DMG Newsletter for August 19th, 2022

And listen to the sound of your heart still beating,
Listen to the rhythm in your blood
Listen to the silence, listen to the thunder
Sun's burning up & the ice caps melting
Three hundred million years in the web of a spider
Takes only a moment to blow it all away
Takes only a moment to blow it all away

Did they build you up with promises & knock you down again
Is the story the same but the names have all been changed
Well here we all go round again & again & again & again
So now you work so hard & you play so fair, but you know sometimes you lose
Such a sense of doubt it’ll ever work out
But it's all just dust on your shoe.

So you're looking for the answer, but nothing’s coming through
And nothing is the answer to everything
And everything will be revealed
And everything will be returned
And everything’s falling apart
Yeah everything is falling apart

Now there’s food on the table, so much left to do
But when times moves on & we’re all gone
You’ll see its all just been dust on your shoe
Just a little dust on your shoe
Stardust 
Gold dust

Dinosaurs & dodos & sabre tooth tigers
Three hundred million years in the web of a spider
Takes only a moment to blow it all away
Takes only a moment to blow it all away
Blow it all away

I finally found my copy of Peter Whitehead’s wonderful CD from 2001 called, ‘Now This’ and have played it several times this past week. Oddly enough, it is just as great as I remember. I picked another song last week called “Everything is Falling Apart”, since this is what I kept hearing in my head as three appliances broke down at DMG in the last month. The above song, “Dust on Your Shoe”, is the opening song on this disc and it still rings true two decades later. What I love about the words here is that they describe the history and destiny of mankind in just six verses. “The sun’s burning up & the icecaps are melting” addresses climate change disasters which we can see around us if we open our eyes and turn off the Fake News. This is classic: “Three hundred million years in the web of a spider, Takes only a moment to blow it all away…”. Apocalyptic! I am still in touch with Peter Whitehead who provided us with these lyrics and who is sending us a handful of his old CD’s. A number of folks checked out Mr. Whitehead’s song on his bandcamp page due to me putting the spotlight on his words. The entire CD is quite wonderful and consistently enchanting and closer to that old folk/psych sound than anything I’ve heard in a long while. The lack of hope due to what is going on in our lives currently is nicely illustrated in the words said and unsaid in this song. Are we are just a speck of dust on somebody else’s shoe? Or are we something more…?!? Only time will tell. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG

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A NOTE TO ALL OF YOUR DMG NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIBERS, FRIENDS and CUSTOMERS ALIKE:

Thanks again for all of the donations that we received, nearly $4,000 in all! The new AC was finally installed last Saturday (thanks to Bob O’Brian & Jesse Dulman) and is working fine. It does make the in-store gigs and atmosphere at DMG more enjoyable. We are in the process of reorganizing & cleaning the front and back of the store, getting rid of accumulated stuff and finding more goodies to sell & listen to. We have also gotten a number of CD, LP and cassette donations which also helps us immensely. I really appreciate the kind words of support from our friends here and around the world. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG

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THE DOWNTOWN MUSIC GALLERY 31st ANNIVERSARY IN-STORE GIG CELEBRATION Continues with:

Saturday August 20th: The Monthly GauciMusic Series Continues with:
6pm David Leon - saxes / Wendy Eisenberg - guitar / Henry Mermer - drumset
7pm Stephen Gauci - sax / Adam Lane - bass / Colin Hinton - drums
8pm Asher Herzog - drums / Neel Ghosh - saxophone electronics / Nick Saia - guitar

Tuesday, August 23rd:
6:30: TREESEARCH with KYLE MOTL / KEIR GOGWILT String Duo!
7:30: KEVIN MURRAY - Solo Drums!
8:30: TreeSearchMurray Trio!

Rare Sunday, August 28th event:
6:30: TONY MALABY SUNDAY TURNPIKE TRIO with JOHN HEBERT / BILLY MINTZ
7:30: CAMILA NEBBIA / MICHAEL FORMANEK / VINNIE SPERRAZZA
8:30: GORDON GRDINA

Suggested $10 or $5 donation, most of which will go to the musicians

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HALF A DOZEN AMAZING TREASURES from OUR GOOD FRIENDS AT CLEAN FEED:

MUHAL RICHARD ABRAMS // WARRIORS OF THE WONDERFUL SOUND with MARTY EHRLICH / BOBBY ZANKEL / ROBERT DEBELLIS / STEVE SWELL / GRAHAM HAYNES / JOSH EVANS / MICHAEL DESSEN / MICHAEL FORMANEK - Soundpath (Clean Feed 556; Portugal) Some years before his death, pianist Muhal Richard Abrams received a commission from Bobby Zankel and his Warriors of the Wonderful Sound: to write new big band music for this Philadelphian ensemble known for what they did before with scores signed by Julius Hemphill, Rudresh Mahanthappa and Steve Coleman. He composed the 70 pages and 16 parts of “Soundpath” and attended the first rehearsals. The premiere in 2012 was a success, but only in 2018 – some months after Abrams passed away – a second opportunity to present it publicly was possible, during the October Revolution festival. Some adaptations were made: Zankel invited Marty Ehrlich (who worked closely with the invited composer) as the conductor and some extra instrumentalists familiar with the master’s musical visions were added. The concert received a second standing ovation and the 17 musicians went to studio the next day. This is the resulting document, a historic one you don’t want to miss. Justice done.”
CD $15

TARBABY with ORRIN EVANS / ERIC REVIS / NASHEET WAITS Featuring OLIVER LAKE - Dance of the Evil Toys (Clean Feed 590; Portugal) With its provocative, confrontational name, the trio formed by Orrin Evans, Eric Revis (yes, the same playing in Branford Marsalis’ band) and Nasheet Waits, each one with compositional and leading status, call again alto saxophonist Oliver Lake for a record which mixes “loud, frenetic, aggressive, free form music” (we’re quoting from the press) with delicacies of pure beauty and nuance. As in previous releases, there’s another horn player, this time trumpeter Josh Lawrence, and –less common in Tarbaby’s discography –a percussionist, Dana Murray. Coming from the post-bop tradition, and through Lake, a veteran musician active since the Seventies, reconciling it with the present-day avant-jazz, the music in “Dance of the Evil Toys” finds a rare balance between brute force and mathematical rhythmic signatures. So, this is it: one of the most exciting jazz bands around offer us again a magnificent opus.”
CD $15

