DMG Newsletter for Friday June 10th, 2022

“Pastures of Plenty”
By Woody Guthrie

It's a mighty hard row that my poor hands have hoed
My poor feet have traveled a hot dusty road
Out of your Dust Bowl and Westward we rolled
And your deserts were hot and your mountains were cold

I worked in your orchards of peaches and prunes
I slept on the ground in the light of the moon
On the edge of the city you'll see us and then
We come with the dust and we go with the wind

California, Arizona, I harvest your crops
Well its North up to Oregon to gather your hops
Dig the beets from your ground, cut the grapes from your vine
To set on your table your light sparkling wine

Green pastures of plenty from dry desert ground
From the Grand Coulee Dam where the waters run down
Every state in the Union us migrants have been
We'll work in this fight and we'll fight till we win

It's always we rambled, that river and I
All along your green valley, I will work till I die
My land I'll defend with my life if it be
Cause my pastures of plenty must always be free

When Bob Dylan came to New York in 1961, his main goal was to meet his idol Woody Guthrie. He did visit Mr. Guthrie in the hospital, being bedridden due to having Huntington’s disease and sang at his bedside. Mr. Guthrie wrote hundreds of songs, his themes focused on American socialism, anti-fascism and the unjust treatment of the common (hu)man. After becoming a Bob Dylan fan-addict in the late sixties, I discovered the songs of Woody Guthrie and have been a longtime fan of his as well. There have been a number of great Woody Guthrie tribute albums and concerts through the years. I especially like Bruce Springsteen’s version of Guthrie’s “I Ain’t Got No Home” from one of those tribute albums. There is also a great record by Wilco and Billy Bragg in which they take lyrics written by Mr. Guthrie and put them to music. The record is called ‘Mermaid Avenue’ and I would highly recommend it. I often read the lyrics by greats like Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan and Robert Hunter, as a source of inspiration. They often paint a picture of America which only exists in the minds of those who see the big picture, the promises of a better life which many of still hope to receive before we pass on. - BLG/DMG

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THE DMG 31st ANNIVERSARY IN-STORE PERFORMANCE CELEBRATION CONTINUES with:

Saturday, June 11th - GAUCI-MUSIC SERIES:
6pm: CALEB CURTIS - Saxes / JEFF MILES - Guitar
7pm: STEPHEN GAUCI - Tenor Sax / ADAM LANE - Contrabass / COLIN HINTON - Drums
8pm: KAELEN GHANDI - Saxes / KEVIN MURRAY - Drums

Tuesday, June 14th:
6:30: C N / JESSICA ACKERLEY / CAMILO ANGELES / LESLEY MOK - Sax / Guitar / Flute / Drums
7:30: JUJU LIA

Sunday, June 19th:
GEMINI Birthday Bash!
Celebrating the Birthdays of several Great Gemini’s
With Songs and Free-Music Jams!

RARE Monday Event, June 20th:
6:30: CHET DOXIS - Solo Tenor Sax
7:30: DUSTIN CARLSON / SIVAN ARBEL

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The DMG Weekly Newsletter Begins with three Great Discs from EUGENE CHADBOURNE:

DR. EUGENE CHADBOURNE played at The Stone last week for four nights. I went to three of these and dug all of odd cover songs that Dr. Chad & his group chose to play. He picked some strong, diverse musicians to work with: Jeb Bishop, Jim McHugh (the Sunwatchers), Jah-Rohm Parker Wells (from Machine Gun), David Memestries, Kresten Osgood and David Licht (Shockabilly & the Klezmatics). During the long (nearly 2 years) Pandemic Lockdown, Doc Chad finally had some time to go through his extensive catalogue of unreleased recordings. I purchased around 14 discs which range from his earliest years (1977) until more recently. As I work my way through each release, I will list the ones in the upcoming newsletters that I feel are worth mentioning. We start with three this week:

EUGENE CHADBOURNE / BILLY McCARROLL - The Story of a Good Little Dog Amber And Other Compositions (Chadula; USA) Featuring Eugene Chadbourne on acoustic guitar and Billy McCarroll on acoustic bass. Recorded at the Dandelion Gallery in Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Recorded February 18, 1977; This historic disc is perhaps the earliest of Eugene Chadbourne’s recordings. Mr. Chadbourne moved up the Canada a bit earlier to avoid the draft at the advice of his parents. I had never heard of the bassist Billy McCarroll before but it turns out that he went on to become a multi-media artist who (still) resides in (Lethbridge in) Alberta, Canada. There is no singing going on here (for those who care about that), although Mr. Chadbourne does hum along a bit on the first few pieces. Considering that Chadbourne was in his mid twenties at this point, his playing in intense, focused, free-form and most impressive. Acoustic bassist, McCarroll. also plays well, both men sounding great together. During this period there were a number of great acoustic guitarists like John Fahey, Leo Kottke and Ralph Towner in the US and John Renbourn, Bert Jansch in the UK, but no one playing this freely on the acoustic guitar that I can recall. Sounds like someone is playing a vibraslap at times as well on a couple of pieces although it is hard to tell what exactly is going on. This is/was a cassette recording and the sound is clean & warm. There is a certain giddy vibe which overflows here as if Mr. Chadbourne and his listeners are both astonished at what he is doing. Chadbourne does do a cover of Monk’s “Ruby My Dear”, taking that slightly skewered theme and turning it inside out. I didn’t get a chance to hear Chadbourne until two years later in December of 1979 at Studio Henry. At that point I wasn’t so sure I understood what he was doing and it took a while to figure his playing out since no one was doing those type of things on a guitar as far as I knew. This is free-form jazz acoustic guitar & bass at it best. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $12

EUGENE CHADBOURNE / JOHN ZORN STEVE BERESFORD / TOSHINORI KONDO - The Beast of 20,000 Fathoms (Chadula; USA) CD - Featuring Eugene Chadbourne on guitar, John Zorn on alto & soprano saxes, clarinet & game calls plus Steve Bereford on piano & whatever and Toshinori Kondo on trumpet. This rare historic disc features pieces from two sets: a duo with Eugene Chadbourne & John Zorn plus a quartet with the duo joined by Steve Beresford and Toshinori Kondo. It looks like it was recorded in December of 1977 but the liner notes are somewhat blurred so it is hard to tell. Parts or all of this was recorded at Studio Henry which was located at 1 Morton St & Bleecker, in the West Village. Studio Henry was the first place that I heard many of the members of the original Downtown Scene beginning in December of 1979. It was quite a funky, low key place with black walls, folding chairs, no stage and a toilet which rarely worked. It was a co-op that was run by musicians as a rehearsal place mostly. Rumor had it that Charlie Parker used to practice there.
I caught this duo there in January of 1980 and was confused by what they were doing. Could they actually play or was this some sort of joke? Listening to this music now, it does make sense to me so many years (40 ) later, The duo with Chadbourne and Zorn is up first. At this point, Mr. Zorn was playing mostly dozens of mouthpieces (having taken his saxes or clarinet apart), using bird or game calls and a cup of water to play into. The set begins quietly with subtle, freaky sounds, nimble string manipulation, soft, odd sounds from the reeds/mouthpieces. Patience is required especially for a prog/jazz snob like I was back then. One thing I do notice is that the duo make every note count, taking their time to evolve. On the second piece, the duo really take off, with a stream of quick unique bent notes, both players have a unique of twisting their notes so that they are playing as one stream. The duo actually do a bebop(?) standard here, “You Got to My Head”, which they twist into all types of odd shapes and it is pretty charming in its own way. The duo do a ballad of sorts on track 5, with Doc Chad balanced between playing the somber melody and rubbing the strings at the same time. What I find most interesting is that Mr.’s Zorn and Chadbourne sound like they’ve created their own language which sounds similar and like they are having on ongoing conversation throughout. Wacky British multi-instrumentalist Steve Beresford and Japanese trumpet madman join the Great Duo on track 8, pushing the freak-out, free-improv further out. Although both Beresford and Kondo come from very different scenes, the quartet work well together, tossing off layers of odd interconnected lines. Doc Chad occasionally tosses off a few weird words via distorted mic, with Kondo consistently playing & bending notes all over, with game calls by Zorn and Beresford switching between piano, tenor horn and toys or objects at his disposal. When the circus comes to town, you should attend before you drown… - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $12

