cage, Alvin Lucier, Phill Niblock, Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Terry Riley, Lee Ranaldo, Boris Hegenbart, Zbigniew Karkowski, Ulrich Krieger, John Duncan. 3CD set comes in a digipack; includes 16-page booklet.
Ulrich Krieger is well known as a saxophone player in contemporary composed and free improvised music as well as a composer of chamber music and electronic music. His recent focus lies in the experimental fields and fringes of contemporary pop culture: somewhere in the limbo between noise and heavy metal, ambient and silence. He also arranged works by Merzbow, Throbbing Gristle, Deicide, Terry Riley, Henry Cowell, and others for chamber ensemble. He collaborates with: Lou Reed, LaMonte Young, Phill Niblock, Text of Light, Lee Ranaldo, John Duncan, Zbigniew Karkowski, Thomas Köner, DJ Olive, Christian Marclay, Kasper T Toeplitz, Antoine Beuger, Radu Malfatti, Mario Bertoncini, Michiko Hirayama, Miriam Marbe, Hans-Joachim Hespos, Ensemble Modern, Berliner Philharmoniker, Soldier String Quartet, zeitkratzer, just to name a few. Krieger has received prizes, grants and residencies from: Kunststiftung Baden-Württemberg, Villa Aurora Los Angeles, Deutsches Studienzentrum Venedig e.V., Akademie der Künste Berlin, "Meet-the-Composer" Forum New York, DAAD, Darmstädter Ferienkurse für Neue Musik, and many others. Since 2007 he lives in Southern California, where he is associate professor for the composition faculty at the California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles.
3 CD Set $21


RAMLEH - The Great Unlearning (Fourth Dimension FM 121; UK) ‘Double-CD version of the critically acclaimed The Great Unlearning album, originally released in mid-2019 as a double-LP by Egyptian label Nashazphone (NP 030LP). This release saw Gary and Anthony not only reunited with Stuart Dennison, Martyn Watts, and Philip Best, but also collaborating with Philip's wife (and Consumer Electronics partner) Sarah Froelich and delivering perhaps their most surprising and immediate work to date. Drawing from post-punk, ravaged psychedelia, raw electronics and, of course, the group's own background as purveyors of music both intense and uncompromising, The Great Unlearning is their most accomplished work yet. This is the culmination of where all their ideas have been heading over the years and undoubtedly proves Ramleh to be completely on top of their game. Packaged in a six-panel sleeve.’
2 CD Set $16


ERIC ANDERSEN - The Crying Space (Recital 065; USA) "The Crying Space holds music and sounds to spawn tears. This double-CD is comprised of two sound pieces by the Fluxus artist Eric Andersen (b. Denmark, 1940). The first CD, Le Chemin Des Larmes, is a sound collage made for French radio broadcast in 1990. Fragile narrations in French and English by the artist and other voice actors, played over a streaming assemblage of tragic classical music. The sound crying, that of a professional Karelian mourner, is infused periodically. The texts describe the social and scientific nature of tears, in the context of Andersen's worldwide 'Crying Space' installations, which the artist describes in detail: 'The first Crying Spaces were made in Holland, England and Scandinavia in 1959/60. They were made quite simple by drawing a circle on the ground and to step inside to Cry. Crying is the only means of human communication that cannot be decoded and interpreted with certainty. You can observe a person Crying but can never determine why without additional information. It could be sadness, joy, pain, exhaustion, pleasure, relief or a particle of dust in the eye. However, if you analyze the hormones and crystals in each tear, you can with scientific certainty declare the specific reason for that particular Crying session. After innumerable Crying Spaces all over the world I had an offer to work with the famous marble from the notorious town of Guilietta and Romeo, Verona, Italy. The Verona Rosso. The editor Francesco Conz from Verona offered to publish an edition in Verona Rosso. Here, I found the opportunity to materialize the old Greek saying that the most fragile and ephemeral part of the human body, The Tears, eventually will change and shape the most solid parts of the world. The Crying Stone saw the light of the Day. Unfortunately not in an edition of seven billions (one for each inhabitant of Earth) but in a number of 19. For each stone a most elegant wooden box in mahogany was made. In this way you could travel with your Crying Stone and have it handy for all occasions.' The second CD, The Crying Place, is the soundtrack to installations at Emily Harvey Foundation in 1990 and Galerie J & J Donguy in 1991. Scarce cassette editions were made for these exhibitions. This is a 30-minute complete recording of a professional mourner as they cry and holler in sympathetic pain. The crying becomes songlike, as the weeping modulates and ebbs." --Sean McCann, January 2020 Gatefold packaging with insert of program notes; edition of 200.
2 CD Set $18


ADRIANO SPATOLA - Ionisation (Recital 067; USA) "Ionisation is the first LP by Italian poet Adriano Spatola. Born in Yugoslavia in 1941, by the age of 23 he became a major force in the Italian avant-garde. 'Towards Total Poetry,' Spatola's critical study on the state of modern poetry, spells out his position: 'to become a total medium, to escape all limitations to include theater, photography, music, painting, typography, cinematographic techniques, and every other aspect of culture, in a utopian ambition to return to origins.' Graphic poetry (cut-up zeroglyphs), volatile and beautiful prose (particularly his books The Porthole and Majakovskij), and of course sound poetry, represented here for the first time. Spatola was the editor of many underground publications: Baobab (a legendary audio-cassette magazine), Tam Tam, and Edition Geiger. Each of his pursuits spread the margins of the format, all done with a relentless, piercing curatorial eye. Spatola has dark, drunken wit in spades. In his sound poems, an even more saturated persona is conjured. A desperate humor sneers through this LP, a humor that has surrendered to the severe joke of life long ago -- lashing out on syllables and ingrown word games. Particularly, his classic 'Aviation/Aviateur' (akin to his 'Seduction/Seducteur', 'Violacion/Violateur' etc.) Read by lesser performers, these pieces would falter and float by in the trough, though Spatola's bull-like confidence tears through. 'Poker Foundation' features the poet hysterically singing 'the play of the words' over a classical radio piece, mocking and squawking against the string swells. Steve Lacy plays scissors, knife, and saxophone on 'Hommage à Eric Satie,' a piece originally recorded for the luxurious Cramps LP boxset Futura. Collaborators Gian Paolo Roffi and Paul Vangelisti are also featured across the collection. The LP concludes with the titular work 'Ionisation,' recorded just days before his premature death in 1988. Feeling his sinking health, his belly in the quicksand, he prefaces the piece, 'a funeral march for my body.' He proceeds to scrape and pound the microphone on his chest, face, and clothing . . . I was born the day after Adriano died, which has some poetic meaning to me, naturally. I am indebted to him, his sickly sweet manner. The opportunity to publish these largely unknown sound works is an honor which brings a warmth to my torso. Much appreciation goes to Giovanni Fontana (poet and dear friend of Adriano), who helped produce this edition with me." --Sean McCann, January 2020 Includes CD and 20-page color booklet with essays by Giovanni Fontana and Adriano Spatola; edition of 250.
LP CD $24