ANGLES with MARTIN KUCHEN / MAGNUS BROO / MATTIAS STAHL / ALEXANDER ZETHSON et al - A Muted Reality (Clean Feed 600; Portugal) Featuring: Magnus Broo - trumpet, Goran Kajfes - trumpet, Maestro soundsystem, Mats Äleklint - trombone, sousaphone, Mattias Ståhl - vibraphone, Alexander Zethson - piano, Martin Küchen - alto sax, Johan Berthling - double bass and Konrad Agnas - drums. A band of many configurations, from trio to tentet, this time Martin Kuchen’s Angles work with a 8-piece format the formulas you already know of pathos, playfulness, energy and bliss, but in renovated ways because the project is never fulfilled, never completed, as any investigative process should be. The music inside “A Muted Reality” comes from the heritage of Charles Mingus and Carla Bley,drinks from the ensemble ideas of Chris McGregor for his Brotherhood of Breath, and incorporates melodical aspects of the Swedish and Balcanic folk musics and rhythmical foundations in West Africa. The results are astonishing, going from the very simple to the grandiose, the detailed, sound centered, to the theatrical, the strictly organized to free-blowing improvisations, all of this with a big band sense of musicality, as if there’s many more participants in action. «An emotional roller coaster», wrote critic Guy Peters about this exhilarating proposal now one more time renewed. To Kuchen, geometry is infinite, open tounsuspected angles and material possibilities.
CD $15

ZIV TAUBENFELD'S FULL SUN with MICHAEL MOORE / JOOST BUIS / OMER GOVREEN / ONNO GOVAERT - Out of the Beast Came Honey (Clean Feed 591; Portugal) An Israeli expatriate living and playing in the Netherlands, bass clarinetist Ziv Taubenfeld searches for light in the midst of the dark period that surrounded the recording of his new opus “Out of the Beast Came Honey”: on this date, as part of the flexible unit called Full Sun, is American saxophonist and clarinetist Michael Moore, established in Amsterdam, also an immigrant of the jazz world. It’s not asimple act of kindness and recognition: Taubenfeld gives him space, as he does to the rest of the musicians here gathered, the local trombone legend Joost Buis, Nico Chientaroli from Buenos Aires, another Israeli, Omer Govreen, and Onno Govaert, a Dutch drummer already wellknown by all Clean Feed listeners. That’s the concept of this ensemble: to present music resulting directly from the individual contributions of all these musicians and their dealings with the leader’s writing and graphic scores. The purpose was captivating in itself, «to create paths that lead to the big unknown, the place where beauty is free», and the results are even more than what you hoped for. This music tells stories and plays with form and sound, floating «somewhere on the infinite jazz continuum», as Anthony Braxton could have said. Bingo!
CD $15

SPACE QUARTET with RAFAEL TORAL / NUNO TORRES / HUGO ANTUNES / NUNO MORAO - Freedom of Tomorrow (Clean Feed 597; Portugal) Personnel: Rafael Toral - acoustic & electronic feedback, amplifier, direction, Hugo Antunes - double bass, Nuno Torres alto sax & EWI and Nuno Morão drums & percussion. Electronic music with a human touch – that’s what Rafael Toral proposed himself to do when he started with the Space Program. Or electro-acoustic music, to be more exact, because his adapted amplifiers and other feedback and sinusoidal devices are combined with conventional instruments, played by fellow Portuguese musicians Nuno Torres on alto sax, Hugo Antunes on doublebass (note their superb opening section in “Black and White”) and Nuno Morão on drums (his swing in the pure-gold final section of “Landing in Copenhagen", among other suprising grooves, is stranger than Ringo’s). “Freedom of Tomorrow” is not a statement but a question (yes, “tomorrow is the question”, always true) a new opus from the Space Quartet, entirely recorded live, in concerts taking place in Coimbra, Portugal and Copenhagen, Danmark. Toral's "jazz-like phrasings” and the overall quartet dynamics gain from it, presenting “Freedom of Tomorrow” new steps of the ongoing explorations of this unique quartet. And unique because what you find here – if not already knowing it from previous albums – has nothing to do with the use of electronics in fusion, avant-jazz or free improvisation. Quoting Rafael Toral himself, here’s a bunch of new metaphors «to the many dimensions of the notion of space in our lives». No, not necessarily the Space in which Sun Ra inhabited. That would come with no surprises. This other music is made of surprises, from the first minute to the last.
CD $15

MIHA GANTAR SOLO - Introducing: Origins of the Pure/Songs and Serenades / A Portrait of the Imaginary / Polymorphic Realities / Alternate History of the Future (Clean Feed 598; Portugal) Amsterdam based Slovenian pianist and composer Miha Gantar has a very personal and very wide music vision, and the simultaneous release of several of its aspects seems logic, from the point of view of the artist but also of the listener, who is capable,this way, to achieve a complete experience of that sound world of a new, fresh, surprising and much welcomed player in the international creative music game. Each configuration (solo: “Origins of the Pure”; duo: “Songs and Serenades”; trio: “A Portrait of the Imaginary”; quartet: “Polymorphic Realities”; large ensemble: “Alternate History of the Future”) unrevels different approaches that are much more than the respective instrumentations, all of them «human and intimate» aspects of a defined aesthetic, as Nate Wooley points out in his liner notes. You can recognize the names of some participants, like Gerry Hemingway, Christian Lillinger and Axel Dorner in the quartet disc, but don’t listen to Gantar’s music starting on the basis of what you think you can recognize. The inverse audition would be more gratifying, for instance his association in duo with singer Marta Arpini, a work of pure affection, very emotional, in which melancholy and vivacity are expressions of the human spirit facing difficult circumstances.
5 CD Set $25

ANOTHER HALF DOZEN GEMS From The GOOD FOLKS AT CorbettVSDempsey:

STEVE LACY and EVAN PARKER - Chirps (CvsD 095; USA) “What could possibly happen when two ultimate masters of soprano saxophone square off for their only recording of duets?
Chirps is the only place to find out. Steve Lacy – the one who planted the flag for soprano saxophone in the ground of modern jazz, who established its iconic status, who devoted himself to the axe with monkish devotion, who brought shakuhachi breath and stairstep melody into its upper-register antics. Evan Parker – arguably the one who pushed the instrument the furthest post-Coltrane, the technical marvel, the polyphonist, the one willing to immerse in the instrument’s harshest environs and find things of radiant beauty. Performed in Berlin at the Haus am Waldsee in July, 1985, it was every bit the chamber concert – super intimate and interactive, gorgeously recorded by FMP’s Jost Gebers in an ideal acoustic room. Rather than alternate between one and the other, Lacy and Parker explore middle-terrain the whole time, perhaps skewing a tad more Lacy’s funky-tuneful direction, becoming a single soprano entity made of fragments of sound sometimes accreting into perfectly imperfect lines. Two long tracks, “Full Scale” and “Relations,” are completed by a final four-minute coda aptly titled “Twittering.” Indeed, the whole program has the joyous interactivity of Paul Klee’s painting “Twittering Machine,” birds aligned on a line, proposing and picking up lines, nothing cruel or mean-spirited, free play all a graceful twitter. This CD reissue restores the original Tomas Schmit design from the initial release on SAJ Records. Licensed directly from FMP. Limited edition of 500 copies.”
CD $15

