DMG Newsletter for October 2nd, 2020

“White and Nerdy” by “Weird Al” Yankovic - Released 2006

They see me mowin'

My front lawn
I know they're all thinking

I'm so white 'n' nerdy
Think I'm just too white 'n' nerdy

Think I'm just too white 'n' nerdy

Can't you see I'm white 'n' nerdy?

Look at me I'm white 'n' nerdy!

I wanna roll with
The gangsters

But so far they all think
 I'm too white 'n' nerdy
Think I'm just too white 'n' nerdy

Think I'm just too white 'n' nerdy

I'm just too white 'n' nerdy

We really white 'n' nerdy

First in my class here at M.I.T.

Got skills, I'm a champion at DND

MC Escher, that's my favorite MC

Keep your 40, I'll just have an Earl Grey tea
My rims never spin to the contrary

You'll find that they're quite stationary

All of my action figures are cherry

Stephen Hawking's in my library
My MySpace page is all totally pimped out

I got people begging for my top 8 spaces

Yo, I know Pi out to a thousand places

Ain't got no grills but I still wear braces
I order all of my sandwiches with mayonnaise

I'm a whiz at Minesweeper, I can play for days

Once you see my sweet moves you're gonna stay amazed

My fingers movin' so fast I'll set the place ablaze

There's no killer rap I haven't run

At Pascal well I'm number 1
Do Vector calculus just for fun

I ain't got a gat but I gotta soldering gun
Happy Days is my favorite theme song

I can sure kick your butt in a game of ping pong

I'll ace any trivia quiz you bring on

I'm fluent in Java Script as well as Klingon

They see me roll on, my Segway

I know in my heart they think I'm
 White 'n' nerdy
Think I'm just too white 'n' nerdy

Think I'm just too white 'n' nerdy

Can't you see I'm white 'n' nerdy?

Look at me I'm white 'n' nerdy!

I'd like to roll with
The gangsters

Although it's apparent I'm too
 White n' nerdy
Think I'm just too white 'n' nerdy

Think I'm just too white 'n' nerdy

I'm just too white 'n' nerdy

How'd I get so white 'n' nerdy?

I've been browsing, inspectin'
X-men comics you know I collect 'em

The pens in my pocket, I must protect 'em

My ergonomic keyboard never leaves me bored
Shopping online for deals on some writable media
, edit Wikipedia

I memorized the Holy Grail really well
I can recite it right now have you ROTFLOL
I got a business doing websites

When my friends need some code who do they call?

I do HTML do for them all

Even make a homepage for my dog
Yo, I got myself a fanny pack

They were having a sale down at the GAP

Spend my nights with a roll of bubble wrap
 Pop pop!
Hope no one sees me get freaky!
I'm nerdy in the extreme

And whiter than sour cream

I was in AV club and Glee club
 And even the chess team!
Only question I ever thought was hard

Was do I like Kirk or do I like Picard?

I spend every weekend at the Renaissance Faire

I got my name on my underwear!


They see me strollin', 
They laughin'

And rollin' their eyes 'cause

I'm so white 'n' nerdy

Just because I'm white 'n' nerdy

Just because I'm white 'n' nerdy

All because I'm white 'n' nerdy

Holy cow I'm white 'n' nerdy!

I wanna bowl with
 The gangsters

But oh well it's obvious I'm
 White 'n' nerdy

Think I'm just too white 'n' nerdy

Think I'm just too white 'n' nerdy

I'm just too white 'n' nerdy

Look at me I'm white 'n' nerdy!

Several years ago, former DMG manager, Chuck Bettis, showed me the video of this song and it completely cracked me up! Check it out: ttps://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=white & nerdy lyrics&atb=v203-1&iax=videos&ia=videos&iai=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9qYF9DZPdw. I had never paid much attention to Weird Al, but I thought he did a great job of making fun of us white folks. I can relate to many of the references here, especially the Star Trek ones. Ever since buying my first Mothers of Invention record, ‘Freak-Out!’ in the summer of 1967, I realized that humor in music, especially satire, was a great way to laugh at ourselves and the usual ridiculousness of life. Laughing has a way of making our lives easier to deal with since we shouldn’t be too serious too much of the time. I recognized that folks often referred to Frank Zappa and the Mothers as “Comedy Music”, but there is so much more going on within that music than just the humor. The past six months has been mostly bad news for just about all of us so take some time a find a way to balance the bad news with some silly stuff. Any suggestions? - BLG/DMG

Frank just sent me this link for a new Weird Al video, released the day after the ridiculous Presidential debate earlier this week. It is hilarious: https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/9458112/were-all-doomed-weird-al-yankovic-presidential-debate-parody

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

This Week’s Newsletter Begins with Three Discs from the PYROCLASTIC RECORDS LABEL:

ANGELICA SANCHEZ & MARILYN CRISPELL - How to Turn the Moon (Pyroclastic Records; USA) Two pianos sounding in tandem can feel – given that the instrument belongs to the percussion family – like a kind of 176-key gamelan, an atmospheric orchestra ringing and resonating and radiating in unity. In that way, the music of How to Turn the Moon by pianists Angelica Sanchez and Marilyn Crispell vibrates with a special, luminous quality. In composing all the pieces for this album, Angelica was inspired by Marilyn’s ever-questing sound and sensibility, as well as the uncommon rapport they share as players and as people. “I’ve always kept in mind that it’s not so much the instruments that make the music – it’s the people in the room,” Angelica says. “Marilyn and I each get different sounds out of the piano, and those sounds exist first in our heads. It can be tricky with two pianos to make sure there is enough space in the music, but she and I complement one another, naturally. Marilyn is a generous, thoughtful person, in music as in life.” Marilyn adds: “I have such love and respect for Angie as a musician and as a human being. Her compositions are complex and interesting, a kaleidoscope of colors and ideas. It was a fascinating challenge to figure out together how to convey them best.” Marilyn has made many beautifully probing records as a leader over the years, including a sequence of albums for ECM highlighted by Nothing Ever Was Anyway: Music of Annette Peacock, a trio classic with Gary Peacock and Paul Motian. She has also collaborated with key figures from Anthony Braxton to Tyshawn Sorey. Angelica, a generation younger, has released a multifarious array of albums as a leader, from solo, duo and trio to quartet and quintet and, soon, an all-star nonet. A keen collaborator herself, she has worked closely with the likes of Wadada Leo Smith and Michael Formanek, among others. It was after Angelica and Marilyn met a few years ago at Karl Berger’s Creative Music Studio workshop in Woodstock, New York, that the pair developed the friendship that moved Angelica to write a set of music for them to perform together. These mysterious, often deeply lyrical duo pieces tend to be relatively brief on the page, with the composer leaving room for expansive improvisation as the mood strikes. She says: “Each piece is designed to be different every time we play it.” In the studio, the two pianists set up at their instruments facing each other, with Angelica appearing in the left stereo channel and Marilyn in the right. As to what influenced how the pieces came to life on that particular day, Angelica says: “The light through the window, the dog on the couch. The little universes that Marilyn and I created in the moment. The love all around.” — Bradley Bambarger
CD $15

