DMG Newsletter for March 4th, 2022

Masters of War
Written & performed by Bob Dylan

Come, you masters of war

You that build the big guns

You that build the death planes

You that build all the bombs
You that hide behind walls

You that hide behind desks

I just want you to know

I can see through your masks

You that never done nothin'

But build to destroy

You play with my world
Like it's your little toy

ou put a gun in my hand

And you hide from my eyes

And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly


Like Judas of old

You lie and deceive

A world war can be won
You want me to believe

But I see through your eyes

And I see through your brain

Like I see through the water
That runs down my drain

You fasten all the triggers

For the others to fire
Then you sit back and watch

While the death count gets higher

You hide in your mansion

While the young peoples' blood
Flows out of their bodies

And is buried in the mud

You've thrown the worst fear

That can ever be hurled

Fear to bring children
Into the world

For threatenin' my baby
Unborn and unnamed

You ain't worth the blood

That runs in your veins

How much do I know

To talk out of turn?

You might say that I'm young

You might say I'm unlearned
But there's one thing I know

Though I'm younger than you

That even Jesus would never

Forgive what you do

Let me ask you one question

Is your money that good?

Will it buy you forgiveness?
Do you think that it could?

I think you will find
When your death takes its toll

All the money you made

Will never buy back your soul

And I hope that you die

And your death will come soon

I'll follow your casket

On a pale afternoon

I'll watch while you're lowered

Down to your deathbed

And I'll stand over your grave

'Til I'm sure that you're dead”

The above song appears on Bob Dylan’s second album from 1963, called ‘The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan’. It was written during the time of Cuban Missile Crisis, when Russia first threatened us and the rest of the world with talk of deploying nuclear weapons. Sixty years later, their fearless leader, Vlad Putin, is again threatening us all with nuclear annihilation while he bombs the hell out of Ukraine for no good reason. Some things just do not change! Read the words to this song again or better yet, listen to Bob Dylan singing it on some old vinyl. If that doesn’t make your blood boil, then you are already dead. I read the news every day on the Daily Kos, Raw Story, WSNBC, the Guardian, the NY Times, etc and I just get more frustrated and angry at what I see & hear. Some Right Wing Scum actually cheered for Fuhrer Putin at the CPAC convention last week. Imagine that!

The GOP is no longer the conservative party it once was, it is now filled with:
Racists, fascists, loudmouths & liars,
Greed mongers, fear mongers and climate change deniers,
Fake patriots, religious fanatics and Fake News broadcasters,
Right Wing Propaganda Hosts And their Magat Zombie minions,
Indignant wise-asses with wealth-controlled opinions,
White Supremacists, Nazi sympathizers and misogynists all,
Cancel culture bullsh*t artist complainers
Who talk about things that no one should care about at all
There are only two parties left:
The Party of Love & Hope and The Party of Hate!
Which one are you part of? Think about it.

MC BruceLee, March 3, 2022

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FRIDAY MARCH 11 - NEW SCHOOL 12TH ST AUDITORIUM   
BENEFIT FOR UKRAINE

doors 630 - 730 start  - $50

LAURIE ANDERSON AND JOHN ZORN DUO
laurie anderson - violin, voice, electronics
john zorn - sax

PHILIP GLASS SOLO
philip glass - piano

NEW MASADA QUARTET
john zorn - sax
julian lage - guitar 
scott colley - bass
kenny wollesen - drums

JULIAN LAGE TRIO
julian lage - guitar 
scott colley - bass
kenny wollesen - drums

JOE LOVANO AND DAVE DOUGLAS: SOUND PRINTS
joe lovano - sax
dave douglas - trumpet
piano, bass, drums

We are waiting to get the link for those who wish to get their tickets in advance.
We will also spread the word via: InstaGram, Twitter and Facebook
There will a second benefit at Roulette soon thereafter so we will let you know when we get the details for that one as well.

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THE DOWNTOWN MUSIC GALLERY 31st ANNIVERSARY IN-STORE FREE MUSIC SERIES CONTINUES WITH:

Tuesday, March 8th:
6:30: ARON NAMEMWIRTH / CLAIRE de BRUNNER / PATRICK GOLDEN - Guitar / Bassoon / Drums
7:30: DAVID GROLLMAN - Solo Snare, etc.

Saturday, March 12th: The GAUCI-MUSIC Series Continues with: TRIPLE CD Release Sets!
6:30pm CD release concert for "Eli Wallace/Stephen Gauci, Pandemic Duets"
ELI WALLACE - synth / STEPHEN GAUCI - tenor saxophone
7:15pm CD release concert for "Kevin Shea/Stephen Gauci, Pandemic Duets"
KEVIN SHEA - drums / STEPHEN GAUCI - tenor saxophone
8pm CD release concert for: "Gauci/Wallace/Shea, Live at the Bushwick Series"
STEPHEN GAUCI - tenor sax / ELI WALLACE - synth / KEVIN SHEA - drums

Tuesday, March 15th:
6:30: s0nic 0penings with PATRICK BRENNAN / HILLIARD GREENE / MICHAEL TA THOMPSON
7:30: MICHAEL FOSTER & Company

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This Week’s Dynamic Discs Begin with This All-Star Tribute CD!

