DMG Newsletter for December 10th, 2021

“And When I Die”
Written & Performed by Laura Nyro (in 1967)
Covered by Peter, Paul & Mary & Blood, Sweat and Tears

And when I die and when I'm dead, dead and gone,
there'll be one child born and a world to carry on, to carry on.

I'm not scared of dying and I don't really care.
If it's peace you find in dying, well, then let the time be near.
If it's peace you find in dying, when dying time is here,
just bundle up my coffin cause it's cold way down there,
I hear that's it's cold way down there, yeah, crazy cold way down there.
And when I die and when I'm gone,
there'll be one child born and a world to carry on, to carry on.

My troubles are many, they're as deep as a well.
I can swear there ain't no heaven but I pray there ain't no hell.
Swear there ain't no heaven and pray there ain't no hell,
but I'll never know by living, only my dying will tell,
only my dying will tell, yeah, only my dying will tell.
And when I die and when I'm gone,
there'll be one child born and a world to carry on, to carry on.

Give me my freedom for as long as I be.
All I ask of living is to have no chains on me.
All I ask of living is to have no chains on me,
and all I ask of dying is to go naturally, only want to go naturally.
Don't want to go by the devil, don't want to go by the demon,
don't want to go by Satan, don't want to die uneasy,
just let me go naturally.
And when I die and when I'm gone,
there'll be one child born, there'll be one child born.
When I die, there'll be one child born.
When I die, there'll be one child born.
When I die, there'll be one child born.
When I die, there'll be one child born.

Most folks know of New York singer/songwriter Laura Nyro from her hit songs like: “Wedding Bell Blues”, “Stoned Soul Picnic”, “Eli’s Coming”, “Sweet Blindness” and the above gem, “And When I Die”. Each of these songs were hits by other contemporaries: Fifth Dimension, Three Dog Night and Blood, Sweat and Tears. The thing is that Laura Nyro was a great singer, songwriter and arranger herself, recording most of these songs first for her own albums, starting in 1967. Ms. Nyro recorded ten studio albums and a half dozen live records throughout her career, sadly passing away at only 49 in April of 1997. I recently listened a best of compilation with Frank at the store and we were astonished at the consistency, great songwriting and soulful voice of Ms. Nyro. This past week I’ve listened to her first first five albums, all studio efforts and all on Columbia, each one a real treasure. I know that Laura Nyro influenced quite a bit of her peers both during and after her career. Todd Rundgren still sings her praises, as do I. There is something pure, piercing and wondrous in the above song which haunts me every time I hear it. It is sung poetry/music that speaks directly to the heart. If your heart is still beating and you believe in the power of Love to inspire you, than I urge you to check out the songs of Laura Nyro someday soon. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG

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Sat. December 11th:
GAUCI-MUSIC Presents: CD Release Performance for "Pandemic Duets:
6:30: KEN FILIANO/STEPHEN GAUCI
Ken Filiano - bass / Stephen Gauci - tenor saxophone
7:15pm COLIN HINTON / STEPHEN GAUCI Duet
Colin Hinton - drums / Stephen Gauci - tenor saxophone
8pm STEPHEN GAUCI / KEN FILIANO / COLIN HINTON Trio

Tuesday, December 14th:
6:30 - THOMAS HEBERER / CHARLOTTE GREVE - Trumpet & Alto Sax
7:30 - JAMES ILGENFRITZ & TRIO CAVEAT: JONATHAN MORITZ / CHRIS WELCOME - Bass / Sax / Guitar

Tuesday, December 21st:
6:30 - DISSIPATED FACE 2021 - STEVE POPKIN / KURT RALSKE / DANIEL CARTER & Special Guests
7:30 - SUBURBAN BOHEMIA - Special Apocalyptic Version w/ ELLIOTT SHARP / JOEL HARRISON /STEVE SWELL / FRANK MEADOWS / MICHAEL VATCHER!

Tuesday, December 28th:
6:30: CHERYL PYLE & BEYOND FLUTES GROUP Featuring: Cheryl Pyle - c & alto flutes / Haruna Fukazawa - c flute / Gene Coleman - bass flute /piccolo / Claire de Brunner - bassoon / Yuko Togami - drums/percussion
7:30: LAURA SCHULER / TAL YAHALOM - Violin / Guitar

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THIS WEEK’S WONDERFULLY WEIRD RECORDINGS BEGIN with A Long Lost Treasure by CECIL TAYLOR!