ERIC REVIS with KRIS DAVIS / BILL McHENRY / DARIUS JONES / CHAD TAYLOR / JUSTIN FAULKNER - Slipknots Through A Looking Glass (Pyroclastic Records; USA) Featuring Darius Jones on alto sax, Bill McHenry on tenor sax, Kris Davis on piano, Eric Revis on bass and Chad Taylor & Justin Faulkner (2 tracks) on drums & mbira. Over the past decade, Eric Revis has been become of the best and most in-demand bassists around, collaborating with Kris Davis, Branford Marsalis, Orrin Evans and Avram Fefer, as well as having a half dozen great discs as a leader & composer. For this session, Mr. Revis has organized a marvelous all-star quintet, each member a leader in their own right.
The opening song here, “Baby Renfro”, has a sly, somewhat funky groove and make me smile right from the first note, the melody is most infectious. What is most interesting is hearing Darius Jones, Bill McHenry and Kris Davis play so funky. Yeah! “SpAE” features Chad Taylor playing some enchanting mbira (thumb piano) at the center while Ms. Davis mutes certain strings inside the piano, tapping out another uplifting groove, doubled up by Mr. Revis’ tapping out harmonics on his bass strings. “Earl & The 3/5ths Compromise” has a marvelous, laid back groove with both saxists weaving their way around the calm yet spirited groove. On “Shutter” (written by Darius) both saxes play the melody line together while the right of the group, led by Ms. Davis’ piano spins their lines faster and then slower, over and over. Very cool idea! I love the way the aptly titled “House of Leaves” strips things down a hushed, suspense-filled vibe, making each note breathe but not filling in too much. What makes this disc so great is the way the songs are written and arranged, it is not about solo but about thoughtful ensemble playing. Kris Davis’s playing is integral to what makes this disc so great, she is constantly inserting lines throughout, keeping things focused with the rest of the rhythm team, no matter what direction they move into. The icing on the cake is my man Darius Jones, alto saxist extraordinaire, who steps up and plays an incredible solo on “Vimen”, kicking up the energy to a molten level. In so many ways, this is the grand disc of the week! Grab it quick! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15

CORY SMYTHE with KYOKO KITAMURA / MICHAEL MAYO / RAQUEL ACEVEDO KLEIN / STEVEN HRYCELAK / KARI FRANCIS - Accelerate Every Voice (Pyroclastic Records PR 08; USA) CORY SMYTHE - “Accelerate Every Voice” (Pyroclastic Records 08) Pianist Cory Smythe occupies many corners of the new music ecosystem. Whether its through interpretations of Xenakis, edge-pushing collaborations with more conventional classical-world colleagues (like violinist Hillary Hahn), or as a member of Tyshawn Sorey’s Trio (featured on Alloy, among other records) Smythe is known for bringing an expert balance of spontaneity and rigor. That quality is certainly abundant and shines compositionally in his “Accelerate Every Voice”, a direct homage to Andrew Hill’s “Lift Every Voice” (1970 ). Hill’s classic was acclaimed for the relationship to its Third Stream goals, blending small jazz formation and extended vocal ensembles on a level that spoke to the defiant spirit of humanity on a march towards justice. Smythe’s work here serves to repurpose that chemistry for apocalyptic times, writing for an immense range of vocal styles accompanied by microtonal piano and electronics. The piano sound has to be heard to be believed, utilizing a signal trigger inside of the tuning pins to feed piano samples (tuned microtonally to adjacent quartertones), back into a speaker inside the soundboard. The effect is a a truly electro-acoustic piano, with samples and strings living in the same furniture. In Smythe’s vocal writing, the legacy of collegiate acapella ensembles (Yale’s Whiffenpoof’s are name dropped directly in the liner notes), is directly exploited and turned in on itself. Beat boxing and humming patterns create a rhythmic web for Smythe to move through with admirable restraint. A level of deep calculation and intention is felt, and in places he engages in direct interplay with solo vocalists (Kyoko Kitamura and Michael Mayo) in well placed, stabbing vignettes that play to their strengths. Some pieces, like “Kinetic Whirlwind Sculpture II”, eschew rhythmic density for more patient textural utilizations of the microtonal palette, and “Piano and Ocean Waves for Deep Relaxation” is a straight up ambient drone piece. The liner notes convey a direct theme of environmental anxiety, and the glacier on the cover depict an explorer upon a rapidly disappearing and filthy glacier. The feeling of acceleration is clear, and unsettling moments are used to great effect throughout. The place that the record reaches though, is one of defiant acceptance, and a call to embrace the resilience of human potential. - Frank Meadows for DMG
CD $15

VIJAY ANDERSON’S SILVERSCREEN SEXTET with BOBBY BRADFORD / VINNY GOLIA / HAFEZ MODIRZADEH / WILLIAM ROPER / ROBERTO MIRANDA - Live at the Angel City Jazz Festival (Self-Produced; USA) Featuring Bobby Bradford on cornet, Vinny Golia on B-flat clarinet, mezzo-soprano & bari saxes, Hafez Modirzadeh on alto & tenor saxes, William Roper on tuba & buffalo horn, Roberto Miranda on bass and Vijay Anderson on drums & compositions. “Vijay Anderson’s Silverscreen Sextet was first convened in Los Angeles on Martin Luther King, Jr. day in 2017 in a unique domed structure that allowed for immersive 360-degree video projections by Tim Hix, who also provided the cover art for this recording. The group would perform again on Martin Luther King, Jr. day of 2018 in downtown Los Angeles and then later that year at the Angel City Jazz Festival at the World Stage, each time with video projection by Tim Hix. The music and visuals, whose initial inspiration came directly from King’s commitment to social justice, focused on Los Angeles, seen not from the image portrayed to outsiders but from the inside, from the bottom up where wealth inequality, racism, and the struggle against them was most evident.” These are supposed to be dropped off tomorrow - 10/2/20, so there will be a full review next week. - BLG/DMG
CD $14

POPEBAMA with ERIN ROGERS / DENNIS SULLIVAN - Nation Building (Goldbolus GBR 049; USA) Popebama is Erin Rogers on saxes, vocals & electronics and Dennis Sullivan on percussion, vocals & electronics. Last year Relative Pitch released a solo sax CD by Ms. Erin Rogers. Considering that I knew little about Ms. Rogers before that disc came out, I was knocked out by her playing on that disc as well as a solo set she played at DMG no long afterwards. I found out that Ms. Rogers was also a member of a modern classical quartet called Hypercube, whose disc from earlier this year (2020), is one of those under-recognized gems that show up at DMG more often than one might expect. I don’t know much about Dennis Sullivan although he did compose a piece for the Hypercube CD.
This disc consists of four pieces, two composed by Ms. Rogers and two by Mr. Sullivan. It sounds like it mostly or exclusively written out. “Shedding Waste” is tight and focused with layers of ongoing gestures well scripted together. Whispers, odd vocal sounds, minimal percussion and twisted sax sounds erupt tightly together in several spurts. Both voices talk, sing and chant together along with the tight percussion and sax fragments. Some of the vocal parts sound humorous, whether we can make out the words or not. The music is most often minimalist but no repeating patterns, a more stripped down version of Stockhausen... with few extremes. Percussionist Dennis Sullivan is something else, tapping out distant Chris Cutler/Sun-like percussion patter. At times I have to listen closely to tell which is sax or voice or percussion or electronics??? Each sound is carefully placed so that there seems to be some logic or cohesion. Percussionist Dennis Sullivan is something else tapping out distant Chris Cutler/Sun-like percussion patter. At times I have to listen closely to tell which is sax or voice or percussion or electronics??? Everything sounds animated, strange vocal weirdness but still quiet, with a few unexpected eruptions on the last long piece, "Light-On-Light". Rather than sound too dry or serious, the odd sense of humor gives this an uplifting feel, rather than taking itself too seriously. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $12