A TRIBUTE TO ALVIN FIELDER with EDWARD “KIDD” JORDAN / JOEL FUTTERMAN / WILLIAM PARKER / HAMID DRAKE - Live at Vision Festival XXIV (Mahakala Music; USA) “Pianist Joel Futterman and saxophonist Kidd Jordan salute a fallen comrade on Tribute to Alvin Fielder, an energized and eclectic free improvisation. Joined by bassist William Parker and drummer Hamid Drake, their performance was recorded live at the Brooklyn club Roulette during the 2019 Vision Festival in New York. It includes 45 minutes of continuous—and continuously shifting—music.
Futterman and Jordan were longtime friends and collaborators of Fielder, an explorative drummer and founding member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) who passed away in January of 2019. Parker previously worked with the trio on Jordan’s 1999 New Orleans Festival Suite. With Drake taking the kit, the musicians ably evoke Fielder’s loose, omnivorous approach to rhythm and time and run the gamut of the jazz lineage. From New Orleans tradition to bop to free form, Tribute to Alvin Fielder also pays tribute to the music Fielder loved.
Although the quartet’s improvisation consistently changes shape and approach, it doesn’t easily break down into sections. The twists and turns are organic, each idea a logical extension of the preceding one. Hard-driving paroxysm evolves into earthy spiritual jazz, evolves into inquisitive solo bass. Time compresses, expands, and vanishes all together. Within those developments, however, are moments of complete spontaneity, whether in Futterman’s quote of Thelonious Monk’s “Crepuscule with Nellie” ten minutes into the proceedings, or Jordan and Parker’s ghostly moans in the closing moments.
Still, there are constants in the music. They lie in Parker and Drake’s simmering rhythmic lines—which for all their varying forms and directions, never relent even for an instant—and in the raw intensity of the performance. Fielder’s friends and fellow artists grieve his loss, yet also summon the powers of their imaginations to create sublime, in-the-moment music.
Which is surely the best possible eulogy. Sad though his physical departure (as his onetime employer Sun Ra would say) may be, Tribute to Alvin Fielder makes clear that the creative spirits that inspired and animated the drummer’s 83 years not only live on but thrive. Indeed, they show no sign of fading anytime soon.”
CD $12

MICHAEL BISIO & MATTHEW SHIPP - Flow of Everything (Listen! Foundation FSR01/2002; Poland) Featuring Matt Shipp on piano and Michael Bisio on contrabass. Michael Bisio and Matt Shipp have a longtime bond, performing together for numerous duo & trio dates & sessions for more than a decade. Mr. Shipp came to visit us here at DMG earlier this week (3/1/22) and we had a long talk the current and ongoing situation: the Downtown Music Scene, playing live and the way the pandemic has affected all of our lives. Since the pandemic shut down pretty much all live performances here and everyone else on Earth, musicians had to resort to figuring out what to do with their creative talents. Mr. Shipp explained that one the good things about not being able to perform live was having much more time to practice alone and come up with new ideas/material. This duet was recorded in April of 2021, just a month after the pandemic began in mid March of 2021. This dou sounds like they are entering a new phase in their longtime playing situation. Commencing with “Flow”, which starts out slowly with both Mr. Bisio & Mr. Shipp both playing a series of low-end, pulsing bass-lines together, while Shipp soon adds another line of dialogue with several repeating phrases on his right hand. “Bow for Everyone” features a thoughtful, bowed bass intro, the entire piece has a calm at the center vibe the bass & piano softly interweaving some rather majestic lines. Over time the tempo and tension increases to near boiling point as both push several lines around one another, the spirits slowing ascending. One thing I do notice throughout this work is that Mr. Bisio’s inspired bass playing is often at the center of what is going on here, providing a pulse, pushing up the tension and increasing the spiritual flow as the disc unfolds. From time to time Mr. Shipp adds a certain phrase or line which will add some punctuation or a change in direction (or flow). Instead of watching a dumb sit-com, I found that listening to an inspired duo like this is much more engaging, filled with some smart dialogue and shrewd interaction. Strong medicine, indeed! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15

DANIEL LEVIN / MAT MANERI - Personal Myths (Mahakala Music 018; USA) Featuring Daniel Levin on cello and Mat Maneri on viola. Recorded at The Clubhouse in Rhinebeck, NY in April of 2021. It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Downtown cellist Daniel Levin. The last I recall were two trios with Chris Pitsiokos & Brandon Seabrook, two other local giants. After releasing some dozen discs with an evolving quartet & trio, Mr. Levin has done several duos: Rob Brown, Tim Daisy & Juan Pablo Caretti. This is the second recording by this duo plus Mat Maneri replaced Nate Wooley on the last Daniel Levin Quartet disc (‘Live at Firehouse 12’, CF 407, 2017). Mat Maneri is a mysterious figure who never ceases to amaze me, live (!) and on record, as well. Last week (3/1/22), we had a trio/quartet set here that really blew some minds: Mat Maneri on viola, Brandon Lopez on contrabass & Nick Fraser (from Toronto) on drums plus guest Sean Ali on mandolin! Wow! Check out our Insta-Gram feed to hear/see 2 clips. So looking forward to checking this disc out…
The name of this disc is ‘Personal Myths’ and the cover contains some religious-looking artifacts: gold wine goblet, large jewelry box… Both of these mighty musicians are well-matched. There is a constant quick flow and cross-currents going on. This is Magic Music where the muses are juggling several threads simultaneously. Music like an ancient tapestry with different patterns assembled, reassembled and twisted into odd shapes. That was the first long track called, “Master Builders” which sounds like characters in the Gong Mythology. The second piece, “Lyrical Friction” is aptly titled. It is scary, with some strange sounds, the amplified strings push the usually acoustic subtle sounds into our faces and sound more extreme, from quiet parts to way intense louder sections. There is quite a balancing act going on as well, daredevil episodes in between small seas of calm. This music sounds like it is in its own world, creating its own unique perspective and sound. There is a section where Daniel Levin (sounds like) he is crumbling papers or rubbing surfaces of something, with Maneri’s own unique odd sounds, but it all sound like music or dialogue or something else entirely. There guys are pushing the limits here a bit beyond what someone might expect. But that is a good thing since we seem to live in a world in which someone out there is pushing many of those buttons which control what we think & do. Someone else need to mess with those in charge and give another perspective on life. It seems to me that certain bent notes on those strings sound like someone is stretching time out of its place a bit. Both of these cats are masters of bending those notes just right. On the last piece, they lay back and quiet down yet still carefully bend those notes and keep us off balance in a more charming way. An intense novel for the mind with a well-needed, more restrained ending. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $12

