DMG Newsletter for July 15th, 2022

Why is he so sick and ridiculous?
He won't permit integrated schools.
Then he's a fool! Boo! Nazi Fascist supremists!
Boo! Ku Klux Klan (with your Jim Crow plan)
Name me a handful that's ridiculous, Dannie Richmond.
Faubus, Rockefeller, Eisenhower
Why are they so sick and ridiculous?
Two, four, six, eight:
They brainwash and teach you hate.
H-E-L-L-O, Hello.

The first time I heard any singing on a Charles Mingus record, it was on a song called “Eat That Chicken”, from a Mingus best of double LP on Atlantic that I purchased around 1973. The song was pretty funny, poking fun at those who like to eat chicken pie. Around the same time (1973), I bought another Charles Mingus (Quartet) record called ‘Charles Mingus Presents’ (1961) on Candid. There was a song on that record called “Fables of Faubus”, which was first released on ‘Mingus Ah Um’ (1959). The second version had vocals by Mr. Mingus himself with a bit of background vocals by drummer Dannie Richmond. Every time I listen to the second version, I break out in laughter. Here was Mr. Mingus poking fun at Nazi’s, white supremacists, politicians and the rich folks, all of whom try to divide us by pointing to one group of folks and calling them our enemies. They are obviously (to me) not our enemies, the fascists and greedy folks worldwide are the real enemies of true democracy and freedom of expression. We obviously live in troublesome times yet in some ways, things haven’t changed enough for the better in many years. I find it sad and disturbing that the racist BS which erupted in the 1960’s (and way before that no doubt) is still with us today and still dividing those who believe the Fake News propaganda which is often overwhelming. More than a half century later, we are still trying be free of the chains (invisible or not) that are holding us down. I am still searching for hope and inspiration every day. - Bruce Lee Gallanter at DMG

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THE DMG 31st ANNIVERSARY IN-STORE FREE MUSIC SERIES Continues with:

Tuesday, July 19th: [contribution requested]
6:30: MICHAEL FORMANEK TRIO DROME with CHET DOXAS / VINNIE SPERRAZZA!
7:30: JEREMY CARLSTEDT / KEVIN SHEA - Drum Duo!

Tuesday, July 26th:
6:30: NIKOLAJ KLEMENS / JULIAN KIRSHNER - Tenor Sax / Drums!
7:30: KENNETH JIMENEZ / HERY PAZ / TOM RAINEY - Contrabass / Saxophone / Drums!

Tuesday, August 2nd:
6:30: TIME TROUT with VIV CORRINGHAM / MARCUS CUMMINS / DAVE MANDL / STEVE MOSES!
7:30: ISMAEL ALI / WILL GREENE / RAF VERTESSEN - Cello / Tenor Sax / Drums!

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THIS WEEK’S DYNAMIC DISCS BEGIN WITH A SOLO RARITY BY CECIL TAYLOR:

CECIL TAYLOR - Respiration - Live in Warsaw ’68 (Listen! Foundation FSR 10-2022; Poland) Featuring Cecil Taylor on solo piano recorded October 18, 1968 at the Jazz Jamboree, Warsaw Philharmonic in Poland. Cecil Taylor, who passed away in April of 2018, was considered to be greatest & most influential of all Free/Jazz pianists, his long career starting back in the late 1950’s. Mr. Taylor has a series of small groups, trio, quartets and larger ones, but didn’t record a solo effort until 1973. Taylor’s large and often aging fan base collects everything he has recorded, going back to the beginning. Since Mr. Taylor’s passing in 2018, a number of unreleased and rare reissues have been being released with more regularly.
Cecil Taylor’s first official solo offering, ‘Indent’, was released in 1973. This disc, ‘Respiration’ was recorded in October of 1968, five years earlier, and shows that Mr. Taylor’s solo piano gigs were already illustrating his unique approach. Starting with the Watts Riots in LA in 1965 through civil unrest and more riots in major cities across the US and spreading through Paris and the rest of Europe in 1968, the feeling that we were in the middle of some sort of revolution was all around us in 1968, when this disc was recorded at a Jazz Jamboree in Warsaw, Poland. Cecil Taylor’s playing here seems to reflect in the inner and outer chaos that many of us were feeling during this era. I can actually hear some of the thematic material that Mr. Taylor developed over his long music journey. Taylor’s playing here is extraordinary, intense, oft brutal, powerful, diverse, furious at times and unlike any other pianists during that turbulent period. This music, this concert is absolutely incredible and in a class of its own. Are you ready for the exciting ride?!? The take a leap into the unknown and go surfing on the cosmic waves. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $16

MARK FELDMAN / KATINKA KLEIJN - Sine Nomine (Listen! Foundation FSR 08/2002; Poland) “Renown violin virtuoso Mark Feldman and phenomenal cellist Katinka Kleijn joined forces and recorded their first duo recital. Both have great experience and long careers in the classical, contemporary, jazz, and improvised music world. Mark is well known for his music as a leader as well as for long-distance collaboration with such musicians as John Zorn, Erik Friedlander, Evan Parker, Sylvie Courvoisier, and others. Katinka established shes position both in classical and contemporary music as a Chicago Symphony and International Contemporary Ensemble's cellist, a soloist playing with Ken Vandermark, Macie Stewart, Joe McPhee, Claire Rousay, Caroline Davis, Damon Locks, and Du Yun. Two great improvisers in colorful, plenty of sophisticated sound nuances, and vivid emotional flavor recital.”
CD $16

M featuring MARCO COLONNA / STEVE SWELL / BEN STAPP / FRED LONBERG-HOLM - Broken Songs (Listen! Foundation FSR off01/2022; Poland) “Simple songs, simple but original words. Maybe little poems, sometimes very lyrical, sometimes broken, maybe dystopic, sad phrases written in the darkest time of the pandemic era? Name them as you want! All in bluesy roots and played by extraordinary free music wizards such as M on guitar vocal and percussion, Steve Swell - trombone, Fred Lonberg Holm - cello, Ben Stapp - tuba, and Marco Colonna - reeds.
Someone named it a non-serious musical proposal. But please remember music is not only a sophisticated, complicated jigsaw performed by the greatest master with a serious expression. It can be also a way to get simple but not stupid pleasure! It can have the form of a song that we can sing and enjoy without any musicological background. Sometimes even a Wonder Woman needs a Hug and a free improvised music lover needs a break.” I will review this disc next week when I have some time.
CD $16