MICHAEL HURLEY & EUGENE CHADBOURNE - Rochester, New York, July 5th, 2005 (Chadula; USA) Historic duo with Michael Hurley and Eugene Chadbourne on vocals, guitars and banjo. Michael Hurley is a legendary folk singer, cartoonist and painter, who has always followed his own muse. Mr. Hurley records infrequently and has around 30 records since his debut was released in 1964 on Folkways. His collaborations with musicians are even more infrequent, although he has a longtime friendship/collaboration with members of the Holy Modal Rounders. I’m not so sure how this collaboration came to be but does make sense that Eugene Chadbourne, another outsider who also follows his own muse, blending many unlikely streams/extremes of music: avant-jazz, folk, country, psych, mainstream jazz, oddball humor and classical music from different eras. This is disc consists of just 5 songs and it is less than 27 minutes long. The duo perform two covers by Woody Guthrie and Lefty Frizzel and three by Mr. Hurley. This disc opens with Woody Guthrie’s solemn ballad, “Pastures of Plenty” and it is indeed laid back and haunting. The duo do a fine job on the country standard “Mom and Dad’s Waltz”, singing together with their charming down-home vocal harmonies. Three songs by Mr. Hurley are truly something special, unique, silly and most enchanting. “Natinal Weed Growers Association” is a delightful paean to weed (marijuana) growers everywhere. “Oh my lord, it’s the weed I crave” is the way one of the verses ends. I’ll smoke to that. Both Michael Hurley and Dr. Chadbourne split the lead vocals and harmonize in their own rough-hewn way. Doc Chad, who has a tendency to go overboard when playing his own gigs sounds like a perfect partner for Mr. Hurley here. Both singers and pickers compliment each other’s style/sound. Ancient songs to make the children in all of us smile. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $12

NOEL AKCHOTE / MARY HALVORSON / BILL FRISELL - Loving Highsmith (Ayler 173-174; France) “The soundtrack to the documentary Loving Highsmith about thriller novelist Patricia Highsmith, with music composed by Belgium guitarist Noël Akchoté along with pieces by Cole Porter, Mancini, Johnny Mercer, Frank Sinatra, Hildegard von Bingen and Carl Fischer presented in two CDs, one each of duets between Akchoté and New York guitarists Mary Halvorson and Bill Frisell.”
2 CD Set $26

JOHN RUSSELL / JOHN BUTCHER / DOMINIC LASH - But everything now left before it arrived (Meena 962; Earth) “A live performance at the 2010 GIO Fest III in Glasgow, UK, from three of the UK's leading free improvisers--late guitarist John Russell, John Butcher on saxophones and Dominic Lash on double bass--a superb concert in five improvisations of incredible technical skill through both energetic and restrained passages, a brilliant example reminding us of the loss of the great guitarist.”
CD $16

STURE ERICSON / PAT THOMAS / RAYMOND STRID - Bagman Live at Cafe Oto (577 Records 5886; USA) The first trio collaboration between London pianist and electronics player Pat Thomas and Swedish improvisers, Sture Ericson on tenor & soprano saxes, and Raymond Strid on drums, performing live at Cafe OTO in London in 2019 for four improvised soundscapes about the fictional character "Bagman", using extended and prodigious technique with both disruptive and melodic intentions.”
I am consistently fascinated by the work of UK keyboardist, Pat Thomas, who worked with a wide array of musicians (Derek Bailey, Lol Coxhill & Eugene Chadbourne), as well as doing tributes to Anthony Braxton, Duke Ellington and Henry Mancini. I only know of saxist Sture Ericson from the band the Electrics who had a few fine discs out on the Ayler label. Drummer, Raymond Strid, I do know quiet well from the 60 plus discs he has appeared on, working with Marilyn Crispell, Fire!, Gush and the Barry Guy New Orchestra. I never know which directions Pat Thomas will go in from his diverse improv sessions and this disc is one of those mysterious improv dates, performed live at Cafe Oto in London. This set starts off very quietly and builds slowly and freely with tenor sax, piano and drums. This is a strong, spirited, inventive trio which works together extremely well. I was most impressed by the entire discs which moves through varied, focused, free sections which often had me on the edge of my seat. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14

THE INTERNATIONAL NOTHING with KAI FAGASCHINSKI / MICHAEL THIEKE - Just None of Those Things (Ftarri 215; Japan) “Using harmonic intersections and extraneous sonic emanations from two clarinets, the duo of Kai Fagaschinski and Michael Thieke (also of The Magic I.D.) continue their long-standing International Nothing project of composed works through patient interactions of powerfully focused technique, here in their fifth album presenting a 42-minute work of delicate, dark beauty.”
CD $15

SAMUEL BLASER / OSCAR STRANOY // LUCIANO BERIO - Ensemble Songs & Sarah Maria Sun: Folk Songs (Blaser Music Songs 11; EEC) The project and ensemble "Songs" brings together German trombonist & composer Samuel Blaser and pianist & composer Oscar Strasnoy, taking the instrumentation and concept of Lucio Berio's Folksongs and expanding it into Blaser's "Worksongs", a set of songs around Mississippi Delta blues, and Strasnoy's "Chanzuns Popularas Rumanchas" based on the traditional music of the Canton of Grisons.”
CD $17

ENSEMBLE SuperMusique // FRED FRITH / LUIGI RUSSOLO / et al - Commutation (Ambiances Magnetiques AM 255; Canada) “Ensemble Supermusique, Montreal's premiere open-minded improvising ensemble, here led by saxophonist & vocalist Joane Hetu and conducted by percussionist Danielle Palardy Roger, present a live concert of graphic scores dating back to 1920, with works from Fred Frith (Stone, Brick, Glass, Wood, Wire), Luigi Russolo, Maxime Daigneault, Emilie Girard-Charest & Anestis Logothetis.”
CD $15

ENSEMBLE SuperMusique - Sonne l'image (Ambiances Magnetiques AM 266; Canada) “The collective ensemble Supermusique featuring key performers from Montréal's musique actuelle scene, including Jean Derome, Isaiah Ceccarelli, Joane Hetu, Danielle Palardy & co. perform "Sounding the Image", three animated scores composed through the creation of moving images and rendered live in a remarkable concert at Amphiteatre de Gesu, in Montreal in 2019.”
CD $15

JOAN HETU // NICOLAS CALOIA / JEAN DEROME / LORI FRIEDMAN / QUATURO BOZZINI / QUASAR - Tags (Ambiances Magnetiques AM 268; Canada) “Four compositions written between 2000-2019 from Joane Hétu: a duo between bassist Nicolas Caloia & bass clarinetist/vocalist Lori Freedman; a work with Hétu & Jean Derome plus the Quaturo Bozzini string and Quasar saxophone quartets; a composition for 20 electric guitars; and one movement from "Préoccupant, c'est Préoccupant performed by Ensemble Supermusique.
CD $15

TERRY RILEY - Organum for Stefano (I Dischi Di Angelica 050CD; Italy) “Organum for Stefano, the third record that I Dischi di Angelica dedicates to the work of Terry Riley, represents a significant example of "coming full circle": indeed, in 1997 AngelicA Festival organized a concert in Bologna for Terry Riley and Stefano Scodanibbio -- it was their first tour together, and the beginning of a collaboration that would last for years, promoting their first album Lazy Afternoon Among the Crocodiles, recorded in the Shri Moonshine studio in Riley's home between 1994 and 1995. After his magnificent piano solo at the 2000 edition, AngelicA invited Riley back in 2013 to dedicate a special tribute-portrait to him, presenting his music in a series of concerts held in three different cities (Bologna, Modena, and Lugo), with different line-ups: The 3 Generations Trio (with Tracy Silverman and Gyan Riley); the ARTE saxophone quartet from Switzerland; and indeed a concert, commissioned as a world premiere, dedicated to Stefano Scodanibbio who had passed away the year before, in January 2012. The venue selected for the concert was the Basilica of Santa Maria dei Servi, hence Riley decided to use its historic Tamburini opus 544 pipe organ for the concert paying homage to the memory of Stefano. The organ was built in 1968 based on a design by Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini, with a total of approximately 5000 pipes divided into 60 registers.
As Riley himself explains in the liner notes: "... Stefano and I had a long history of touring and playing concerts together and one of the features of our concerts was always an arrangement of a vocal raga for bass, voice and tamboura. Stefano, although not trained in Indian classical music, had an uncanny ear for the right choices in pitch and rhythm to accompany my traditional vocal renditions. Two of Stefano's favorite ragas were Malkauns and Bageshri, late night ragas with deep feelings ideally suited to the profound sounds emanating from his string bass. The concert was completely improvised, introducing the melodies of ragas Malkauns and Bageshri, both vocally and in the harmonized organ passages of an intuitively structured form. The last section is an improvisation upon the passages of my composition 'Simply M...', a piece I frequently played for Stefano."
The result was a very precious concert -- the only official recording of Riley on the pipe organ -- which ranges from minimalism to Indian music, grandiose Bachian architectural constructions, even progressive echoes -- in a kaleidoscopic flow of ideas which, both spontaneously and with a great clarity of intention, travels through moments and reminiscences of the respective musical identities and experiences shared by the two musicians.”
CD $24