JOE McPHEE & EVAN PARKER - Sweet Nothings (for Milford Graves)(CvsD 085CD; USA) “Two masters of wind instruments blowing in from the Windy City. In 2003, as part of the seventh annual Empty Bottle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music, Joe McPhee and Evan Parker squared off for a round of intimate dialogues. The resulting recording is just the second time they had played as a duet, the previous also being in Chicago, at a studio in 1998, where the limited their instrumentation to tenor saxophones, resulting in the Okka Disc classic Chicago Tenor Duets (2002). In this case, they expanded their arsenal to include tenor and soprano saxophones, as well as McPhee's trusty pocket cornet. Held in a beautiful hall at the Chicago Cultural Center, the concert was unforgettable. Fortunately, it was documented by the legendary mobile recordist Malachi Ritscher, who recorded most of the Bottle Fests with his usual rough-and-ready style. From the opening notes, Sweet Nothings was notable for the musicians' intuitive connection. Freely improvised in seven parts, these are duets of the highest caliber performed by two musicians who are constantly seeking common ground -- what you might call "agree-to-agree" improvisors. But there's no lack of tension or productive dissonance; on the contrary, that's part of their unity of vision, the shared ability to diverge and reconnect.”
CD $15 [This disc was listed 2 weeks ago when we got in some early copies]

HANS REICHEL - Bonobo Beach (CvsD 094; USA) “Subtitled “some more guitar solos,” Bonobo Beach was German guitarist and instrument inventor Hans Reichel’s fourth and final record of solo guitar works. After this record, Reichel would turn much of his attention to the bowed wooden-tongued instrument he created called the daxophone. Reichel recorded the six tracks at his home in Wuppertal in April, 1981, and in the process made what might be his masterpiece. These are not just some more guitar solos. Concentrating largely on acoustic guitar with no frets as well as his electric pick-behind-the-bridge guitar, he transforms tones into crystalline formations – patience with resonances, attention to silence, formation of symmetries around a common sonic point, jetting notes that arc and spread and then hover. One might look for other references to describe what Reichel is up to – the magic of Terje Rypdal, the aura of early William Ackerman, the eccentric multiple pickups of Fred Frith – but really this is unique in guitar repertoire. Reichel built his instruments as tools for improvised exploration, and then he dove deep into them, never so far as on tracks like “Could Be Nice” or the quivering “Southern Monologue,” or the two brilliant versions of the title track, “Bonobo Beach.” On “Two small pieces announced by a cigar-box,” the titular box is bowed in a vocal manner that portends Reichel’s development of the daxophone. This CD reissue, licensed directly from FMP, restores Reichel’s original artwork and design for the LP, as well as an amusing insert tracking the development of his guitars from 1972-1981. A beautiful, essential document from one of the great outsider guitarists of all time. Limited edition of 500 copies.”
CD $15

GEORG GRAWE QUINTET with HARALD DAU / HORST GRABOSCH / HANS SCHNEIDER / ACHIM KRAMER - Pink Pong (CvsD 093; USA) German pianist Georg Gräwe, one of the most impeccable and imaginative improvisers in contemporary free music, made his debut recording, New Movements, in 1976, under the auspices of Free Music Production, the legendary Berlin-based organization run by Jost Gebers. At FMP’s Jazz Now festival, in April of that year, Gräwe presented his working band, a classic hard-bop configuration with trumpet, saxophone and rhythm section. Indeed, some vestiges of that hard-bop feel permeate the music, however it’s been fractured and expanded in its ambitions to include post-bop, freebop, free jazz, and free improvisation, all with an overall set of structures that betray Gräwe’s deep interest in contemporary classical forms. It is an audacious debut, one of the most thrilling jazz-related European outings to emerge from the FMP program. Tenor and soprano saxophonist Harald Dau is spectacular, reminiscent in places of the great Gerd Dudek’s work with Manfred Schoof Sextett – tough as nails, free within a blues-oriented context, totally inventive. He’s matched by lithe trumpeter Horst Grabosch, and Gräwe’s rhythm team is impeccable, with Hans Schneider’s bass and Achim Kramer’s drums. The LP kicks off with a 22-minute-long rollercoaster ride written by Gräwe, and continues with two more long tracks by Dau, all of them featuring thrilling interplay and brilliant tunes.
The same band hit the studio a year and a half later, again for FMP, recording Pink Pong. Even more adventurous and tightly wired, this version of Gräwe’s fivesome plays more concise compositions, a total of eleven of them, spread out almost evenly amongst band members. The resulting LP is one of FMP’s absolute classics, simultaneously a nod at precursors like Alexander von Schlippenbach’s early groups and Manfred Schoof’s killer mid-sized ensembles, but also indicating a new path for a younger set of players. Steeped in a love of folks like Lennie Tristano and Steve Lacy, the band’s points of reference were diverse enough to make them stand out against some of the more exclusively hard-blowing Germans of the era.
Neither New Movements nor Pink Pong has been reissued since they were first available in the mid-1970s. Licensing directly from FMP, with newly remastered music direct from the original tapes, CvsD is proud to put these two important pieces of free music history back into circulation, throwing light on the early years of Georg Gräwe’s music and expanding the picture of what FMP’s vanguard mission meant. Limited edition of 500 copies.”
CD $15

GEORG GRAWE QUINTET with HARALD DAU / HORST GRABOSCH / HANS SCHNEIDER / ACHIM KRAMER - New Movements (CvsD 092; USA) German pianist Georg Gräwe, one of the most impeccable and imaginative improvisers in contemporary free music, made his debut recording, New Movements, in 1976, under the auspices of Free Music Production, the legendary Berlin-based organization run by Jost Gebers. At FMP’s Jazz Now festival, in April of that year, Gräwe presented his working band, a classic hard-bop configuration with trumpet, saxophone and rhythm section. Indeed, some vestiges of that hard-bop feel permeate the music, however it’s been fractured and expanded in its ambitions to include post-bop, freebop, free jazz, and free improvisation, all with an overall set of structures that betray Gräwe’s deep interest in contemporary classical forms. It is an audacious debut, one of the most thrilling jazz-related European outings to emerge from the FMP program. Tenor and soprano saxophonist Harald Dau is spectacular, reminiscent in places of the great Gerd Dudek’s work with Manfred Schoof Sextett – tough as nails, free within a blues-oriented context, totally inventive. He’s matched by lithe trumpeter Horst Grabosch, and Gräwe’s rhythm team is impeccable, with Hans Schneider’s bass and Achim Kramer’s drums. The LP kicks off with a 22-minute-long rollercoaster ride written by Gräwe, and continues with two more long tracks by Dau, all of them featuring thrilling interplay and brilliant tunes.
The same band hit the studio a year and a half later, again for FMP, recording Pink Pong. Even more adventurous and tightly wired, this version of Gräwe’s fivesome plays more concise compositions, a total of eleven of them, spread out almost evenly amongst band members. The resulting LP is one of FMP’s absolute classics, simultaneously a nod at precursors like Alexander von Schlippenbach’s early groups and Manfred Schoof’s killer mid-sized ensembles, but also indicating a new path for a younger set of players. Steeped in a love of folks like Lennie Tristano and Steve Lacy, the band’s points of reference were diverse enough to make them stand out against some of the more exclusively hard-blowing Germans of the era.
Neither New Movements nor Pink Pong has been reissued since they were first available in the mid-1970s. Licensing directly from FMP, with newly remastered music direct from the original tapes, CvsD is proud to put these two important pieces of free music history back into circulation, throwing light on the early years of Georg Gräwe’s music and expanding the picture of what FMP’s vanguard mission meant. Limited edition of 500 copies.
CD $15