ARCHIVAL & HISTORIC RECORDINGS, REISSUES & RESTOCKS:

ZNR with HECTOR ZAZOU / JOSEPH RACAILLE / PATRICK PORTELLA - The ZNR Archive Box (ReR ZNR Box 1; UK) “ZNR was a Avant-Prog French duo that consisted of composer Hector Zazou and Joseph Racaille both on keys, vocals and on some guitars, reeds and violins by special guest musicians. The band played short, odd songs with bizarre titles similar to that of their main inspiration, Erik Satie. Their main style was that of a chamber rock band with quirky flourishes spread throughout their music. The duo released two albums, one in 1976 titled ‘Barricade 3’ and one in 1980 called ‘Traite De Mecanique Populaire’, before disbanding. Their first album was dominated by synth with their second was nearly entirely acoustic. They are highly recommended to fans of Samla Mammas Manna and the more unusual side of Chamber Rock.” - Prog Archives
Both original ZNR releases ‘Barricades III’ and ‘Traite de Mechanique Populaire’ plus two extra CDs covering all the extra released and a great deal of unreleased material from the band's short career. With a definitive book of memories, histories, reflections, photographs, documents, interviews and other memorabilia from the group's brief but extraordinary career and contemporary commentaries by alumni Joseph Racaille and Patrick Portella. Although the band had a very short life and hardly ever performed live, its three main protagonists all went on to rewarding and unusual careers: HECTOR ZAZOU: His groundbreaking 1983 album Noir et is widely recognized as one of the earliest and most impressive experiments in fusing African and electronic music. Worked with, amongst others Björk, Suzanne Vega, John Cale, Värttina, Jane Siberry, and Siouxsie Sioux. JOSEPH RACAILLE - now writes for theatre, dance, television and film - and is an arranger for inc. Kate St John (95-97) Arthur H (90-97) Dick Annegarn (97-2008) Bashung (97-99) &c., as well as being a member of a number of performing groups. He composed music for the Olympic ceremonies, and has written operas, orchestral works, compositions for choir and songs for various groups and singers. PATRICK PORTELLA is an associate composer with the G.M.E.M. prolific in theatre, the Plastic Arts, sound design and installation work.
I recall digging both albums by ZNR when they were released in the late seventies. Outside of several interesting solo efforts from Hector Zazou in the 1980’s, I haven’t heard this music since it was released some forty years ago. As I listen to this music now, I find it to most charming, I can hear the influence of Erik Satie in there as well. There is something most enchanting going on here, stripped down, lovely, elegant, uplifting… I look forward to checking out the bonus discs and large booklet. - BLG/DMG
4 or 5 CD Box Set $45 [unsure which, but we are trying to find out now]


SUN RA ARKESTRA - Heliocentric Worlds 1 and 2 (Hat Ezz-Thetics 1103; Switzerland) “The two volumes of "Heliocentric Worlds", recorded 7 months apart in 1965, represent perhaps one of greatest chapters in Sun Ra's legacy, bringing together his immense orchestration skills with future-leaning free jazz, allowing his players expanse inside disciplined compositions that reflect on both space and the then-new freedom explored by jazz soloists.
CD $17 [In stock Next Week]

ALBERT AYLER TRIO with GARY PEACOCK / SUNNY MURRAY - Prophesy Revisited (Hat Ezz-Thetics 1104; Switzerland) With the essential sidemen to express his unique voice and approach to free jazz, saxophonist Albert Ayler, double bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Sunny Murray, recorded these sessions in 1964 for the ESP label as "Prophecy", this excellent reissue and remaster also adding the live "Albert Smiles with Sunny" (inRespect) session from the same concert; essential. This disc is some 76 minutes long and has much better sound than the original ESP album that was released as ‘Prophecy’, which was also pretty short.
CD $17 [In stock Next Week]


MILES DAVIS with CARLOS GARNETT / REGGIE LUCAS / PETE COSEY / KHAHIL BALAKRISHNA / CEDRIC LAWSON / BADAL ROY . MTUME / AL FOSTER - Miles Davis In Concert (Music on CD 13892; Netherlands) "In Concert is a live double recorded in 1972 at the Philharmonic Hall in New York City. This album brings the funk from the outstanding studio sessions that brought On The Corner, with a taste of the sonic boom captured in Agharta and Pangaea.'Rated X' kicks off the album starting from a rhythmic babble to a swelling wave of funk, until Mike Henderson enters in the middle of Miles's wah-wah trumpet solo. Throughout the concert its Mtume's congos, Badal Roy's tablas and Khalil Balakrishna's sitar that make this album a spicy world music gumbo, another brew that Miles masterfully stirs with his trumpet."
2 CD Set $18


MICHAEL CHAPMAN - Plaindealer The Twisted Road (Secret Records Crest CD 10; UK) The album begins with what's perhaps more of a slowburner, a typically laconic, understated drawl through the old Vipers' cut Streamline Train (which Michael dedicates to John Pilgrim), which builds superbly before when time's up chuntering off into the railroad-distance leaving only the melancholic traveller to reflect Where Does That Leave Me? (to the accompaniment of the plaintive whining dobro of guest Rod Clements, who'd last appeared with Michael on record on Looking For Eleven some 25 years ago). Later on, there's the delicate instrumental Georgia Gibson which you'd think was an ode to a beautiful woman but it's actually dedicated to a guitar (well, that's the nearest equivalent for many folks I suppose!). Another equally delicate instrumental cut, Three Sisters, revisits the modal tunings and intricate interplay of Not So Much A Garden… , wherein those seemingly effortless gliding fingers weave filigree harmony with added harmonics. Woody Guthrie's Deportees is sung with conviction and meaning, yet its long-and-lovingly-moulded phrasing, refreshingly bringing the tenor of the song back to its poignant reality, doesn't drag in the slightest even though the track stretches to over seven minutes as I was surprised to find. Similarly, Youth Is Wasted On The Young, another of Michael's ironic reflective laments for time past and times that might have been, barely feels its near-six-minute timespan and sounds freshly-conceived in its new solo acoustic garb (which I actually rather prefer to its old Savage Amusement band arrangement).
On a couple of tracks (the classy observational Ramon & Durango and the stomping Midnight Ride) Michael enjoys the benefit of a small but perfectly-formed band setting, where he's joined by some great dobro playing from Rod Clements, as well as that excellent steel quitar player Jeff Betsworth, drummer Charlie Crut (who'd been part of Michael's Savage Amusement band with Rick Kemp) and B3 merchant Alex Warnes. The CD closes (at any rate officially!) with its most overt curiosity – a programmed-beat-backed rendition of Bon Ton Roolay, that catchy little number familiar to Chapman fans from live gigs for what seems like forever tho' this version has been concocted out of the bare bones of a track Michael recorded in the 80s for an album that never got made (Whispered Evidence). But as if to say we shouldn't be ready to slope off quite yet, Michael allows us to eavesdrop on his answerphone! Well, even by Michael's own exacting standards this is a tremendous album, one which I hope gets to be released to a wider audience than the existing coterie of enthusiasts, for in terms of artistic integrity alone it easily strides well ahead of so many "properly-released" albums.” ‘Plaindealer’ review by David Kidman
2 CD Set $18