COLUMBIA ICEFIELD with NATE WOOLEY / MARY HALVORSON / SUSAN ALCORN / RYAN SAWYER MAT MANERI / TREVOR DUNN - Ancient Songs of Burlap Heroes (Pyroclastic Records 20; USA) Featuring Nate Wooley on trumpet & amplifier, Mary Halvorson on guitar, Susan Alcorn on pedal steel guitar and Ryan Sawyer on drums plus guests Mat Maneri on viola and Trevor Dunn on electric bass. “This album is dedicated to those who recognize living as a heroic act: the occupiers of sunup barstools; the cubicle-planted; the ghosts of Greyhounds; the reasonably sketchy. A burlap hero is one who marches—consciously or not—back to the sea in hopes of making no splash, who understands and embraces the imperfection of being, and in that way, stretches the definition of sainthood to fit.” - Nate Wooley.
“’The Columbia Icefield’ is an imposing behemoth, the largest icefield in the Rocky Mountains, a glacial structure that feeds into the Columbia River, and, eventually, into the Pacific Ocean. It’s alien, unapproachable, and yet, somehow, a striking metaphor for man’s relationship to nature. The result is a stirring and staggering practice in being alive and the way our lives are reflected and shaped by our surroundings.”
This is the second release by Nate Wooley’s Columbia Icefield quartet, the first was released in January of 2019 on Northern Spy and this one includes two guests: Mat Maneri on viola and Trevor Dunn on el bass. The disc begin with the sound of the wind softly howling in the distance with hushed guitars slowly creeping into the sonic scene. The music/sound unfolds slowly, cautiously. Mr. Wooley’s trumpet sounds like a windstorm and he directs the flow of sounds with Ryan Sawyer’s awesome drums whipping up another layer of spontaneous energy emerging underneath. Mr. Wooley sounds like Miles Davis at times as he carefully stretches out each note to good effect. Instead of soloing, Mr. Wooley has the members of the quartet creating a variety of textures which evoke different icy vibrations. Wooley likes to strip things down to a series of unaccompanied solos or duos which seem to follow one another from one scene to the next. Actual solos were selected and occur when they are most needed. Trevor Dunn’s immense electric bass plays the cosmic throb midway through “A Catastrophic Legend” which also features an extraordinary solo from Mr. Wooley himself. There is a film by Frank Heath which accompanies this disc yet the music itself stands out by itself as a thoughtful, evocative and especially fascinating blend. Check out the music and the film when you have some time, this is one of the true treasures of this year. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15 [In stock early next week]

ERIK FRIEDLANDER with URI CAINE / MARK HELIAS / CHES SMITH - A Queen’s Firefly (Skipstone Records SKST 028; USA) Featuring Erik Friedlander on cello & compositions, Uri Caine on piano, Mark Helias on contrabass and Ches Smith on drums. It has been around 4 years since we’ve seen anything new from master cellist Erik Friedlander. There was that ‘Bagatelles’ Set One box set from 2021 which included a duo disc with Michael Nicolas and Erik Friedlander, but that was a limited edition box and it is now out-of-print. This quartet did have a 3-10” box and CD release back in 2018. Grand pianist Uri Caine and Mr. Friedlander have worked together previously with Drew Gress and Uri Caine as leaders. Bassist Mark Helias has also worked with Uri Caine on several previous discs. Percussionist supreme Ches Smith has also worked with Mr. Friedlander on a Marc Ribot record called, “Songs of Resistance”.
The title track, “A Queen’s Firefly” is first and it has a most exquisite, lush sound. Master contrabassist Mark Helias is at the center here, his playing is like a heart pumping at the center of quartet. While Uri Caine’s piano is most sublime and lovely, it is Mr. Friedlander’s distinctive cello that is most haunting. I dig the way Friedlander splits the band into the tight bass & drums playing as one while piano and cello play their tight lines together when not soloing. For “Chandelier”, Mr. Friedlander wrote a complex work where the entire quartet has to play their lines as one, somewhat Zorn-like. Friedlander’s cello solo is a marvel here as is Mr. Caine’s superb piano solo. “Glimmer” actually sounds like a standard with a quaint melody that rings true, I can hear someone with a good voice adding words so that this song would be a hit. In many ways, this is a perfect record, everyone works or fits and the melodies are consistently enchanting. “Aurora” is another challenging for some uptempo, tight ensemble playing in unison, extraordinary! No doubt that ‘A Queen’s Firefly’ is the best record of the week, it works on all levels of creativity and craft. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14