ALBERT AYLER QUARTET with DON CHERRY / GARY PEACOCK / SUNNY MURRAY - European Recordings Autumn 1964 (Revisited)(Hat Ezz-Thetics 2-1107; Switzerland) “Essential radio and live recordings from saxophonist Albert Ayler's European tour in 1964 with Don Cherry on cornet, Gary Peacock on double bass and Sunny Murray on drums, a quintessential grouping for Ayler's compositions, here in outstanding renditions of classic works including "Spirits", "Ghosts", "Vibrations", "Mothers", "Childrens", plus Don Cherry's "Infant Happiness".
"Revisited" in this context will inevitably make some people think of Revenant, the label that in 2004 issued a nine-CD box of Albert Ayler materials, almost all of them rare and unissued. The release prompted some revisionist thinking about Ayler, who has remained a controversial figure in modern jazz, hailed as a genius, dismissed as a hoax or a man in the grip of an autism, an avant-gardist who suddenly decided to be a populist instead . . . The procession of different Aylers moves on. In a previous issue of the present material on Hatology.
My colleague Andy Hamilton showed how recent thinking had moved away from or at least questioned the validity of the "genius" label. It's a term we associate with virtuosity, which is often a surface phenomenon connected to technique rather than depth or clarity of vision, which can often be expressed in very simple forms. - excerpt from Brian Morton
2 CD Set $18

THE THING with MATS GUSTAFSSON / INGEBRIGT HAKER FLATEN / PAAL NILSSON-LOVE - The Thing… She Knows... (Hat Ezz-Thetics 1028; Switzerland) “Named for a Don Cherry composition included on this album, the core trio of The Thing--Mats Gustafsson on reeds, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten on bass, and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums--is joined by saxophonist and pocket trumpter Joe McPhee, recording classic free jazz and harmolodic pieces by Don Cherry, Ornette Coleman, James Blood Ulmer, Frank Lowe, & Joe McPhee.”
"Albert Ayler and Don Cherry were the gravitational forces which inevitably drew The Thing and me together long before we actually met. In 1963, by chance, I saw the Sonny Rollins Quartet with Henry Grimes on bass, Billy Higgins on drums, and Don Cherry on pocket trumpet at Birdland in New York. I had heard Don with Ornette Coleman on record many times of course, but this experience, up close and personal, sealed my fate with the pocket horn to this day. While serving military service as a trumpeter with the 3rd Infantry Division Band in Wurzburg, Germany, in 1964, I began reading intriguing stories about saxophonist Albert Ayler, but at that time I had not heard his music. I was (and still am) a total Miles Davis fanatic, but by then I had discovered Pithecanthropus Erectus by Charles Mingus. Ornette Coleman was already dancing in my head; John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy were exploring "stellar regions" and "going where no one had gone before." I tried to emulate Coltrane's sheets of sound concept on the trumpet (a pretty stupid idea which was abandoned, though perhaps not quickly enough).
When the army band traveled to Copenhagen, I took the opportunity to visit the Jazzhus Montmartre, hoping to meet Mr. Ayler. Tenor saxophonist Booker Ervin was in the house at that time and informed me that Albert and Don had been there but had just left for Paris. The first thing I did upon release from the Army in 1965, was to find a recording of Albert's music. In a New York record shop, I discovered the ESP Disk, Bells, a clear vinyl wonder with a silk-screen graphic on one side. A voice over my shoulder asked my opinion. It was Donald Ayler, who explained he was a trumpeter and Albert's brother. When he learned I played trumpet as well, he invited me to a rehearsal, but I had no instrument and had to catch a train back home to Poughkeepsie. That was probably a good thing; I might never have had the nerve to pick up a saxophone after being a witness to that. Two years later, at John Coltrane's funeral, I heard Albert Ayler live for the first time. The sound and passion I heard that day, led me in 1968 to begin my explorations of the saxophone.” - Joe McPhee, June, 2020
CD $17

MARKUS REUTER / TIM MOTZER / KENNY GROHOWSKI - Shapeshifters (MoonJune Records MJR 103; USA) Featuring Markus Reuter on touch guitars & electronics, Tim Motzer on guitars, bass & electronics and Kenny Grohowski on drums & metals. The music here was recorded live at Shapeshifter Lab in Brooklyn in August of 2019. After working with King Crimson offshoot band the Stick Men for several years, touch guitarist, Markus Reuter, has become more prolific some six releases on the MoonJune label in the past year and a half. For this disc, Mr. Reuker organized a striking power trio with ongoing sideman Tim Motzer on bass & guitar and Downtown powerhouse drummer Kenny Grohowski, who plays the music of John Zorn for several projects: Simulacrum, Abraxas and the Secret Chiefs 3. The title of this disc, ’Shapeshifter’, has several meanings: it the name of the performance place where this set took place and it refers to shapeshifters, beings in our cultural history who may be just fiction or perhaps something else. I never really thought about shapeshifters until I fell for or a character named Odo, who was on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
This disc has just four tracks, all relatively long. “Dark Sparks” is the longest and it is first. It unfolds slowly and glides like a flock of birds flying in formation above. Guitarist Markus Reuter, who plays in the Stick Men with longtime Crimson bassist Tony Levin, does have a very Frippish tone. Whereas King Crimson are a song-oriented band that do improvise at times, this trio mostly improvises or jams. “Dark Stars” goes from a space/groove flight into more throbbing, rocking groove after a while. The trio come down for a soft landing midway with Fripp & Eno-like guitar and effective keyboard-like electronics and slow-mo drums underneath and finally build back up with a strong, brain-frying guitar solo… it continues and leads to “Transmutation”… a slower, cooler yet more throbbing groove with sleek, sly, rubbery bass, more prog/metal drumming and explosive guitar from Reuter! “Cyphers” sounds like sped-up Fripp & Eno with some strong Bruford-like drumming building up and down in wave after wave. I haven’t heard a truly great progressive power trio record in years but this one really rises above the usual prog outfits I’ve heard in years! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14

MARKUS REUTER OCULUS with DAVID CROSS / MARK WINGFIELD / ASAF SIRKIS / ROBERT RICH / FABIO TRENTINI - Nothing is Sacred (MoonJune MJR 105; USA) Featuring Markus Reuter on Touch guitars, keyboards & soundscapes, David Cross on el. violin & Rhodes, Mark Wingfield on electric guitar, Robert Rich on textures, Fabio Trentini on bass and Asaf Tsirkis on drums. Touch guitarist for the King Crimson offshoot band, the Stick Men, Markus Reuter, continues to evolves and stretch out even further with each of his releases. Mr. Reuter has had five releases so far this year (2020), each one different in personnel and approach. For this disc, Mr. Reuter has taken one of his regular rhythm teams (Trentini & Sirkis) and added violinist David Cross (of Crimson circa 1974), UK guitarist Mark Wingfield and electronics/dark ambient composer Robert Rich on textures. Certainly a unique line-up of sonic explorers.
What I like most about this disc is this: the group here sounds as if they are taking King Crimson, circa ‘Red’ album, when David Cross was in the band and expanding upon that great, throttling, prog/metal/rock sound. While the rhythm team pounds out with some colossal fury, Reuter’s and/or Wingfield’s guitars or soundscapes, Cross’ violin and Mr. Rich’s dark electronics all swirl together into an impressive, electronic storm. Since Robert Fripp was the only guitarist in the original band (1969-1975), he did often overdub other guitar parts. This quintet sounds like they have two or three Frippian guitars, violin and electronics all working well together as one powerful sonic beast. For “The Occult”, the rhythm team plays some dense, throbbing fretless bass and martial drums, while several layers of hypnotic sustained guitars and electronics all pulsate together on top. When the tempo slows down for “Bubble Bubble Bubble Bath”, the layers of guitars and electronic textures blend in a most dreamy, mesmerizing way. For progheads and stoners alike, this music is a perfect escape from the daily nightmares which are affecting us all. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14