ANDREY TARKOVSKY/EDWARD ARTEMIEV - Solaris. Sound And Vision: The Film Album (Song Cycle 001; UK)”Song Cycle Records announce the release of Solaris. Sound And Vision: The Film Album, in collaboration with the Andrey Tarkovsky Institute. A collector's edition book that includes the exclusive photo book with unreleased images of the movie set and essays about music and cinema of the duo Andrey Artemiev and Edward Tarkovsky, and the soundtrack on CD realized by the great Russian composer Edward Artemiev for the Andrey Tarkovsky's masterpiece film Solaris (1972). List of contents: Dialogue with Andrey Tarkovsky about science-fiction on the screen by Naum Abramov; Interview with Edward Artemiev; Music in Solaris and other Andrey Tarkovsky films by Roberto Calabretta; Exclusive and unreleased images from Solaris. Deluxe photo-book (hard-cover); 30x30cm, 96 pp, 73 photos, 7 illustrations; limited edition of 1000.
CD BOOK $50


ORGANISATION - Tone Float (Inner Space 2201; UK) “Inner Space present a reissue of Organisation's Tone Float, originally released in 1970. German rock band, Organisation, is often referred to as the prototype or predecessor of Kraftwerk -- the godfathers of electronic music. In fact, it was the first iteration of Kraftwerk and if the band had managed to overrule its record label, RCA, Tone Float would have been credited as such. But given that the album was to be released only in the United Kingdom, the label opted for the more Anglicized name, "Organisation". Tone Float is the only album produced under this name and is a seminal example of the genre. Audiences in West Germany were fortunate enough to watch and listen to the whole album, played live for German television station, EDF, and it is this broadcast featured here. The bonus track "Vor Dem Blauen Bock" (more accurately, "Rückstoß Gondoliere"), is a notable rarity in that it includes a later Organisation line-up consisting of Kraftwerk's Florian Schneider and Klaus Dinger, and Michael Rother who would go on to form the band, Neu! Personnel: Ralf Hutter - organ; Basil Hammoudi - glockenspiel, conga gong, musical box, bangos-voice; Florian Scheider-Esleben - electric flute, alto flute, bell, triangle, tambourine, electro-violin; Butch Hauf - bass, shaky tube, small bells, plastic hammer; Fred Monicks - drums, bongos, maracas, cowbell, tambourine. Four-panel digipack; includes eight-page, full-color booklet with background notes and images.”
CD $17


ROGER TELLIER-CRAIG - Etudes (Second Editions 008; Germany) “Second Editions presents Études by Roger Tellier-Craig. This CD holds four new compositions conceived by Roger Tellier-Craig during his studies at the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal. Merging subject into object, opposing chance to narrative, putting source against sound. Tellier-Craig constructs and simultaneously questions the relation of composition and/as deconstruction. These pieces, or studies, are as much about organization as they are about irruption, or attention and idleness. Seeking to configure tensions through the use of differences, creating an extensive network of relationships between differing sonic phenomena. Time and sound coherent and in contrast in an acoustic space. But this goes beyond homage, and has nothing to do with electroacoustic nostalgia. These pieces carry a present-day urgency. What does it mean to utilize, to arrange, to listen? Edition of 300.”
CD $15

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

FOCUS ON BILL COLE and His UNTEMPERED ENSEMBLE. This is the first time we’ve listed all of these disc together plus the prices have been reduced. Most of these releases have reviews which are listed below. I’ve listened to about a half dozen of these discs in the past week or two and I am most impressed by the spirits which flow throughout, bringing us together and giving us a chance to consider the world we are currently living in…

BILL COLE / WARREN SMITH / JOE DALEY - Untempered Trio (Shadrack 1001; USA)
CD $14

BILL COLE'S UNTEMPERED ENSEMBLE With COOPER-MOORE / WILLIAM PARKER / WARREN SMITH - Live in Greenfield, Massachusetts 11/20/99 (Boxholder 008/009; USA) rel 2000
2 CD Set $18

BILL COLE'S UNTEMPERED ENSEMBLE With JOE DALEY/WILLIAM PARKER/SAM FURNACE - Duets & Solos, Vol. 2 (Boxholder 015; USA) - rel 2001
CD $14

BILL COLE'S UNTEMPERED ENSEMBLE With COOPER-MOORE/WILLIAM PARKER/WARREN SMITH - Duets & Solos, Vol. 1 (Boxholder 011; USA) - rel 2001
CD $14

BILL COLE'S UNTEMPERED ENSEMBLE With COOPER-MOORE / WILLIAM PARKER / WARREN SMITH et al - Proverbs For Sam (Boxholder 056; USA) rel 2008
CD $14

BILL COLE'S UNTEMPERED ENSEMBLE With COOPER-MOORE / WILLIAM PARKER / JOE DALEY / SAM FURNACE / WARREN SMITH et al - Seasoning the Greens (Boxholder 031; USA) - rel 2001
CD $14

BILL COLE & WILLIAM PARKER - Two Masters: Live At The Prism (Boxholder 047; USA)- REL 2005
CD $14

BILLY BANG / BILL COLE - Bang-Cole (Shadrack 01; USA)- Rel 2010
CD $14

UNTEMPERED ENSEMBLE [BILL COLE/JOE DALEY/WARREN SMITH/ATICUS COLE/SHAYNA DULBERGER/RAS MOSHE/ALTHEA SULLYCOLE] - Untempered Ensemble: Recorded Live At The Black Box Theater, Syracuse U, September 12 2009 (Shadrack 02; USA) - rel 2011
CD $14

UNTEMPERED ENSEMBLE [BILL COLE/JOSEPH DALEY/RAS MOSHE/SHAYNA DULBERGER/WARREN SMITH/ALTHEA SULLY-COLE/LISETTE SANTIAGO] - Politics: Tribute To Jayne Cortez (Shadrack 03; USA) rec & rel 2013
CD $14

BILL COLE'S UNTEMPERED ENSEMBLE With LISETTE SANTIAGO / WARREN SMITH / BILL COLE / RAS MOSHE / GERALD VEASLEY - Sunsum (Bill Cole 03; USA) rel 2014
CD $14

BILL COLE & JOSEPH DALEY - Trayvon Martin Suite (Joda 03; USA) - 2015
CD $14

BILL COLE & GERALD VEASLEY - Still Breathing (Bill Cole BC 05; USA) - rel 2017
CD $14

BILL COLE & ALEX BLAKE - Still Breathing 2 (Bill Cole BC 07; USA) - rel 2018
CD $14

BILL COLE’S UNTEMPERED ENSEMBLE with WARREN SMITH / JOE DALEY / WILLIAM PARKER / COOPER-MOORE / SAM FURANCE / ATTICUS COLE / PATRICIA SMITH - The Living Lives Not Among the Dead, Why Seek it There? (Bill Cole 06; USA) - Rec NYC Oct 11, 2002 / rel 2018
CD $14