ERIK FRIEDLANDER with AVA MENDOZA / DIEGO ESPINOSA - Sentinel (Skipstone SKST 027; USA) Featuring Erik Friedlander on cello, compositions & production, Ava Mendoza on guitar and Diego Espinosa on drums. This disc came out in 2020 during the Pandemic/Plague years. During the past few years, former Bay Area guitarist, Ava Mendoza, has been garnering more accolades than almost any other NY guitarist, outside of Mary Halvorson. And it is well deserved! In May of this year (2022) at the Victo Fest in Quebec, Mis Mendoza played in two bands, Mayan Space Station and Sean Noonan’s Pavees dance, wowing the audience for both sets. Ms. Mendoza also leads a new band with Last Poets vocalist Abiodon Oyewole, which played at last year’s (2021) Vision Fest and were also great! I can’t tell you much about the drummer here, Diego Espinosa, although he has recorded with composer Anthony Pateras for a Tzadik CD. The instrumentation here is unique: cello, el guitar & drums and the trio do have their own sound. Mr. Friedlander’s cello is often at the center of each song providing a center with pizzicato bass lines interlocking with Mr. Espinosa’s rhythm parts. Mr. Friedlander wrote each song here and their own unique sound. The first I noticed is that the music here is completely different from the newer Erik Friedlander CD (‘A Queen’s Firefly’), that I reviewed yesterday. Aside from the fact that there is no bassist here, it is Ms. Mendoza’s sly electric that is often featured. Both Ms. Mendoza and Mr. Friedlander switch off on solos with the drummer, Mr. Espinosa, constantly shifting through a variety of complex rhythmic shifts. It sounds like Mr. Friedlander had Ms. Mendoza in mind when he penned these pieces as both instruments are constantly inter-twined and integral to the unified group sound. I did that enchanting blues jazz/rock sustain guitar solo on “Ember” which is followed by an equally impressive cello solo. Mr. Friedlander, who is most-likely around the same age as me (68 last June) also grew up in the 1960’s. The music here actually sounds like Friedlander is reaching back to the mid-to-late sixties when blues/rock music was quite popular. On “Bristle Cone”, Mr. Espinosa, plays a hypnotic repeating groove throughout while the guitar and cello play an enticing ancient sounding blues/rock-like melody. “Feeling You” has quite a memorable gospel/blues melody which makes me smile and features some exquisite solos from the cello played pizzicato and the guitar playing like a lazy summer day. “Foozle” sounds closer to progressive rock than anything else and keeps shifting through several complex turns and detours. Each of the 8 songs here is a gem and works on several levels. Often when the cello or el guitar solo, the other frontline member will play their own sly counterpoint. This disc was released in 2020 during the Pandemic hence it might’ve gone unnoticed to some/many of you. It does remain one of those wonderful under-recognized treasures. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14

ERIK FRIEDLANDER - American Power - A Collaboration with Mitch Epstein (Skipstone Records; USA) “Mitch Epstein and I met at at a coffee joint in lower Manhattan one Spring morning of 2011. We talked about his his book, “American Power.” Mitch was accepting a prize for the collection and wanted to to mark the occasion with a special presentation that might include music. He suggested I take a look at the book and see if the images kindled any musical ideas. In some photos the grandeur of the structures needed to harness energy from raw materials triggered memories of my little boy’s fascination for big machines. In others, the stark effects of accommodating the power industry in one’s neighborhood were evident and sobering. I didn’t feel these stories needed retelling, however, or craved a score. I was led instead to the source, the power itself: electrical power, hydraulic, solar and nuclear power -- the pace, the heat, the flow as I imagined it, drove my composing and created the backbone for the suite.
I wrote technically challenging music -- fast tempi and tricky hand positions -- and in the weeks leading up to the first live performance I realized that the music was quicker to write, than it was to learn how to play! Mitch and I presented a collaboration of picture and music at Les Rencontres d’Arles in June of 2011, and the experience was instructive. Working with the photos in this live situation taught me how to pace the music and where to place improvisation -- crucial information I relied on in recording the pieces for this special project.” - Erik Friedlander
LP only $40 [limited edition of 500, signed & numbered / includes a large poster]

PERRY ROBINSON / MARK WHITECAGE / KEN FILIANO / LOU GRASSI - Live@VisionFest20 (Not Two MW 1023-2; Poland) Featuring Perry Robinson on clarinet, ocarina & wooden flute, Mark Whitecage on alto sax, half horn & Native American flute, Ken Filiano on bass & electronics and Lou Grassi on drums. The Vision Festival took place last month (June of 2022) and I attended nearly all of the sets and had a wonderful time. This was the 26th annual Vision Festival and I have attended each & every one. This set was recorded in July of 2015 at the 20th Vision Fest and it is a set I recall with good memories. Both frontmen, Perry Robinson (passed in 2018 at 80) and Mark Whitecage (in 2021 at 84) have passed away in the last few years. Both Mr. Robinson and Mr. Whitecage go pretty far back in their music careers, both playing with Interface and several Gunter Hampel Bands. Both bassist Ken Filiano and drummer Lou Grassi have worked worked together in several bands with Paul Smoker, Marilyn Lerner and Steve Gauci.
The opening track, “One for Roy”, is dedicated to trumpeter Roy Campbell, who Mr. Whitecage played with for many years with the Nu Band. This piece is some 23 plus minutes long and it is free flowing in a mostly organic way. The rhythm team here (Filiano and Grassi) is in fine form here, spinning quickly and intensely as both reeds players take long, inspired, mind-blowing solos. Mr. Whitecage, one the greatest of all free/jazz saxists, takes an extraordinary solo here, burning and spinning out exuberant lines at a furious pace while the rhythm team burns hard underneath. Next Mr. Robinson also takes an inspired solo, picking up where Mr. Whitecage left off. Contrabass great Ken Filiano also takes a fine solo midway, adding bits of electronics and/or manipulating the sound of his bass with subtle effects. Whitecage switches to a half horn which I believe is a partial sax on the long piece with both he and Robinson swirling around one another in focused yet free orbits. “Dance Macabre” has a modern-paced swinging groove some strong interplay between both reeds and the festive rhythm team, the quartet building in tempo and intensity throughout. The final piece, “Glyphs” is a solemn, simmering prayer like work. It is a nice way to bring the fire music of the earlier parts of the set to a fine close. Both Perry Robinson and Mark Whitecage were under-recognized heroes of Free/Jazz and this disc shows the depth of their unique Creative Spirits. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15