CHAD FOWLER / MATTHEW SHIPP - Old Stories (Mahakala Music 026; Earth) Featuring Chad Fowler on stritch & saxello and Matt Shipp on piano. Chad Fowler runs this, the Mahakala label as well as playing two rare reed instruments. Mahakala is a most impressive newer label which has released more than a dozen great discs of mostly Free/Jazz/Spirit/Music. So far they’ve featured a fine coterie of Free/Jazz Giants: Kidd Jordan, William Parker, Borah Bergman, Perry Robinson, Ivo Perelman, Rob Brown, Steve Swell, Marshall Allen and others. Mr. Fowler only appears on a couple of these releases so far. For this disc he plays stritch, which is a straight (curveless) alto sax without the upturned bell (made famous by Rahsaan Roland Kirk), and a saxello, a super rare straight (usually) sax, which is in between a soprano & a sopranino sax size-wise. Soft Machine saxist Elton Dean was the player who brought the most attention to his playing of the saxello. Mr. Fowler, for this disc works with master Downtown pianist Matt Shipp, who has done a fair share of duo sessions perviously with other saxists: Ivo Perelman, Rob Brown, Daniel cater & Evan Parker.
This disc was recorded, mixed & mastered at Park Wet Studios by Jim Clouse in October of 2021. Although Chad Fowler is a new partner for Mr. Shipp, both musicians sound as if they have have been working for a long while. Disc One begins with “Chapter I”, which starts off intensely and then calms down a bit, organically building, through hills and valleys. Although Mr. Shipp plays a series of slow, dark passages, there is a melodic center which Mr. Fowler responds to with some solemn yet lyrical playing. Mr. Fowler plays the stritch here and has a strong, turbulent tone, blowing hard at times, stirring up the cauldron and then adding some thoughtful bent notes, his tone pretty unique and most distinctive. Most of these begin with Mr. Shipp playing something which sets the mood with Mr. Fowler soon following and adding his own sympathetic lines. What makes Mr. Fowler special is that he has a distinctive tone & approach, making each note count without sounding like he is doing some repeating exercises that some saxist with great chops have a tendency to do. I dig how each piece sounds like a short story with some inner turmoil and lyrical detours, all swirling together. The balance is just right as certain sections brings things to a more reflective episode before reaching for higher grounds later on. This is an incredible duo which works like two masters in close dialogue. Superb, enchanting and well worth checking out! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
2 CD Set $16

EDDIE PREVOST / KEN IKEDA / MASSIMO MAGEE / JOSHUA WEITZEL - Easter Monday Music (577 Records 5907; USA) “Two extended free electroacoustic improvisations in the AMM/London Improvisation Workshop vein, recorded live at London's Cafe OTO: first a prelude in the duo of Massimo Magee on electronics & saxophone and Joshua Weitzel on the 3-string Japanese shamisen; then expanded to a quartet with percussionist Eddie Prevost and Ken Ikeda on synthesizer.”
CD $14

OMRI ZIEGELE WHERE'S AFRICA with YVES THEILER / DARIO SISERA - That Hat (Intakt CD 375; Switzerland) Featuring Omri Ziegele on alto sax, nai (ney?) & vocals, Yves Thelier on keyboards and Dario Sisera on drums & percussion. There has been a longtime and ongoing appreciation of South Africa jazz which has been nurtured by audiences in Switzerland for more than a half century. Both Dollar Brand and the Blue Notes (South Africa’s finest) had residencies at club(s) in Zurich in the early-to-mid sixties. The Grand Dame of European Free-Jazz piano, Irene Schweizer, witnessed and was inspired by these early expats, her playing draws inspiration from this music. Swiss saxist Omri Ziegele, has worked with Ms. Schweizer in recent years and has also been heavily inspired by South African music. So much has this music informed his playing & composing that he formed a trio called Where’s Africa. Where’s Africa also features two other fine Swiss musicians: keyboardist Yves Theiler and drummer Dario Sisera, both of whom have leader or co-leader discs for the Intakt and Leo labels. This is the third disc by the Where’s Africa Trio, their first was a trio with Irene Schweizer and drummer Makaya Ntshoko. Mr. Ziegele also has several other ongoing projects, his incredible big band Billiger Bauer and the Noisy Minority, all well-worth checking out.
All the songs here were written by Mr. Ziegele or Mr. Theiler, as well as traditional folk song. “Back Home” opens things with an infectious melody & groove which had me dancing around my kitchen where my computer is. The title track, “That Hat”, starts one way with another infectious groove and then calms down to a somber, reflective section with some eerie electric piano and then its back to another sumptuous laid back greasy groove. One of the numerous highlights here is called, “Carpathian Folk Song” which is played on a ney, an end-blown flute used in mostly Middle eastern music. This song begins with some sublime solo flute and is later joined by suspense-filled skeletal electric piano. The overall effect is most dream-like and mystical, easing down to near silence before it picks up again with a lovely lullaby-like section near the end. When I woke up today, I was feeling kinda bleary-eyed due to drinking some wine & dancing to the Dead before I fell asleep. Once the sun started to shine through my window, it felt like Spring and once I put this disc on, I felt as if the road to inner joy had arrived. Hence, why not put on your dancing (sailing?) shoes and get on down. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $18