DREDD FOOLE & THE DIN with ROGER MILLER / CLINT CONLEY / MARTIN SWOPE / PAUL PRESCOTT - Songs in Heat (1982)(CvsD 086; USA) While Dredd Foole would stamp his legend as a foundational figure in the New Weird America free folk underground of the 1990s and 2000s, that is just the second half of the story. Forty years ago, in February 1982, Dredd entered the studio with Mission of Burma, stepping off a remarkable decade of post-punk activity that drew comparisons to The Stooges, Tim Buckley, and various outsider musicians. They would never tour and lacked ambition, so their powers were largely witnessed by a cloistered Boston scene. After an exhaustive approach in which hundreds of live, studio, home, and private performances have been located and reviewed over several years, Corbett Vs. Dempsey presents the first release in an ongoing series that will reconstruct the legacy known and the legacy damned of the most overlooked and under-documented American free rock unit, Dredd Foole and the Din.
During an era of peak corporate control on popular music, when guitars were in the closet, improvisation was in retreat, and the flames of fire music were dimming, Dredd Foole and the Din emerged as part of a new underground kicking against the pricks, holding the line with the firmly clenched spirit of The Stooges, The Velvet Underground, and the newfound freedoms of the DIY post-punk landscape. Dredd’s approach was radical even by the underground standards of the day: only the chords and some lyrics were predetermined, yet the songs were recorded in one take, without rehearsal. He sought to engineer maniacal and spiritually-frenzied bursts of raw aliveness. That this was achieved with such rock action is testament to the power of those involved.
Until now, the only documentation of Dredd Foole and Mission of Burma’s nearly two years of lowkey collaborative activity –– the celebrated band’s sole collaboration during their initial incarnation –– was a two-song 7” single. Radically remixed / fully mixed from the original master tapes, remastered, and with the full cooperation of Dredd Foole and Mission of Burma, this first archival effort surfaces the entirety of that blistering studio session, growing it to near-album length and presenting a full picture of the Din’s sound. The studio effort is balanced by a lofi selection of the project’s astounding live debut from later that year, captured on cassette.
CD $15

SELEBEYONE with STEVE LEHMAN / MACIEK LASSERRE / GASTON BANDIMIC / HPRIZM / DAMION REID - Xaybu: The Unseen (Pi Records 95; USA) Featuring Steve Lehman on alto sax, compositions & direction, Maciek Lasserre on soprano sax & compositions, HPrizm on English vocals & lyrics, Gaston Bandimic on Wolof vocals & lyrics and Damion Reid on drum set. This is second disc from Selebyone, led by former Braxton collaborator & current professor at Cal Arts, Steve Lehman. Since Mr. Lehman’s move to the west coast, he has taken his time with any project he works on. Aside from collaborations with Vijay Iyer, Jonathan Finlayson & Liberty Ellman, Mr. Lehman has had just one leader date from 2019. It is not that often that I get to review discs with featured vocalists and for this disc we have two: Gaston Bandimic, who sings in Wolof, and HPrizm. who sings in English and has worked with the Anti-Pop Consortium, Matt Shipp and Gerald Cleaver.
Starting off with “Time Is The First Track”, HPrizm’s voice is upfront and describing certain aspects of Black history while we hear some shifting beats underneath. Although Gaston Bandimic sings in Wolof (native language from Senegal, Mauritania or Gambia), he does have a most expressive voice which is well-matched with HPrizm’s English vocals. They often sing at the same time as well as doing some back and forth answering as well. The English vocals are delivered in a rap or hip hop sort of way and are well-worthing considering. The most compelling thing about this disc is the way so many different beats (funky & otherwise) are well-employed throughout each piece. Steve Lehman and fellow saxist Maciek Lasserre both layer the different voices as they were also instruments to solo and blend. The voices are most often up front and in view with the both saxes peppering the backgrounds in different combinations. Mr. Lehman’s old M-Base like sax lines are well utilized, spinning their tight, tart lines like a serpent sailing through a steam of kaleidoscopic circles. It does take a bit of time and concentration to hear many of the different words and ideas that HPrizm is speaking so we must spend some time to savor their meaning. Whomever is using a sampler here should be given credit for the way the assortment of sounds work together as an ever-shifting series of streams all coalescing simultaneously. In some ways, this is a symphony of voices, saxes and beats, all well thought out and captured as one thing. Most impressive at documenting what is happening around us, if we only take the time to listen. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15

BLOODMIST with JEREMIAH CYMERMAN / MARIO DIAZ de LEON / TOBY DRIVER - arc (5049 Records; USA) Bloodmist features Jeremiah Cymerman on clarinet & electronics, Mario Diaz de Leon on synth & drum machine and Toby Driver on bass guitar. This is the third disc by the Downtown all-star trio Bloodmist who recently played at The Stone and at the FIMAV Fest in Quebec, both of which shows I caught. This disc was recorded at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn, a vast performance space in Red Hook, Brooklyn. You can tell that this music was recorded in a large cavernous space since it sounds larger-than-life. When Toby Driver hits his electric bass, it reverberates like a brooding storm in the near distance. The music has a hypnotic, throbbing, dense and haunting sound, closer to the sound of dark ambient or drone metal than anything else. Mr. Cymerman’s clarinet spins quietly in the distance while several layers of electronic sounds (feedback, static, expanding & contracting) build together into a mass of brooding vibes. Aside from being a fine avant clarinetist, Mr. Cymerman is a wizard at manipulating the sound of his clarinet in the studio (and live) with electronics and other devices. Hence, his clarinet is played acoustically at first before he starts to add some electronic seasoning later in the same piece. In some ways, this disc reminds me of the way Bill Laswell would use his e. bass as a drone instrument during his dark ambient phase for the Strata & subharmonic labels. Time slows down as we view the way the electronic sounds flicker and shift through different sections or sonic areas. There is something both fascinating and unnerving about this music which I find to be most moving. The name Bloodmist does sound most appropriate. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14