BILL COLE & UNTEMPERED ENSEMBLE with JULIUS HEMPHILL / JOSEPH DALEY / OLU DARA / ABDUL WADUD / GERALD VEASLEY / HAFIZ SHABAZZ / WARREN SMITH - Music for Yoruba Proverbs [2 CD Set] (Self-Produced; USA) - rel 2020
2 CD Set $18


BILL COLE CD’S with REVIEWS:

BILL COLE / WARREN SMITH / JOE DALEY - Untempered Trio (Shadrack 1001; USA) Featuring Bill Cole on nagaswarm, hojok, sons, shenai & balaphon, Warren Smith on multi-percussion and Joe Daley on tuba, baritone horn & synth. This disc was record at two studio sessions in November of 1991 and September of 1992. Bill Cole’s first record as a leader or co-leader was ‘First Cycle’ with Sam Rivers & Warren Smith from 1980. Mr. Cole, who has a PhD in Etnonmusicology, authored several books Miles Davis and John Coltrane and founded the Untempered Ensemble in 1992. This is their first recording, released in 1992 and they were/are a trio with two other members Joe Daley on tuba and Warren Smith on percussion. Mr. specializes in rare double reed instruments like shenai, nagaswarm, suona and hojok. The Untempered Ensemble still exists in 2020 and has more than ten releases. There is where it began, as a trio. The basic sound is Mr. Cole’s various double reeds soloing one at a time on top of the constantly swirling tuba & drums rhythm team. The titles of many of these pieces come from proverbs that Mr. Cole has studies. “Evil Sown by a Man will Grow on his Children’s Heads’ is first. Mr. Cole takes a long bent-note solo on the nagaswarm, a rare Indian double reed that was also played Charlie Mariano. Mr. Cole takes his time exploring the textures and tones of chosen double reed. On “Peace for Nagaswarm”, Mr. Daley plays synth, creating a somber series of drone lines underneath with simmering cymbals, timpani & other percussion sizzling along. While Mr. Cole solos, the tuba or bari horn & drums, shift rhythmically into a series of grooves, often hypnotic, pulling us along for the ride. Mr. Cole sounds like a snake charmer enticing his listeners with an ongoing dialogue, pied piper of sorts. As time went on, Mr. Cole would add other instruments and thicken the sound. This is a fine to begging with the Untempered Ensemble. - BLG/DMG
CD $14

BILL COLE'S UNTEMPERED ENSEMBLE With COOPER-MOORE / WILLIAM PARKER / WARREN SMITH - Live in Greenfield, Massachusetts 11/20/99 (Boxholder 008/009; USA) A two CD live set featuring Bill Cole on exotic instruments from around the globe, Cooper-Moore on flute & hand-made instruments, Sam Furnace on alto sax & flute, Joe Daley on tuba, William Parker on bass and Warren Smith & Atticus Cole on percussion. Bill Cole is teacher and traveler with a vision of creating a new world by uniting various streams of instruments and spirits from faraway lands into his 'Untempered Ensemble'. Bill plays digeridoo from Australia, sona from China, Tibetan trumpet & hojok from Korea, shenai & nagaswarm from India and bamboo flute from Ghana. Our own local hero Cooper-Moore also plays a half dozen of his own exotic hand-made instruments. Both Bill's & Cooper-Moore's exotic instruments buzz, hum & drone with infinite possibilities of sounds/notes that fall between the notes we are accustomed to in the west. This double cd of cosmic world music contains three long tracks, each with an important theme. "Struggles of Fanny Lou Hamer" is dedicated to a civil right worker of the same name. It is an enchanting world of swirling flutes, yawning reeds, delicate percussion, droning bowed bass, a most natural vibe glows with gentle wonder. About halfway through, the ensemble finally cuts loose and the rambling rhythm team pushes the horns into a quiet storm. Exotic gongs and strange horns or reeds open "The Short Life of Amadou Diallo", eventually the violent execution of an innocent victim erupts through the music with layers of horns & the rhythm team blasting, so that no one will forget this sad incident that stains our recent history. The final work is a cd length piece called "Freedom 1863: A Fable" which reminds us of historic figures/freedom fighters like Harriett Tubman, Marcus Garvey, Rosa Parks and Malcom X. This piece also begins peacefully like sunrise in an African village, the somber buzz of a digeridoo, mumbled horns & natural percussion slowly escalating as the day gets underway. Bill's double reed begins chattering as the other horns circle with fierce pride. The entire piece moves through sections of calm & dreaminess, time to ponder those who have fought & died for our freedom. Bill Cole & his ensemble often capture an endearing and exotic spirit that transports us on our journey to other worlds. You too can take this special trip - BLG
2 CD Set $18

BILL COLE’S UNTEMPERED ENSEMBLE with WARREN SMITH / JOE DALEY / WILLIAM PARKER / COOPER-MOORE / SAM FURANCE / ATTICUS COLE / PATRICIA SMITH - The Living Lives Not Among the Dead, Why Seek it There? (Bill Cole 06; USA) The Untempered Ensemble features Bill Cole on double reeds & didgeridoo, Joe Daley on baritone horn, tuba, trombone & double reeds, Cooper-Moore on hand crafted instruments, Sam Furnace on alto sax, flute & double reeds, William Parker on acoustic bass, Warren Smith & Atticus Cole on multiple percussion and Patricia Smith - voice. Recorded live in NYC in October of 2002. The words that inspired this concert/disc were written by Chief Fela Sowande from his book, “The Learning Process”. This disc begins with the drone of a didgeridoo resonating at the center plus soft spinning percussion and perhaps Cooper-Moore’s handmade sounds. Spoken word vocalist, Patricia Smith, does a fine job of delivering the provocative, thoughtful words of Mr. Sowande over the ritualistic music of this spiritual sounding ensemble. Slowly several layers of double reeds, brass, bowed bass and percussion transmit a vibe of concentrated inspiration set free and flowing. Ms. Smith repeats a certain paragraph over and over so that we can think about the meaning within and reflect on our own lives, observing what part we are playing in the ongoing struggle to survive and rise above the quicksand of the Greed and Insensitivity of the lives we are all living today. The sound of those double reeds which most of the members of this ensemble play on this disc, sound like spirits or ghost being set alight, beyond the everyday to remind us that we are more than just our thoughts and words and have the ability to transcend and transform into something better. Take some time and listen to this disc a few times and think about why we are here and what we can do to make the Planet Earth a better place. Amen. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG - 2/20/20
CD $14