ECLECTIC MAYBE BAND - Again Alors? (Discus 130CD; UK) Wild, mind-expanding, and all over the proverbial categorical map, the third album by Eclectic Maybe Band is something of a Discus-centric supergroup. Though founded and fronted by former Univers Zero bassist and composer Guy Segers, in-house luminaries such as label impresario Martin Archer (clarinet) and Carla Diratz (vocals, whistle) are joined by fellow UZ alumnus Dirk Descheemaeker (sax and clarinet), Muffins and Skeleton Crew multi-instrumentalist Dave Newhouse, guitarist Angel Ontalva of Seaorm (and collaborator with Russian space rock outfit Vespero), and a whole host of extraordinarily gifted performers who lend their own idiosyncratic flavors to an already dizzying mix. Thankfully, Segers manages to keep the ship on course and steady so that the disparate sounds populating these compositions rarely drift into improvisational cacophony. The opening “Disquiet” is the album's de facto mission statement, its gradually ascending interstellar synths allowing time for the piece to achieve liftoff, setting the stage for an epic piece of mood and malevolence that could almost be early, seminal King Crimson if shoehorned into a more classically-structured matrix. “Further On the Ladder” makes overt the influence of Segers's parent band on his own musical sensibilities, doom-rock that somehow blends the satanic majesty of early Black Sabbath and vintage Henry Cow into a maelstrom of relentless groove, supported by a careening organ that lurches about like a drunken Prometheus on the prowl. “A Beast Trophy” initially gives the impression that it will carry on in a mad glee similar to its predecessor, but the fairground whimsy, barrage of japing horns, and splatterfest synths playfully conjure Hatfield and the North more than the teutonic hirsute rockers of krautrock past, though spiritually such allegiances aren’t found too far back in the fossil record. And the fear sharply metastasizes throughout the closing ten minutes of “Atmos Keyhole”, as Cathryn Robson’s oral ejaculations channel Diamanda Galas’s existential angst, Kazuyuki Kishino's ghost machine washes across Segers’s bass-scapes, and both crawl hesitantly about the wreckage of a studio stormed by mecha-beings intent on retaking the universe. Powerful, punchy, and proggy, and wholly Eclectic in the extreme. Which is precisely the point. - Darren Bergstein, DMG
CD $14

LES CHRONIQUES de l’INUTILE - L’occurence (concert takes) (El Negocito eNR099; Belgium) Les Chroniques is a chamber ensemble which features: Benjamin Sauzereau on guitar & compoistions, Pierre Bernard on flutes, Erik Bogaerts on saxes, Eric Bribosia on piano & keyboards, Lennart Heyndels on bass and Jens Bouttery on drums & keyboards. I know very little about most of the members of this sextet although bassist Lennart Heyndels does play in the Kaja Draksler Octet. This disc was recorded live at De Krook in Ghent and at Jazz Station in Brussels, both in Belgium. The first song, “Le duplicata”, is a lovely, austere, enchanting piece with a majestic intro, often somber with swirling guitar, keyboards, sax & flute all floating on top, finally coming together for a prog-like last section. On “L’autre malentendu”, that majestic, proglike sound expands and gets more intense with some wailing sax in the back ground. One of the things I like most about this disc/band is that some prog bands are a too heavy handed and/or overly complex. This is never the case here as all the pieces start off modestly and soon move in thoughtful written parts with few solos yet still much spirited ensemble interplay. On “Le subterfuge”, guitarist Benjamin Sauzereau gets a chance to stretch out and solo, a modest yet still engaging solo. For “Presque convive”, Mr. Sauzereau stretches out further, playing a spirited solo with the rest of the band rising and falling in waves around him, very cool! What I like most about this is that it sounds like it was well thought out first, the pieces fit together and are part of a larger picture of puzzle. “Les aventures d’Ignace Dabrowski” unfolds like a slow moving fairy tale, telling us a short story as it evolves. Although I’ve only listened to this disc a few times, I can hear how it has a central story that connects all of the pieces. It will take some time to figure some of these stories out but it is well worth that effort. Sometimes progressive ideas do come from an unlikely source. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15

TOC with FRANK GRATKOWSKI / JULIA BRUSSEL / LOTHAR OHLMEIER / WOLFGANG SEIDEL - TOC (Umland Records 39; EEC) Featuring Julia Brussel on violin, Frank Gratkowski on sax & flute, Lothar Ohlmeier on bass clarinet and Wolfgang Seidel on percussion, synth, piano & table-top guitar. At least once a week a new musician comes to visit us here at DMG and leave us with some of their music. This is of many things that make this job a great one! Earlier this week Julia Brussel, a violinist from Germany, came to visit and left us with two discs. I wasn’t familiar with Ms. Brussel before now, but I am very familiar with reeds player Frank Gratkowski. Aside from the fact that Mr. Gratkowski once played a duo set here at DMG, I see that Gratkowski can be found on more than 100 discs with many other fine players: Michiel Braam, Georg Graewe, Achim Kaufmann & many more. Another name I wasn’t familiar with is Lothar Ohlmeier who plays bass clarinet here. The percussionist & multi-instrumentalist Wolfgang Seidel turns out to have a long resume, going back some 50 years when he worked with Conrad Schnitzler, Kluster and later with Alfred Harth. Ms. Brussel and Mr. Seidel are on all 12 tracks with Gratkowski and Mr. Ohlmeier on six tracks each.
The music was recorded live in Berlin in 2020. The title of this disc, ’TOC’ stands for “table of contents” and each track title has those three letters as part of the name. Each of the 12 pieces is between 2 & 5 minutes long, hence nothing goes on for too long. Playing bass clarinet only was a relatively rare thing but a few musicians have done just that over the past few years (like Jason Stein). Ms. Brussel reminds me of violist Mat Maneri at times with the way she bends notes which sound microtonal. Both she and Mr. Ohlmeier sound good together, carefully weaving their notes around one another with Mr. Seidel’s spacious drums adding subtle shades. Mr. Gratkowski sounds a bit further from the mic and does a fine job of providing quicker, more abrupt lines for violin to interweave. On track 5, Ms. Brussel does a fine job of bowing her notes slowly while Mr. Seidel plays hushed ballets underneath and Mr. Gratkowski plays subtle flute, all three drifting together effortlessly. Mr. Seidel is sort of a wild card here, playing subtle percussion, inside the piano sounds, synth and table-top guitar. What’s interesting about this disc is that it mostly low key so that the interplay is often subtle with things happening on a more restrained spacious place. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $12