MORE GREAT DISCS FROM MARTIN ARCHER’S DISCUS LABEL:

JULIE TIPPETTS & MARTIN ARCHER with PETER FAIRCLOUGH / SETH BENNETT / GARY HOUGHTON / MICHAEL SOMERSET WARD / Et Al - Vestigium (Discus 48; UK) Featuring Julie Tippetts on voice & acoustic guitar, Martin Archer on keyboards, electronics & woodwind, Seth Bennett on double bass, Gary Houghton on lead, rhythm & glissando guitars, Michael Somerset Ward on flutes, & saxes plus another octet. Recorded 2013 - 2014 at Discus Studio. I just realized that Julie Tippetts has been collaborating with saxist/composer/labelman Martin Archer since around 2001 and by now Ms. Tippetts and Mr. Archer have some 7 discs out, several of which are two CD sets. This is great news for us Julie Driscoll/Tippetts fans! Julie Driscoll started out singing with Steampacket (w/ Long John Baldrey & Rod Stewart) and then Brian Auger & the Trinity (check out some of those Youtube vids!). Those 2 & 1/2 albums with Auger & the Trinity still sound great today, more than fifty years later! Julie met & married jazz pianist extraordinare, Keith Tippett around 1970 and moved more into free improv with Keith (in Ovary Lodge) and in projects like SME. She became Julie Tippetts and recorded two great solo albums ('1969' rel 1971) and 'Sunset Glow' (1975). She & Keith Tippett recorded several duo & trio efforts, known as 'Couple in Spirit' and each are riveting! Outside of several orchestral projects with Keith, Ms. Tippetts seemed to be raising her family and recording infrequently in the 1980's and 90's. Since she started working with Mr. Archer, Ms. Tippetts is back to singing songs with, playing guitar, writing lyrics and still experimenting as well. This is the seventh collaboration with Julie and Martin, and it includes drummer Peter Fairclough, who has also worked with Paul Dunmall, Keith Tippett and several projects with Martin Archer. This is mostly a sextet with other Archer regulars, like Seth Bennett & Kim Macari, plus another 8 or 9 musicians.
The first song here is called, “Mandolin Song in Orange” and considering that it has been more than 45 years since Ms. Tippetts has had a song-based record released, her magical, soulful, singular voice still sounds the same, completely enchanting. Her voice is overdubbed in several layers, with sublime backing by Mr. Archer’s superb, stripped down quintet. By overdubbing here vocals, Ms. Tippetts can create several characters interacting with one another. “Shiver Across the Soul” has a sly groove which reminds me of “Walk on the Wild Side” and which makes me want to snap my fingers. One of the things about Ms. Tippetts that I have always admired is the thoughtful lyrics she wrote for Brian Auger & the Trinity, as well as her two early 70’s solo efforts. For this ambitious two CD set, Ms. Tippetts has written the words to 14 songs, her words are most poetic, thoughtful and evocative. Another great thing about this disc is how well it is produced and arranged. Over some 90 discs, Mr. Archer has evolved as an excellent producer who now has a stable of creative musicians who he can count on in many ways. “Firefly” has an soft, uptempo drum machine line at the center while Mr. Archer and Mr. Houghton add their own dreamy keyboards and guitars to the cosmic blend. It turns out the Gary Houghton was once a member of Radio Massacre International, a prog/space-rock band with discs out on Cuneiform. Aside from the main sextet, the other eight musicians (brass, strings & electronics) are used sparingly, with occasional magical tapestry interwoven in and around Ms. Tippetts’ charming voice. I have listened to this disc a few times over the past couple of weeks and am still marveling at how much great music, singing and lyrics are offered throughout the 80 plus minute endeavor. Like all of the other discs that Ms. Tippetts and Mr. Archer have done so far, this is a studio effort. Last year (2019), the FIMAV Fest in Quebec, asked Mr. Archer to do a rare set with Ms. Tippetts featured in the band. It was their first and only live performance. I attended the fest and was knocked out their performance. It was the first time that I got to hear Ms. Tippetts sing at length and she did an incredible as did Mr. Archer’s sextet. I was fortune to have been there and got to have breakfast with Julie Tippetts the next day at the hotel where the musicians and festival-goers often stay. A special toast to Julie Tippetts and Martin Archer. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
2 CD Set $15

SUNSHINE! QUARTET with MARTIN ARCHER / COREY MWAMBA / SETH BENNETT / PETER FAIRCLOUGH - Sunshine! Quartet (Discus 59; UK) Featuring Martin Archer on alto & sopranino saxes, Corey Mwamba on vibes, Seth Bennett on double bass and Peter Fairclough on drums. It is astonishing that British saxist/composer/labelman, Martin Archer, now has 91 releases on the Discus label, many of which are double discs and the majority are either led by or collaborating with Mr. Archer as well. Aside from playing electric keyboards, electronics, composing & producing many of these discs, Mr. Archer is a mighty fine acoustic saxist on both alto and sopranino sax. The Sunshine! Quartet consists of Archer on saxes with Corey Mwamba, great young vibist of the moment, bassist Seth Bennett, who is on several recent Archer discs and the great drummer, Peter Fairclough, who has worked Keith Tippett, Paul Dunmall & Mike Westbrook.
The quartet here is superbly balanced and recorded, warm, mostly acoustic. There are just four tracks here, each member of the quartet contributing one. Mr. Fairclough’s “Four Free to One” is first and features some a cosmic stream of notes from the sopranino and vibes, circulating around one another while the acoustic bass & drums provide an organic cushion below. Mr. Archer’s “It’s Not Finished”, takes off spinning furiously yet maintaining its cool. The band is tight and burnin’! First there is a long vibes solo and then an alto sax solo, both are incredible with an equally impressive rhythm team keeping the flow going. “Alsten” brings things back to Mother earth with a blisterin’ funky/village groove with some slammin’ Fela-like spice. Put on your dancing shoes and get on down! You know that you need the jubilant spirit even more right now so…. Get Down! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14

MARTIN ARCHER / GRAHAM CLARK / STEPHEN GREW / JOHNNY HUNTER - Felicity’s Ultimatum (Discus 60; UK) Featuring Martin Archer on alto, sopranino & baritone saxes, Graham Clark on violin, Stephen Grew on piano and Johnny Hunter on drums. Discus label-head, saxist, composer & producer, Martin Archer, now has a stable of British jazz & creative musicians who he selects from for each of his different projects. This (so far) one-time quartet features Graham Clark on violin (formerly with later Gong projects), pianist Stephen Grew (who works with Trevor Watts & a piano quartet w/ Keith Tippett, Howard Riley & Pat Thomas) and drummer Johnny Hunter (who has worked with Mr. Archer on several projects).
What I like most about Mr. Archer is that writes new music for each of his dozen plus projects, rarely dealing with exclusively free music which is much easier to do with musicians of a certain caliber. Although Mr. Archer wrote half of the ten tracks here, other members of the quartet have also contributed a few pieces. “Amanda’s Drum” starts off with a quick written theme which then slows down to a freer sounding episode. Each of the song titles refer to a thing or an idea which is owned by a different woman. There are two improvised pieces here which sound partially written or at least thoughtfully handled. Unlike many of Mr. Archer’s other projects, this one is mostly acoustic. On “Masayo’s Experiment”, the longer of the two improv pieces, the quartet really stretch out with some incredible tight, intense and festive interplay. The improvised pieces or sections make for some stunning playing since everyone listens closely and reacts by in surprising ways. The written sections bring things into focus and show some tasty fragments arranged in different ways. Violinist Graham Clark, who I’ve only heard from a few times in the past, really stands out here, soloing as well as interacting impressively within different bursts of activity. Archer’s “Rachel’s Walk” features his bari sax leading the way through a strong walking groove, with Mr. Grew’s piano erupting into an incredible piano solo midway. There is way too much great music here to describe considering this disc is some 75 minutes long. Considering that Discus has recently hit their 91st release, how Mr. Archer maintains such a successful batting average is hard to belief. Discus may just be the UK label of the last few years! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14