PETER BROTZMANN / MAALEM MOUKHTAR GANIA / HAMID DRAKE - Catch Of A Ghost (I Dischi Di Angelica 041CD; Italy) "Three names, three cultures, three continents, three different concepts of time and timing -- this is the essence of this trio. This is what we have to bring together." -- Peter Brötzmann, Wuppertal, April 1st, 2019. With these words, Peter Brötzmann, one of the great figures in the development of a unique European approach to free improvisation since the '60s, announced his return to the AngelicA festival in 2019. A trio featuring Hamid Drake -- one of the best living drummers and guembri player Maalem Mokhtar Gania, last representative of a legendary line of Gnawa music masters, brother of Maalem Mahmoud Gania, long-time Brotzmann collaborator who died prematurely. The trio documented in this CD thrilled and surprised the attending audience with their great energy and magnetism. The music played here it's further proof that Brötzmann at the age of 78 has nothing to envy to his younger self of 50 years ago, at the beginning of his career.”
CD $22 {these discs are limited & we only have 5 on hold at our distributor; we hope to get more when we can]

STEPHEN GAUCI / LIZ KOZACK / DAN PETER SUNDLAND / KEVIN SHEA - Live at Sowieso, Berlin (GauciMusic 04527; USA) Featuring Steve Gauci on tenor sax, Liz Kosack on piano, Dan Peter Sundland on electric bass and Kevin Shea on drums. This set was recorded live in Sowieso in Berlin in October of 2021. Last fall NY saxist & promoter Steve Gauci went to Berlin to play live and record some dates. He recorded in a quartet with German avant/jazz legend Alex Von Schlippenbach on piano. This disc features two musicians who are based in Berlin: Liz Kosack and Dan Peter Sunderland. The quartet was completed by Mr. Gauci’s regular Monday night series drummer Kevin Shea, who is also a member of MOPDTK and Talabam! I know of Ms. Kosack from her work with Pascal Niggenkemper, Devin Gray and Joachim Badenhorst. I can’t say that I had heard of the bassist here before now.
I dig the sound on this disc, although it is live at a club in Berlin, the balance is just right. Drummer Kevin Shea, who plays with Mostly Other People Do the Killing and Talibam! is someone who I have admired in the past but wasn’t so sure about his youthful unrelenting energy and wacky sense of humor. Over the past few years he has played at the store many times, often with Mr. Gauci. I’ve become a big fan of his and can appreciate his crazed spirit and inventive jazz drumming. This is a strong, spirited quartet. Ms. Kosack plays both inside the piano with muted objects as well as on the keyboard. She is a strong match for Steve Gauci’s tenor playing which evolves organically depending on who he is playing with. Considering that this was the first & only time that this quartet played together, they sound great! Mr. Gauci has played with a number of great pianists like Cooper-Moore, Matt Shipp, Kris Davis and Alex Von Schlippenbach. Ms. Kosack sounds like a good match. Like most Gauci sets and discs, the quartet breaks down into solo, duo and trio sections, all of which flow together nicely. There is a section where Ms. Kosack mutes the piano strings while she plays the quick, rambunctious lines which are somewhere between Keith Tippett & Kris Davis in their approach. Mr. Gauci has had a monthly curated night here at DMG for the past 6 months, playing three sets a night until the last couple of months and now playing one of three sets. Mr. Gauci can it times overwhelm the musicians he is playing with yet is still a fair, strong collaborator much of the time. This disc is a good example of a strong group effort without anyone as the leader. Superb from the beginning to the righteous end. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $13

DAVID BINDMAN / STEFAN BAUER / MICHAEL SARIN - Relative Motion (Self-produced 95269-15124; USA) Featuring David Bindman on tenor & alto saxes & flute, Stefan Bauer on marimba and Michael Sarin on drums. I’ve been a fan of saxist David Bindman since he left us with a great 2-CD set called “Sunset Park Polyphony” in 2014. Although Mr. Bindman records infrequently as a leader, he has recorded with Fred Ho, Kevin Norton and Ehran Elisha. Bindman is also a member of the Brooklyn Sax Quartet whose two discs are under-recognized gems. The drummer here, Michel Sarin, is one of Downtown’s best, having worked with the Thomas Chapin Trio, Erik Friedlander, Dave Douglas and many others. I can’t say that I had heard much about the marimba player here, Stefan Bauer, although he has recorded with John Ellis. I have noticed that there are a number of upcoming vibes & marimba players popping up in recent times: Joel Ross, Patricia Brennan and Taiko Saito. Besides playing marimba, Mr. Bauer composed three songs and was the recording engineer on this disc.
This is certainly a unique sounding with sax, marimba and drums. Considering that there is no bass player, the marimba and drums provide the middle-ground and rhythm team work together. All three members of the trio are integral to the group sound with no one instrument leading. Although the trio has a chamber-like sound, each player seems to switching roles often. The title piece has the sax & marimba playing some lush harmonies while the drummer sizzles on his cymbals. Mr. Bauer composed the piece, “Now and Always Now”, which features a rather hypnotic repeating marimba line while the sax and drums simmer underneath. I dig the writing on “Winter Variations” which include a short thoughtful drum solo midway with the sax and marimba both playing soft haunting more resonant notes. Bindman plays some hushed tenor on “Lights, Receding”, then comes some intricate sax and marimba tight lines played softly. Mr. Bindman’s “Time Frames” is the longest song here and features his flute floating over the tight, marimba and sax interaction. There is a middle section where the drums & marimba play this infectious Latin groove, which feels so good to hear after the more cerebral early material! Mr. Bindman’s sublime, warm tone on tenor is welcome here and is free of the more turbulent side of free/jazz. This much different from anything that David Bindman before, a somewhat cerebral work for a chamber jazz trio. - Bruce Gallanter, DMG
CD $14

NATHANIEL MORGAN / DUSTIN CARLSON / KATE GENTILE - Secret People (Out of Your Heads Records 014; USA) Featuring Nathaniel Morgan on alto sax, Dustin Carlson on guitar & bass VI and Kate Gentile on drums & vibes. This disc just arrived in the mail earlier this week and comes from our friend at Out of Your Head Records, now with a dozen discs under their belt. Who are the Secret People?!? I guess we will now find out. Saxist Nathaniel Morgan has recorded with Yolt, Obscure Directions and Will McEvoy’s Mutasm and once played a duo here at DMG with Anna Webber. Guitarist Dustin Carlson also played in Will McEvoy’s Mutasm as well as with Five Dollar Ferrari, Ben Stapp and Anna Webber’s large ensemble. Kate Gentile is both an in-demand drummer, leads & co-leads her own great bands with Matt Mitchell and has been evolving as a fine composer. Check out the wonderful Snark Horse 6 CD set by Ms. Gentile & Mr. Mitchell which was released last summer (of 2021).
This disc begins with the trio playing their repeating lines together then slowly shifts as the alto sax keeps repeating while the guitar plays long toned counterpoint. Ms. Gentile sounds like a strong progressive rock drummer yet know when to lay back. Things shift again midway as the guitar and sax play separate yet connected line with tight drum punctuation. The music here reminds me of early (mid-seventies) Anthony Braxton which combined his own chamber jazz with Ornettish jagged lines. “Legitimate Perseverance” featuring some powerful, tight intricate guitar & mallet drum lines played as one force with a good amount of equally intricate sax interplay. “Peephole” has a great bent almost punkrockish guitar line at the center with some incredible drumming from Ms. Gentile. There is a disorienting section midway with fractured guitar, muted sax and bowed percussion (perhaps?). Things lay back for “U”, where the sax and guitar are playing separate intricate lines while the drums balance things in between. THE FINAL PIECE, “Swamp Gaze”, starts with the pedal to the floor, before becoming more minimal, eerie and dreamlike. The last section is pretty scary, a near metal throbbing mass which is almost too much to deal with yet a greta way to bring this mighty fine disc to a grand conclusion. I can tell that quite a bit of rehearsal time was needed to get this Downtown Progressive Trio into powerful shape. Looking forward to hearing this band live if & when I get the chance. Bravo! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14