CECIL TAYLOR with JIMMY LYONS / FRANK WRIGHT / JOHN TCHICAI / KAREN BORCA-LYONS / GUNTER HAMPEL / TOMASZ STANKO / CONRAD BAUER / WILLIAM PARKER / HENRY MARTINEZ - Music From Two Continents - Live at Jazz Jamboree ’84 (Listen! Foundation FSR 16/2021; Poland) Featuring Cecil Taylor - piano & leader, Jimmy Lyons - alto sax, Frank Wright, Jr. & John Tchicai - tenor saxes, Gunter Hampel - bass clarinet & vibes, Karen Borca/Lyons - bassoon, Tomasz Stanko & Enrico Rava - trumpets, Connie Baurer on trombone, William Parker - contrabass and Andre Martinez - drums. Recorded 10/26/1984 at the Jazz Jamboree, Congress Hall in Warsaw, Poland. Since thre passing of Master Pianist, Cecil Taylor, in April of 2018, we’ve seen a half dozen archival recordings come out from different points in Mr. Taylor’s long 60-plus year career. Considering that Cecil Taylor was the revered & influential of all avant/jazz pianists, his playing, bandleading and composing/directing was embraced by Creative Musicians from around the world. Mr. Taylor led dozens of bands throughout his long career, often drawing on the cream of Downtown Scene as well as from across the US. Mr. Taylor was also very well respected in Europe and spent a quite a bit of time there in the eighties and nineties working with European musicians. For Cecil Taylor fans with deep pockets, his 11 CD deluxe box set on FMP ‘In Berlin ’88’ (currently going for $600-$700!), is the Holy Grail of CT collectables and features mostly European greats: Peter Brotzmann, Evan Parker, Derek Bailey, Louis Sclavis, Peter Kowald, Han Bennink, Louis Moholo, etc. Mr. Taylor also did a series of workshops in Berlin and elsewhere, engaging with and giving a chance for others to work with this great master.
Mr. Taylor organized both the Cecil Taylor Workshop Ensemble and the CT European Orchestra, both of whom recorded in June & July of 1988. Mr. Taylor also organized the Orchestra of Two Continents (OoTC) which included both Europeans and members of his regular unit: Jimmy Lyons, William Parker and Andre Martinez. If you don’t recall the name of drummer, Andre Martinez, he went onto found Earth People. The OoTC does have one previous recording called ‘Winged Serpents’ on Soul Note which was recorded earlier on October 22-24, 1984 in a studio in Milano, Italy. This disc was recorded on October 26th, live in Warsaw, Poland. The concert begins with congas, drums, layers of odd voices (Cecil’s voice on top) and other instruments slowly coming in. The varied voices, speaking in different languages along with another layer of horns, piano, bass and drums, work well together into a powerful, focused, free storm. There is some magic glue going on here: the Taylor-led rhythm team is burnin’ at the center of the storm while the eight reeds & brass swirl together into an intense, spirited frenzy! Each member of the reeds & brass choir get a chance to stretch out, soar together and add inspired solos. The music here is well-recorded and the entire 60 minute performance is extraordinary from the beginning to the righteous conclusion. It doesn’t get any better than this! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $16

VINNY GOLIA with STEVE ADAMS / KYLE BRUCKMANN / DAN CLUCAS / JEFF KAISER / NATHAN HUBBARD / WAYNE PEET / WILLIAM ROPER / KEN FILIANO / et al - Even to This Day… Movement One: Inoculations / Music for Orchestra and Soloists (Ninewinds Records 450 / pfMENTUM 145; USA) Featuring: Vinny Golia - woodwinds, gongs, compositions & directions, Steve Adams & Kyle Bruckmann on reeds, Dan Clucas on cornet, Jeff Kaiser - trumpet, Wayne Peet - piano, organ & synth, William Roper - tuba, Ken Filiano on contrabass & electronics, Nathan Hubbard - drums & percussion, etc. There are many reasons to admire Vinny Golia, his long career stretching band to the mid-seventies when he moved to L.A. from the Bronx. Mr. Golia started off working with John Carter, Bobby Bradford, Baikida Carroll, Nels & Alex Cline and Bertram Turetzky. Mr. Golia founded his own label, Nine Winds, whose first release came out in 1977 and who have some 175 plus recordings.The Nine Winds label has long been one of guiding lights on the L.A. Underground Music Scene. Golia released his first large ensemble (3 LP set) recording in 1982, with several others since. Mr. Golia has also been teaching at the University of California for many years with many of his previous students as collaborators and future Creative Music recording artists.
This large box set is certainly the most ambitious undertaking that Vinny Golia has done and this is only the first part of a projected three part work. This part is called “Inoculations” and it deals with the mixed feelings many of us have getting vaccinated against Covid 19. Mr. Golia wrote all of this music during pandemic, which began in the US in March of 2020 and is still something to be reckoned with. Each of the twelve discs is named “Module No. 1-12” with another title/theme attached. “Module 1 - Observation” opens with several moving waves sweeping together: strings and reeds & double-reeds, an intense central throb of piano and percussion. There seems to be a dark undertow going on, which shifts in the second section with haunting flutes, eerie cymbals and prepared piano take over. There are a number of inspired solos throughout this disc, always with fascinating accompaniment. There is also quite a bit of electronics going which are well-used and never take over the entire sonic environment. What really amazes me is the consistency of the many layers all of which fit within a thoughtful context/blend. So far, I’ve listened to 6 of the 12 discs found here, mostly one per night since we got these last week. Each disc is extraordinary! This vast offering is the great box set of this year (2021) and will provide all of us serious listeners with many hours of great listening. Bravo to Vinny Golia and his many splendored orchestra! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
12 CD Box Set $140

CRAG with VINNY GOLIA / CHRISTIAN ASPLUND / STEVEN RICKS / RON COULTER - Polychromy (pfMENTUM 143; USA) Featuring Vinny Golia on woodwinds, Christian Asplund on piano & keyboards, Steven Ricks on trombone & electronics and Ron Coulter on drums, percussion & electronics. Recorded live in concert on September 19, 2019 at Brigham Young University. In recent years, L.A.-based reeds wiz/composer/bandleader, Vinny Golia, balances his time between teaching, working with some of the elders of the L.A. scene, as well as a number of his students or former students. I am unsure if any of the musicians here are former students of Mr. Golia, although Christian Asplund has worked by Eyvind Kang while Steven Ricks has a disc on Neos as a composer. This is an all improvised set and thoughtfully played. Mr. Golia starts off with soprano sax with some sly trombone on top of the rustling piano and percussion underneath. Mr. Golia switches to a low-end instrument, like bass clarinet for the second long piece, “Tabletop Iguana, Shades and White Sox”. There is a great deal of focused, free spinning improv going on here, strong, inspired interplay between all four members. “Fire of the Nobody” is the longest piece here and begins with some eerie electronics, disorienting metal percussion, minimal piano and spooky reeds (flute? double-reed? clarinet?). There is a careful, thoughtful attention to detail here, although free, the piece unfold in episodic ways as Mr. Golia switches instruments and occasional electronic ghosts hover at certain points. 75-plus minutes is a long time for this disc to unfold but I found that it does work when we have the time to let things happen in their own organic way. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14