THREE SUPER-FINE DISCS from The Folks at SUNNYSIDE:

ADAM NUSSBAUM with STEVE CARDENAS / NATE RADLEY & OHAD TALMOR - Lead Belly Reimagined (Sunnyside 1578; USA) Featuring Steve Cardenas & Nate Radley on guitars, Ohad Talmor on sax and Adam Nussbaum on drums. The music of Huddie Ledbetter, better known to the world as Lead Belly, is some of the initial sounds that introduced African American music to the world at large. The presentation of this singular artist changed the way the public heard music and shifted the dynamics in what was soon to come in the music industry, namely the adoption and promotion of Black music as a valuable commodity.
There are reasons aplenty for the music listening population’s attention being swayed by Lead Belly. The songs that he sang were appealingly forthright and uncomplicated. His voice and powerful 12-string guitar were strong and enticing. Because of his magnetism, Lead Belly’s music remains a touchstone in blues’s evolution into rock, soul and jazz music.
Two years ago, Sunnyside released drummer Adam Nussbaum’s first true recording as a leader, and fantastic tribute to one of his idols, The Lead Belly Project. Nussbaum’s band of saxophonist Ohad Talmor and dual guitarists, Steve Cardenas and Nate Radley, ably channeled a program of Lead Belly tunes chosen by the leader, mainly culled from the Folkway Recordings 10-inch records Nussbaum grew up listening to. The project allowed Nussbaum to show another side of his musical character that he hadn’t previously been able to showcase regularly during his remarkable forty-year career.
The ensuing years allowed Nussbaum and company to tour both in the United States and Europe. The group’s incredible chemistry was only heightened by their extended time together. Their program was also expanded as Nussbaum encouraged the others to investigate Lead Belly’s catalog and bring in pieces that they felt would fit within their balance of lyricism and adventurousness.
Nussbaum’s trust in these incredible musicians and their efforts made it easy for them to fully express the meaning in these pieces without any complicated intentions. The roles between the members of the ensemble were fluid and balanced, the only requirement of the guitarists remained to spread out from one another and avoid doing the same thing.
In July of 2019, Nussbam and the ensemble returned to Talmor’s home studio, Seeds, in Brooklyn. They recorded with no separation between the musicians and entirely live. The musicians’ comfort with the material and each other can be heard in the results, as the pieces have an emotional intimacy that goes beyond their prior efforts. The result of these recordings can be heard on their new album, Lead Belly Reimagined.
CD $15

DIEGO URCOLA QUARTET Featuring PAQUITO D’RIVERA with ERIC BOOD / HAMISHI SMITH - El Duelo (Sunnyside; USA) Originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Urcola has been a part of the New York City jazz scene since the 1990s. His work with D’Rivera, Guillermo Klein y Los Guachos, Enrico Pieranunzi, and as a leader has been celebrated by many, even garnering him a Grammy nomination for his album, Soundances.
Urcola’s almost thirty-year relationship with D’Rivera, one of jazz music’s true virtuosos, has been extremely valuable. The diverse projects and performance schedules have allowed the two musicians a deep intimacy in their musical partnership. Urcola’s goal on El Duelo is to feature the more uncompromized, freer side of D’Rivera’s improvisational abilities, which are rarely heard on his own recordings.
It was during a regular visit to Uruguay’s Punta Del Este Jazz Festival that Urcola was asked to present a musical tribute to the revered Gerry Mulligan Quartet that featured Chet Baker. During the quartet’s performance, Urcola invited D’Rivera to the stage, and the idea of recording in a piano-less quartet was cemented by the resounding performance.
Argentinean transplant and audio engineer Luis Bacque had long been encouraging Urcola to find a way to record with D’Rivera on one of the trumpeter’s own projects and, once Urcola was able to present the idea, Bacque produced and recorded their meeting in his fantastic home studio in New Jersey.
From the work of Mulligan to Ornette Coleman, quartets presented in this fashion have always relied on strong rhythm duos of bass and drums. The drum chair was filled by the fantastic Eric Doob, D’Rivera’s regular drummer for years and a player whose study of South and Latin American rhythms made him a perfect choice in this situation. New Zealand born Hamish Smith impressed D’Rivera during a teaching engagement at the Manhattan School of Music, where the young bassist continues to study. Urcola brought him in for the quartet’s initial Small’s Jazz Club performance (Smith’s club debut) and was impressed enough to bring him in for the recording (Smith’s recording debut).
Urcola was especially interested in capturing the ensemble with a contemporary sound, which Bacque was able to do expertly, making this compact ensemble sound driving and intense. The pieces that Urcola arranged for the group show the trumpeter’s diverse range of musical interests but also his fantastic ability to consider the ensemble by focusing on group counterpoint between the three melodic voices and providing strong written bass parts to ensure that the movement of the pieces really grooved.”
CD $15

BRIAN CULLMAN with JIMI ZHIVAGO / SYD STRAW / JOHN ELLIS / Et Al - Winter Clothes (Sunnyside 1599; USA) “This is Cullman’s first fully cooperative album with longtime friend and collaborator Jimi Zhivago (Glen Hansard, Ollabelle). Many of the songs were assembled during writing sessions where the two of them played ideas off one another, working through melodies and rhythms until the pieces were fully in sync. Zhivago was crucial in helping to shape eclectic sounds to Cullman’s lyrics & melodies // Since recording his last album, The Opposite of Time, Cullman has been back and forth to Lisbon, recording and performing as part of Rua Das Pretas, a loose and ever-shifting group of Brazilian, Portuguese and international musicians dragging fado & bossa into the future, as well as into the nearest tavern. Cullman also composed music for the upcoming film The Bay of Silence, starring Brian Cox & Claes Bang, and continues to write regularly for The Paris Review. And all of these elements, the travel and the homecoming, the poetry of the streets and the thunder in the distance found their way into the songs and the sound. “
CD $15

AYALEW MESFIN - Tewedije Limut (Let Me Die Loved)(Now-Again 5194; USA) "Ayalew Mesfin stands aside the likes of Mulatu Astake, Mahmoud Ahmed, Hailu Mergia and Alemayehu Eshete as a legend of 1970s Ethiopia. Mesfin's music is some of the funkiest to arise from this unconquerable East African nation. Mesfin's recording career, captured in nearly two dozen 7" singles and numerous reel-to-reel tapes, shows the strata of the most fertile decade in Ethiopia's 20th century recording industry, when records were pressed constantly by both independent upstarts and corporate behemoths, even if they were only distributed within the confines of this East African nation. Though Mesfin was forced underground by the Derg regime that took control of Ethiopia in 1974, he has returned almost 50 years later with this triumphant set albums -- the first time that his music has been presented in this form. These albums give us a chance to discover a rare and beautiful moment in music history, in anthologies built from Mesfin's uber-rare 7" single releases and from previously unreleased recordings taken from master tapes. Tewedije Limut gives us a chance to discover a rare & beautiful moment in music history, in an anthology built from his uber-rare 7" single releases."
CD $17