MICHAEL FOSTER - The Industrious Tongue of Michael Foster (Relative Pitch SS006; USA) Featuring Michael Foster on tenor & soprano saxes, samples and oscillators. When I first heard Downtown saxist Michael Foster play here at DMG many years back (Zombi Jazz in 2012), I wasn’t so sure about his playing. I’ve heard Mr, Foster in many other situations since then: with Ben Gerstein, Weasel Walter, Nate Wooley, Steve Swell and recorded duos with Ben Bennett & Leila Bordreuil. After listening to & reviewing a dozen discs by Mr. Foster, as well as checking him out at DMG several times, I admit that I am most impressed by his output and playing which seems to evolve in each situation. As far as I can tell, Mr. Foster has only released one previous solo effort which is long out-of-print.
The cover of this disc (a wide tube with a fish-like mouth & some neon lights) and the inner photos (a body in a bathtub after or during a suicide & a woman running down a hallway) are somewhat disturbing and perhaps a ways of showing Mr. Foster’s twisted look at life. After checking out Mr. Foster here at DMG on several occasions, I can see/hear the way he uses extended techniques (like tubes between his mouthpiece and the sax itself) to alter his sounds. It is a bit difficult to figure out what is going on during the first piece but it sounds like Foster is close-miking his sax as he gets those sly, weird, shrewd sounds which are more like birdcalls than music. On “Skins of Satin”, Mr. Foster plays solo tenor, his tone starting out like one of his jazz sax elder idols before he starts to play those out/jazz tongue-slapping sounds. On each piece, Mr. Foster takes his time to explore different sounds on his tenor or soprano saxes. When one adds a tube between the mouthpiece and sax, certain sounds are amplified and altered. Mr. Foster has long experimented with these sounds and has mastered them in different ways. The Relative Pitch label has a large number of solo sax and other instruments in which the musician has worked hard at coming up with new sounds or approaches to playing their instruments. This disc is filled with many fascinating sounds. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $13

MAX JOHNSON - Hermit Music (Unbroken Sounds 2; USA) Featuring Max Johnson on solo contrabass. When Barre Philips produced a solo contrabass album in 1969, there wasn’t anyone else releasing solo bass efforts. Since then there have been a number of bassists recording these solo efforts: Malachi Favors, William Parker, Joelle Leandre, Peter Kowald… In more recents times a number of younger (and even older) bassists have stepped up to the plate: Michael Formanek, Mark Dresser, Brandon Lopez, Kyle Motl & Sean Ali. During than Great Pandemic, bassist Max Johnson recorded and released four discs, all of which he dropped off at DMG last week (early August of 2022). Each of the four have different personnel and sound and I’ve reviewed three of the four group discs. The solo contrabass effort is the last one for me to review…
In the liner notes, Mr. Johnson says that the pandemic was a difficult time for him to adjust to after being so busy during the previous few years. He was often depressed and struggled to get out of bed. I know how he felt since many of us, myself included, struggled to remain positive in those/these dark times. Mr. Johnson did a solo bass tour before the pandemic but had a hard time recording this music while he was struggling to survive and stay inspired. The first thing I noticed was how well this disc is recorded as Mr. Johnson’s bass sounds large, clean, warm and intense. Mr. Johnson is on fire from the gitgo, pumping hard, hitting those strings intensely. Instead of showing off his chops, Mr. Johnson often sounds like he is playing part of a song with certain melodic fragments amongst his stretched out notes which are plucked, bowed or banged on. For “Ghost Whistle”, Johnson carefully bows, stretching out certain notes as well as banging on the strings with the back of the bow. Some of those stranger bent notes sound like master-bassist Mark Dresser. Later on in the same piece, Max plays what sounds like a brooding ballad, making each note count, even strumming all the strings for a cosmic conclusion, letting the strings resonate together as one combined sound. As I listened to each piece, I heard what sounds like a series of short stories or scenes from a novel of play. Each piece takes you to a different place within. I am currently working with Max Johnson to do another set here at DMG in the near future. After four fine discs of recent vintage, it is time to bring his music here to a cosy, friendly environment. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14

SARAH BERNSTEIN VEER QUARTET with SANA NAGANO / LEONOR FALCON / NICK JOZWIAK - Veer Quartet (New Focus Recordings; USA) The Veer (String) Quartet features Sarah Bernstein & Sana Nagano on violins, Leonor Falcon on viola and Nick Jozwiak on cello. Over the past decade. violinist/composer, Sarah Bernstein, has consistently evolved through a variety of diverse projects: Iron Dog, Barbez, her own quartet (with Kris Davis & Ches Smith), another quartet led by Stuart Popejoy, duo with drummers Satoshi Takeishi & Kid Millions and a more recent (2021) solo disc. Ms. Bernstein has also organized her own string quartet which includes three other seasoned musicians: Sana Nagano & Leonor Falcon (a/k/a Peach & Tomato) and Nick Jozwiak (who plays cello w/ Guillermo Gregorio & bass with Peter Evans). Quite a diverse cast of Downtown string wizards.
After several years (in the 70’s & ’80’s) of concentrating on the string quartet music by Bartok, Xenakis, Cage and Feldman, I moved on to more contemporary composers like JOhn Zorn, Elliott Sharp, Wadada Leo Smith and Hannah Lash. This disc begins with “Frames No. 1”, where all four members get to play a short solo as part of the unfolding work. There are several layers of criss-crossing duos or trios also going on throughout. “New Progression Cycle” is a solemn, sad piece which evokes a feeling for less stressful times. “Clay Myth” is a most haunting piece, with a rather familiar melody that sounds like an old folk song. Each member of the quartet embellishes the theme in their own modest way. When Mr. Jozwiak solos on cello midway, the other members play some lovely pizzicato plucks underneath. “World Warrior” sounds like a collection of several layers of parts which slowly coalesce into throbbing mass of strings, organically becoming more and then less dense or tense. Each member of the quartet take solos but what is even more interesting is the way the quartet rise and fall together due to the strong writing/playing. The last piece is called “Hidden”, which is again rather dark, like a distant storm coming slowly closer to us. What I like about this disc is that it doesn’t sound like much other modern string quartet music. There is not much overly cerebral or complex writing/playing going on. The music and overall vibes is more modest and thoughtful and free of excess extended (difficult to listen to) ideas. This fine quartet played here last year and will hopefully be back for around night of spirited string music. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15