HILDE with JULIA BRUSSEL / MARIE DANIELS / MARIA TRAUTMANN / EMILY WITTBODT - Hilde (Umland Records 33; Germany) Hilde features Julia Brussel on violin, Marie Daniels on voice, Maria Trautmann on trombone and Emily Wittbrodt on cello. Earlier this week (3/1/22), a German-based violinist named Julia Brussel stopped by the store and left us with two discs. I hadn’t heard of any of the members of either disc except for saxist Frank Gratowski. For this disc, Ms. Brussel has organized a fine female quartet. Last Tuesday, DMG sponsored at set by Musique Libre Femmes, an all female improvising quintet led by Cheryl Pyle, celebrating Women’s History Month. That set was wonderful! DMG is always proud to present the music of those who deserve further recognition.
This disc was recorded live at The Loft & the Artheater in Cologne & Blackbox Munster in December of 2019 thru March of 2020. The opening piece, “rise”, is an intense, swirling, mass of strings, voice & trombone, coming together as one spirit/force. The title seems completely apt since the feeling within is one of a “rising” force. The voice and trombone work well together since both have some similar vocal-like qualities. There is a section here for just the two string players which sounds like a duo Cd I reviewed yesterday by Mat Maneri & Daniel Levin, no easy feat! This is hardcore free music improv at its best: intense, focused, quick changing, challenging to the listeners and musicians alike and the excitement factor is up high. Vocalist Marie Daniels is particularly strong throughout, glad to hear her do her thing, cast her up there with Sainko, Iva Bittova & Catherine Jauniaux. What makes this disc so special is that all four members are equally strong, focused and intense improvisers. The interactions are often astonishing! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $12

JACQUES THOLLOT with FRANCOIS JEANNEAU - Watch Devil Go (Souffle Continuo 071CD; France) “Souffle Continu Records present aa reissue of Jacques Thollot's Watch Devil Go, originally released in 1975. "To write these few lines, we spoke to saxophonist François Jeanneau, an old friend of Jacques Thollot who also played on several of his albums, including the Watch Devil Go which interests us here . . . A noted studio had reserved three days for a Thollot recording session. The first morning was devoted to sound checks and putting some order in the score sheets which Jacques would hand out in a somewhat anarchic manner. Then everyone went for lunch. When the musicians returned to the studio, Thollot had disappeared. He wasn't seen again for the three days. When he reappeared, he had already forgotten why he had left. The music of Jacques Thollot is in the image of its' author: it takes you somewhere, suddenly escapes and disappears, returning in an unexpected place as if nothing had happened. Four years after a first album on the Futura label in 1971, Jacques Thollot returned, this time on the Palm label of Jef Gilson, still with just as much surrealist poetry in his jazz. In thirty-five minutes and a few seconds, the French composer and drummer, who had been on the scene since he was thirteen, established himself as a link between Arnold Schoenberg and Don Cherry. Resistant to any imposed framework and always excessive, Thollot allows himself to do anything and everything: suspended time of an extraordinary delicacy, a stealthy explosion of the brass section, hallucinatory improvisation of the synthesizers, tight writing, teetering on the classical, and in the middle of all that, a hit; the title-track - that Madlib would one day end up hearing and sampling. Watch Devil Go was in the right place in the Palm catalog, which welcomed the cream of the French avant-garde in the '70s. But it is also the story of a long friendship between two men. Jacques Thollot and Jef Gilson had known and respected one another for a long time. Though barely sixteen years old, Thollot was already on drums on the first albums by Gilson starting in 1963 and would play in his big band (alongside François Jeanneau once again), Europamerica, until the end of the '70s. In a career lasting half a century and centered on freedom Jacques Thollot played with the most important experimental musicians and they all heard in him a pulsation coming from another world." --Jérôme "Kalcha" Simonneau. Licensed from Palm / Geneviève Quievreux. Remastered from the master tapes. Includes eight-page booklet with rare and unpublished photos.”
CD $16 or LP $30