USTAD SAAMI - Pakistan Is for the Peaceful (Glitterbeat 097; Germany) Following his critically acclaimed debut, God Is Not a Terrorist (GB 067CD/LP, 2019), 49-note scale microtonal vocal master Ustad Saami returns with an epic part two. Pakistan Is for the Peaceful presents an even more immersive work, comprised of just three extended tracks and again produced 100% live at the master's rooftop home in Karachi by Grammy-winner Ian Brennan, with musical accompaniment provided by Ustad's four sons: Rauf (group leader, harmonium, vocals), Urooj (primary response vocalist, tambura number one), Ahmed (tambura number two, vocals), and Azeem (tablas, vocals). Ustad Saami is the last living surti master, a precursor of the ancient Islamic devotional music of qawwali. Despite being under constant threat from Islamic fundamentalists, the master has spent his life as a dedicated practitioner of a vanishing art -- one that has been passed on from generation to generation since the 13th century. The seventh release from Glitterbeat's acclaimed Hidden Musics series.
"At age seventy-six, Ustad still practices from 4 AM to noon most days, drilling himself with exercises. Though his physical hearing has declined and he requires in-ear aids for daily communication, his powers of perception continue to rise. As a child, he was the chosen one from his family and his master forbade him to speak for years. During this period, he was only allowed to express himself vocally, not verbally. He studied for 35 years to perfect this system before he ever even stepped onstage. It was the same trajectory as puff pop-stars, only inverted -- they start performing prematurely and get even more flaccid over time. Instead, Ustad explores the subtlety of human emotion through microtones, an attempt to turn "negatives positive" through the reclamation of those tones deemed out-of-tune. Following Saami's debut album, a World Music expert in Los Angeles was flummoxed that she could not find any reference to the master's system on the internet. Ironically, this absence of reference actually stands as proof rather than refuting his rarity. It cannot be found elsewhere precisely because it is his system -- a customized work of recovery -- with Ustad the only living vocal practitioner." - Ian Brennan
CD $16

SOHO SCENE 66-67 with STAN TRACEY QT / RONNIE SCOTT / JOHN SURMAN QT / NEIL ARDLEY / TONY COE/ DICK MORRISSEY QT / PRINCE LASHA / ERIC KLOSS / JOE HARRIOTT / et al - Jazz Goes Mod (1960’s Records 062; UK) 1966-1967. Two years of seismic change in UK history, a time of World Cup wins, of psychedelic "happenings" and Sgt. Pepper, when London's streets rocked to the sight of mini skirts and Mini Coopers and home-made British pop culture -- drawing in everything from satire to sitars - really did look likely to change the world. British jazz was growing too. Having defined itself through the razor-sharp cool of "modernism", by '66 it was ready to loosen its collar and let its hair down, feeding directly from an anarchic new breed of young musicians able to move between styles as never before, allowing everything from the avant-garde to R&B color their work. London was now swinging in every direction, like some vast kaleidoscopic merry-go-round. This, then, is the story of those British jazzmen who came along for the ride, some clinging on with white-knuckles and gritted teeth, others enjoying the trip of their lives.
I am a longtime Anglophile when it comes to music, especially the sixties and seventies, rock, jazz and progressive. Ever since Soft Machine, Keith Tippett and King Crimson cast their spells over me, I have become a bigger fan, working my way back the British modern jazz scene to hear who influenced my British jazz, progressive and Canterbury heroes. I now own and listen to quite a bit of the fifties jazzers: Tubby Hayes, Joe Harriott, Ronnie Scott, Neil Ardley, Mike Westbrook, etc. This collections looks pretty great. If you are also fan of 60’s/70’s British jazz/rock & progressive bands, this is a great mto start to get an appreciation of things to come. - BLG/DMG
4 CD Set $28

The NEXT ATAVISTIC REISSUE CD LIST Week #4:

PETER BROTZMANN with DEREK BAILEY / FRED VAN HOVE / EVAN PARKER / WILLEM BREUKER / SVEN AKE JOHANSSON / HAN BENNINK / et al - F*ck De Boere (1968-70)(Atavistic ALP 211; USA) Two Concert Recordings- Never Before Released, Mastered From Original Radio Master Tapes- By Larger Groups Led By The German Saxophone Legend Peter Br'tzmann. Both Recorded By The Esteemed Hessischer Rundfunk Organization At The Frankfurt Jazz Festival, In 1968 And 1970. Two Of The Most Explosive, Riveting Pieces Of Music Ever To Come Out Of The European Vaults.
First: An Unheard Alternate Version Of Brotzmann's Groundbreaking "Machine Gun," This Time With A Nine Piece Group (Same As The LP, Adding Tenor Saxophonist Gerd Dudek), Recorded Three Months Before The Bro/Fmp Record Was Made! A Beautiful Recording, Revealing Some Heretofore Obscure Aspects Of The Composition, It's Sure To Be A Favorite For Free Jazz Fans Of Any Stripe.
Second: A 40-Minute Masterpiece From '70, With A Large Group Featuring Three Tenors, Three Trombones, No Bassist, Fred Van Hove On Organ (!), Derek Bailey On Guitar And Han Bennink And Sven-Ake Johansson On Drums. It's A Monumental Piece, Featuring Some Of The Most Extreme Bailey On Record (Sounding At Times Like Masayumi Takayanaki From Five Years Later), And Tremendous Interplay Between Brotz, Evan Parker And Willem Breuker. Dedicated At The Time To South African Bassist Johnny Dyani, It's A Moving Poem On Forces Of Oppression And The Idea Of Resistance.
This Deluxe Package Includes A12-Panel Foldout Booklet Designed By Brotzmann, Including Very Personal Liner Notes By Him; Two Beautiful Period Photographs (The Waft Of Late '60's Freedom Off These Is Utterly Exhilarating And Undeniable), And The Cover Photo Sports A Large Joseph Beuys-Like Sculpture Peter Created During The Same Period. Fuck De Boere: Don't Miss It.
CD $15