MASAYO KOKETSU - Fukiya (Relative Pitch Records SS011; USA) Featuring Masayo Koketsu on alto sax. There is a tradition of Japanese out/jazz sax players which goes back to the 1970’s: Kaoru Abe, Kozutoki Umezu, Akira Sakata and Nonoko Yoshida are the most prominent of the batch. It turns out that alto saxist Masayo Koketsu has worked with Hikashu and Liudas Mockunas, as well as appearing on three other discs, one of which is on the NoBusiness label from Lithuania. This disc was recorded at St-Robo in Tokyo in November of 2021. Ms. Koketsu starts off quietly, playing one note or sound at a time, slowly stretching out certain notes carefully. I like that Ms. Koketsu doesn’t bend her notes out too far (like John Zorn), so that we don’t flinch too much, at least not in the early parts of this disc. Koketsu uses space between each cascade so that we have time absorb each one. And sometimes the spaces are lengthy, yet they do work to keep the pace just right. I get the feeling that Ms. Koketsu took a great deal of time to prepare for this disc as each group of notes/sounds is unique and has different effect on us serious listeners. Circular breathing saxists (like Zorn, Evan Parker & Ned Rothenberg) often create long streams of notes which can be demanding to the listener. Ms. Koketsu never resorts to that although she does like to stretch out certain notes only in short blasts. This is a most impressive debut by a fine, young saxist who we will no doubt be hearing from in the future. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $13

THREE FINE DISCS from PHIL HAYNES / CORNER STORE JAZZ RECORDS:

Earlier this week on 6/7/22, we had a new trio play here at DMG featuring: Thomas Heberer on trumpet, Tomas Ulrich on cello and Phil Haynes on drums. The set was superb, kinda chamber jazz-like. I know the work of all three of these musicians, with both Mr Heberer and Mr. Ulrich playing here on occasion. I haven’t seen or heard from Mr. Haynes in years but always dug whatever I heard. Mr. Haynes left us with around 10 discs of different projects he’s been involved with. None of the below discs have been listed in a DMG newsletter as far as I can tell. Here is the first three listed this week #1:

THE PAUL SMOKER NOTET with STEVE SALERNO / DREW GRESS / PHIL HAYNES - Landings (Alvis Records 2105; USA) Featuring Paul Smoker on trumpet & compositions, Steve Salerno on guitar, Drew Gress on bass and Phil Haynes on drums. I’ve been a fan of trumpeter Paul Smoker for many years, collecting his dozen plus discs as a leader, as well as his work with Anthony Braxton, Joint Venture, Andy Laster and Phil Haynes. I don’t know much about guitarist Steve Salerno although he has recorded with Ray Anderson and is on several discs by Paul Smoker. Bassist Drew Gress is all over the place, working with Tim Berne, John Abercrombie, Ralph Alessi and the Claudia Quintet. Although drummer Phil Haynes appears on more than fifty records listed in the DMG database, I hadn’t see him live in years or noticed any of the dozen or so discs he just left us with. It turns out that Paul Smoker and Phil Haynes have been working together pretty often since they have some 18 discs which both of then appear on!
From the gitgo, we can tell that this quartet has worked to get their unique group sound. “Landings” is an extraordinary opening piece with some incredible interplay between the trumpet and the guitar and impressive backing by the great rhythm team. Mr. Smoker has written each piece as a challenge for the playing abilities and resourcefulness for each musician. “Ethereal I” is quite ethereal, with lovely, haunting harmonies for the trumpet and guitar. The rhythm ream is stripped down to the skeletal with some sublime, impressive, diverse playing from Mr. Smoker’s trumpet with Mr. Gress’s marvelous bubbling bass churning underneath. The free section midway is superb, focused and takes off when Mr. Salerno starts to play those nifty, quick licks with all members joining in for a great jazz/rock jam, which soon soars with those tight, well-played unison lines. Mr. Salerno takes a great unaccompanied guitar solo late in this song. Strangely enough, Mr. Salerno had never a disc as a leader, which I find unfortunate considering how strong his playing is throughout this great disc. The one cover song here is “Tenderly”, which has been covered by George Benson and Oscar Peterson. The version here is laid back and lovely. The final piece, “See How They Run”, starts off with a long, inspired unaccompanied trumpet solo by Mr. Smoker which is most impressive. This piece goes through sections of unaccompanied, lengthy solos with more super solos from the trumpet and guitar. This disc is marvelous and looks like it was never reviewed anywhere else. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $12

NO FAST FOOD with DAVE LIEBMAN / DREW GRESS / PHIL HAYNES - Settings for Three (Corner Store Jazz 0121; USA) “It would be easy enough to cite this trio as a veritable jazz supergroup. And as one would surmise, the musicians give it their best shot. It's the trio's third album and first not recorded from a live performance. Here, legendary reedman David Liebman uses various flutes and saxophones, yet this is a democratic engagement where each player serves a crucial role. Indeed, their insightful improv tactics and acute communications rule the roost via somber ballads and popping funk vamps, amid a tidal wave of bouncy free-bop oeuvres and experimental world music grooves.
The group dedicates this album to the late modern jazz trumpeter, Paul Smoker (1941—2016). The first and lengthiest (10:28) track "El Smoke," is derived from drummer Phil Haynes' collective quartet Joint Venture, featuring bassist Drew Gress, saxophonist Ellery Eskelin and Smoker. Therefore, Settings for Three draws inspiration from Smoker's artistry on this piece that begins with the bassist's nimble phrasings and Liebman's high-pitched flute work, offering imagery of a sacred place of worship.
Liebman picks up his tenor sax atop Hayne's sweeping drums patterns, leading to a potent medium-tempo and pulsating journey, sculpted on buoyant flows and alternating currents. However, they chance upon dark corridors due to Gress' animated bass solo and Haynes' creaky cymbals treatments, but amp it up with an excitable bop motif that comes to a dead stop. In addition, the crystalline audiophile sound quality is a bonus on this multidimensional program, streaming with prismatic colors and the musicians' enviable chops, among many other positives.” - Glenn Astarita, AllAboutJazz.com
CD $12

PHIL HAYNES & FREE COUNTRY with JIM YANDA / HANK ROBERTS / DREW GRESS - The Way the West was Won (Self-produced; USA) Featuring Jim Yanda on mostly acoustic guitar, Hank Roberts on cello & lead vocals, Drew Gress on contrabass and Phil Haynes on drums & lead vocals. As I work my way through the 10 discs that Phil Haynes left us with earlier this week (6/7/2022), I am seeing how truly diverse My. Haynes music projects really are. His ongoing band, Free Country, have at least four discs out (between 1997 & 2014). The music here was inspired by the soundtrack from Hollywood westerns. Reading the words in the liner notes about the arguments between the band-members about recording these Americana classics, made me think about the reason I started to add lyrics to the beginning of each newsletter for the past two years. Mostly to single our songs (the lyrics) that have touched me in many ways for as long as I have admired protest songs. Each of the 17 songs on this disc is a cover from different traditions, cultures or films. I believe that the reason this band sexists is that all the members were living in upstate New York and were neighbors. What rings true here is that these songs often have some spiritual or cultural meaning/baggage which can be personally inviting depending on which tribe you are part of. I don’t know guitarist Jim Yanda outside of the records he has done with Phil Haynes, he is a diverse, inventive guitarist that obviously deserves wider recognition. Hank Roberts has long been one of my favorite cellists who always goes beyond most categories yet is consistently engaging. From his three wonder records on JMT/W&W in the late 80’s/early nineties to his splendid recent sextet disc on Sunnyside, he is always splendid. I believe that Mr. Haynes chose these songs for the poignancy and sense of spirit. Dimitri Tiomkin’s “De Guello” features some marching drums and superb acoustic guitar at the center. For those who care, there are only vocals on a few of these songs. Hank Roberts sings “Johnny Guitar” from the a film of the same name. Mr. Roberts has long had a great, resonant voice but rarely gets a chance to sings. He sounds particularly inspired here as well as his cello does. Mr. Roberts also does a fine job on “Happy Trails”, his cello so warm and from the heart. Mr. Roberts’ enchanting vocals are featured on several songs: “Tennessee Waltz”, Deep River” and “Simple Gifts”. Strangely enough I wasn’t so sure that I would enjoy this disc of traditional songs and soundtrack themes, yet all of the music is well-played and from the heart so I was indeed enchanted throughout. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $12