TONY MALABY’S SABINO with BEN MONDER / MICHAEL FORMANEK / TOM RAINEY - The Cave of Winds (Pyroclastic PR18; USA) Featuring Tony Malaby on tenor & soprano saxes & compositions, Ben Monder on guitar, Michael Formanek on contrabass and Tom Rainey on drums. It’s been twenty years since the first disc by Tony Malaby’s Sabino was released in October of 2000. The original quartet had Marc Ducret on guitar, a French musician who rarely makes it to NYC. In-demand guitar-ace, Ben Monder, has been collaborating with Tony Malaby for several years, most recently in a trio with Tom Rainey (released earlier this year (2021). The rhythm team here, Michael Formanek & Tom Rainey used to work with Tim Berne previously in a trio called Paraphrase.
Unlike most jazz guitarists who prefer a thinner tone with minimal effects, Ben Monder has a thicker, rockish sustained tone which is closer to the sound and range of Malaby’s tenor sax. The tenor sax and guitar often sound like they are shadowing each other perhaps with the guitar a bit slower in the attack. “Recrudescence” laid back, more somber and spacious. For the title track, the quartet slows down even more for a more haunting dream-like vibe. It feels like we are going back in time to a place where slow down to a most relaxed pace. Malaby switches to soprano for the last piece, “Just Me, Just Me”, the tempo sped up with Monder taking a strong, dark, turbulent solo with Malaby following in a similar stream. Each piece here creates a mood which changes the way we feel as it unfolds. Although it sounds like we are being told stories during the solos, it is overall mood which is most effective here. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15

SARA SCHOENBECK with ROSCOE MITCHELL / NELS CLINE / NICOLE MITCHELL / WAYNE HORVITZ / MATT MITCHELL / ROBIN HOLCOMB / PEGGY LEE / MARK DRESSER / HARRIS EISENSTADT - Sara Schoenbeck (Pyroclastic Records PR 16; USA) Featuring Sara Schoenbeck on bassoon in duos with Harris Eisenstadt - drums, Nicole Mitchell - flute, Nels Cline - guitar & bass, Roscoe Mitchell - soprano sax, Matt Mitchell - piano, Mark Dresser - bass, Wayne Horvitz - piano & electronics, Peggy Lee - cello and Robin Holcomb - piano & voice. I have long been a fan of the bassoon, ever since hearing Lindsay Cooper when joined Henry Cow for ‘Unrest’ (1974). Double-reed instruments like the bassoon, oboe & English horn are difficult to play, keep in tune and especially to experiment with. There have only been a handful of great double reeds wizards in jazz and creative music throughout the past half century: Yusef Lateef (in the late fifties), Paul McCandless (with Oregon, starting in the 1970’s) and Karl Jenkins (check out his impressive bent-note oboe solos on Soft Machine ‘6’). Over the past two decades, I’ve been checking out the bassoon playing of Sara Schoenbeck, whose I’ve heard collaborating with Anthony Braxton, Harris Eisenstadt (her husband), Wayne Horvitz and Robin Holcomb.
It turns out that Ms. Schoenbeck has also been a long journey of experimenting with her bassoon playing. After a great duo disc with Wayne Horvitz from last year (2020), this is Ms. Schoenbeck’s first effort as a leader. For her debut disc, Ms. Schoenbeck organized a series of nine duos with different musicians who she has worked with in the past. Some of the pieces are improvised, some written by Schoenbeck, two by her collaborators: Matt Mitchell & Robin Holcomb plus a cover song by the slowcore band Low. You can tell right from the beginning that Ms. Schoenbeck put a great deal of thought into these pieces and the way they are recorded. The opening piece is “O’Saris” and it is a duo with her partner, drummer Harris Eisenstadt. The pieces is hushed and haunting with Eisenstadt’s sublime mallet-work softly throbbing throughout and Ms. Schoenbeck’s austere, deep-sounding, thoughtful bassoon solemnly soaring on top. “Sand Dune Trilogy” features a duo with flutist extraordinaire, Nicole Mitchell and it deals with microtonal material/playing. Both Ms. Mitchell and Ms. Schoenbeck work well together cast a subtle spell while bending & crafting notes on their distinctive reeds in similar ways. The only real outside cover here is by the band Low, called “Lullaby” which is a duo with Nels Cline on electric guitar & electric bass. The band Low play music that is often stripped down and sad or solemn. The duo with Sara & Nels capture that sad spirit just right, slowing the pulse down, with the haunting; the somber sound of Schoenbeck’s lone bassoon cry. Ms. Schoenbeck worked with AACM/Art Ensemble master Roscoe Mitchell on a couple of previous occasions. The duo here with Roscoe on soprano sax and Sara on bassoon deals with granular ideas with both reeds carefully bending their notes around one another. Keyboard wiz, Matt Mitchell, composed “Auger Strokes” for the duo and it is well-conceived chamber piece, with quirky harmonies, interplay between the bassoon & piano and a good deal of suspense going on. “Absence” was written by Ms. Schoenbeck for her duo with contrabassist Mark Dresser. Mr. Dresser’s distinctive bowed bass sound works well with Ms. Schoenbeck’s equally austere bassoon. Wayne Horvitz and Ms. Schoenbeck have been collaborating for more than 20 years, it different settings. “Anaphoria” is their improvised duet and it is quite subtle, eerie and spacious. The final song is Robin Holcomb’s “Sugar”, with Robin on piano and voice. This piece is most sublime like much of Robin Holcomb’s songs. Heartfelt, touching and featuring Ms. Holcomb’s ancient quavering voice, one of the finest, richest and saddest of all mythic singers. A perfect ending for this most auspicious endeavor. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15