KEES HAZEVOET & HAN BENNINK - Calling Down The Flevo Spirit (Atavistic ALP 259; USA) "When we made Calling Down The Flevo Spirit in September 1978, Han and I had been playing together off and on in different groups and combinations since early 1967, when Han joined Willem Breuker's large orchestra (of which I had been a member for a year). Later that year, we played in various groups led by others, as well as with my own. In 1969, we did a couple of duo gigs, but it was only in 1977 that this became regular practice. In that year we started our regular rehearsals, mostly at Han's countryside studio, which continued until late 1979. During that period we came together weekly, playing all day, resulting in 100s of hours of (low-fidelity) tapes. As there was no piano at Han's studio, I concentrated on clarinet, violin, trumpet and an array of percussion instruments, leaving the piano for the occasional gigs we did together. During these years, I also continued playing with Louis Moholo, like I had done since 1970, and on many occasions both Han and Louis were present in my groups. Having worked with these two masters of the drums so closely has been a true joy in my life. Flevo Spirit resulted from three days of playing and recording. For the occasion, I had arranged for some better recording equipment, which we operated ourselves. One day was spent in Han's studio, where we went through the whole scala of devices that we had incorporated over the previous years. Another day was spent recording in Amsterdam, Holland, which resulted in the parts with piano. Finally, we went out to the newly reclaimed land (Flevoland, Holland) and spent a day in the reedbeds. It was hot and sunny and different species of stinging insects were abundant. All of this resulted in many hours of tape, from which I eventually made a small selection to go on record. The whole thing was a "do-it-yourself" affair, as I also did the studio work and the cover myself. The "low-fidelity" and "non-glossy" result was precisely what I had in mind. Over the years, my idea of "music" had become more and more directed towards having it as natural and spontaneous as possible, without preconceived ideas about how "music" should sound or be organized. Apart from listening to human-made music of all sorts, my long-standing interests in natural history made that my ears were open to the natural sounds that surround us. Since childhood, I had a preference for the outdoors and spent many days in the woods, fields, and dunes. During the second half of the 1970s, my biological interests deepened and widened more and more until I reached the point where I could just sit and listen to whatever sounds there were - wind, birds, waves, whatever. Sometimes, I took some instruments with me and I still have many hours of outdoor recordings. Some listeners may perhaps not call this "music." So be it, call it whatever you want." Flevo Spirit" is the result of many long hours of concentrated playing and practicing and I admit to having been quite satisfied with the result." - Kees Hazevoet, 2009
CD $15

FIREROOM with KEN VANDERMARK / LASSE MARHAUG / PAAL NILSSEN-LOVE (Atavistic ALP 183; USA) A Tempest Of E-Jazz-Noise Erupts On The Atavistic Debut From Fireroom, A New Project Between Longtime Collaborators Ken Vandermark, Lasse Marhaug & Paal Nilssen-Love. As Core Members Of The Initial Lineup Of (((Powerhouse Sound)))- As Well As An Array Of Other Adventurous Small & Large Groups- These Cats Know Each Other Well. The Telepathic Vibe Necessary To Make Free Music Really Work Is Tested & Expanded Upon Throughout Broken Music - Amplified Literally And Figuratively By Marhaug's Penchant For Darker -Yet Still Explosive- Forays On An Gamut Of Of Electronic Gear. Users Are Currently Invited To Investigate The Outer Reaches Of Both Jazz & Electronic Frontiers Simultaneously With Fireroom.
CD $15

EIGHT EYED SPY with LYDIA LUNCH / PAT IRWIN / JIM SCLAVUNOS / GEORGE SCOTT III / MICHAEL PAUMGARDHEN - Collection (Atavistic ALP 75; USA) Personnel: Lydia Lunch, Pat Irwin, Michael Paumgardhen, Jim Sclavunos, George Scott III.Lydia Lunch, member of defunct late-70s punk/no wave band Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, was known for an extreme, often confrontational style. In between Teenage Jesus and the beginning of her solo career, she formed 8-Eyed Spy, a band that took the cacophony of her first band and made it more palatable with elements of post-punk and funk. Skronking saxophone and pounding basslines define this collection, with 15 tracks of Lunch's off-the-wall sing/speak style, one that would mature into the erotic/atonal bent that defined her solo career. On songs such as "Run Through the Jungle," it's clear where post-feminist bands such as Huggybear and Heavens to Betsy culled their inspiration. A chilling voice punctuates a background of circular bass notes and jangly guitar amidst subtle cymbal-driven rhythms. Seminal stuff.
CD $15

BOXHEAD ENSEMBLE with DAVID GRUBBS / JIM O’ROURKE / WILL OLDHAM / KEN VANDERMARK / et al - The Last Place To Go...(Dutch Harbor European Tour)(Atavistic ALP 96; USA) Dutch Harbor: Where The Sea Breaks Its Back Is A Lyrical, Black-And-White, Feature-Length Documentary Film Chronicling The Life And Landscape Of One Of America's Last Frontiers: The Industrial Fishing Port Of Dutch Harbor On The Island Of Unalaska, Halfway Along The Aleutian Chain Between The Bering Sea And The Pacific Ocean.
The Film Soundtrack, Directed By Michael Krassner And Released By Atavistic In Spring '97, Featured Largely Improvised Ensemble Performances By Joseph Ferguson, David Grubbs (Gastr Del Sol/Red Krayola), Charles Kim (Pinetop Seven), Douglas Mccombs (Tortoise), Will Oldham (Palace), Jim O'Rourke (Brise Glace/Gastr/Et. Al.), David Pavkovic (T.O.E. Inc.), Rick Rizzo (11Th Dream Day) And Ken Vandermark (V5, Nrg, Dkv). The Film And Soundtrack Met With A Degree Of Favor In Europe, And In November '97, We Embarked Upon A Five-Country, 16-City Film Screening And Live Performance Tour. The Lineup Changed Slightly By The Time Of Departure, And Continued To Evolve Throughout The Trip As Scheduling Conflicts And Other Entanglements Prohibited Most From Committing To The Entire Itinerary. This Insured That Each Night Was Entirely Different, Creating A New Montage As The Images Continued To Grow And Change With The Different Accompaniments. Performers On The Euroepan Screening Tour Included Grubbs, Kim, Krassner, Oldham, Rizzo, Vandermark, Who Were Joined By Edith Frost, Ryan Hembrey (Pinetop Seven), Julie Pommerleau (Bobby Conn Experience), Scott Tuma (Souled American), And Mick Turner & Jim White (The Dirty Three).
These Once-In-A-Lifetime Combinations Of Musical Talent, Venues, Circumstances, And Certainly The Visual Stimulation Generated By The Backdrop Of The Projected Film Have Resulted In A Truly Sublime Recorded Work, Totally Unique And Perhaps Even More Captivating Than The Film Soundtrack.”
CD $15

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ATTENTION ALL CREATIVE MUSICIANS OUT THERE, Around the world.

If you have a link, for some music that you are working on and want to share it with the folks who read the DMG Newsletter, please send the link to DMG at DMG@Downtownmusicgallery.com. Many of us are going stir crazy staying at home so if you want to inspire us and help us get through these difficult times, please show us what you got. I listed some these last week but have also a few more.

MORE THINGS TO DO WHILE YOU ARE WAITING AROUND FOR THE WORLD TO END OR GET BETTER:
STILL STIR CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS!
 
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THIS IS FROM MY GOOD FRIEND JESSICA HALLOCK,

This is from Jessica Hallock, please do check it out, there is so much to explore here and I know some of you are bored and need some inspiration/distraction:

Livestreams are obviously no replacement for live shows, but they're all the community we have right now––so experimental music calendar NYC-Noise.com now provides links to livestreams (with artist / curator donation info); a roundup of local musicians' releases; COVID-19-related resources, including links to grants, petitions, & a local venue donation list; & an Instagram account (@NYC_Noise) promoting artists and releases. Please let me know about your livestreams &/or new records at www.nyc-noise.com/submit.

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MARIO PAVONE & HIS DIALECT TRIO LIVE ON-LINE!