JIM YANDA / PHIL HAYNES / HERB ROBERTSON - A Silent Way (Corner Store Jazz 0126 / 0127; USA) Featuring Jim Yanda on amplified acoustic guitar, Herb Robertson on trumpet & synth and Phil Haynes on drum set. Last month, after playing in a trio set at the store with Thomas Heberer & Tomas Ulrich, drummer Phil Haynes left us with a dozen discs from his own labels: Alvas and CornerStoreJazz. I hadn’t heard of upstate guitarist Jim Yanda before Phil Haynes left us with these discs. Jim Yanda is also a member of Phil Haynes & Free Country, a unique group that plays jazz versions of varied roots rock and other 60’s or seventies rock/pop songs. This is Mr. Yanda second disc with his own trio, the first included Drew Gress on bass, the second adding trumpeter Herb Robertson instead of a bassist. All of the songs here were improvised by members of the new trio and recorded by Jon Rosenberg in a studio. Herb Robertson has long been one of my favorite trumpet players since he is often filled with surprises involving extended techniques and his own way of playing and altering the sound of his trumpet. On the first piece, “Hero”, Robertson seems to playing an odd mute of sorts while the trio of acoustic guitar and drums swirl tightly around or with him. Mr. Yanda is an extraordinary guitarist and takes a long, expressive solo while Robertson seems to playing toys, bird calls and/or whistles. The trio get more exploratory with Mr. Robertson switching between assorted trumpet and other objects, Mr. Haynes playing & rubbing his drums or cymbals and Mr. Yanda also spinning out a variety of sounds and lines on his acoustic guitar. His playing is consistently inspiring and he is always reaching for new heights, the interplay between Yanda, Robertson and Haynes is intense improv at it best. Mr. Robertson also plays synth from time to time, with mountains of electronic or keyboard sounds often swirling around and around like a wind storm. Mr. Robertson also takes a handful of impressive trumpet solo, reaching deep into his bag of tricks, making vocal sounds through his trumpet and assorted sounds not so easy to describe or figure out. Considering that this is a 2 CD set and that it is over 2 hours long, I thought that the trio might run out of ideas before the disc end. I am wrong as both discs are truly impressive throughout. Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
2 CD Set $16

MAX NAGL with PATRICE HERAL - April (Rude Noises 34; Austria) This is mostly a solo effort by Austrian saxist Max Nagl with help of Patrice Heral on drums. Although Max Nagl is an established jazz saxist and composer in Austria, his music is often between the cracks of genre. Aside from leading a variety of projects from duos to his large ensemble, Mr. Nagl puts out an occasional solo effort on which he plays samples or synths or something to alter the sound of his sax. The only other musician here is drummer Patrice Heral, who has also worked with Arild Anderson, Markus Stockhausen and Herbert Joos, older Euro jazz dudes. There are some 16 relatively short pieces and it sounds as if Mr. Heral has created a number of odd grooves or beats. “Sylvania” opens and sound like Mr. Heral has created an infectious, yet somewhat cheesy groove with Mr. Nagl adding some circus-like sax lines. Each piece has a slightly different groove/pattern at the center with Nagl adding his sax, synth, guitar or whatever else he picks up in the studio. I find all of these pieces to quirky, fun, enchanting in their own unique way. Is that Nagl playing cello on “Grasham” or is it some sorta string sample?!?! Unsure, but it does work. I find this music to be alot of fun and quite unpredictable. It reminds me of music made for children or perhaos a children’s TV show. No matter, I dig the way that there is an element of fun going on throughout, it is as if Mr. Nagl is making music for the youngster in all of us. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $12

REMA HASUMI / SHAWN LOVATO / COLIN HINTON - Live at Scholes Street Studio (GauciMusic 04522; USA) Featuring Rema Hasumi on piano, Shawn Lovato on contrabass and Colin Hinton on drums. I can’t tell you much about pianist Rema Hasumi other than that she has a piano trio disc out on Ruweh Records from 12017. Bassist Shawn Lovato also has his own leader date on Skirl, also from 2017 which includes the great Brad Shepik on guitar. Drummer, Colin Hinton is a teacher and composer from Brooklyn and has three discs out as a leader, which includes a adte on the New Focus label, as well as a duo with Steve Gauci. Mr. Hinton has played here at DMG on several occasions with Steve Gauci, Noah Becker and Michael Attias.
Of the six pieces on this disc, Mr. Hinton composed two, Mr. Lovato one and there are three group improvs. “Ingenting (Parts 1 & 2)” were written by Mr. Hinton. This piece is spacious and unfolds slowly, sparsely. These two pieces are stripped down and skeletal and more like minimal chamber music, Morton Feldman-like at times. As the piece evolves, a certain majestic elegance starts to creep in. On “Untethered”, it sounds as if someone is playing synth or subtle electronics midway but since no instrumentation is listed it is hard to tell if this is the case. This music takes time and patience to absorb since things evolve slowly and much of this is sparse. I do like what is going on here but the more subtle space takes some time to get used to. It is interesting to note that Ms. Hasumi did study with a number of jazz elder pianists but rarely plays anything in a jazz-like way except for the next to last piece, “Tower”. I might’ve put that piece up first if I was the producer of this session. That piece is great and even swings hard at times. I need to listen to this disc again when I have some time. Only then will I be able to see/hear this disc in its entirety. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $13

JAK TAR with PAUL HESSION / MICHAEL BARDON / CHRISTOPHE DE BEZENAC - JakTar (Discus 136CD; UK) Featuring Paul Hession on drums, cymbals & gongs, Michael Bardon double bass and Christophe de Benzenac on tenor sax. I do know of British drummer, Paul Hession, from the work he done with Simon H. Fell, Alan Wilkinson and Derek Bailey. Mr. Hession also played once at the store many years back. I know of bassist Michael Bardon from a great solo bass disc and a trio with Martin Archer, both on the Discus label. It turns out that saxist Christophe de Bezenac has played in 3 UK bands: Mole, Spirit Farm and TrioVD, all bands whose discs I once reviewed.
Right from the rip-roaring opening, there is a powerful, intense free/jazz eruption taking place which just last a couple of minutes before it breaks into a restrained section, sparse, yet spirited. When the second piece starts. it sounds as if the tenor and bowed bass are both connected and playing similar sounds. Things quiet down for some restrained frees spirit midway, the sax and bass both creating soft eerie drones for a segment. Eventually the trio soars again for some intense free improv. Mr. Bardon starts off “Carn Delk” with another haunting drone while the tenor sax centers on expanding a similar drone, making it thicker as it evolves. These three voices work well together, using similar textures and timbres and making their sound as one ecstatic sound which breathes in and out as one spirit/force. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14