BMC Records CD Sale Week #4:

TRIO KONTRASZT with STEVAN KOVACS TICKMAYER / ISTVAN GRENCSO / SZILVESZTER MIKLOS - Cryptic Scattered Images Of Time Forgotten (BMC Records 290; Hungary) “‘Cryptic Scattered’ Images of Time Forgotten, is a musical memorial of pianist and band leader Stevan Kovacs Tickmayer. Like Sinbad, he roams through time, browsing through the chapters of his life with the expansive calm of bygone times, from his years in Novi Sad, through he time at the Budapest free music school, to his studies in the Netherlands, and this way free and contemporary music, dance music, and the jazz idiom all find a place next to one another. He is accompanied by credible witnesses: saxophonist István Grencsó has long been a fellow-musician, and Szilveszter Miklós, having been born in Vojvodina and embedded in the free music school, speaks the same musical language as Tickmayer: the language of musical multilingualism. Born in Szabadka (Subotica), pianist-composer Tickmayer's position on the current CD is that of the (self-)narrator who writes of the past from a distance. One who, just when he drifts into his nostalgic reverie, deploys his humour, pinning quotation marks in front of emotive, pathétique musical sentences. Long-cherished musical ideas and compositions matured for years are put into a new light in this narrator's bird's-eye view: the first important concerts of Tickmayer the classical pianist, within Hungary and without, the inspiring milieu of the Budapest free music school, his work composing for theatre, his studies in composition in the Netherlands, and the impression made by the teaching of the Kurtág couple, though unusual in this juxtaposition, form a unified picture from this perspective. Yet characteristic of the album is the contrast referred to in the name of the trio. Tickmayer and co. wander in the more shadowy spaces of the consciousness with a bright pocket torch: characteristic musical motifs, the typical stylistic traits of different genres flash before us with surprising clarity, only then to dissolve in the criss-crossing rays of light the improvising musicians direct at one another.”
CD $16

VIKTOR TOTH / HAMID DRAKE / SZANDAI MATYAS - Climbing With Mountains (BMC Records 132) The music of Viktor Toth is filled with a joy that can only come through the heart of someone who loves music on its own terms. This music is past new; it is ageless and poised to take off as part of the next generation. This is what we find in the illustrious meeting of Viktor Toth alto sax, Matyas Szandai bass and the presence of Hamid Drake, who by historic standards is the premier percussionist of any decade. The trumpet of my old friend Ferenc Kovacs also features on several songs. Please drop all pretensions and let these sounds dance in your souls, stirring things up to take you to the top of the mountain. William Parker.
Toth, in any case, has the kind of stinging tone and pump-action phrasing that plays well against Drake and double bassist Szandai and a songbook of bouncy, sometimes pretty tunes serves the group well. For the most part the emphasis is on solid swing with a rich additional colour being supplied by the impressive guest trumpeter Kovacs, but the ensemble widens that vocabulary in attractive ways, above all on the slightly Oliver Lake-ish reggae rub of 'Green With Blue'. A strong showing from a bandleader who deserves greater exposure beyond the borders of his homeland. — Kevin Le Gendre, Jazzwise, December 2015
CD $16

MICHIEL BRAAM - Gloomy Sunday (BMC Records 237; Hungary) “Dutch pianist Michiel Braam combines exceptional virtuosity with a playful unpredictability. His infectious dynamic and percussive style is strictly his own. His unexpected, sometimes comic meanderings are never abstract or obtuse, but always rooted in the material. Braam takes you on a wild and surprising journey, but makes sure that you don't get lost. As of 2016 Michiel plays the solo program "Gloomy Sunday", including improvisation, Purcell, an occasional Antillean waltz, jazz standards such as "The Man I Love" and Braam originals like "Q16" and "Pit Stop Ball Ad". "For me, doing a solo concert doesn't involve any preparation in terms of a set-list or anything concrete about pieces I will be playing. I simply start and see where everything leads me to. At this concert, I made an exception to this custom. Not only would it be nice to play one of the many famous Hungarian compositions in Budapest, but also the very night of the concert, students of the ArtEZ University of the Arts, where I am head of Jazz & Pop, organized a concert in remembrance of our student Robin Cornelissen who had died exactly two years earlier. I had played Gloomy Sunday at his funeral and playing it in the Opus Jazz Club connected me to Robin, as well as to the great Hungarian music tradition."
CD $16

GRENCSO OPEN COLLECTIVE & RUDI MAHALL - Marginal Music (BMC 222; Hungary) Grencsó's Open Collective extended to a sextet by German bass-clarinetist Rudi Mahall and second bass player Ernő Hock. The quartet lineup of the Open Collective of Grencsó, torch-bearer of the Hungarian avant-garde is reinforced by German bass clarinetist Rudi Mahall, supplying a dynamic and ironic extra layer of melodies while a second double bass player is added to enrich the dynamism of the sound. The compositions show elements of blues, Bartók and standards, embedded in the rich context of free improvisation.
“The works are much more than marginal; more like mystical and quite magical, actually. They're skillfully conceived and executed; attractive and showing a remarkable degree of contemporaneity, indicated by superb blowing of the reeds and woodwinds, by way of ornamentation and even fingering and dynamics. Every one of the pieces from the very short movements to the longer ones, sound brilliant and inspiriting. Brilliant in terms of instincts, modern virtuosity, whether it's a question of attack, articulation and dynamic variation. — Raul da Gama, jazzdagama.com
CD $16

WANDERWELLE - Black Clouds Above The Bows (Important Records 507CD; USA) “The Amsterdam-based collective Wanderwelle presents the first entry of their trilogy for Important Records, dedicated to telling the story of the climate crisis and its effects on coastal areas around the globe. Black Clouds Above The Bows consists of electro-acoustic threnodies for an environment at risk. Wailing odes express and examine the destructive activity of intensifying storm systems that are enhanced by the climate crisis. First-hand experiences with coastal damage and meetings with local maritime experts on the subject inspired the artists to compose this album. Antique cavalry trumpets play a central role in the album. The instruments, recorded and manipulated by Wanderwelle, sound an environmental alarm in the same manner as they were once used to warn men on the battlefield. After more than a century of silence, they are once again fulfilling their purpose. Starting out as menacing tones, the brass progresses into blaring noises and gets more aggressive as the album continues, resulting in a cacophony across a tumultuous sea. With digital alterations, the natural trumpets were used beyond the range of the harmonic series and their original pitch. Furthermore, their bright timbre is reminiscent of the songs of the sirens in Greek mythology, whose bewitching tones lured ancient mariners to their doom. A fitting analogy for our lack of modern leadership and march towards ecological catastrophes. A great deal of inspiration was found in maritime superstition and the vast number of bad omens. For ages, these ill signs are known to have preceded the demise of seamen. This theme felt equally suited to the current environmental disasters and the larger crises yet to come; the writing's on the wall. Samuel Taylor Coleridge's major poem "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner", served as further inspiration for the bleak mood of the album. Transmuting the original characteristics of acoustic instruments is a recurring technique used in the making of the trilogy. The sounds generated by these processes are combined with recorded electronics and archival recordings. Later in 2022, All Hands Bury The Cliffs At Sea, the second part of their trilogy, will be released on vinyl. The concluding part is currently nearing completion.”
CD $15