THE NU BAND with MARK WHITECAGE / THOMAS HEBERER / JOE FONDA / LOU GRASSI - In Memory of Mark Whitecage / The Nu Band Live at the Bopshop (Not Two MW 1019-2; Poland) Featuring Mark Whitecage on alto sax, clarinet & Dine’ flute, Thomas Heberer on quarter-tone trumpet, Joe Fonda on contrabass & flute and Lou Grassi on drums & percussion. The Nu Band have been around since the turn of the century and continue as one of the greatest of all Downtown bands. The personnel remained the same for many years: Roy Campbell, Mark Whitecage, Joe Fonda & Lou Grassi. Sadly, the great trumpeter Roy Campbell passed away in January of 2014 and was eventually replaced by ICP trumpeter Thomas Heberer. Sadder still was the loss of their saxist Mark Whitecage in March of 2021, earlier this year. In January of next year (1/21/22), the latest version of the Nu Band with Kenny Wessel added on guitar will play a rare NY date.
This disc features the final live performance with the Mark Whitecage on the frontline standing next to Thomas Heberer on quarter-tone trumpet and backed by Joe Fonda on bass and Lou Grassi on drums. This live date was recorded at the BopShop in Rochester, NY, the same place where the first Nu Band disc was recorded in 2001, 20 years ago this year! Each member of the quartet contributed 1 or 2 songs to this date. Mr. Whitecage’s “Prayer for the Water Protectors” starts off with some lush Dine’ (Native American) flute, a didjeradoo-like trumpet drone, bowed bass and simmering cymbals. Next up is “Five O’Clock Follies” which has a sly, bebopish theme, pumping bass and a sublime, skeletal groove by Mr. Grassi. One of the things that I’ve dug the most about saxist Mark Whitecage is his ability to soar, tapping into the cosmic spirit which runs through all the great jazz saxist from the bebop days on through the freer days a decade or so later. Whitecage sails through this piece like a crazed bird navigating the harsh winds of a great storm. Mr. Heberer’s “One for Roy” begins freely and with restraint, the trumpet and alto sax play tightly and inventively together here. On “The Closer You Are, The Further It Gets”, Heberer has written some quirky lines for the quartet to play through, each one evolving from one section to the next. The ever-inventive master-bassist Joe Fonda is on fire throughout this piece, spinning out quick, tight lines with Mr. Grassi’s great mallet-work. The last section of this piece has Mr. Whitecage really digging deeply and erupting intensely, the piece ends with a well-written two horn dazzling display. There is also some extraordinary free interplay between the clarinet and trumpet on “Christophe and Ornette”, the entire quartet burning tightly together, exchanging lines in a great, tipsyish swagger. Joe Fonda’s “Minor Madness” features Mr. Fonda’s marvelous bass at the center of the piece, with a nonstop inventive flow of ideas. I dig the poignant harmonies on “Dark Dawn in Aurora”, written by Lou Grassi and a perfect way to bring this mighty fine disc to great close. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15

MARS WILLIAMS’ WITCHES & DEVILS with JOSH BERMAN / JIM BAKER / PETER MAUNU / BRIAN SANDSTROM / KENT KESSLER / STEVE HUNT KRYSZTOF PABIAN - Presents An Ayler Xmas Vol. 5 (Astral Spirits 194 / Soul What 009; USA) Featuring Mars Williams on tenor sax, suona & toys, Josh Berman on cornet, Jim Baker on piano, viola & Arp synth, Brian Sandstrom on bass, guitar & trumpet, Peter Maunu on violin, Kent Kessler or Krzysztof Pablan on bass and Steve Hunt on drums. For the last half dozen or so years, Mars Williams has put together another version of his Albert Ayler/Xmas project, each time with differing personnel. Williams also tours, using different personnel depending on which location he is playing in, using musicians local to the concerts lined-up. Mr. Williams also records these annual concert/events and this one is Volume 5. This is his Chicago-based outfit with members from Hal Russell’s NRG Ensemble (Sandstrom & Hunt), the Vandermark 5 (Kessler) and the Mark Isham Band (Maunu). For each release, Mars puts together a series of medleys which combine Christmas & other holiday songs with melodies composed or often played by avant/jazz/sax god, Albert Ayler. “The Divine Peacemaker” starts with just cornet and tenor sax, the way Mr. Williams often begins certain songs. I love the way the horns play around the theme at first before joining together for an uplifting central melody. Peter Maunu’s violin buzzes underneath, adding a frenzied flavor that Albert Ayler used on a few of his later records (weird strings). Williams always does a great job of combining several songs together, finding their common thread and then giving his bandmates a chance to stretch out and solo joyously. Williams switches to a suona (snake charmers double reed thing) for a spin with string(s) and percussion. The song ends with a snippet from “Let it Snow” which works just right to let us back down to Mother Earth. “The Angels Sing with The Old & New Ghosts…”, opens with Ayler’s “Ghosts”, which morphs into assorted Christmas melodies like “Glory Hallelujah” & “Feliz Navidad”. Ayler’s “Light in Darkness” came from his ‘Live in the Greenwich Village’ album. Mars Williams does a great job of capturing Albert Ayler’s unique, bent-note, spirit-launching tone so he often pushes the spirit up another level. Towards the last section of the third piece/medley, it almost sound as if a Dixieland band has erupted into… this crazed, supremely inspired, joyous holiday music to drink eggnog to imbibe other strange spirits. - BLG/DMG
CD $12