ROBERTA PIKET / HARVIE S / BILLY MINTZ - You’ve Been Warned (Sunnyside 1675; USA) Individually, Piket, Harvie S, and Mintz have found success in a myriad of projects. But it is their collective identity that has really cemented itself over the past decade. Mintz and Harvie S have been collaborators since the 1970s. Their most notable affiliation was as members of pianist Alan Broadbent’s trio. Piket met Harvie S in the mid-1990s and incorporated the bassist into her fold. Piket and Mintz have been partners in music and life since 2001. They married in 2011.
The dimension of the group’s interconnectedness is obviously vast and varied. Their own work together as a rhythm section began organically. Piket and Mintz found themselves bound even closer together during the pandemic lockdown. They managed to work on each other’s music at home. It wasn’t long before they included their friend, Harvie S, at first with open windows and masks. // Workshopping led to the idea of going a step further: Recording an album. Harvie S already had experimented a bit with recording on his own and brought the idea of recording in the most relaxed conditions, namely at home. Over two days in May 2021, the trio met at Piket and Mintz’s home where Harvie S set up shop and engineered the session. Piket was pleased to have the luxury of not only playing her own Steinway piano but to have the freedom to take as much time as needed. David Kowalski would come in and help mix and master the album. // The trio ensured that each member was represented in the material selected to record. Each brought three pieces that evolved through their shedding. Many of the compositions were older pieces being revisited or recorded for the first time. Their different composing styles lent the album a varied program that covers a wide swath of moods and textures. // Recording in the comforts of home with people that are loved allows for music of great heart and warmth to come to fruition. In the case of You’ve Been Warned, Roberta Piket, Harvie S, and Billy Mintz came together at a time when they needed to be together, to express everything that had been pent up during the pandemic, with poignant results.”
CD $14

MARC MOMMAS with GARY VERSACE / NATE RADLEY / JAY ANDERSON - The Impressionist (Sunnyside 1669; USA) “The eerie stillness of New York City during the Covid-19 pandemic led many residents to a state of contemplation and inner exploration. Saxophonist/composer Marc Mommaas found himself drawn to sounds that he grew up with but had eschewed for his own musical path in jazz, namely classical music. The self-described expressionist was surprised to find himself immersed in the sounds of the Impressionists.
Mommaas dove into the music of the Impressionists but found himself particularly drawn to one of the instigators of the movement, Gabriel Fauré, who eventually taught Maurice Ravel and Nadia Boulanger. It was with Fauré’s esthetic in mind that Mommaas began to write music for his new recording, The Impressionist. // Coming from four generations of classical musicians, Mommaas still hears the sound of his mother’s piano playing Chopin when he was a child. As a saxophonist, Mommaas was entirely jazz oriented, inspired by the deep passion his father had for Jazz (a prolific Dutch painter and artist with a capital A). However, as the City slowed down during the pandemic Mommaas found himself drawn to the impressionistic sounds of Fauré, instigated by his famous Requiem in D minor, Op. 48 // Mommaas found himself with time and space, in the New York Jazz Workshop studios, to sit down and compose. Always being in the moment, Mommaas jumped directly into working on this new music, trying to connect these older influences with his contemporary style and his complex feelings about New York at that moment. The composing process went by quickly, as if the music just sprang out. Mommaas also had a drummer-less ensemble in mind to perform the music, namely pianist Gary Versace, guitarist Nate Radley, and bassist Jay Anderson, making the writing process even more streamlined.”
CD $14

ENRICO PIERANUNZI QUINTET with DIEGO URCOLA / SEAMUS BLAKE / BEN STREET / ADAM CRUZ - The Extra Something - Live at The Village Vanguard (CAM 5062; Italy/USA) “Recorded in the historic ambience of the Village Vanguard in New York, The Extra Something is not just another release by a prolific artist. Working with a first-class band, Pieranunzi combines core jazz values with a sense of structure and order that comes from classical music, but all of it animated by a strong sense of freedom. Pieranunzi has risen to the ranks of the most significant contemporary musicians, a name to be placed alongside some of the greatest we have seen and heard. The Extra Something contains approximately 60 minutes of original music composed by Enrico Pieranunzi.”
CD $14

TRIO XOLO with DERRICK MICHAELS / ZACHARY SWANSON / DALIUS NAUJO - In Flower, In Song (577 Records 5899; USA) “In Flower, In Song is the debut album from Trio Xolo, an improvising group composed of Mexican-American bassist Zachary Swanson, Baltimore-based saxophonist Derrick Michaels, and Lithuanian percussionist Dalius Naujo. With a telepathic ear toward musical interplay, Trio Xolo performs free-flowing stream of consciousness improvisations. The result is true, in the moment composition. The trio moves together dynamically as their voices simultaneously overlap and converge into one. In Flower, In Song was recorded live in one room and unveils a warm, organic sound: Swanson's distinctive use of gut strings produce a dark, woody tone, Michaels draws robust color from a vintage saxophone, and Naujo expresses a nuanced control of energy and dynamics. Through explorations of melody, atmosphere, and texture, they can either embrace or dispel the traditional hierarchy of the trio format. At its core, Trio Xolo creates music that seeks to capture the essence of the moment through deep listening.”
CD $14

JOZEF VAN WISSEM - Behold! I Make All Things New (Incunabulum 027CD; Netherlands) “Behold! I Make All Things New is all instrumental and consists of sparse works for lute and electronics. There are no vocals. It is more a return to the minimal neo-classical style of Jozef Van Wissem's early work. Written and recorded in lockdown in Warsaw and Rotterdam between 2019 and 2021. Van Wissem lived in Brooklyn since the early nineties. He left New York because of Trump's immigration policies. There was no need for singing. Personnel: Jozef Van Wissem- lute, electronics. CD version includes one bonus track.”
CD $17

AFTAB DARVISHI - A Thousand Butterflies (30M Records 004CD; Germany) “Aftab Darvishi: a distinctive voice that combines her classical music training with the diverse influences of her native Iran. A Thousand Butterflies is a portrait album that looks back on Darvishi's eleven-year journey as a composer and tells of a life -- hers -- that has crossed continents. "Each piece on this album tells a part of my life that has taken place in every corner of the world," shares Aftab Darvishi, whose music draws on a wide variety of styles. She presents works for a variety of instruments and electronics on her debut album. "When I compose, I don't think about style," Darvishi says. "It's not that logical, it's not very calculated. It's more by instinct. My music is not just Persian music -- it's much more than that: it's an approach to being." "Sahar" (Dawn) opens Darvishi's album; it is the most recent composition on the recording. Based on a traditional melody from the Kermanshah region, traditionally played at dawn as a morning wake-up call, Aftab Darvishi has written "Sahar", a work for cello that uses traditional Persian playing techniques. Originally, this melody was heard on the sorna -- later it was also played on the tanbur and mixed with vocals. A live recording of a performance by the Stockholm Saxophone Quartet in Stockholm during the Corona period follows: "Hidden Dream" is vivid, telling of journeys, hopes, dreams. The following work "A Thousand Butterflies", namesake of the album ties in with dreams and hopes: The piece for clarinet and piano is inspired by the experience of immigration, recalling those people who daily leave their homes forever: "In my imagination, thousands of men and women fly toward a better future," Aftab Darvishi says. In each of the three movements, she looks at immigration from a different perspective, conveying to listeners the diversity of experiences and feelings of immigrants. The earliest composition, "Forgetfulness", was recorded in Tehran, as was "Sahar", but before she went to the Netherlands to study composition. It has accompanied Aftab Darvishi on her travels ever since and is always a reminder of her origins. The album closes with the atmospheric "Plutone".
CD $17