DANIEL SCHMIDT - Cloud Shadows (Recital R 093CD; USA) “‘Cloud Shadows’ is the third album by the American gamelan composer, Daniel Schmidt. The pieces in Cloud Shadows, which are quite varied and more current than the work represented on his first two albums In My Arms, Many Flowers (R 017CD, 2016) and Abies Firma (R 070CD, 2020), mostly came about each in their own way. For example, the cloud shadows on the mountains of central Nevada, unimaginably old, invited Daniel into their realm, resulting in the opening composition, "Cloud Shadows". The composition "SEOR" developed from the daily repetitions of radiation and relief from his cancer treatments. Also, the death of a close friend plunged the composer into deep emotions but ultimately nudged him over a compositional hump, leading to the creation of the "Sandy Suite". "A River in Delta", dedicated to Lou Harrison and John Cage, utilizes chance operations and a poem written by Cage for Harrison's 60th birthday. Under the direction of Schmidt, these ten pieces were performed and recorded by Gamelan Encinal and students at Mills College between 2017 and 2019. They unveil a compositional evolution, most noticeably the weaving of voice and poetry with gamelan. The lyrics were written by poet Deborah Bachels Schmidt (Daniel's wife), often sung in the style of 19th century lieder. Recital presents Cloud Shadows as a celebration of Daniel Schmidt's 80th birthday, a rich album that continues the exploration of "American" gamelan music via one of its creators. First CD edition of 300; 24-page booklet holding program notes, scores, and photographs.
"Starting at perhaps age four or five, I would sit on the top step of our front porch, just under the overhang of the roof, and look at the rain. I was transported. I remember quite clearly the transcendent state I would enter. But I learned early to keep my experiences with the rain to myself. At church I would hear references to the 'spiritual.' It seemed to be defined as something beyond everyday life, and that puzzled me, because it sounded much like my own experience when watching rain. I ask you, as you listen to this album, to imagine the rain as I felt it as a child. Please allow this music to flow into you." - Daniel Schmidt
CD $17

LUCIA DE CARVALHO - Pwanga (Zamora Label 2201; France) “Lúcia de Carvalho is an alchemist, a seeker of sense, a kindler of essence. Her voice transmits vibrations that heal and transform; her drum transmits the voice of the ancestors, inviting you to reconnect with your deepest self. Born in Luanda, she left the Angolan capital for Portugal with her mother and two of her four sisters, then when she was 12 years old she and her sisters were taken in by a French foster family in Meistratzheim. Her African roots resurfaced in an unexpected way when a Brazilian band happened to play in her village: it was with that band, Som Brasil, that during ten years she took her first musical steps, progressing from backing vocalist to lead singer, moving from dancing to drumming. In 2008, she decided to embark on a solo career and write her own songs. After releasing her first EP in 2011, she met Edouard Heilbronn, a young bassist from Alsace. They worked together on their compositions and played everywhere they could. After a long journey both musical and initiatory that took them to Brazil and Angola, Kuzola ("Love" in the Kimbundu language of Angola) was born: an album (2016) and a moving documentary that retraced Lúcia's quest for her roots and offered some answers to her questions about her own identity. If Kuzola was a quest for meaning, the quest this time is for the essence. It has enabled her, always in partnership with Edouard Heilbronn, to strike out into new territory on this her third album, recorded and mixed by Jean Lamoot (Mano Negra, Noir Désir, Alain Bashung, Dominique A, Souad Massi) at Studio Ferber in Paris. Of course, Africa and Brazil are still there on Pwanga, forming the heart of Lúcia as she lives and writes to the beat of the drum, finding words, melodies and rhythms on the same impulse; a raw diamond that her accomplice polishes, enriching the harmonies and sonic imagery and turning the songs on the album into travel films. Other outstanding participation in this luminous repertoire are the illustrious Brazilian singer Chico César, the powerful and warm voice of singer Anna Tréa, and two veterans of Angolan music: percussionist Galiano Neto and producer-guitarist Betinho Feijo, known for their long-standing work alongside the great Bonga Kwenda. While the virtuoso Zé Luis Nascimento (Mayra Andrade, Ayo, Cesaria Evora) knew how to enhance the essence of each title with his original and varied vocabulary between Brazilian, Eastern, and Western percussions.”
CD $17

PHILL NIBLOCK - Working Touch (Touch 109USB; UK) “USB in digipak; 11 films, three hours 55 minutes. Films includes: Praised Fan, for bassoon (2016, 17 min) Dafne Vicente-Sandoval, bassoon. Commissioned for the Adelaide Festival, Australia, by Ilan Volkov. Material recorded at Marcus Schmickler's P I E T H O P R A X I S studio in Koln, Germany. First Out, for guitar (2015, 22:14) David First, guitar. Completed in November 2015 in Hong Kong. Premiered on Czech Radio in Prague, Czech Republic, Nov. 27 2015. Material recorded at Berklee School of Music, Boston, MA; DreGliss (2015, 19:15) Erik Drescher, glissando flute. Material recorded at Marcus Schmickler's P I E T H O P R A X I S studio in Koln, Germany; V&LSG (2015, 21:20) Lore Lixenberg, voice, Guy De Bievre, lap steel guitar. Material recorded at Johan Vandermaelen's studio in Aaigem, Belgium. Bag (Sept 2014, 21 minutes) David Watson, bagpipe. Material recorded at Berklee School of Music, Boston, MA; A Rooks Pun (2014, 21 min) Ulrich Krieger, soprano saxophone. Material recorded at The California Institute for the Arts, Valencia, CA; Ronet (2014, 21:08) Neil Leonard, tenor saxophone. Material recorded at Berklee School of Music, Boston, MA; Octavio Perc (2014, 20:45) Julien Ottavi, percussion. Material recorded at APO33, Nantes, France; Vlada BC (Nov 7, 2013, 20:00) Elisabeth Smalt, viola d'amore. Material recorded at Marcus Schmickler's P I E T H O P R A X I S studio in Koln, Germany. Euph (Nov 2013, 23:40) Melvyn Poore, two-belled euphonium. Material recorded in the Ensemble Musikfabrik studios in Koln Germany; Unipolar Dance (Oct 2 2013, 25:04) Pauline Kim and Conrad Harris, violins and violas (for two violins and two violas, recorded in stereo). Material recorded in Robert Poss's Trace Elements studio in NYC, NY. The music is eleven minutes longer than the film length, so the last music piece is faded at the end of the film, but is complete in the music files which are on the USB memory stick in 24 bit, 44.1.
"Phill Niblock's music and films contravene the drive of local memory and anticipation integral to much musical and cinematic experience, the sense that each moment is conditioned by what directly preceded it and what came before that, while simultaneously pointing forward to resolutions or further complications, driving toward closure, always toward the sense of an ending in which all threads are tied, all paths satisfactorily closed. This conception of temporality is fundamental especially to pre-20th century Western music, and basic to both conventional narrative cinema and even advanced artists' moving image works . . . The films, I suggest, require a suspension of expectation, the viewer opening himself/herself up to an experience of delight in color, in scale, rhythm, in the unfamiliar; in the visual arrangement of shaded planes on a flat screen surface that simultaneously depicts figures in recessive space. The films demand an embrace of a continuous presence, with future and past fading into irrelevance as they recede from and come into being. Only the present has import. Conventional cinematic concepts like closure, montage, and development are out of play. It is the joy of the moment based on the hypnotic magic of the recording of motion, of sound, of time -- relatively recent achievements in the long history of human technology." - Grahame Weinbren
USB Card $48