ARTIFACTS: TOMEKA REID / NICOLE MITCHELL / MIKE REED - …and then there’s this (Astral Spirits 139; USA) Artifacts is/are Nicole Mitchell on flutes & electronics, Tomeka Reid on cello and Mike Reed on drums. The first Artifacts disc came out in 2015 and was a tribute to the AACM with all compositions from various elder AACM composers like Anthony Braxton, Leroy Jenkins and Amina Claudine Myers. Six years later, the second Artifacts CD has just been released and it has only two covers by AACM composers: Muhal Richard Abrams and Roscoe Mitchell. The personnel remains the same for this most formidable, distinctive trio. Mike Reed’s “Pleasure Palace” opens with the trio sailing tightly together and Ms. Mitchell’s powerful flute soaring above. Two pieces here are trio improv, the first one is dedicated to the late drummer Alvin Fielder. Ms. Mitchell keeps changing the tone of her flute throughout (sometimes with & without electronics) so that it is hard to tell what she is playing. Mike Reed’s “BLessed” has a sort of funky groove with Ms. Reid plucking some greasy lines on her cello while Ms. Mitchell takes an infectious, uplifting flute solo. That sly groove continues through “In Response to” which features another impressive solo from master-flutist, where she adds some selective electronic enhancements , stretching out her sound even further. Ms. Reid’s “Song for Helena” features some lovely cello & flute harmonies and skeletal percussion, this is a sublime delight. Muhal Richard Abrams’ “Soprano Song” has the flute and cello playing separate difficult yet intersecting lines with the drums holding down the central rhythmic undertow. “J.J.” is dedicated to the late Joseph Jarman and it is another thoughtful improv piece: spacious, eerie, organic… The final piece, “No Side Effects”, a claim which is rarely true, has a bent, sort-of funky groove that sounds like it is about to slow down or just stop, which it does. Hmmmmmm. This is one of those discs that will reveal more layers once I get to listen to it several more times. There is something modestly marvelous going on here so just be patient for the punchlines to pop up. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $12

PAULA SHOCRON / WILLIAM PARKER / PABLO DIAZ - El Templo (Astral Spirits 164; USA) Featuring Paula Shocron on piano, William Parker on bass and Pablo Diaz on drums. Review next week.
CD $12

NICK MAZZARELLA / INGEBRIGT HAKER FLATEN / AVREEAYL RA - What You Seek is Seeking You (Astral Spirits 187; USA) Featuring Nick Mazzarella on alto sax & bells, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten on bass and Avreeayl Ra on drums. Review next week.
CD $12 [Limited Edition of 500 CD’s]

SVEN-AKE JOHANSSON / NIKLAS FITE / JOEL GRIP - Swinging at Topsi’s (Astral Spirits 175; USA) An evening of free improvisation recorded in Berlin at au Topsi Pohl in 2020 from the Swedish trio of Euro Free Jazz legend Sven-Ake Johansson on drums, Niklas Fite on acoustic guitar and Joel Grip on double bass, performing two extended and dynamic improvisations, and then settling into jazz standard form for "Isn't It Romantic" and "Out of Nowhere" sung by by Johansson. The novelty and warmth of the songs aside, the serious work heard in Sets 1 & 2 of shows the trio in fine form, evolving their conversation through a wide range of moods and technical skill, making the core of the album a great example of free expression.
CD $12

LARRY OCHS / MARS WILLIAMS / JULIEN DESPREZ / MATHIEU SOURISSEAU / SAMUEL SILVENT - Stroboscope (The Bridge Sessions 09; France) Featuring Larry Ochs on tenor & sopranino saxes, Mars Williams on saxes & toys, Julien Desprez on electric guitar, Mathieu Sourisseau on acoustci bass guitar and Samuel Silvant on drums.
CD $20 (We have been trying to get copies of this disc from the French label for years but still no luck, just got 3 from Mars Williams)