JEAN-CHARLES CAPON / PHILIPPE MATE / BUTCH MORRIS / SERGE RAHOERSON - Capon/Mate/Morris/Rahoerson (Souffle Continuo FFL 072CD; France) “Souffle Continu Records present a reissue of Jean-Charles Capon/Philippe Maté/Lawrence "Butch" Morris/Serge Rahoerson, originally released in 1977. "In November 1976, Jef Gilson's phone rang. What a surprise! It was Serge Rahoerson, one of the musicians he had met in Madagascar at the end of the '60s and who had played on his first album Malagasy (FFL 066CD/LP). Rahoerson announced that he was in Paris for a few days. Immediately, Jef wanted to organize a recording session, starting the next day. He thought of a trio including Serge, Eddy Louiss on organ and cellist Jean-Charles Capon, who had also been on one of the trips to Tananarive and so had also known Rahoerson there. Unfortunately, Eddy Louiss had to drop out at the last minute: he was delayed by a session with Claude Nougaro. Jean-Charles Capon had also become a sought-after studio musician since his trip to Madagascar in 1969. He appeared on several key albums on the Saravah label including the now famous Comme À La Radio by Brigitte Fontaine, Un Beau Matin by Areski and Chorus by Michel Roques, without mentioning the album by his own Baroque Jazz Trio. He was also to be found with Jef Gilson for his album on Vogue with the ex-drummer from Miles Davis' first great quintet, Philly Joe Jones, or also in the orchestra led by Jean-Claude Vannier for the album Nino Ferrer & Leggs . . . Jean-Charles Capon and Serge Rahoerson found themselves thus in the studio, with Jef at the controls . . . A saxophonist by training, Jef remembered that Serge was also capable of great things behind a drum kit: he was the improvised drummer on their cover of 'The Creator Has A Master Plan' on the album Malagasy... The great memories came flooding back (the nod on the title 'Orly - Ivato'), and the old magic worked again. Brought in momentarily from Europamerica, Gilson's new big band, in which JC Capon also played, the saxophonists Philippe Maté, from France and the American Butch Morris were invited to record their parts later and Gilson mixed it all as if it had been one single session. The album would not appear until 1977, on Palm, Jef's own label, and was dedicated to the memory of Georges Rahoerson, Serge's father, who had also played on the album Malagasy and who had died prematurely at the age of 51 in 1974..." --Jérôme "Kalcha" Simonneau. Licensed from Palm / Geneviève Quievreux. Remastered from the master tapes. Includes four-page booklet with rare and unpublished photos.
CD $16

ULTRA COOL VINYL SECTION:

ANDERS NILSSON - Aventyr (zOaR ZCD 101; Earth) Featuring Anders Nilsson on electric & acoustic guitars performed with overdubs. I often feel fortunate that there are so many great guitarists in the Downtown Scene I am often overwhelmed by all of the amazing discs and gigs which feature a wide variety of great guitarists. I am often astonished that a number of these great pickers rarely get the recognition they do deserve. Swedish guitarist, Anders Nilsson, has been living here for more than a decade and playing with a long list of other fine players: Fay Victor, Ras Moshe, Raoul Bjorkenheim, Joe Fonda, Michael Evans & loads more. Mr. also has nearly discs as a leader or co-leader, all different all well-worth checking out. Mr. Nilsson recorded a solo guitar disc in 2014. Now, eight years later in 2022, Mr. Nilsson has recorded a second disc of solo acoustic & electric guitars, done with overdubs and recorded at Elliott Sharp’s zOaR Studio.
Everything about this release was done with care and first class preparation. The cover of art of a guitar sculpture made from small stones (stunning!), the recording itself and the thick, high quality vinyl are all well executed! A good deal of preparation was involved in creating this work. The music here has an orchestral, exquisitely played overall sound. While Anders plays a repeating figure on an acoustic guitar, he adds a more lean, yet engaging line on top with his electric guitar. This opening piece is called “Guise Guys” and it reminds me of the way Leo Kottke plays those elegant repeating patterns on his trusty acoustic guitar. On the second piece, “Contrasts”, Mr. Nilsson adds even more layers to his swirling lines. Starting sparsely, Nilsson creates a web, soft spinning lines on both acoustic & electric guitars, picking out a series of lines, some with repeating patterns, some just a sly punctuation. The second side is one long piece called, “Ghost Town”, and the title seems most apt as it does sound like we are walking through a ghost town of sorts. Anders creates solemn mood with his series of strums, adding ghost-like drones and swirls like paint stabs on a large canvas. Eventually a proglike, majestic layered guitar section. The long piece has a story-like arc which makes sense as it unfolds and moves through different sections. This is a masterwork of solo guitar(s) magic. Don’t sleep on this one. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
LP $25 [& DL only]

PHIL RANELIN & WENDELL HARRISON - Message From The Tribe (Now-Again 5209; USA) "The Tribe founders' collaborative debut, remixed from the original mutli-track master tapes under the direction of its creators and lacquered by Bernie Grundman. Phil Ranelin's side has been pitch-corrected and restored to a suite, as was originally intended. Wendell Harrison's side contains extended, full versions of two songs. The definitive reissue of this SPIRITUAL JAZZ masterpiece. The Tribe label, one of the brightest lights of America's 1970s jazz underground, receives the Now-Again reissue treatment. This is your chance to indulge in the music and story of one of the most meaningful, local movements of the 20th Century Black American experience, one that expanded outwards towards the cosmos. In the words of the collective themselves, 'Music is the healing force of the universe.' Included in an extensive, oversized booklet, Larry Gabriel and Jeff 'Chairman' Mao take us through the history of the Tribe, in a compelling story that delves not just into the history of the label and its principals, but into the story of Black American empowerment in the latter half of the 20th Century. The booklet features never-before-seen archival photos and rare ephemera from Tribe's mid-1970s heyday."
LP $30