RILEY RILEY WOOD & WAGGETT - Shape of the Rain (Grapefruit 067T; UK) Issued by underground imprint RCA Neon in mid-1971, the Shape Of The Rain album "Riley Riley Wood & Waggett" sold poorly at the time despite glowing reviews from the British music weeklies. A surging collision of Beatlesesque writing and harmonies and Byrds-like jingle-jangle guitars, sadly it would take another couple of decades before the LP was finally disinterred by a new generation of record collectors. Half-a-century after its original release, that lost jewel of an album finally gets the attention it deserves as the cornerstone of Grapefruit's definitive new 3-CD anthology of a criminally neglected late Sixties/early Seventies British band. In addition to that 1971 album, our release features a post-LP single, a clutch of studio demos, taped rehearsals and alternative versions as well as more than a dozen previously-unissued demos of material for an aborted second album. Recorded in 1972 by band leader and chief vocalist/songwriter Keith Riley, these songs are a staggering new find, occupying similar musical territory to newly-solo McCartney, Badfinger man Pete Ham's home demos and Chris Bell's post-Big Star work. Our release also features some incendiary Shape Of The Rain live recordings, including a 50-minute show from May 1970 that stands as a rare and enthralling document of a West Coast-influenced English psychedelic band captured in full and glorious flow at the turn of the decade. Boasting a 24-page booklet that includes numerous rare photos as well as a new history of the band, this expanded, four-hour edition of "Riley Riley Wood & Waggett" features approximately two hours of previously unreleased music.”
3 CD Set $30


LP Section:

SEIKATSU KOJYO IINKAI with KAZUTOKI ‘KAPPO’ UMEZU / AHMED ABDULLAH / YORIYUKI HARADA / WILLIAM PARKER / RASHID SINAN - Seikatsu Kojyo Iinkai (Aquirre Records Zorn 083LP; Belgium) “Ferocious JP/US free jazz bomb. A rare meeting between the NYC free jazz scene and the Japanese free music scene. Following hot on the heels of the first, mid-sixties generation of Japanese free jazz players like Kaoru Abe, Masayuki Takayanagi, Yōsuke Yamashita, Motoharu Yoshizawa, etc., an exciting second wave of younger players began to emerge in the seventies. Two of its leading members were the saxophonist Kazutoki Umezu and multi-instrumentalist Yoriyuki Harada. Both were post-war babies and immigrants to the city, Umezu from Sendai in the north and Harada from Shimane in the west. They first met as students in the clarinet department at the Kunitachi College of Music in western Tokyo. The two began to play together in an improvised duo, with Umezu on clarinet and bass clarinet and Harada on piano. Experiments led to the creation of a trio, with a high-school student called Tetsuya Morimura on drums, that they decided to name Seikatsu Kōjyō Iinkai (Lifestyle Improvement Committee) in joking reference to the Marxist discourse of the student radicals of the time. Around 1973, Umezu and Harada decided to call it a day and go their separate ways. Umezu began playing with the Toshinori Kondo Unit and Harada with the Tadashi Yoshida Quintet. In 1974 Harada formed his own trio and began to play at jazz coffeehouses across Japan. In September 1974 Umezu travelled alone to New York. Umezu soon became known on the scene as Kappo and he started to make connections with some of the young musicians. Umezu wrote to Harada and invited him to come to New York. He accepted and arrived in the city in July 1975. Harada and Umezu took the opportunity to resume their artistic collaboration. Their first concert together in over two years took place on July 20th at another loft, Sunrise Studios at 122 2nd Avenue. Umezu invited along trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah. Abdullah led his own group and was a long-term Sun Ra sideman. William Parker, one of the key figures in the loft jazz scene of the period, was on bass. Abdullah also brought along Rashid Sinan on drums. Sinan played on Frank Lowe's immortal Black Beings (1973) and Arthur Doyle's Alabama Feeling (1978). By all accounts the evening was a huge success, with speed and dynamism of Harada's piano playing gaining him lots of support. Since they had managed to save some money from their day jobs, Umezu and Harada decided to set up a recording session with the same line-up on August 11 at Studio We, where there was a well-equipped studio on the third floor. On their first recordings, the humor element, which is key to their sound, is not yet present. Instead, there is a febrile sense of joy in creation and connection. Old-style gatefold with rare photographs and liner notes by Alan Cummings.”
LP $33 [Very limited so don’t hesitate!]

CHRIS PITSIOKOS / WENDY EISENBERG / RICHARD LENZ / NICK NEUBERG / KEVIN MURRAY - Strictly Missionary / Heisse Scheisse (Astral Spirits 182; Earth)
LP $18

MAGMA - Wurdah Itah (Music on Vinyl 3045 Col; Netherlands) "It was 1974 when Magma's fourth studio album Ẁurdah Ïtah came out. Originally, the album was released under the name of Tristan Et Iseult as a solo studio film soundtrack by founding member Christian Vander. He recorded the music for Yvan Lagrange's 1872 avant-garde film Tristan Et Iseult. The recordings took place only a month prior to the sessions which produced Köhntarkösz. For these recordings for Ẁurdah Ïtah, only a core quartet of Magma members took part, including Christian Vander, Jannick Top, Klaus Blasquiz and Stella Vander providing only drums, bass, piano and vocals. Fifteen years later, in 1989, the album was re-released with Magma's distinctive logo. Ẁurdah Ïtah is available as a limited edition of 2000 individually numbered copies on purple colored vinyl, housed in a gatefold sleeve."
LP $35

LADY JUNE with KEVIN AYERS / PIP PYLE / BRIAN ENO / et al - Lady June's Linguistic Leprosy (Mental Experience 017; Spain) Mental Experience present the first vinyl reissue of Lady June's Linguistic Leprosy, originally released in 1974. The legendary debut album by Canterbury scene pivotal figure, performance poet, painter, and experimental musician June Campbell Cramer, better known as Lady June. Produced by Kevin Ayers, who also plays on the album along with Brian Eno, Pip Pyle (Gong, Hatfield And The North), and David Vorhaus (White Noise). Originally released by Virgin's budget imprint Caroline (home also of artist like Faust With Tony Conrad, Gong, Lol Coxhill, etc.), Lady June's Linguistic Leprosy is a surreal, eccentric, psychedelic oddity of interest to fans of the Soft Machine-Gong-Canterbury family as well experimental/sound poetry/art-rock explorers. This cult album was included on the legendary Nurse With Wound list. Remastered sound; Insert with photos and liner notes by Ayers archivist Martin Wakeling. RIYL: Gong, Catherine Ribeiro, Laurie Anderson, Boards Of Canada, Mopsie Beans.”
LP $26

TOSHIYA TSUNODA - Landscape and Voice (Black Truffle 089LP; Australia) “Black Truffle present Landscape and Voice, a radical new work (and rare vinyl release) from major Japanese sound artist Toshiya Tsunoda. Undoubtedly one of the most influential artists working with location recordings since the 1990s, Tsunoda's work possesses a rigorously searching quality that sets him apart from his contemporaries. Tsunoda is known to many listeners for the subtle atmospheric poetry of his early Extract from Field Recording Archive series, which focused on vibrations recorded in various indoor and outdoor environments in his native Miura Peninsula, often inside pipes, bottles and other vessels. In more recent years, his work has explored the implications of his claim that field recording should be seen as "depiction" rather than "documentation". He has explored disorienting editing and processing in his works with Taku Unami, and, perhaps most radically, represented Maguchi Bay as a kind of kinetic sculpture for shaking speakers by removing all but the inaudible low frequencies from a field recording (Low Frequency Observed at Maguchi Bay). One of the recurrent concerns of Tsunoda's recent work, as he explains in the crystalline liner notes accompanying this release, is "exploring how I can establish a subjective relationship with an environment, rather than seeing it merely as an object to be recorded." This has taken various forms, from documenting simultaneously an outdoor environment and the blood flowing through the listener/recorder's body (captured with a stethoscope) on The Temple Recordings, to representing his own experience of the landscape as made up of "grains of space and time" by inserting looped fragments into field recordings in Grains of Spring. On Landscape and Voice, this meeting between subject and object becomes an almost mystical union between the natural and the human. As with all of Tsunoda's work, a relatively simple concept leads to compelling, thought-provoking results. Landscape and Voice combines vowel sounds spoken by six voices with short, looped fragments of field recordings, their noise character suggesting consonants: voice and landscape thus join together in something like words. The record consists of three pieces, each using a different, richly evocative field recording, which periodically freezes, catching on a looped fragment to which is synchronized an abruptly looped spoken vowel sound. The lengths between these interruptions vary, as do the tempi of the loops. The interruption of these lushly immersive recordings of the world -- bristling with bird song, rushing water, distant traffic, and clinking metal -- only serves to intensify them, as if the depicted environment itself had been returned to the listener each time it abruptly reappears. Sleeve designed by Lasse Marhaug. Liner notes from the composer.
LP $35