TIM DAISY / MARS WILLIAMS - Live from Vienna (Relay Recordings 02870; USA) “Mars Williams is an open-minded musician, composer and educator who commutes easily between free jazz, funk, hip-hop and rock, Mars has played and recorded with The Psychedelic Furs, Billy Idol, Massacre, Fred Frith, Bill Laswell, Ministry, Power Station, Die Warzau, The Waitresses, Kiki Dee, Pete Cosey, DJ Logic, Wayne Kramer, John Scofield, Charlie Hunter, Kurt Elling, Swollen Monkeys, Mike Clark, Jerry Garcia, Naked Raygun, Friendly Fires, The Untouchables, Blow Monkeys and virtually every leading figure of Chicago’s and New York City's "downtown" scene.
John Zorn credits Mars as "one of the true saxophone players--someone who takes pleasure in the sheer act of blowing the horn. This tremendous enthusiasm is an essential part of his sound, and it comes through each note every time he plays. Whatever the situation, Mars plays exciting music. In many ways he has succeeded in redefining what versatility means to the modern saxophone player."
Tim Daisy is an American drummer and composer working in the fields of improvised and composed music. Tim moved to Chicago in 1997 and since that time has performed, recorded, and toured with many national and international improvised musicians and ensembles. He was a member of the Vandermark 5 from 2002 to 2010.”
CD $15

PAULINE KIM-HARRIS - “Wild At Heart” (Sono Luminus DSL-92253) For non-violinists like myself it is likely impossible to understand the full shadow that Bach's “Chaccone” (Movement V of Partita in D Minor for Solo Violin BMV 1004) casts over solo work for the instrument. Many dedicated classical violinists consider it essential repertoire, and countless soloists and composers throughout history (including Robert Schumann, Joshua Bell and Yehudi Menuhin) are quoted saying something to the effect that it is the greatest work for solo violin of all time. Not only is it one of the most performed pieces in Bach’s canon for solo instruments, it has also been interpreted and transcribed widely for other instruments, expanded upon for solo piano etc. One of the striking features of the piece is its demanding demonstration of counterpoint relying on double stops, rapid bowing, and intricate chord voicings which never loses the central thread of heartwrenching lyricism. For Pauline-Kim Harris’ latest CD, she presents four disparate yet coherent commissioned settings / reinterpretations of Bach’s piece, allowing the source material to amplify and challenge the voices of composers Yoon-Ji Lee, Elizabeth Hoffman, Annie Gosfield, and John King. I am most familiar with Kim-Harris’ playing as part of the excellent duo String Noise, an ensemble with a knack for rigorous detail in performance, and excellent curatorial sense in their collaborators. This CD remains true to the expectations set by String Noise’s recent work (I reviewed their “Alien Stories” several weeks ago), and provides a well balanced roster of pieces with illuminating liner notes voiced directly by the composers. Each collaborator seemed to have been given relatively free reign at deciding how best to interface with the source material, and each process is described herein, but the undeniably gloomy and ominously timeless character of the original translates clearly throughout. The achievement here is a natural and reverent reframing of a “masterwork" with a highly refreshing and virtuosic contemporary vision. - Frank Meadows for DMG
CD $14

DIAMANDA GALÅS - “Diamanda Galás” (Intravenal Sound Operations 005; USA) The world might have only recently caught up with the work of vocalist and sound artist Diamanda Galás, or perhaps it never will. This reissue of her legendary self-titled album, originally released on Metalanguage in 1984, is the latest in an ongoing reclamation project through Galás’ own label Intravenal Sound Operations. The two pieces, Panoptikon and Song from the Blood Of Those Murdered, are here presented with concise and cutting contextualization, as well as a bone-chilling fold-out mini-poster. A quote from Jack Hiemenz, writing for Musical America in 1983, describes a performance of Panoptikon: “At fifteen minutes, Panoptikon outlasted everything else on the program and provoked the widest variety of audience response - some covering their ears, others heading for the doors, still others enthusiastically applauding a musician who, more than any other that evening, had clearly given her all. If modern music has a Callas, it may well be Galás.” Galás here refers to fellow Greek-American soprano Maria Callas, a comparison that digs through the surface of industrial noise and positions Diamanda in the tradition of great vocal dramatists. The affect here is certainly melodramatic, but has more to do with horror than vaudeville. There is no way to avoid how singular of a voice Galás has, and while there are fragments of moments suggesting Meredith Monk, Laurie Anderson, Lotte Lenya, Varese, Brecht, Throbbing Gristle, and Yoko Ono it is safe to conclude there were few people making solo voice and electronic music combining these aesthetic fragments with as deep a vision as Galás in the early eighties. Age has not dulled the edges of this music, and a deft remastered and crisp presentation makes these pieces breathe with new life in the world we currently inhabit where the seams seem to be constantly fraying. “Song from the Blood of Those Murdered” (1981) channels Galás’ Greek heritage specifically the Maniates people, invoking the ancient tradition of “spontaneous and ecstatic lament on the death of one of their people…[this piece] is dedicated to the victims of the Greek junta, those tortured and killed during the dictatorship of 1967-74. The power of the piece is drawn from the blood-soaked earth. It is channeled through the witch/shaman persona of Galás.” This liltingly mournful and minimally adorned lament is melancholic and furious, mirroring the impact of political violence with sacred defiance. The amount of control, intentionality and innovative weight of these recordings deserve more credit as a template for exhaustively passionate performance, and I am thankful that this increasingly rare artifact is being given new life. - Frank Meadows for DMG
CD $15

NURSE WITH WOUND - Surveillance Lounge (Dirter Productions Dprom 072LTD; UK) Long out-of-print and much in-demand, this classic Nurse With Wound CD is now back as a double-CD. This double-CD set includes a CD of a completely unreleased alternate mix. Packaged in a stunning matte digipak, with all the information in a clear gloss spot varnish. This is only visible from certain angles! Nurse With Wound playing The Surveillance Lounge were and are Steven Stapleton, Andrew Liles, David Tibet, Nadja Belabidi, Lynn Jackson, Ollie Mathura O'Keeffe, Freek Kinkelaar, Miranda Kinkelaar, Melon Liles, and Maude Swift.
2 CD Set $21