BILL COLE & WILLIAM PARKER - Two Masters: Live At The Prism (Boxholder 047; USA) “Bill Cole and William Parker have much in common: belief in the healing and transforming power of music, respect for non-Western musical forms, and a commitment to free improvisation. Cole's Untempered Ensemble, which has included Parker in recent years, as well as Parker's prolific output with his own Little Huey Orchestra and a multitude of other lineups, have done much to challenge Western musical ethnocentricities and blow a fresh wind through creative jazz.
With all those credits behind and around it, Two Masters: Live At The Prism is, it's disappointing to report, unremarkable stuff. This is the first full-length recording Cole and Parker have made as a duo, and the nakedly unforgiving nature of the stripped-down lineup reveals a fundamental mismatch.
Parker is a world class musician with consummate technical facility and an awesomely inventive and fulsome talent for improvisation, a twenty-first century urban superhero griot out of the top drawer. Best known as a writer and academic, Cole the musician is simply not in the same league. He's coming from the right place, and he's technically adept on the Eastern double-reed instruments which are his specialty, but his improvisations only infrequently rise above blissed-out stasis, in great contrast to Parker's provocative, searching restlessness and talent for gripping motivic development. In the less exposed context of the Untempered Ensemble, Cole can make a more useful contribution—his exotic instruments provide color while other members of the band move things forward. In a duo, especially one cohabited by a stone genius like Parker, his limitations are all too apparent.
That said, Two Masters is no train wreck, and it has its moments. The opening "Angels In Golden Mud," with Cole on digeridoo and Parker on West African bow-harp, is calming and centering and works well because neither musician is required to do much more than maintain the vibe for nine minutes. "Waterfalls Of The South Bronx" is tremendous and enthralling, but overwhelmingly for Parker's contributions: it's one of only two tracks on which he plays bass, and he's all over it, sounding like a fully equipped string quartet at times. The closing "Ending Sequence And Sunset" reveals Parker to be a credible player of the Ashanti hour-glass drum, but at twenty minutes it overstays its welcome. There's no doubting Parker's genius or Cole's good intentions, but one master in an unequal partnership does not, on this occasion, make for great or enduring music.” - Chris May, AAJ - rel 2005
CD $14

BILLY BANG / BILL COLE - Bang-Cole (Shadrack 01; USA) Recorded live at the University of Virginia Chapel in April of 2009 and featuring Billy Bang on violin and Bill Cole on shenai, nagaswarm, flute, digeridoo, and sona. William Parker calls Bill Cole "the number one master double reed player on the planet" and the proof is in the pudding. For this superb duo effort Mr. Cole plays three double reeds, the shenai, the nagaswarm and the sona (or suona, a Chinese wind instrument) as well as flute and digeridoo. Another master musician is the ever-amazing Billy Bang who is fine form here. Together, they make a perfect pair of heavy spirits. Bill Cole, who has some half dozen previous discs on the Boxholder label, always evokes a more spiritual side with his music. His music often deals with a cosmic drone which that is ethereal or hypnotic. Choosing to collaborate with Billy Bang is a wonderful idea since both musicians deal with sympathetic vibrations. The opening piece, "Improvisation" features the low-end hums of digeridoo and careful acoustic violin. For the "Shades of Kia Mia", the nagaswarm and violin are especially well-matched since they cover a similar solemn terrain. The nagaswarm is a rare Indian instrument that I've only heard Charlie Mariano playing in the past. It sounds like an animal singing sadly to itself. Billy Bang takes a powerful unaccompanied violin solo midway before Mr. Cole lets loose his own poignant solo. On "Poverty is the Father of Fear", the violin and sona play the twisted melody together bending their tones around one another in a most intense and enchanting way. Even when Mr. Cole calms down and switches to flute, the duo find a way of blending their notes into a special organic tapestry together. Perhaps the best and certainly the most revelatory duo is the shenai & violin, which seem to connect on a variety of levels. Billy Bang reaches deep into his history and quotes lines from "Space is the Place", "Take the A Train" and "Jeepers Creepers" while Bill Cole twists his notes inside-out and also quotes a few familiar melodies. Bang-Cole are a most extraordinary duo to be reckoned with. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
CD $14

BILL COLE & JOSEPH DALEY - Trayvon Martin Suite (Joda 03; USA) Featuring Bill Cole and Joseph Daley collectively on tuba, didgeridoo, balaphon, nagaswarm, wooden flutes, ocarina, sona, sousaphone, euphonium, etc. The collective consciousness here in the US has been suffering from the news we all hear about every day. Trayvon Martin is just one of many black youths who have been unjustly murdered over the past few years and way before that as well. We all feel the anger, frustration, sadness, confusion and hopelessness in the air and it just keeps getting worse. Is it an artists' or a musicians' job to help us deal with these feelings? Perhaps. Here is a disc that illustrates these feelings. It was recorded live at the University of Virginia in March of 2012. The first piece is a duo of didgeridoo (Aboriginal drones) and balafon (large marimba-like), both ancient, ritualistic instruments from different parts of the world (Africa & Australia), that sound perfect together. The music has a sublime, warm, somber, earthy and prayer-like resonance. The second piece, "Evening Passage to Store" for ocarina & wooden flutes creates a playful, joyous, innocent vibe. "Stalking Nightmare" features a nagaswarm (Indian double reed) and synth, the vibe is quite nightmarish, the way many of us felt when we heard about this unfortunate injustice. Each piece does a great job of capturing the spirit/vibe of what transpired that night and the mixed feelings we are all still dealing with due to too many other similar, continuing tragedies. This is an important, strong and immensely timely work that should be heard by many folks everywhere. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14

BILL COLE'S UNTEMPERED ENSEMBLE With COOPER-MOORE/WILLIAM PARKER/WARREN SMITH - Duets & Solos, Vol. 1 (Boxholder 011; USA) “Bill Cole’s debut disc for Boxholder described the myriad strengths of his Untempered Ensemble at full muster ranging through a handful of powerful and highly personal compositions. Comprising a formidable roster of improvisers including Cooper-Moore, William Parker and Joseph Daley, and adhering to Cole’s rubric of incorporating non-Western instruments into jazz-based improvisatory settings the group was an ingenious amalgam of new and traditionally grounded sonorities. The 2-disc set turned out to be one of the most original and thought-provoking releases of 2000. This second release is culled from a performance that followed the day after the one issued on the first where Cole chose to pair with several colleagues from the Ensemble project in stripped down duo settings and bookended the program with two solo performances, the first for flute and the second for shenai
While the compositions and playing remain passionate and personal and there are many moments of brilliance on the sophomore effort, Cole’s expectations on his audience are even higher and overall the music is even more demanding than it’s predecessor. Devoid of the broad palette of textures and colors afforded by large ensemble Cole is forced to work much more within the parameters of his own instruments, many of which were not designed for a wide dynamic range of expressive capabilities. As a result, their limitations as extended improvisatory vehicles are brought into bolder relief. Even with Cole’s broad array of extended techniques (multiphonics, vocalizations, etc.) the opening piece for flute suffers in this respect and threatens to slip into redundancy toward its close. Conversely the second piece stands as one of them most engaging pieces of music I’ve heard in recent memory. Cooper-Moore is a genius- an instrument-maker and improviser who is completely comfortable in seemingly any setting. On homemade hoe-handled harp he plucks out a gossamer latticework of Eastern-tinged angelic patterns that simulate the sky to Cole’s droning didgeridoo earth. Shenai and diddley-bow are matched on “W.S.C. & G.Y.A. Blues” trafficking in a weird strain of Middle-Eastern funk. Cooper-Moore’s diddley-bow, an amplified one-string instrument, lays down a viscous vamp and Cole soars above. Again the temporal dimensions of the piece surpass the variations achievable by the instruments. In addition Cooper-Moore’s ‘bow’ sacrifices some clarity through muddy amplification.
Cole and Smith convene on the next two tracks, first meshing circular blown Tibetan trumpet with gongs before moving into a conversation between sona, shenai and trap drums. More meditative than overtly musical these pieces also require that listeners subsume expectations and simply attend to the sounds on their own terms. Of the two Smith’s dynamic drumming on the second piece makes it slightly more accessible, but both pieces repay attentive listening in the textures and communication they unveil. Cole’s solemn piri and Parker’s pitched string bowing mix sharply on the next composition creating another atmosphere of Eastern-inflected sonorities that rises into a flurried patchwork of tone colors. Closing with a solo shenai invocation in honor of former friend and colleague Clifford Thornton Cole leaves the way wide open for Volume 2.” - Derek Taylor, AAJ
CD $14