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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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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-322-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=Ne82zmzvOm4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T430EzDqtP8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDGv_5p0dvQ

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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 10:30pm Tues, Thurs and Sat 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 comes from percussionist CARLO COSTA:

June 10: Solo at IBeam, Brooklyn, NY (8pm)
split bill with Jp Schlegelmilch and Adam Schneit duo

June 17: Moritz / Ali / Costa at Sunview Luncheonette, Brooklyn, NY (8pm)
with Jonathan Moritz on tenor and soprano saxophones and Sean Ali on double bass
split bill with Zosha Warpeha solo

June 18: Hypersurface at Willow Place Auditorium, Brooklyn, NY
w/ Drew Wesely on guitar and Lester St. Louis on cello
Part of the Infrequent Seams Summer 2022 Streamfest

June 22: Earth Tongues at Shift (411 Kent Ave), Brooklyn, NY
w/ Joe Moffett on trumpet and Dan Peck on tuba
split bill with Jason Khan solo

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Here’s a list of upcoming gigs from local promoter:

Billy Mohler - 
June 15 - Bar Lunatico - two sets 9:00 pm and 10:30pm
June 16 - Nublu - 7:00 pm
Billy Mohler, double bass, compositions
Chris Speed, tenor saxophone
Shane Endsley, trumpet
Nate Wood, drums

Whit Dickey - 
June 22 - Vision Festival 2022 - Roulette - 8pm
Astral Longform: Staircase in Space
Whit Dickey – drums
Rob Brown – alto saxophone
Mat Maneri – viola
Brandon Lopez – bass

Stephen Harvey - 
June 23 - Jazz Gallery - Jazz Composers' Showcase - 7:30pm and 9:30pm
Composers:
Stephen Philip Harvey
Courtney Wright
Rafael Piccolotto de Lima
Personnel: Ben Kono, Ethan Helm, Quinsin Nachoff, Jasper Dutz, Courtney Wright - reeds; Roger Garcia, Jonathan Challoner, David Adawumi, Andrew Wagner - trumpets; Nick Grinder, Nick Vayenas, Evan Amoroso, Jennifer Wharton - trombones; Olli Hirvonen -guitar, Martha Kato -piano, Evan Gregor -bass, Jared Schonig -drums

Sonic Liberation Front w/ Oliver Lake  - 
June 26 - Vision Festival 2022 - La Plaza at The Clemente - 6pm
Oliver Lake’s JUSTICE with Sonic Liberation Front
Oliver Lake - composer, arranger, conduction, spoken word
Elliot Levin - tenor sax
Veronica Jurkiewicz - violin
Matt Engle - acoustic bass
Kevin Diehl - drum kit, synth drums
Jameka Gordon - flute
Chaela Harris – voice (alto)
Ravi Seenerine – voice (tenor)
Shanon Chua – voice (soprano)

Vadim Neselovskyi: Odesa—A Musical Walk Through a Legendary City
June 29 - The Stone - 8:30
Vadim Neselovskyi - piano

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ARTO LINDSAY 
June 10th, 9pm (doors 8pm)
$20 in adv, $25 at the door
The Atlantic
333 Atlantic Avenue
www.atlanticbkln.com/
Tickets: https://wl.seetickets.us/event/Arto-Lindsay/480984?afflky=TheAtlanticBKLN

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This comes from local keyboard wiz ELI WALLACE:

-June 16th and 17th: 
MAW residency (Jessica Ackerley, Frank Meadows, me) to celebrate our first release MAW, A Maneuver Within Ibeam, Brooklyn 
Night 1: Phillip Greenlief, Angelica Sanchez, Tom Rainey 8pm, MAW 9pm
Night 2: Oido: Ishmael Ali, Aaron Quinn, Deric Dickens 8pm, MAW w/ special guest 9pm

June 18th:
Infrequent Seams Streamfest 3 Day 3, Willow Place Auditorium, Brooklyn, 6:30-10:30pm with Jessica Ackerley, James Ilgenfritz, & Thomas Buckner

June 25th:
The Inflatable Leviathan album release show presented by Tripticks Tapes, Anchor House of Artists, Northampton, MA 7pm with Cecilia Lopez, Michael Foster, & Sean Ali

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ASM and SEM Ensemble Present: 
Infrequent Seams Streamfest 3 June 16-19

Infrequent Seams brings the third iteration of the semi-annual four-day Infrequent Seams Streamfest: A four-day festival of live performances, moving image-based and electronic sound-based creative arts. The festival musical performance, but also incorporates many other disciplines as well: this includes video/film art, poetry, dance, theater, and more.
This June, two days are taking place at Scholes Street Studio in Williamsburg, one day takes place at Willow Place Auditorium in Brooklyn Heights. The fourth day is fully remote for artists and audiences, and includes live telematic collaborations between artists in different locations.

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, and in part with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency. RSVP, Vaccination required for in-person attendance. RSVP at infrequentseams@gmail.com Full schedule is available at www.infrequentseamsstreamfest.com

Thursday June 16 8pm-11pm Scholes Street Studio
Joy Guidry / Pauline Kim Harris
Forever House: Meaghan Burke / James Moore / James Ilgenfritz / Pete Wise
Forbes Graham Solo
Ty Citerman: Bop Kabbalah Voices LIVE (performance footage)
Ty Citerman / Jen Baker / Shayna Dunkelman
LIVESTREAM Tickets for day 1:
https://infrequentseams.bandcamp.com/merch/asm-presents-infrequent-seams-june-2022-streamfest-day-1
Website for Day 1:
https://www.infrequentseamsstreamfest.com/thursday-june-16
 
Friday June 17 8pm-11pm Scholes Street Studio
AC Diamond (Anastasia Clarke solo)
Void Patrol: Colin Stetson, Elliott Sharp, Billy Martin, Payton
MacDonald (video documentation)
JD Parran / Ras Moshe / James Ilgenfritz / Payton MacDonald / Nava Dunkelman
Bob Kenny (cinema) and Teerapat Parnmongkol (poetry)
Anagram Ensemble Presents: Josh Sinton / Jonathan Finlayson
Monika Weiss METAMORPHOSIS | NIRBHAYA “Metá"
LIVESTREAM Tickets for Day 2:
https://infrequentseams.bandcamp.com/merch/asm-presents-infrequent-seams-june-2022-streamfest-night-2
Website for Day 2:
https://www.infrequentseamsstreamfest.com/friday-june-17

Saturday June 18, 6:30-10:30 The Willow Place Auditorium
Julie Herndon: “At That Time”
Anagram Ensemble Presents: Margaret Lancaster & Chris Nappi
Davor Vincze: “Xinsheng”
Jessica Ackerley / James Ilgenfritz / Eli Wallace / Thomas Buckner
Tom Law / Kevin Cheli / Sandy Ewen
Weston Olencki & Laura Cocks
Jen Kutler & Quintan Ana Wikswo
Muyassar Kurdi Solo
Anagram String Trio: Works by Niloufar Shiri & Benjamin Patterson
Hypersurface: Drew Wesely / Lester St. Louis / Carlo Costa
Ben Richter plays Nomi Epstein
LIVESTREAM Tickets for Day 3:
https://infrequentseams.bandcamp.com/merch/asm-presents-infrequent-seams-june-2022-streamfest-day-3
Website for Day 3:
https://www.infrequentseamsstreamfest.com/saturday-june-18

Sunday June 19, 6pm–9pm online-only
Dilate Ensemble (Kim/Damijan/Miller/Muhr/Raskin)
Andrea Parkins: Two Room From The Memory Palace
Lily Maase Solo
Hydra Nightingale: Kyle Motl Solo contrabass works by Caroline Louise Miller, Jessie Cox, Anqi Liu, & Laura Brackney
Miyama McQueen-Tokita, Jiryis Ballan, & James Ilgenfritz
LIVESTREAM Tickets for Day 4:
https://infrequentseams.bandcamp.com/merch/asm-presents-infrequent-seams-june-2022-streamfest-day-4
Website for Day 4:
https://www.infrequentseamsstreamfest.com/sunday-june-19

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ATTENTION TO ALL DMG CUSTOMERS: NEW EMAIL ADDRESS: downtownmusicgalleryofficial@gmail.com

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