MARIO VERANDI - Eight Pieces for the Buchla 100 (Play Loud! 122CD; Germany) “The historic Buchla 100 series modular synthesizer was built by Don Buchla in California in early 1960s. An instrument intended for electronic music performance that together with the Moog Modular is one of the most important synthesizers in the history of electronic music. One of the few still fully functional Buchla 100 Synthesizer can be found at the Ernst Krenek Institut in Krems, Austria. During an artist-in residency program, Mario Verandi explored the endless sound possibilities of this rare and extraordinary instrument. The result is his Eight Pieces for the Buchla 100 Series, a journey into experimental minimal electronic music. Mario Verandi is an Argentinean-born composer, musician and producer living in Berlin. With an extensive artistic career, Mario Verandis works are wide-ranging and include electroacoustic and experimental music, music in modern classical and ambient style, live electronic performances as well as sound installations and music for dance, radio and theater. He has also collaborated with several musicians and visual artists. He has performed in several prestigious European festivals including Märzmusik (Berlin), Multiphonies GRM (Paris) and Donaueschinger Musiktage. His works have been awarded in the Prix Ars Electronica Awards (Linz), European Bell Days Composition Prize (ZKM, Karlsruhe), Bourges Electroacoustic Music Competition (France), Stockholm Electronic Art Awards (Sweden) and is included in the Essex Collection of Latin American Art.”
CD $16

HISTORIC / ARCHIVAL RECORDS and REISSUES OF NOTE:

CLIVE STEVENS with JOHN ABERCROMBIE / STEVE KHAN / RICK LAIRD / HARRY WILKINSON / BILLY COBHAM - Atmospheres (Made in Germany 03750; Germany) “Clive Steven's idea of a project had grandiose line-up and unfortunately, such a stellar membership has not done much for this album's reputation and memory, since hardly anyone remembers it and the album (and its follow-up) has yet to receive a Cd reissue. Not that the music on the album is revolutionary or groundbreaking ? this is close to an early jazz- rock ala Mwandishi, Nucleus and Bitches Brew, but we are in 74 ? but it is the type of album that consolidates the genre.
Obviously, one of the strong points of this album is the Laird-Cobham section, which is obviously used to playing together, thus giving the greater freedom for the others to improvise at lengths. Indeed, composition-wise, all of the tracks are written by Clive Stevens, but the least we can say is that this is a minimum service, since the improvs are taking voluntarily most of the space. Don't get me wrong, the album is of an excellent level, both in collective cohesion (excellent interplaying between all participants) and solo-wise, where they all shine like a thousand suns. As Clive Stevens' is the project leader, you'd expect him to grab a lot of aural space with his wing instrument, which is often the case, but he allows this two guitarists space (namely in Earth Spirit and Nova 72), and Abercrombie shines particularly in Yesterday Today & Tomorrow with his electric guitar. Towner's Rhodes playing is very much in like with Hancock or Zawinul, especially in All Day Next Week.” - Sean Trane, Prog Archives
CD $18

CLIVE STEVENS & ATMOSPHERES with JOHN ABERCROMBIE / RALPH TOWNER / STU WOODS / JAMES EARLE JOHNSON / MICHAEL THABO CARVIN - Voyage to Uranus (Made in Germany 03751; Germany) “Clive Stevens was a British saxophonist and composer who played with Bob Downes and Manfred Mann before immigrating to the U.S. and studying at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he befriended guitarists John Abercrombie and Ralph Towner. Stevens signed to Capitol in late 1973, and released two jazz fusion classics just months apart in 1974. The first, Atmospheres featuring Clive Stevens & Friends, showcased the saxophonist with Towner on electric piano and clavinet, Abercrombie and Steve Khan on guitars, and the Mahavishnu Orchestra rhythm section -- bassist Rick Laird and drummer Billy Cobham. Voyage to Uranus returned Towner and Abercrombie, but in the company of bassist Stu Woods, drummer Michael Carvin, and percussionist David Earle Johnson. While the first volume has been given its critical due, Voyage to Uranus has languished in obscurity; its first reissue was in 2015.
Opener "Shifting Phases" recalls, at times, Soft Machine, Ian Carr's Nucleus, and Return to Forever. Introduced by a jazz-funk vamp from Woods and Abercrombie, Towner plays snaky electric piano across the backdrop as Carvin drives the vamp on his snare and hi-hat. Abercrombie takes the first solo -- phase shifter in full effect -- before an electrified Stevens playing soprano sax joins him on the melody. Towner's wafting, spacey Rhodes piano adds dimension as the band bubbles and cooks all around him. "Culture Release" opens with spiky rolling drums before Towner's funky clavinet roils while Abercrombie goes at him head-on. Stevens trades fours with both players as Woods holds it down. "Inner Spaces and Outer Places" is driven by a bumping funky bassline. More prog rock than fusion, it offers interlocking cadences, syncopated time signatures, and rolling grooves before a soloists' duel between Abercrombie and Stevens.
The album's second half is a bit gentler but holds most of the compositional gold. Stevens was a wonderful melodic improviser and a composer who understood how to write for an ensemble. His insistence on space, lush tonalities, and restraint governs this half. Dig the easy soul-jazz vibe in the title track as he soars above Towner's tasty comping on the Rhodes, while Abercrombie fingerpicks the changes; Woods, Carvin, and Johnson create a sweet, grooving, rhythmic pocket. The speculatively intense "Electric Impulse from the Heart" is fueled by resonant tenor and dark, distorted piano chords. The guitarist and rhythm section offer dramatic circular phrases and harmonic extrapolations akin to King Crimson's. "Water Rhythms" walks a jagged line between fusion and prog with elegant congas, wonderfully funky guitar comping, and a spiraling tenor sax solo. Carvin's break-laden drumming gathers intensity while Abercrombie adds a greasy wah-wah vamp before Towner's grimy, imaginative Rhodes solo. The gentle closer, "Return to the Earth," offers Towner playing acoustic 12-string and Stevens on flute as the rest of the band enfolds them in a spacious, pillowy caress. Voyage to Uranus is not only a fitting companion for its better-known predecessor but a stellar, criminally underheard chapter in '70s prog-jazz fusion.” - Thom Jurek, AllMusicGuide
CD $18