BILL COLE & WILLIAM PARKER - Two Masters: Live At The Prism (Boxholder 047; USA) Featuring Bill Cole on digeridoo, flute, sona, shenai, nagaswarm, hojok & voice and William Parker on bass, doson ngoni, flute, nagaswarm, talking drum, whistle & voice. This sublime gem was recorded live in Charlottesville, Virginia on April 1st of 2004 and is one of the most enchanting duo efforts in recent memory. There is an exquisite balance of mostly two exotic and ancient sounding acoustic instruments on each piece. Both of these musicians are masters of a verity of ethnic instruments, strings, double reeds, flutes, percussion and the digeridoo. Listening to the harp or kora-like doson ngoni, I am reminded of the magic music of Don Cherry, who also played that and a number of the same instruments found here. Contrabassist supreme, William Parker, only plays his main instrument on a couple of the pieces here, but still lets those organic string & wood sounds ring true, vibrate and hum with the natural sounds of life. For those who take the time to listen, this is indeed healing music for the hurting planet on which we all live. - BLG
CD $14

BILL COLE'S UNTEMPERED ENSEMBLE With COOPER-MOORE/WILLIAM PARKER/WARREN SMITH et al - Seasoning the Greens (Boxholder 031; USA) “Bill Cole's music is a treasure for all the world to hear, beautiful art inspired by and borrowed from all cultures and delivered back with love. Seasoning the Greens (both the piece and the album) may be the reedman's most heartwarming and downright irresistible work yet. The hourlong suite has a free-form prologue, followed by Warren Smith's "The Triple Towers of Kyongbokkang," best described as a world-jazz tune. Four sections based on different rhythms follow: two from South India, one from Ghana, and another from Colombia. After a free-form interlude (featuring William Parker's bass solo), proceeds conclude with an American rhythm: a blues. If this breakdown sounds like a collage of disparate influences, it is not. Cole's global conception of music provides the unifying factor. Switching from the didgeridoo to the sona, hojok, shenai, and nagaswarm, he gives each section a different color while his group keeps track of the feel of the piece. Cooper-Moore's very personal handmades add a touch of traditionalism, of the earthly connection between musician and instrument that is at the core of any folk music. Sam Furnace's sax, Parker's bass, and Smith's drums inscribe the piece in a jazz frame. Percussionist Atticus Cole, one of the unsung heroes of creative global jazz (if only people could stop focusing on Cyro Baptista for a minute or two), follows Cole's shape-shifting admirably. Surprisingly, it is the closing blues that sounds the most exotic: How often do you hear a sona (a Chinese double-reed instrument) soloing in that context? A great-sounding live recording from a March 2001 concert in Burlington, VT, Seasoning the Green is a must-have!
CD $14

BILL COLE'S UNTEMPERED ENSEMBLE With LISETTE SANTIAGO / WARREN SMITH / BILL COLE / RAS MOSHE / GERALD VEASLEY - Sunsum (Bill Cole 03; USA) Featuring Bill Cole on didgeridoo, piri, shenai, nagaswarm & sona, Joseph Daley on euphonium & tuba, Ras Moshe on tenor sax & flute, Lisette Santiago on hand drums and Warren Smith on drum kit & percussion. This disc was recorded live at the Evolving Music Series at San Clemente Soto Cultural Center in NYC in July of 2014. This is the 20th year that Mr. Cole has led the Untempered Ensemble which also contains two other original members: Joe Daley and Warren Smith. I have caught (perhaps a half dozen) different versions of the Untempered Ensemble through the years and have always been knocked out by each & every performance. Same for this one. Right from the opening, the sound of the didgeridoo with a simmering layer of percussion (from most of the musicians involved) sounds hypnotic, spiritual, sublime, dream-like. Each musician enters one at a time as the vibe builds. Flowing into the next piece, "The Dove Finds Peace Everywhere", which is a superb, prayer-like work with spirited playing from all: Mr. Cole on a double-reed (shenai ?), Moshe on tenor sax, Joe Daley on tuba, Veasley on fretless electric bass and both percussionists. All of the musicians here are leaders on their own except for perhaps Ms. Santiago who I didn't know before this session. You should recognize all of their names. Philly bassist Gerald Veasley has worked for many years with Odean Pope. His playing here is especially inspired and at the center of most of these long works, even taking a couple of splendid solos. There is a lovely calm vibe inside much of this music which feels just right. The tempo and excitement increases on "Great Loss is Yours if your Love for Another is Not Returned". The spinning bassline and slowburning percussion remind me of the better side of a great fusion band although the inspired solos come from acoustic instruments like another double reed, tenor sax and tuba. All of the music here has a joyous, uplifting vibe which is consistently enchanting. This disc is nearly an hour long and a transcendent aura pervades throughout. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14


BILL COLE & GERALD VEASLEY - Still Breathing (Bill Cole BC 05; USA) Featuring Bill Cole on didgeridoo and Gerald Veasley on bass guitar. Watching the video of Eric Garner and NYC Police was a touchpoint in inflamed racial relations that effected many folks around the world. Mr. Garner was selling cigarettes on the street when the police arrested, put him in a chokehold and soon choked him to death, his last words were, “I can’t breathe”, repeated several times. He had obviously been murdered but the Grand Jury of Staten Island, acquitted the police of any wrong doing. Similar incidents have been happening over and over and over, so many of us are outraged. Mr. Cole created this work to remind us that other African-Americans are still breathing. This disc was recorded live at Brooklyn Commons in October of 2016. The didgeridoo is an ancient instrument, created by the Aboriginal peoples of Australia. It was originally played to accompany ceremonial dancing and singing, a way of bringing together humans and spirit beings. Whether ancient or modern, I have long been fascinated by the playing/sound of the didgeridoo. You should recognize the name of electric bassist, Gerald Veasley from his work with Odean Pope and Cornell Rochester. Although the didgeridoo is a sort-of drone instrument, the sound of it is more complex, churning slowly, similar to the sound of someone breathing in and out, in and out. Mr. Veasley is a master bassist and is the featured soloist here. There are several layers or textures which are in motion when the didgeridoo is played. Certain notes or sounds shimmer in their own unique way. Mr. Cole also adds occasional vocal sounds within the long tones of the didgeridoo, his voice like an ancient spirit being set free. Mr. Veasley plays his electric bass like a harp, strumming it, creating magical, other-worldly sounds. He solos throughout this 40 plus monte disc, telling a long story with his superb playing as he goes. The balance between the spirit of calm and a certain sense of injustice or agitation is what makes this disc worth experiencing time and again. This is transcendent music for our difficult times. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14