LP SECTION:

MARKER and JOE McPHEE with KEN VANDERMARK / MACIE STEWART / STEVE MARQUETTE / ANDREW CLINKMAN / PHIL SUDDERBERG - McPhee Marker (CvsD EP001; USA) “Chicago-based saxophonist and clarinetist Ken Vandermark was invited to arrange a set of seventies music for a concert in 2019, and among the pieces he chose were tracks by funk legends Parliament and post-punk iconoclasts DNA. On this 12-inch 45rpm EP, Vandermark's band Marker presents a unique take on "Night of the Thumpasorus Peoples," drawn from Parliament's 1975 LP Mothership Connection, and DNA's "Egomaniac's Kiss," which first appeared on the classic 1978 Brian Eno-produced collection No New York. Together with the entire Marker lineup, featuring Vandermark on reeds, Andrew Clinkman and Steve Marquette on electric guitars, Macie Stewart on keyboards, and Phil Sudderberg on drums, on this one-of-a-kind affair Marker invited Poughkeespie (New York) icon Joe McPhee to be the proverbial fly in the ointment. Applying the most unhinged version of his tenor saxophone stylings to the deep groove of George Clinton and out-James-Chancing the no wave thump of Arto Lindsay, Ikue Mori, and Robin Crutchfield, this rare disco-single-format free music release is one for your record player's auto-changer – just hit repeat! Featuring design and artwork by Michael Dyer/Remake, uncompromisingly recorded by Alex Inglizian at Corbett vs. Dempsey's Chicago gallery, as direct to you as humanly possible.”
12” LP @ 45rpm $18

KONSTRUKT & PETER BROTZMANN - Dolunay (Karl Records 094LP; Germany) “The ongoing series/tradition of a Konstrukt release in August this time returns to the early beginning: the overdue double vinyl reissue of the Turkish free-formers' studio meeting with the German Free Jazz titan Peter Brötzmann from 2008. As written in several info sheets before, the Istanbul-based collective led by multi-instrumentalist Umut Çağlar (also member of Karkhana) and reeds player Korhan Futaci has since its formation in 2008 created an impressive catalog including collaborations/performances with significant musicians like Keiji Haino, Joe McPhee, William Parker, Akira Sakata, Marshall Allen, Evan Parker, Thurston Moore, Michael Zerang, Alfred Harth or Alexander Hawkins -- and Peter Brötzmann. The German free jazz titan was invited to the Deneyevi Studio in the Turkish capital in November 2008 where they recorded Dolunay, an album that was released three years later on a small label in Turkey only. Back then a quartet with drums and percussion, guitar, reeds but no bass player, Konstrukt and their iconic guest took off on a session full of fire and fury: shrieking reeds, thundering drums, and -- free jazz of the wildest, most energetic and cathartic (afterwards) kind! Just as they did a few months before (May 2011) in a former church as documented on Eklisia Sunday (HOL 095LP, 2016) and then once more in February 2014. Remastered for vinyl by Kassian Troyer at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin, Dolunay is now finally available as double-LP and it shouldn't be missing in any proper jazz collection. 180 gram vinyl; includes download.”
2 LP Set $35

ALBERY AYLER QUARTET - The Hilversum Session (Our Swimmer 109LP; Germany) “Reissue, originally released in 1980. Our Swimmer presents the first official vinyl reissue of The Hilversum Session in over thirty years. Licensed from Hat Hut. Jazz iconoclast Albert Ayler took the experimental leanings of contemporaries like John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman as a starting point and then blasted them to stratospheric extremes, creating some of the most polarizing and brilliant music of the 20th Century. In particular, 1964 was a pivotal -- and well documented -- year in the free jazz artist's career. After returning to New York, Ayler assembled a brilliant group with Sunny Murray on drums and Gary Peacock on bass, recording Spiritual Unity (ESPDISK 1002CD/LP), Ayler's first record for the legendary ESP-Disk' label, that summer. Soon after that session, Ayler took his trio to Europe where they were joined by cornetist Don Cherry for a tour of The Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark. The Hilversum Session is a live radio session recorded on November 9th, 1964. At that point the quartet was months into its European tour and the interplay is extraordinary. On classic Ayler compositions like "Spirits" and "Ghosts" the band absolutely rip, with a kind of intuition and connectivity rarely heard, creating some of the most untethered and undeniably powerful music in the history of free jazz.”
LP $26

SUN RA & HIS ASTRO INFINITY ARKESTRA - The Intergalactic Thing (Roaratorio 040LP; USA) “One might think, with a discography as extensive as the one that Sun Ra boasts, that the scope of his work has been fully apprehended by this point, but The Intergalactic Thing demonstrates its seemingly bottomless depths. This is not a complete surprise; anyone who saw Ra and the Arkestra perform will remember the sight of the band quickly shuffling through an imposingly thick stack of sheet music, when Sunny would call the next tune on the program with an encrypted hint on his keyboard. Band members tell stories of spending long hours practicing a newly-written composition, only to never play it again. Here, we have a taste of what's been hidden: drawn from rehearsals at the Sun Ra house in Philadelphia from 1969, The Intergalactic Thing introduces a dozen never-before-heard pieces from Ra's songbook. These are tunes that may have never even made it to the bandstand, let alone the recording studio, along with a handful of reworkings of such Ra classics as "Spontaneous Simplicity" and "The Exotic Forest." Without a doubt, this is one of the most important augmentations to the Sun Ra catalog in many a moon. This double LP set comes in a beautiful gatefold jacket, with extensive liner notes by Ra discographer Robert L. Campbell.”
2 LP Set $40