MODERN JAZZ QUARTET with JOHN LEWIS / MILT JACKSON / PERCY HEATH / CONNIE KAY - NDR 60 Years Jazz Edition No 04 (Moosicus 1304; EEC) In 1957 and 1958 the MJQ achieved its first major successes - particularly in Germany. The quartet appeared for the first time in Europe and played more than 80 concerts: no longer in typical jazz venues, but mainly in concert halls that were the traditionally the podiums for the classical music culture of Europe. The response of the audiences to these concerts was euphoric. People were generally surprised and fascinated at the same time by the unusual presentation with which the four MJQ instrumentalists in black dinner suits performed their "restrained" improvisational music, playing a repertoire that was seldom heard in jazz in this part of the world. And so it was on the afternoon of the 28th of October 1957 in Hanover. A special feature was that this production in the studio of the NDR-Landesfunkhaus was a repeat of a section of the concert that MJQ had given earlier in the sold-out Beethoven Hall in Hanover - and, by the way, the first studio recording with this quartet made by a German radio station of the still young ARD.”
CD $15

LP SECTION:

HENRY COW with FRED FRITH / TIM HODGKINSON / LINDSAY COOPER / JOHN GREAVES / CHRIS CUTLER / DAGMAR KRAUSE / ROBER WYATT - Concerts (ReR Vinyl VHC5; Italy) “Reissue, originally released in 1976 and reissue in 2012. This collection offers a snapshot of Henry Cow as audiences would have heard it in the year before. In the chronology, Concerts came between In Praise of Learning (1975) and Western Culture (1978) -- that is, after Virgin had lost interest in releasing any more Henry Cow studio records and before the band quit to make one of its own. It was also the year of the "merger" with Robert Wyatt for a series of concerts in which compositions were shared -- the last show, in Rome, was also Robert's last public performance. From its earlier records, the band was known for its rather complex compositional work. This double-LP for the first time gave serious space to the improvisations that accounted for maybe a third of any of its lengthy stage performances.”
2 LP Set $40

TERRY FOX - Audioworks (Song Cycle 983; UK) “Last copies, reduced price. Song Cycle Records present a reissue of Terry Fox's Audio Works, originally released in 1983. Terry Fox (1943, Seattle-2008, Cologne) was one of the leading pioneers of American body art and conceptual art. He became famous in the '70s with performances and installations, which took their point of origin in the transformative processes of materials, and in which he used his own body as a medium for exploring often extreme psychological and physical experiences. With his lifelong exploration of sound and space, Terry Fox was also one of the pioneers of contemporary sound art. Terry Fox belongs to those artists of the '60s and '70s who radically rejected traditional art forms and sought new forms of artistic expressions. In numerous installations, performances, and street events he directed attention to everyday phenomena and aspects of social existence. He researched unknown or little regarded aspects of energy in substances and materials, most especially sound and vibration. Since the '80s Terry Fox composed objects, language, acoustic, and process-oriented events into multilayered images in space and time. In his later years, quiet sounds at the limit of audibility became more and more prominent. This collection of Terry Fox's AudioWorks was published in 1983, during the time he lived in Florence, by Maurizio Nannucci in the Recorthings series of audio cassettes on the Exit & Exempla label. Recorthings is a record label linked to the activities of Zona non-profit art space (1974/1985) and to the broadcasting program Zonaradio (1981/1983).”
LP $14

MALEEM MAHMOUD GHANIA WITH PHAROAH SANDERS - The Trance Of Seven Colors (Zehra 001LP; Germany) 2022 repress. Zehra present The Trance Of Seven Colors by master Gnawa musician Maleem Mahmoud Ghania and free jazz legend Pharoah Sanders, available on vinyl for the very first time. Originally released in 1994 on Bill Laswell's Axiom imprint, and produced by Bill Laswell, The Trance Of Seven Colors is the meeting of two true musical masters. Maleem Mahmoud Ghania (1951-2015), son of the master of Gnawa music Maleem Boubker Ghania and the famous clairvoyant and "moqaddema", A'isha Qabral, and a master of the traditional Gnawa style in his own right. Mahmoud learned this craft as a youth along with his brothers, walking from village to village, performing ceremonies with his father Boubker and was one of the few masters (Maleem) who continued to practice the Gnawa tradition strictly for healing (the central ritual of the Gnawa is the trance music ceremony -- with the purpose of healing or purification of the participants). With 30 cassette releases of music from the Gnawa repertoire with his own ensemble and performances at every major festival in Morocco, including performing for the King in various contexts, Mahmoud Ghania was also one of Morocco's most prominent professional musicians. In 1994, Bill Laswell and Pharoah Sanders went to Morocco equipped with just some mobile recording devices to record Ghania and a large ensemble of musicians (a good portion being family members) in a very intimate set-up at a private house. Sanders, the legendary free jazz musician, contributed the distinctive tenor saxophone sounds that gained him highest praise as a truly spiritual soul right from the days of playing with John Coltrane and his wife Alice and on seminal solo albums, like Karma (1969). The aptly titled The Trance Of Seven Colors ranks among the best Gnawa recordings ever released, making it onto The Vinyl Factory's list of "10 incredible percussive albums from around the world". 25 years after its original CD release, it is finally available on vinyl. Remastered for vinyl and vinyl cut by Rashad Becker at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin. 180 gram vinyl; comes in gatefold sleeve; includes download code. "One of the most important albums of Gnawa trance music released in the '90s." --The Attic "first-hand access to Gnawa healing ceremonial music" --All Music Guide
2 LP Set $32