Litchfield Jazz Fest Presents
Mario Pavone & his Dialect Trio -
Live Streamed from Telefunken Soundstage
Date-Time:  October 23 @ 7:30pm
Location: Virtual
Web: www.litchfieldjazzfest.com
 
Bassist/composer Mario Pavone turns 80 on November 11th.  Like the postman undaunted by rain, sleet, snow or hail, nothing, not even a pandemic, will keep us from marking this major milestone in the life of a musician who deserves all the accolades we can bestow on him. Litchfield Jazz will host this tribute with Mario himself and his Dialect Trio doing the honors on October 23 from the Telefunken Soundstage. The performance, at 7:30, will be live streamed and free to the public, accessible through the Litchfield Jazz Festival website.
  Mario Pavone fell in love with the bass in college studying engineering, a skill he’d never practice as his fate was sealed in 1961 when he heard John Coltrane play at the Vanguard. When Coltrane died, this fledgling engineer put down his slide rule, walked out of his office, and went to Coltrane’s funeral. And he has never looked back.
  For 60 years, Pavone has been part of many pivotal milestones in avant garde jazz with other great innovators.  In the 70s he played with the likes of Wadada Leo Smith, Anthony Braxton, Bill Dixon, Paul Bley, Dewey Redman, Carla Bley and others. By the mid 80s he was part of the “downtown scene” centered around the Knitting Factory in New York.  It was there he met the brilliant alto saxophonist who became Lionel Hampton’s arranger and music director at 21, Thomas Chapin. The meeting led to the formation of a trio that recorded and toured worldwide for six years until leukemia claimed Chapin’s life at 40. Litchfield Jazz had the honor of presenting Chapin with Pavone on the first Litchfield Jazz Festival in 1996 and then Pavone with Chapin’s band the very next year. In ‘96 some of the audience looked a bit bewildered.  In ‘97 they got a standing ovation!
  After Chapin’s passing Pavone launched a touring and recording career with many younger players including Tony Malaby, Steven Bernstein, Gerald Cleaver, Peter Madsen, Michael Sarin and recently with the two stellar musicians who complete his Dialect Trio. Tyshawn Sorey, a multi-instrumentalist, on drums in Dialect Trio, is a 2017 MacArthur Fellow as respected for his classical chamber and opera compositions as he is for his work with the bands of Vijay Iyer, Jason Moran and John Zorn. Pianist Matt Mitchell, a Pew Fellow and Doris Duke Impact Awardee, has collaborated with, among others, Dave Douglas, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Donny McCaslin and Lee Konitz.
  Mario Pavone is a recipient of a Chamber Music America/Doris Duke New Works Grant and a Connecticut Commission on the Arts Distinguished Artists award. To date he’s made more than 30 recordings as a leader. A Renaissance man, he is an avid gardener and cook (lately obsessed with soups) and a photographer whose work has graced the covers of dozens of albums.
  Pavone’s dedication to cutting edge music, its performance and composition has never faltered, and he never tires of showing us all—if we are willing to take a deep dive and really listen—he will take us along on a ride we’ll long remember.

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This is from Thomas Sayers Ellis of HEROES ARE GANG LEADERS:

https://vimeo.com/462062455?fbclid=IwAR2lb1mWuD-7MyZ31wDmw14qtaCZW4_EgSFy2G_Yj3W2cZoqUPxtXp14o_0

Set 1
solos, duos, trios, quartet and quintets
shot in Black & White

Set 2
Full Band Performance

Check out this review of their latest release:

https://downtownmusicgallery.com/search.php?id=2020_05_20_02_41_45

HEROES ARE GANG LEADERS with THOMAS SAYERS ELLIS / JAMES BRANDON LEWIS / LUKE STEWART / WARREN “TRAE” CRUDUP III / MELANIE DYER / DEVIN BRAHJA WALDMAN / et al WILLIAM PARKER / ANNE WALDMAN - Artificial Happiness Button (Ropeadope 81526; USA) - 5th amazing disc!

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THIS IS FROM GUITAR MASTER HENRY KAISER:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SAncJamgw0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pf54D0YdLtA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN9Dc4qA-6A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVF63Md51-A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VNQwGWWrc8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyijtFN02xw

once in a while they are historical old thangs from my video archive and I will be doing more collaborations with other improvisors. I plan to keep this up until there are live gigs again so there will likely be a lot more of these best, Henry

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ARTS FOR ARTS Presents:

FREEJAZZ WORKS IN A TIME OF CRISIS

https://www.artsforart.org/onlinesalon.html

Because of You
We surpassed our $50,000 Goal
Your Donation Made the Difference
What an amazing community! Your continuing support in the face of all of the challenges that are facing us is really impressive. Together, we raised over $60,000, including over $30,000 in small donations.

We continue to post weekly Artist Diaries (https://www.artsforart.org/artistdiaries.html) and special archival footage on our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/ArtsforArt?sub_confirmation=1&utm_source=Audience&utm_campaign=987d803b9c-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_08_18_04_51&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3be2db18a2-987d803b9c-85161517. So there will be plenty of amazing music and art to see and inspire.

On September 7th and September 12th, Arts for Art will present Live Outdoor Events at La Plaza in The Clemente. They will be carefully presented, socially distanced, inspiring FreeJazz performances. Look forward to more information coming soon.

Wishing You Strength and Justice with Compassion.

Patricia Nicholson Parker
Founder, Arts for Arts


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From INGRID LAUBROCK & TOM RAINEY:

Every Week for the entirety of this pandemic/lockdown INGRID LAUBROCK & TOM RAINEY have been posting a new duo offering. I have listened to every one of these as they were sent out and am much impressed by the way this duo continues to evolve and work their way through many ideas. You can check out each one here:

https://ingrid-laubrock.bandcamp.com/track/stir-crazy-episode-26-for-my-dad
https://ingrid-laubrock.bandcamp.com/track/stir-crazy-episode-25
https://ingrid-laubrock.bandcamp.com/track/stir-crazy-episode-24
https://ingrid-laubrock.bandcamp.com/track/stir-crazy-episode-23-steve-lacy
https://ingrid-laubrock.bandcamp.com/track/stir-crazy-episode-22
https://ingrid-laubrock.bandcamp.com/track/stir-crazy-episode-21
https://ingrid-laubrock.bandcamp.com/track/stir-crazy-episode-20

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Zürcher Gallery invites you
To a LIVE OUTDOOR concert
in Washington Square Park...

Thomas Buckner and Robert Dick

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2020 - 6:30 PM
at Washington Square Park
SOUTHEAST CORNER

Limited seating will be available.
Suggested donation: $20

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ROULETTE AT HOME:

https://roulette.org/rtv/?utm_source=Roulette Master List&utm_campaign=c19eeaa4fd- Dr. Chadbourne! EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_08_15_09_07_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c36db137d7-andc19eeaa4fd-302668229#!/grs/0/id/92

https://roulette.org/event/joel-ross/?utm_source=Roulette Master List&utm_campaign=c19eeaa4fd-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_08_15_09_07_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c36db137d7-c19eeaa4fd-302668229

https://roulette.org/event/nels-cline-from-cage-to-cunningham/?utm_source=Roulette Master List&utm_campaign=c19eeaa4fd-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_08_15_09_07_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c36db137d7-c19eeaa4fd-302668229

Playlist: Excerpts from the Black Avant-Garde - Tracks by Tomeka Reid, Reggie Workman, Diedre Murray, Anthony Davis, Amiri Baraka, Henry Threadgill, William Parker, Matana Roberts from the Roulette concert archive. - https://soundcloud.com/roulette_intermedium/sets/blackavantgarde?utm_source=Roulette Master List&utm_campaign=34384bb216-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_08_15_09_07_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c36db137d7-34384bb216-302668229

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My good friend & guitar master GARY LUCAS is playing half hour sets at his apartment in the West village every Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday at 3pm EST on Facebook. Different songs on each episode. Here is the link: https://www.facebook