YOVA - Nine Lives (Quartertone Recordings 001CD; UK) “YOVA comprises Macedonian vocalist and lyricist Jova Radevska and multi-instrumentalist Mark Vernon. Debut album Nine Lives features nine shapeshifting songs, the album features contributions from Daniel O'Sullivan (Grumbling Fur, Tim Burgess) bass, viola and keyboards; Terry Edwards (Nick Cave, Tom Waits) baritone sax; David Rhodes (Kate Bush, Scott Walker) guitars; Anna Phoebe violin; Nick Holland (Balanescu Quartet) cello; Alex Thomas (John Cale, UNKLE) drums; and legendary pedal steel guitarist BJ Cole; along with Ian Olliver (PJ Harvey) on bass, and multi-instrumentalist Rob Ellis (PJ Harvey), who also plays drums and writes YOVA's string arrangements. The album features an array of unusual and exotic instruments including the Ondes Martenot, the Marxophone and the medieval Sackbut. Jova was born and raised in Macedonia. "A sunny and warm country, with a rich history," she says. "I came to the UK out of curiosity as an eighteen-year-old. I very much like the diversity. The UK is bursting with music history and one meets many like-minded people. I met Mark at a gig I was doing in London. We never know where our collaboration will take us. This way or that, it is always different." Mark has both managed and recorded with John Cale amongst others, and also co-produced tracks on PJ Harvey's debut album Dry (1992), including the iconic debut single "Dress". On Nine Lives, Mark reunites Rob Ellis and Ian Olliver -- the original rhythm section from those recordings. Mark Vernon: "Once the structure of the nine songs had been written, each song then developed naturally with the musicians, initially Rob Ellis and Daniel O'Sullivan, reacting intuitively in terms of their playing and the instrumentation. In terms of genre, the music of each track is allowed to inhabit its own universe. So there are no pre-ordained or fixed common denominators, other than the voice, the personnel and the song structure. The musicians had the freedom to shape-shift the songs playfully throughout the album. I think of it as nine different rides on a trip to a sonic adventure park."
CD $15

METAL CHAOS ENSEMBLE - Inferno (Evil Clown 9283; USA) METAL CHAOS ENSEMBLE Inferno (Evil Clown 9283; US) More spellbinding razzledazzle from the Evil Clown family of sonic provocateurs, this time courtesy of the multi-limbed Metal Chaos Ensemble. “Led” by EC label impresario Dave PEK hoisting up high his usual mind-melting array of instruments, on this go ‘round the Ensemble also comprises Bob Moores (space trumpet, flugelhorn, baritone electric guitar, efx, soft synths, etc.), Eric Woods (analog synthesis), Mike Gruen (signal processing, purple sparkles electric bass), and Steve Niemitz (Chaos kit, various drums, bells, and other percussive paraphernalia), in addition to recording engineer Joel Simches, who endeavors to prevent the whole enterprise from falling in to the abyss and provides additional real-time signal processing. All told, this is another walk in the wild woods, a massive, marathon mess o’ sound that is at once overwhelming, cathartic, demanding, exhausting, and exhilarating. Facile descriptors for this music simply don’t apply here: such notions as ‘jazz’, ‘improv’, or ‘avantism’ are merely fading signposts that act only as off-the-cuff categorical pin-drops. This is true experimental music that along its hour-plus duration deconstructs everything you know about sound and reorients it in ways most of us could scarcely contemplate, much less actualize. Between the gusty derecho of synthesis, the fusillade of clanging metals, the airbursts of brass and woodwinds, and everything in between, PEK and Co. essentially mandate we change our methods of listening, even when bludgeoning us about the head with their blustery blurts of sound. Occasionally PEK speaks in a biblical, Burroughsian tongue whose narrative threads a malevolence reflected in the diabolus in musica splattering before our ears, lending an arch, theatrical, sidelong weight to a music often lacking in such elements. Be careful ye who enter here indeed; powerful stuff, not for the faint-hearted. - Darren Bergstein, DMG - Darren Bergstein, DMG
CD $10

SIMULACRUM - Synesthesia (Evil Clown 9282; USA) Synesthesia is loosely defined as a phenomenon wherein you hear music but see shapes and/or colors. The word translates as “perceive together”, a strange and aberrant twisting of perception wherein one sensory stimulus is seen through the prism of a different stimulus. The Simulacrum collective knows this condition only too well, and comes about as close as anyone can to making synesthetes out of us all. Dave PEK, Bob Moores, and Eric Woods (aided and abetted by recording engineer Joel Simches, whose real-time signal processing provides the icing on the cake), performing on their usual armament of instrumentation both acoustic and electronic, guide us across a scorched earth of noises, tones, and sequences that burst like iridescent fireworks for the mind, leaving after-images permanently burned on our retinas. At roughly the ten-minute mark of this hour-long improv opus, spurts of random-access synth give way to morse-code beeps and telex arcana while tinkling percussives enter the airspace sideways amidst dive-bombing flares of horn. What seems like flagrant chaos and barely-controlled noise reveals layers of expertly telegraphed pulse that mitigates the idea these blokes are simply blowing in to the wind; the torrent of ideas leaping out at you from all angles paint a portrait of mad geniuses at play who know how to expertly navigate the complex soundfields they instantly devise. It almost sounds devilishly composed at points, but so much is happening at any one moment you realize all three musicians are in a veritable frenzy trying to get a grip on the landrush of ideas they’ve unleashed. As the music waxes and wanes, a plucking of guitar here, a tsunamic-rush of electronics there, the listener is so swept up in this galvanic ecosystem there’s barely time to catch a breath. Couldn’t imagine any other collective you’d prefer to be willingly asphyxiated by. - Darren Bergstein, DMG
CD $10