STEVE POTTS & JOBIC LE MASSON - Live at Console (Joma 001LP: France) "The paths of Steve Potts and Jobic Le Masson have crossed frequently since the beginning of the 21st century, through collaborations with many artists. They have performed together regularly for the past ten years, namely in a quartet with John Betsch and Peter Giron. The album 'Song', released on the Enja label in 2016, offers a document of the current career of the quartet. 'Indispensable' in Jazz News and Jazz Hot, 'Oui!' for Culture Jazz, **** for Jazz Magazine... The lockdown was an advantageous opportunity for the duo to make researches 'like two scientists looking for a cure'. They concentrated themselves on developing a common language open to free improvisation and new compositions. The album Live at Console, recorded during the concert at the end of the rehearsals, demonstrates ample evidence of their incredible intimacy and complicity."
LP $28

PHUONG TAM - Magical Nights: Saigon Surf, Twist & Soul (1964-1966)(Sublime Frequencies 120LP; USA) “Sublime Frequencies present the first ever retrospective of Phương Tâm, the groundbreaking Saigon teenager who became one of the first singers to perform and record rock and roll in 1960s Vietnam. By chance in early 2020, Hannah Hà (USA) learned that her mother, Phương Tâm, had once been a famous young singer, performer and recording artist at the heart of Saigon's music scene in the early 1960s. The family had heard some mention of their mom as a singer at the time, but the extent of her legacy and the many songs she had recorded came as a big surprise. Further investigations soon led Hannah to producer Mark Gergis, compiler of Saigon Rock and Soul (SF 060CD, 2010), enlisting him to join her on a journey of discovery and recovery. The result is this essential document of Phương Tâm's brief but prolific career, and at the same time, reuniting the long-lost music with its singer. The unique strengths and qualities of Phương Tâm's voice, coupled with her commanding stage presence, had swiftly elevated her to top billings on Saigon's nightclub stages. Parallel to the brutality and uncertainty of an already protracted war, South Vietnam's music and recording industry were developing at a rapid pace in the early 1960s. Globally, musical trends with wild, ephemeral dance crazes were being thought up weekly; the twist, hully gully, the mashed potato -- none of them a problem for Phương Tâm. She soon caught the attention of Saigon's leading recording companies and composers (Y Vân, Khánh Băng, Trường Hải, Thanh Sơn, Y Vũ and Mặc Thế Nhân, among others). Her energy translated unsurprisingly well in the studio, backed by electric guitars, contrabass, drums, lush brass sections, saxophone, piano, organ and rich backing vocals. Between 1964-1966, Phương Tâm would record almost 30 known tracks, released by the three main record companies in Saigon. The teenage starlet became a vital centerpiece of pop music of the time, and one of the very first singers to perform and record rock and roll (known locally as nhạc kích động, or, action music) -- though as you'll hear, she could also transform a jazz ballad into something otherworldly. While these musical styles were undeniably influenced by contemporary trends worldwide, the musicians and composers worked to localize the sounds, incorporating linguistic adaptations, lyrical content and past artistic traditions into something all their own. In 1966, as Saigon's music scene continued to evolve and escalate, Phương Tâm walked away from her singing career without looking back -- marrying the man she loved and beginning the next rich chapter of her life. But her recorded output had laid the stylistic groundwork for the following generations of singers, and many of the songs she first sang would later be further popularized by others. Her impactful, but short-spanning career has seen her legacy remain historically understated until now. Due to the lack of master tapes or documentation from pre-1975 Vietnam, and the scarcity of records and tapes that had survived the war, it was difficult to grasp the extent of Phương Tâm's discography. A collective effort was required in sourcing materials and information to compile this record, involving key collectors and producers internationally (Jan Hagenkötter, Cường Phạm, Adam Fargason, Khoa Hà -- granddaughter of composer Y Vân, and researcher Jason Gibbs). As the veils of history were slowly lifted, the genuine thrill was witnessing Phương Tâm herself, hearing these songs for the first time in over 50 years -- sometimes since the day she recorded them. At the heart of this project is a family story -- Hannah Hà's dedication to recovering and sharing her mother's musical legacy is helping put Phương Tâm back on center stage after 55 years. But it is also a story that adds critical context to the fragmented understanding of Vietnamese popular culture during the 20th century, particularly after so much has been lost to war and dislocation. The album features 25 tracks, restored and remastered from original records and reel tapes. Deluxe double LP release comes with two 14-page booklets in English and Vietnamese, featuring extensive liner notes by Hannah Hà and Mark Gergis, exclusive photos, album and sheet music art, original magazine and newspaper extracts, nightclub advertisements and more.”
2 LP Set $38

KAZUKI TOMOKAWA - Try Saying You're Alive!: Kazuki Tomokawa in His Own Words (Blank Forms 9781953691033; USA) "A vivid account of life on the margins and Tokyo's 1970s underground culture from a Japanese folk legend Tokyo in the 1970s was a magnet for young musicians, poets and painters. Among them was Kazuki Tomokawa, a prolific singer-songwriter from Japan's northern provinces, whose guttural vocals and incisive lyrics earned him the unofficial title of 'screaming philosopher.' The stories in this memoir--originally published in 2015 in Japan and now appearing as the first English translation of Tomokawa's writing -- are told with a rambler's wit and wisdom, bringing together his memorable reflections on six decades of day labor, drinking, gambling, acting, singing and writing. Figures such as Kan Mikami, Nobuyoshi Araki and Shūji Terayama drift through this down-and-out vagabond's memoir, which observes the turbulence of postwar countercultures and the explosion of Tokyo's underground film and music scenes. Also available from Blank Forms Editions are Kazuki Tomokawa's first three records: Finally, His First Album (1975), Straight From the Throat (1976) and A String of Paper Cranes Clenched Between My Teeth (1977). Kazuki Tomokawa (born 1950) is a prolific singer-songwriter from Hachiryū Village (now the town of Mitane) in the Akita Prefecture area of northern Japan. Since his debut in 1974, he has released more than 30 albums. He is additionally known as a poet, painter, keirin enthusiast and inimitable drinker. The 2010 documentary about his life, La Faute des Fleurs, won the Sound & Vision award at the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival, and that same year saw the Japanese release of the book Dreams Die Vigorously Day by Day, a collection of his lyrics spanning 40 years. His most recent albums are Vengeance Bourbon (2014) and Gleaming Crayon (2016), both on the Modest Launch label. Damon Krukowski is a musician and writer based in Cambridge, MA. His most recent book is Ways of Hearing (MIT Press, 2019) and his latest album is Damon & Naomi's A Sky Record (202020, 2021). Daniel Joseph is a translator, editor and musician. He holds a master's degree from Harvard University in medieval Japanese literature, and recently contributed translations to Terminal Boredom (Verso, 2021), a collection of stories by science fiction pioneer Izumi Suzuki."
Book $18