BILL COLE & ALEX BLAKE - Still Breathing 2 (Bill Cole BC 07; USA) Featuring Bill Cole on didgeridoo and Alex Blake on contrabass. I have only caught contrabassist Alex Blake on a couple of occasions. One was with a Pharaoh Sanders Quintet at the Knitting Factory, with Mr. Blake’s playing one of the highlights of the set. Each disc that multi reeds player & composer Bill Cole releases has a concept behind it. This disc is part of Mr. Cole’s ’Still Breathing’ series, the first part was dedicated to Eric Garner, an African American street peddler who was choked to death by the police in July of 2014 and then the police were acquitted of any wrong doing in a Staten Island court. Mr. Garner’s last words were, “I can’t breathe”. This disc is dedicated to Mr. Cole’s grandfather, George Cole, the first African American detective in the Pittsburgh police force. Detective Cole made over 200 arrests & convictions and never pulled his gun out or murdered anyone. This disc was recorded live at the Zurcher Gallery in NYC in January of 2017. Mr. Cole plays a didgeridoo, an ancient instrument, created by the Aboriginal peoples of Australia. It was originally played to accompany ceremonial dancing and singing, a way of bringing together humans and spirit beings. Mr. Cole is joined by contrabassist Alex Blake, who I once heard with Pharaoh Sanders and who played some of the best acoustic bass that’s I’ve ever saw & heard live, often strumming the strings like a guitar or harp. The first sound we hear is the didgeridoo, resonating in & out, breathing like air in our lungs or like blood in sour veins. Folks often misunderstand or dismiss the sound of the diggeridoo as just one thing, one sound, but as we listen, there is so much more going on. There are several layers of textures resonating together. Mr. Cole is soon joined by Alex Blake’s dynamic contrabass, bouncing on the strings with his fingers and his bow, these two men are united as one force. There is a common pulse going on through out combining the pumping power of the didgeridoo and the rhythmic groove of hitting and caressing the strings of the bass. This music is ritualistic in sound, like a ceremony for natives no matter what tribe we are from. I took a yoga class earlier today, which always helps me feel better. This music has a similar effect, it is engaging, stimulating, invigorating and making me want to dance or just groove to. Are you tired of the stress filled times we are currently living in??? Then put on this disc for yourself, your friends and your family and dance the night away. We are still breathing and we need to embrace some positive, unifying vibes for a change. This is our medicine, this is our reward. Dig in now! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14

BILL COLE & UNTEMPERED ENSEMBLE with JULIUS HEMPHILL / JOSEPH DALEY / OLU DARA / ABDUL WADUD / GERALD VEASLEY / HAFIZ SHABAZZ / WARREN SMITH - Music for Yoruba Proverbs [2 CD Set] (Self-Produced; USA) Featuring Bill Cole on sona (Chinese), hook (Korea), wooden flute & compositions, Julius Hemphill of alto & soprano saxes, flute & arrangements, Joe Daley on euphonium, Olu Dara on cornet, Abdul Wadud on cello, Gerald Veasley on bass guitar, Hafiz Shabazz on hand drums and warren Smith on drums & balaphon. This is a live date recorded at Symphony Space (uptown NYC) on September 26th, 1986. I have long loved the spiritual side of modern jazz, it still resonates and speaks directly to our hearts, minds and souls. I admire double-reeds specialist Bill Cole, who has continued to breathe life into the cosmic blend of avant-jazz, ethnic influences with spiritual concerns. His sets at the Vision Fest are often highlights. In the late seventies, Mr. Cole was given 500 proverbs from the Yorubas of Nigeria and spent time studying them. For this concert, Mr. Cole took seven of those proverbs and put them to music, organizing an incredible all-star octet to perform them. It is incredible rare to finally get a chance to hear a previously unreleased recording which features these loft/avant-jazz giants: Julius Hemphill (R.I.P.), Abdul Wadud, Olu Dara, Joe Daley and Warren Smith, the first three are no longer involved with music. Commencing with “He Who Beats a Drum for a Mad Man…”, there is a joyous groove going on here. There are several layers of rhythms at the bottom provided by euphonium, cello, bass and two percussionists, with the two reeds and cornet dancing on top. The eight musicians do a splendid job of weaving their lines together in a jubilant, uplifting fashion throughout. The vibe soften sounds like were are at party in an African village with all of the participants dancing together in joyous rapture. The euphonium, which is like a smaller version of the tuba, is often the central voice here with Mr. Cole’s sona or hojok (double reeds) and/or Mr. Hemphill’s saxes or flute interweaving on top. “A Man Sees a Snake, a Woman Kills It” reminds me of “Sitting on Top of the World”, a great blues song that seems to speak to everyone who listens. The late, great Julius Hemphill takes a heart-wrenching alto sax solo the really made me smile, boy I sure do miss that man! Everyone in the marvelous band gets a chance to stretch out with solos and spirited interaction. This is got to be the CD of the month and long lost buried treasure that many of us have been waiting for! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
2 CD Set $18

LP SECTION:

EUGENE CHADBOURNE - Solo Guitar Volume 4-1/3 (Feeding Tube Records 396; USA) "Eugene Chadbourne is one of the great guitar players of the modern era. At the time he began recording in Canada in 1975, his music was a unique syncretic formulation. While its most obvious component was free improvisation in a style then most widely associated with English and European players, his music also contained elements of jazz, country, folk, blues, psychedelic and international sounds, referencing these threads in ways that were so diverse and intensely personalized it would take scholars decades to decode them. Volume 4-1/3 is the fourth of four Feeding Tube LPs in this series, devoted to documenting some of the music Dr. Chadbourne created in the years he lived in Canada, avoiding the shadow of Richard Nixon. As always, exact details of the recordings are vague, but trivial. Here are four tracks of improvisational guitar madness at its most glorious. Describing their textures is a fool's errand, but that is the job I was born to do. 'Bow' is new to me, but the sonics suggest the title may be a practical description of how some of the effects are achieved. 'The Bird', which has been issued on cassette previously, is a wonderful example of Eugene's most swinging jazzbo playing. 'Be' is another piece that's new to me, with long sequences of bent-string attack accruing epic grandeur as they unspool. And 'Mao Tse Tung Did Not Have to Deal with People Who Were Watching Seven Hours of Television Every Day', which was a bonus track on the CDR version of Solo Guitar Volume Two, is a sidelong ode to revolutionary techniques of all kinds, employing a bunch of them as it evolves, with results that are pure bananas. If you play all four volumes of this set in order, you will begin to imagine a whole new universe of guitar technique. We hope they fill in some gaps for you. We have been blown away by each and every one. And would like to thank Doctor Chadbourne for sharing his archives with us." - Byron Coley, 2020 Edition of 400.
LP $24