RedGreenBlue with PAUL GIALLORENZO / CHARLIE KIRCHEN / BEN LAMAR GAY / RYAN PACKARD - The End and the Beginning (Astral Spirits 190; USA) Featuring Paul Giallorenzo on synthesizer, pump organ & electronics, Ben Lamar Gay on cornet & electronics (side B), Charlie Kirchen on bass and Ryan Packard on drums & electronics. This is a Chicago quartet led by keyboardist/synth player Paul Giallorenzo (formerly of Breakaway & Hearts & Minds), with the up & coming cornetist Ben Lamar Gay (for Jaimie Branch, Josh Abrams & Nicole Mitchell), Charlie Kirchen on bass and Ryan Packard (for Dave Rempis) on drums & electronics. This set was recorded at The Hungry Brain in Chicago in July of 2018.
What I’ve always dug about Paul Giallorenzo is that every project or disc he is involved with is very different. Hence, I didn’t know what quite to expect from this trio/quartet. Each side of this record is one long track titled, “The Beginning” and “The End”. “The Beginning” starts with an acoustic bass riff with some drone-like keyboards (pump organ?) underneath. Slowly some skeletal drums come in as the ethereal vibe continues. The music reminds me of the Necks although it is not as slow or skeletal. Mr. Kirchen’s bass is at the center and he is playing long solo, speeding up the riff as he goes as his/our pulses continue to increase. Unlike The Necks, the central pulse does change as the does the keyboard(s), yet the bass is the only constant as the keys drift in and out from time to time. The keyboard (synth?) sounds like a tambura which creates a cosmic raga-like drone. Slowly another keyboard drone/line enters and pulsates slowly, carefully. On Side B, the trio is joined by Chicago’s new cornet sensation, Ben Lamar Gay. Bassist Kirchen kicks off “The End” with a quicker, more infectious bass line and is soon joined by Mr. Lamar Gay’s Miles-like cornet. Overall, this sounds somewhat like “In a Silent Way”, although it is more sped up tempo wise, the bass become more furious as the piece unfolds. Mr. Lamar Gay takes several inspired solos throughout this side long piece. Things eventually calm down to a more restrained, soft & eerie keyboard drone which simmers and slowly shifts vibes-wise, giving us a chance to settle into a most haunting solemn stream. The music throughout transcends whatever expectations you might have and does a good job of transporting us to another dream-like state. Just sing that inner “ommmmmmm” and float up or down stream. - Bruce Lee Gallanter
LP $18

THE BRODIE WEST QUINTET - Meadow of Dreams (Astral Spirits 191; USA) The Brodie West Quintet features Mr. West on alto sax & compositions, Tania Gill on piano, Josh Cole on bass, Nick Fraser on drums and Evan Cartwright on drums, vibes & guitar. Brodie West is a Toronto-area based saxist who was once a member of Drumheller (with Nick Fraser) and has made two records with Dutch drum legend Han Bennink. The only member of this quintet that I know is drummer Nick Fraser, who often plays at DMG whenever he is in town. The other three members of the quintet I only know by their collaborations with the AIM Orchestra, Ken Aldcroft and the October Trio, all Toronto-based ensembles. Right from the first piece, “Entrainment”, we can hear that this is not just another free/jazz effort. The piece is well-written and laid back with interesting interplay between the sax and the piano while the rhythm team provides a solemn pulse underneath. “fortress” has an elegant, calm pulse at the center with lovely skeletal piano and hushed simmer alto sax floating on top. Most of this music has a dreamy, somber, haunting quality. I like the way Brodie West strips these piece down to their more subtle skeletal level, adding mystery to the vibe without much clutter. The music here is closer to chamber/jazz but with that quaint Penguin Cafe Orchestra sort of sound. ‘Meadows of Dreams’ does sound like an apt title for this disc. Most enchanting in its own quaint way. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
LP $18

CRAZY DOBERMAN - Everyone is Rolling Down the Hill (Astral Spirits 170; USA) Collective personnel includes Zach Rowden, Drew Davis, Tim Gick (recorded, edited & mixed by), Jordan Allen, Jason Filer, Kyle & Casey Flanagan, Josh Russell, Paul Baldwin, Casey Synesael, Erik Ficken, Hector Castro, Bett Green, Jason Hodges, Zeno Benamotz, Bradley Fantuzzi and Jon K. Crazy Doberman are an offshoot of Doberman, a quartet from Indiana which included noise musician John Olson (from Wolf Eyes & a million other noise/improv bands). Their personnel seems to change from performance to performance plus they are extremely prolific with some thirty plus releases (many on non-labels) from their their first one which was released in 2017, only five years ago!?!
Considering that there are some 17 musicians listed here but with instruments listed, it is difficult to tell who is doing what. The is most intriguing nonetheless. “River Ghosts…” sounds like some sort of psych, free/music, electronics & samples sonic palette. Art those a record or tape or other found sound samples? I find tis music to be mostly enchanting, unpredictable, quietly psychedelic, weird, not that noisy and rather fascinating. There have a tradition of bands or collectives that improvise together and change gig to gig like the No Neck Blues Band and Sunburnt Hand of Man. Crazy Doberman can take their place in the stars amongst these other legendary, crazed crews. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
LP $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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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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TURN IT UP!! PART 1
Featuring:
GARY LUCAS’ GODS & MONSTERS!
IVAN JULIAN & THE MAGNIFICENT SIX!
THE VELDT!

Thursday, August 18th at 7:30 For FREE!
At Lincoln Center - David Rubenstein Atrium
61 West 62nd St, NYC

A tribute to NYC’s Rocking in the 80’s by the musicians who were there!
Part 2 will take place on Thursday, August 25th

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AMAZING SERIES OF PODCASTS PUT TOGETHER BY THE GREAT GUITARIST SAMO SALAMON:

The wonderful Slovenian guitarist/composer Samo Salamon has an incredible podcast on Youtube entitled "DR. JAZZ". He has interviewed many of the leading lights of contemporary improvisation including Bill Frisell, Hal Galper, Herb Robertson, Ben Monder, Bob Moses etc. and his conversations are deep and enlightening. Highly recommended for all curious listeners across the worlds of creative music. Here is the link below..

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=samo Å¡alamon&qpvt=samo Å¡alamon&FORM=VDRE


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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… the new one just popped up today, 7/27/22:

https://rwm.macba.cat/en/research/probes-332-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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Sunday, 8/21 at 8 pm:

NED ROTHENBERG CROSSINGS 4
with
Mary Halvorson - Guitar
Sylvie Courvoisier - Piano
Tomas Fujiwara - Drums
Ned Rothenberg - Bass Clarinet, Alto Saxophone and Clarinet. 

At The Soapbox Gallery
636 Dean Street,
Brooklyn, NY, 11238

We will be playing a set-long suite which we will record a few days later.  I hope to see you at Soapbox Gallery's lovely space but Soapbox Gallery.
You also have the option of streaming the concert here.  It will stay up for 72 hours after the performance. Admission: $25

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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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INDEPENDENT PROMOTERS ALLIANCE Presents:

KEN VANDERMARK, JOE MORRIS (reeds / guitar duo)
@ Michiko Studios, Stage 2
149 West 46th Street
Saturday, SEPTEMBER 10 at 7:00 PM
Suggested $20
Stage 2 is on 3rd floor
(Building is not elevator-equipped).

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Saturday, September 10, 2022:

Adam Rudolph’s Go: Organic Orchestra!
Featuring Hassan Hakmoun, Dave Liebman, Marcus Gilmore, Graham Haynes, and Brooklyn Raga Massive / Gift of Gnawa honoring Don Cherry / Brandee Younger and Joel Ross /
Plus Angel Bat Dawid - DJ Set

Doors 6 PM | Show 7 PM
SummerStage in Central Park – Free Event | General Admission

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

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