CATHERINE CHRISTER HENNIX / LAWRENCE KUMPF - Poesy Matters & Other Matters (Blank Forms 9781733723503; USA) "This two-volume set, Poesy Matters and Other Matters, presents selected texts by the Swedish polymath Catherine Christer Hennix. Volume one, Poesy Matters, is divided into two sections: poetry and drama, with each section also containing pieces of commentary by Hennix or her longtime collaborator Henry Flynt. Volume two, Other Matters, is divided into two sections: first, program notes and essays about a wide range of topics (including music, psychoanalysis, and mathematics), and second, a reproduction of Hennix's 1989 work The Yellow Book. The first comprehensive publication of Hennix's written work, Poesy Matters and Other Matters illustrates the singular depth and variety of her contributions to contemporary music, art, literature, and mathematics. Best known as a composer, Catherine Christer Hennix has, throughout her fifty-plus-year career, produced innovative work in the fields of not just minimal and computer music, but psychoanalytic theory, intuition mathematics, poetry, and prose as well. The texts in Poesy Matters and Other Matters reflect Hennix's diverse training as well as her long-standing personal interests in Lacanian psychoanalysis and Japanese and Middle Eastern poetic forms, resulting in a rich, diffuse collection of writings that reveal one of the avant-garde's most implacable, not to mention overlooked, creative minds."
Book $45

BRION GYSIN - Permutations (Daba 9781734681772; USA) "The first collection of the Beat mentor's long-influential permutation poems -- one of the earliest examples of computer-generated literature. Written between 1958 and 1982, Brion Gysin's permutation poems begin with short phrases or sentences whose constituent words are exhaustively rearranged over the course of the text. At first, Gysin wrote these poems manually, although later, in collaboration with programmer Ian Sommerville, he would write permutation poems with the assistance of a computer, making them a very early instance of computer-generated literature. Some of these works were published in books, while others exist only as audio recordings. Many derive from a 1960 BBC radio commission, The Permutated Poems of Brion Gysin, in which readings of the texts were recorded, cut up, modulated and overlapped. For the first time, this collection brings together all published and -- where transcribable -- unpublished versions of each poem, as well as Cut-Ups Self-Explained, a short text by Gysin that contextualizes the work. The poems are organized in chronological order by first publication or first recording, with further versions of each poem grouped together in chronological order immediately after the initial version. This organization brings distinctions between versions into relief, allowing readers to explore the playful systematicity that undergirds this remarkable body of work. Brion Gysin (1916-86) was a multidisciplinary artist, author and poet. Born in Taplow, England, he studied painting at the Sorbonne in Paris and immigrated to New York in 1939. In the 1950s he lived in Tangier, where he first met William S. Burroughs. Gysin collaborated often; after returning to Paris, he developed the cut-up method with Burroughs, and with engineer Ian Sommerville he created the Dreamachine, a kinetic light sculpture. Gysin would become a mentor for generations of artists, musicians and writers, including David Bowie, John Giorno, Keith Haring, Brian Jones and Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, among others."
Book $18

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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 is from DAVE MILLER:

Friday July 22nd @ 8pm:
Record Shop Redhook - 360 Van Brunt St, Brooklyn
First: Ezra Feinberg (guitar)
Second: Zachary Cale (guitar)
Third:  ASCEND!  (Robert Boston/Daniel Carter/Tom Kotik/Dave Miller)

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Friday July 22nd, 10:30pm

Flip City featuring:
David Aaron - soprano & tenor saxophone
Dave Gould - drums & toys
Nick Panoutsos - bass

"Umbrage" album release
At Rockwood Music Hall (Stage 3), 185 Orchard St., NYC
Tickets $10, two drink minimum
https://www.seetickets.us/event/Flip-City/492585 
(reservations recommended)
www.rockwoodmusichall.com

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Sunday, July 31st at 7pm

Nate Wooley/Lester St Louis/Ryan Sawyer Trio (trumpet/cello/drums)
Cecilia Lopez & Joe Moffett duo (electronics/trumpet)
Chuck Bettis solo - (electronics/throat)

at Union Pool
484 Union Ave.
Brklyn 11211
admission: $17

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THERE IS A RECENT INTERVIEW with FRED FRITH by Rick Rees that is found here: https://rickrees.substack.com/p/fred-frith-interview . Rick Rees has been working on a website/blog/book/whatever about the great producer/manager/instigator/raconteur Georgio Gomelsky. Gomelsky is someone I’ve long admired and Rees is doing a good job of documenting/interviewing numerous Gomelsky associates. The Fred Frith interview is great and if you are a Frith fan, you should want to know about a number of upcoming projects, tours, etc. This interview showed up in my email during the last hour of my birthday last Sunday and it made me smile. Fred Frith & myself are old friends and he is someone whose music and attitude I really admire. - BLG

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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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gaucimusic presents:

Sunday August 28th
Live at Scholes Street Studio
Live recording/Live audience!

8pm Rick Parker - trombone
Michael Attias - alto saxophone
Simon Jermyn - guitar
Kate Gentile - drums
9pm Stephen Gauci - tenor saxophone
Shinya Lin - piano
Adam Lane - bass
Kevin Shea - drums
10pm Tony Malaby - saxophones
Caleb Duval - bass
James Paul Nadien - drums

Live recording/Live audience!
$20 at the door (entire evening), cash/venmo
August 28, 2022
@ Scholes Street Studio
375 Lorimer Street, Brooklyn
718-964-8763
gaucimusic.com

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

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