ONENESS OF JUJU - Chapter Two: Nia (Now-Again 5175; USA) "Essential spiritual jazz originally issued on the lauded Strata-East label. Magical, mystical, Afrocentric, progressive -- words that could be used to describe any number of musical compositions by Sun Ra or his cosmic brothers and sisters, from John to Alice Coltrane, early '70s projects on record labels like Detroit's Tribe or Houston's Lightin' or the interests of one Washington, DC native named Jimmy Gray that centered under one, perfect moniker: Black Fire. Gray spent nearly three decades pushing boundaries as a Black American promoter, distributor and, finally, record label owner. Together with Oneness of Juju's leader James 'Plunky Nkabinde' Branch, Gray oversaw sixteen releases on Black Fire Records between 1975 and 1996. These are the definitive reissues of five of the label's key titles; all were lacquered -- most directly from master tape - by legendary Los Angeles mastering engineer Bernie Grundman, With this set, Oneness Of Juju and Black Fire's story burns forth into its fifth decade, its message not tempered, its sound pure. It's cycle, once again, complete. Each release is packaged in a thick, tip-on sleeve and includes a deluxe booklet with extensive notes on the album, the Black Fire collective, and the musical and cultural revolution they created. Limited edition, one time pressing."
LP $28


CRYS COLE - Beside Myself (Students of Decay 123; USA) "Beside Myself is the second full-length release from Canadian sound artist crys cole. Known to many through her extensive collaborative practice with artists such as Oren Ambarchi, Leif Elggren, and James Rushford, in her solo work cole uses contact microphones, voice, simple electronics, and field recordings to create sonic environments that linger uneasily at the threshold of perception. Demonstrating how cole's work has developed and deepened since the relative austerity of her first solo LP Sand/Layna (BT 017LP, 2015), Beside Myself offers two lushly immersive side-long pieces that explore ideas of compositional drift. 'The Nonsuch' is inspired by the aural hallucinations experienced in the hypnagogic state during the onset of sleep. Opening with scratching contact mic textures and unintelligible vocal murmurs, the piece threads together live and studio performances with field recordings of urban environments to create a texture that is at once seemingly consistent and marked by constant transitions. Individual elements rise up from the background thrum only to disappear just as we become conscious of them; heterogenous sounds and spaces succeed one another with the unassailable logic of dreams. 'In Praise of Blandness (Chapter IX)' also focuses on drift and transition, but in a much more single-minded way. Over a rich, slowly-evolving organ drone, cole reads a passage from the French sinologist François Julien's book In Praise of Blandness (1991) exploring the concept of 'blandness' in the Taoist aesthetics of sound. Beginning crisp and clear, cole's voice becomes gradually less distinct over the course of the piece, the spoken words blurred by resonant frequencies à la Lucier's I Am Sitting in a Room until we are left with only the rhythm of incomprehensible speech. The text that cole reads acts a perfect description of her aesthetic project: 'We hear it still, but just barely, and as it diminishes it makes all the more audible that soundless beyond into which it is about to extinguish itself. We are listening then, to its extinction, to its return to that great undifferentiated matrix'." - Francis Plagne (November, 2019) Includes download code; edition of 300.
LP $18

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Bruce Lee Gallanter’s Recommended Gig List for February, 2020

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 - LINDA MAY HAN OH - FEB 18–22

2/21 Friday
8:30 pm - QUINTET - Sara Serpa (voice) Jeremy Viner (tenor sax) Fabian Almazan (piano) Tom Rainey (drums) Linda May Han Oh (bass)

2/22 Saturday
8:30 pm - Aventurine - Greg Ward (alto, soprano sax) Fabian Almazan (piano) Allan Mednard (drums) Curtis Stewart (violin) Sara Caswell (violin) Benni Von Gutzeit (viola) Jeremy Harman (cello) Linda May Han Oh (bass)

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

The Stone Series at HappyLucky No. 1:
Friday & Saturday, February 21st & 22nd, 2020 - 8:00 PM 9:00 PM
BRIGGAN KRAUSS Solo Alto Sax

HappyLucky No. 1 is located at
734 Nostrand Ave, near Sterling
easy access from the A/C/2/3/4 trains

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The Weekly Bushwick Improvised Music Series:

Monday February 24th

7pm Julian Apter - guitar
Bryant Jackson - tenor saxophone
David Pilla - bass
Kevin Murray - drums

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

9pm Billy Mintz - drums
Roberta Piket - keyboard
Tony Malaby - saxophones
Virginia Mayhew - tenor saxophone
Hilliard Greene - bass

9:45pm Juan Pablo Carletti's Biggish Ensemble
w/ Juan Pablo Carletti - drums
Yoni Kretzmer - tenor saxophone
Hery Paz - bass clarinet
Kenny Warren - trumpet
Jake Henry - trumpet
Thomas Heberer - trumpet
Rick Parker - trombone
Franco Espindola - trombone
Kenneth Jimenez - bass

10:45pm Vinicius Cajado - bass
Caleb Wheeler - alto saxophone
Darren Johnston - trumpet
Lim Yang - bass
Colin Hinton - drums

11:30pm Andrew Furlong - bass
Daniel Carter - woodwinds
Lucas Brode - guitar
Kevin Shea - drums

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

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I-Beam Presents:

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2020 - 8:00 PM 9:00 PM
CHOI / SACKS DUO
Yooni Choi - Voice
Jacob Sacks - Piano

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Zürcher Gallery
Invites you to an evening of music with 

TRILIGHT TRIO
Teri Roiger (voice)
Joel Frahm (sax)
John Menegon (bass)

TUESDAY, February 25, 2020
at 8:00 PM (Doors at 7:30 PM)

The Zurcher Gallery is located at
33 Bleecker St., just wast of Lafayette, NY, NY
www.galeriezurcher.com -
Tuesday - Saturday, noon til 6pm, Sunday - 2 to 6pm

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MARTY EHRLICH Upcoming CONCERT:

Tuesday, March 3, 8PM one set
for altos
Oscar Noriega, Ned Rothenberg,
Andy Laster , Marty Ehrlich - Alto Saxes
Seeds Brooklyn Performance Space ($15 donation )
617 Vanderbilt Avenue, Brooklyn | seedsbrooklyn .org

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The Sounds of Justice

THE SUN RA ARKESTRA Led by MARSHALL ALLEN! Plus

THE WILLIAM PARKER’S CURTIS MAYFIELD PROJECT!

Wednesday, March 4, 7:00pm
The Town Hall, 123 West 43rd Street

The 25th Year Celebration for the VISION FESTIVAl is approaching fast! Join us on March 4th with the Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen and the return of William Parker's Inside Songs of Curtis Mayfield.