ISAAC HAYES - Do Your Thing (Now-Again 5144LP; USA) "The full 33-minute, unreleased, psychedelic funk jam session by Memphis rhythm kingpins the Bar-Kays, mixed directly from the original tapes. Contains bonus rhythm section instrumental and booklet detailing the history of this never-before-heard version of one of Isaac Hayes's most famous songs by Hayes historian Bill Dahl. Hayes was already a cutting-edge funk master at Stax Records when he accepted the unprecedented assignment of creating a soundtrack for the 1971 action flick Shaft. At a time when R&B songs routinely timed out at three minutes and under, Hayes's albums for Stax's Enterprise imprint had been breaking new ground since 1969. His masterpiece Hot Buttered Soul consisted of only four tracks, two songs on The Isaac Hayes Movement clocked in at a hair under 12 minutes, and one selection on his ... To Be Continued stretched to 15:33. But his epic 'Do Your Thing,' one of the cornerstones of the two-LP Shaft soundtrack, outdid them all. Occupying nearly the entire last side of the set, it concluded after 19-and-a-half grooving minutes with the overdubbed sound of a needle scratching violently across a piece of vinyl. No one knew that jarring ending masked the existence of another 13 minutes of 'Do Your Thing.' Consigned to the vaults, those improvisatory extensions -- somewhere in between free-jazz and psychedelic rock -- were seemingly destined never to be heard. Until now."
LP $18

LEE 'SCRATCH' PERRY - Jamaican E.T. (Black Vinyl)(Music on Vinyl 2424B; Netherlands) "Lee 'Scratch' Perry's 2002 album Jamaican E.T. marked his 'comeback'. The extra-terrestrial is back with some groovy reggae which creates a bridge between dub, roots and hip-hop. But in the end, it never ventures to far away from the traditional reggae. The album continues in showing his fascination with aliens, drugs and religion. His own voice is often multi-layered and contrasting with each other. In 2003, the album won a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album. Lee 'Scratch' Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development of dub music and worked together with artists such as Bob Marley and the Wailers, The Clash and The Beastie Boys. Up until his passing, Perry was active in producing and performing his music. Jamaican E.T. is available on black vinyl."
2 LP $46

OMEED & THE NATURAL SCENE - Pickled Dawn (Feeding Tube Records 583LP; USA) "No stranger to the Berkshire Mountains, Omeed Goodarzi comes at it in full on send it mode, with this yester-Moro-mobile of an album? Loaded to the hilt with hard hitting session folk, Omeed's latest offering is a roiling boiling psychedelic Partch-pop Beatleboro-Freel-Volk masterpiece from the second anyone's flip flop even threatens to drive a rhythm into the rug. Upon arrival to the studio, Chris Weisman, Mia Friedman, Max Goldstein, Nick Bisceglia and Ruth Garbus were presented with the chord charts to Omeed's carefully crafted songs, that would forever after ferment themselves into the being now known as Pickled Dawn, by Omeed and the Natural Scene. With these chord charts as a field guide, along with real time 'in the room together' eye winks, head bops and live energetic exchange, the 'record' button was mashed, and the deep tradition of improvisation within a predetermined structure allowed for this beautifully organized yet caterwauling collection of recordings to come into being. As the rainbow is often presented in a hyper compartmentalized, organizational system, this music also has its structure. Through this structure lies infinite combinations of relationships between all of the ordered files. Pickled Dawn's twilight glow comes not from the individual players themselves, but the place where the players yield to the absence of one another. Blending, bowing, dancing, stretching, like fistfuls of taffy on a warm spring day. There is great restraint performed here, yet we are not spared the wild irreverence of art that leans into and breaks down the doors of what is practical . . . Conjuring at times the likes of once local weirdos such as the deeply freaky Billy Wizard and the B. Toff Family Band, Putney's constantly explorative Tiny Monsters, the whimsical mischief making of Wendy Watson's wacky yet agrarian comictopia, or the urgent, timely and incessant political mythos of Toussaint St. Negritude. What's born here is something imaginable, something solidly adrift, conjured anew with each continued listen. Mellowed, yet intensified by the passing of time, the charged influence of those involved, and the cyclical form of nature . . . What may initially seem occult or hidden, will reveal itself with outstretched arms. Lean back, make the plunge into this exciting sonic universe." --Daniel Beckman, 2021 All songs written by Omeed Goodarzi (save for a brief lyrical lift from Crass). Recorded live in Putney, Vermont the summer of 2019.”
LP $24

DOMINIQUE GUIOT - L'Univers De La Mer (WRWTFWW 038LP; Switzerland) 140 gram vinyl. “WRWTFWW Records present the official reissue of super-rare and fabled prog-rock/library/synth album L'Univers De La Mer by French composer Dominique Guiot. Written, composed and played by Dominique Guiot with his Mellotron, Minimoog, clavinet, organ, and guitar, L'Univers De La Mer draws its inspiration from deep sea exploration, oceanic creatures, and underwater kingdoms. The 12-track album navigates organically through diverse mutations of the prog-rock and synth kind, from scenic meditation pieces ("Wind Surf Ballad"), to medieval electronica ("Une Ballade Pour Une Goélette"), spacey smooth jazz ("Les Deux Poissons"), funked-out fantasy folk ("L'Univers De La Mer"), or even incredible Sega Mega-CD vibes ("La Danse Des Méduses") -- altogether painting a fascinating world of eerie magic and subaquatic sensuality. It's escapism at its best with subtle overtones of Schicke Führs Fröhling, Mike Oldfield, and Claude Perraudin. The sound of the album is brilliantly captured by its surreal cover art, the work of legendary artist Jacques Wyrs, whose memorable record sleeves include Klaus Schulze's Picture Music (1975), Eloy's Floating (1974), Ange's Le Cimetière Des Arlequins (1973), and the 1974 reissue of Larry Coryell's Spaces. Sourced from original masters. LP version comes in 350gsm sleeve; 140 gram vinyl; available on vinyl LP for the first time since 1978.”
LP $27