PEK SOLO / AN ORCHESTRA OF PEKS - Prisms (Evil Clown 9270; USA) When let loose in his studio unencumbered, Dave PEK can make one helluva brave noise. In the company of other like-minded souls in the loose affiliation that is the Evil Clown contingent, PEK and his cohorts often rain their sounds down upon us from the heavens like so much angry manna; solo, PEK opens the floodgates so to speak, and what makes each of his realizations so utterly enthralling is the sheer wonder and awe of it all. On this outing, PEK strives to wrench order out of the disparate strands of the universe, to physically wrestle with his variegated motifs and make sense of the individual components. Hah! As the Borg say, resistance is futile, so we’re again swept up in the PEK solo maelstrom, mere whipping boys to his acid-tongued reflexes and gift for paranormal gab. He expresses himself in ways that often defy belief, whether it’s the alien sax wailings that parry with the spastic electronic choreography bursting out around the seventeen minute index, or when he revisits hues colored dark and dusky and arching out of space forty energizing minutes in. Speaking of space, PEK eventually mutes the earthbound cavities of his rustic brass to probe the Mariana trenches of the blackened cosmos as this powerful sonic architecture widens and defines itself further, to the point where, as it finally concludes, we’re situated in some fifth world hybrid where synthetic fauna bungle in the jungle and androids dream of electric sheep. Yowza. - Darren Bergstein, DMG
CD $10

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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.

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December program at ZÃœRCHER Gallery, NY :

Thursday December 16, 8 PM : TYSHAWN SOREY & ADAM RUDOLPH
Monday December 20, 8 PM PETR KOTIK presents .. (TBD) 

All Gigs are $20
THE Zürcher Gallery is located at:
33 Bleecker Street, New York NY 10012
Tel: 212-777-0790 / studio@galeriezurcher.com
Proof of full vaccination, photo ID and face masks are required

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December 13, 8 p.m. Continuum Culture & Arts presents
SOUP & SOUND AROUND BROOKLYN

RAS MOSHE BURNETT multi-winds & beyond
ALEXIS MARCELO piano
ANDREW DRURY drums

LIVE PERFORMANCE
SOUP
SPECIAL VIDEO PREMIERE
(Continuum produced video featuring Ras in Vermont)

proof of vaccination and masks required
7:30 doors open and soup is on
8:00 music starts
$20 suggested donation (pay what you want)
292 Lefferts Ave. Brooklyn
2/5 to Sterling St. 2 minute walk
B/Q to Prospect Park 12 minute walk
www.soupandsound.org

upcoming...
1/13 CHRISTINE CORREA (video) sings Max Roach protest songs
1/23 special Soup & Sound & Sauna! Double bill featuring JR RHODES THE FOREST (percussion ensemble) and soup and (yes) a SAUNA at Orchard Hill Farm in East Alstead, New Hampshire
4/15 JULIAN PRIESTER

Soup & Sound Around Brooklyn 2021, is a program of Continuum Culture & Arts, Inc.,
And non-profit 501(C)(3) organization. www.continuumculture.org
Mailing address:
Soup & Sound
292 Lefferts Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11225-4115

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GauciMusic presents:
Live at Scholes Street Studio

Saturday December 18th, 8pm & 9:30pm sets
Live recording / Live audience!

featuring:
Stephen Gauci - tenor saxophone
Angelica Sanchez - piano
Adam Lane - bass
Chad Taylor - drums

$15 at the door
At Scholes Street Studio / 718-964-8763
375 Lorimer St, Brooklyn, NY
near Lorimer J/M, Montrose L

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The Independent Promoters Alliance Presents:

MARILYN LERNER / KEN FILIANO / LOU GRASSI
Sunday December 26 at 7pm
At Michiko - 149 West 46th Street (Manhattan), Stage 2
Proof of vaccination and ID are required by the venue.
$20 (suggested donation)

THE TOM RAINEY TRIO with INGRID LAUBROCK & MARY HALVORSON!
Thursday, December 30th at 7:30pm - $20
At DiMenna Center for the Performing Arts
450 West 57th St. in Manhattan, NYC
Proof of full vaccination, photo ID and face masks are required

The NuBand @ Michiko Featuring:
THOMAS HEBERER / KENNY WESSEL / JOE FONDA / LOU GRASSI!
Friday, January 21 at 7 pm  $20 (suggested donation)
Machiko - 149 West 46th Street (Manhattan), Stage 2
Proof of vaccination and ID are required by the venue.
$20 (suggested donation)

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This one is from CHRIS CUTLER, original member of Henry Cow, Art Bears, News from Babel, respected author and founder of Recommended Records. This is Chris’ wonderful podcast and I urge you all to give it a listen…

https://rwm.macba.cat/en/research/probes-312-auxiliaries

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Guitarist and DMG-pal HENRY KAISER has a monthly Video Solo Series on Cuneiform’s Youtube page:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yeOIVqGLKY
https://www.youtube.com/c/CuneiformRecords/videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGc9OI16hcE

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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 & improvisations on each episode. Here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/gary.lucas.5836/
https://garylucas.com/www/streams/streams.shtml