INOYAMALAND - Danzindan-Pojidon (WRWTFWW Records 040LP; Switzerland) “WRWTFWW Records present the much-anticipated official reissue of Japanese duo Inoyamaland's quintessential ambient/environmental/electronic album Danzindan-Pojidon, produced by Haruomi Hosono and originally released in 1983 on his Yen Records label. Available outside of Japan for the first time, the new age classic comes as a limited LP with liner notes by band member Makoto Inoue. With Danzindan-Pojidon, Yasushi Yamashita and Makoto Inoue created what they describe as "a special place where the kingdom of summer vacation never ended." Playful and magical, it's a sonic landscape defined by tinkling synths, floating minimalist melodies, pastoral excursions, and mythical overtones. The ten-track adventure takes the listener on a joyful audio exploration of unknown but friendly territories, like childhood memories of an imaginary island where everything is vibrantly alive and peaceful. The original recording sessions for the album took place in an apartment filled with Inoyamaland's "favorite things and friends" and the wonders that came out of them were handed to master Harry Hosono who added his undeniable genius touch. And thus Danzindan-Pojidon was born, an absolute must-have, sitting in the pantheon of all-time '80s Japanese ambient greats alongside Midori Takada's Through The Looking Glass (WRWTFWW 018LP/019CD/019LP), Hiroshi Yoshimura's Green, and Satoshi Ashikawa's Still Way (WRWTFWW 030CD/LP) -- and holding that mysterious power of "music that makes life a little easier and happier." 350gsm sleeve with selected UV high gloss varnish.”
LP $27

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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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THE STONE IS NOW OPEN AGAIN, Here is the schedule:

THE STONE RESIDENCIES - TOMAS FUJIWARA - MAR 2–5

3/4 Friday - CD RELEASE CONCERT
8:30 pm - Tomas Fujiwara’s Triple Double - Taylor Ho Bynum (cornet) Adam O’Farrill (trumpet) Mary Halvorson (guitar) Brandon Seabrook (guitar) Zack O’Farrill (drums) Tomas Fujiwara (drums)

3/5 Saturday
8:30 pm - Thumbscrew - Tomas Fujiwara (drums) Michael Formanek (bass) Mary Halvorson (guitar)

THE STONE RESIDENCIES - CREATIVE MUSIC STUDIO - MAR 9–12
3/9 Wednesday
8:30 pm - TRIO - Angelica Sanchez (piano) Brandon Lopez (bass) Tom Rainey (drums)

3/10 Thursday
8:30 pm - Luminous Ragas of India
Steve Gorn (flutes) Mir Naqibul Islam (tabla)

3/11 Friday
8:30 pm - Sana Nagano Trio - Sana Nagano (violin) Patricia Brennan (vibes) Wendy Eisenberg (voice, guitar)

3/12 Saturday
8:30 pm - Kalia Vandever Trio - Savannah Harris (drums) Hannah Marks (bass) Kalia Vandever (trombone)

The Stone is now located at in
The New School - Glass Box Theatre
55 west 13th street - near 6th ave

MUSIC
wed-sat (2022)
music at 8:30pm

ADMISSION
$20 per set
unless otherwise noted / cash only payment

reservations are available on
The New School website
all admissions are at the door
prior to each performance

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Saturday, March 5th, at 8:00 PM

JASON KAO HWANG
Myths of Origin
 
At Zürcher Gallery, NY
33 Bleecker Street, New York, NY 10012
Admission is $20. 
Tickets can be purchased at the door. CASH ONLY.
All proceeds go to the artists.
*Proof of vaccination and mask required*

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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=xBncHowndMo
1990 video from WETLANDS in here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wfs5OuBfNxs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yeOIVqGLKY

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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

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This clip just arrived in my email from British Sax Colossus PAUL DUNMALL:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CpvCjR8tvs (YouTube)

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THE GAUCI-MUSIC SERIES CONTINUES WITH:

Monday March 7th
7pm Vinnie Sperrazza- drums
Caleb Curtis- alto sax
Noah Garabedian- bass
8pm Dafna Naphtali - vocals/synth
Ras Moshe - saxophones/flute - TBD
9pm Bushwick Series House Band
w/ Stephen Gauci - tenor sax
Adam Lane - bass
Kevin Shea - drums
10pm Santiago Leibson - keyboard
Michael Attias - alto saxophone
Tom Rainey - drums
11pm Patrick Golden - drums
Dave Sewelson - bari saxophone
Aron Namenwirth - guitar
https://www.facebook.com/events/971231257137469

gaucimusic presents:
Live at the Downtown Music Gallery

Saturday March 12th, 2022
6:30pm CD Release Performance for "Pandemic Duets, Eli Wallace/Stephen Gauci"
Eli Wallace - synth / Stephen Gauci - tenor saxophone
7:15pm CD Release Performance for "Pandemic Duets, Kevin Shea/Stephen Gauci"
Kevin Shea - drums / Stephen Gauci - tenor saxophone
8pm CD Release Performance for "Stephen Gauci/Eli Wallace/Kevin Shea, Live at the Bushwick Series"
Stephen Gauci - tenor sax / Eli Wallace - synth / Kevin Shea - drums
At the Downtown Music Gallery
13 Monroe St, New York, NY 
212-474-0043
Free concert!

gaucimusic presents:
Live at Scholes Street Studio
Saturday March 19th, 8pm & 9:15pm sets
Live recording/Live audience!
featuring:
Noa Fort - vocals
Sam Newsome - soprano saxophone
Sean Conly  - bass
$15 at the door, cash/venmo
https://www.facebook.com/events/1324484507977108
@Scholes Street Studio - 718-964-8763
375 Lorimer St, Brooklyn, NY (near Lorimer J/M, Montrose L)

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This comes from Flute & Reeds Virtuoso BOB DOWNES:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5CiXbjO8GY&t=17s