To preserve Life
To care for the Earth
To care for all children
All families
This is the only way
To Peace on Earth
Sending Love and Peace for All
Patricia Nicholson and Staff of Arts for Art
The above poem showed up as I was/am finishing up this week’s newsletter. Patricia Nicholson and her husband William Parker are the founders of the Vision Fest, the most important Creative Music Festival that takes place in New York every June for the past 27 years. I attend every year since I know that those Cosmic Healing Spirits will be taking place wherever and whenever the festival occurs. During the year, Ms. Nicholson also runs several series of concerts in different locations both indoors and outdoors. Once again, giving an opportunity for many musicians to create music which helps to inspire all who listen. Ms. Nicholson is also a fine dancer and a community organizer. I applaud all of her efforts since she works hard to make our fragile world a better place. She has a good open heart and is sensitive to the things that many of us feel whether we can articulate them or not. She wrote the poem above and I can feel her words ringing within. Nothing more to say except this: Peace and Love Always, Bruce Lee at DMG
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THE DMG 32nd ANNIVERSARY IN-STORE FREE MUSIC SERIES Continues with:
Tuesday, November 7th:
6:30: SIMON KANZLER - Electronics / MELVIN BAUER - Drums
7:30: SELENDIS SEBASTIAN ALEXANDER JOHNSON / NATHAN CHAMBERLAIN / JOSHUA MATHEWS - Trombone / Guitar / Drums
8:30: DAVE GROLLMAN / BRENNA REY / JAMES PAUL NADIEN
Saturday November 11th, 2023 - The GauciMusic Series Continues with:
6pm - BILLY STARK - Guitar / SAM CHILDS - Sax
7pm - STEPHEN GAUCI - Tenor Sax / MICHAEL GILBERT - Bass / JP NADIEN - Drums
8pm - NICK GIANNI - Synth & Sax / ON KA’A DAVIS - Guitar / DALIUS NAUJO - Drums
Tuesday, November 14th:
6:30: CAMILA N - Sax / KENNETH JIMENEZ - Bass / RANDY PETERSON - Drums
7:30: GIAN PEREZ / MICHAEL GILBERT / MARC EDWARDS - Guitar / Contrabass / Drums
8:30: PATRICK GOLDEN GROUP with SALLY GATES / MATT HOLLENBERG / RYAN SIEGEL - Drums / Two Guitars / Alto Sax
Downtown Music Gallery is located at 13 Monroe St, between Catherine & Market Sts. You can take the F train to East Broadway or the M15 bus to Madison & Catherine Sts. We are in a basement space below an art gallery & beauty salon. We are on the east side of Chinatown, not far from East Broadway & the end of the Bowery. Admission for all concerts is free and donations are always welcome. We have concerts here every Tuesday starting at 6:30 plus Steve Gauci curates his own series here on the 2nd or 1st Saturday of each month. You can check out the weekly schedule here: https://www.downtownmusicgallery.com/shows.php. I post 1 minute segments from these sets almost every day on our InstaGram feed (if you don’t do InstaGram, you can still view these 1 minute clips on the DMG homepage, (a recently added feature), so please check them out and come down to visit when you can. - BLG/DMG
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THIS WEEK’S DYNAMITE DISCS BEGIN WITH THIS ONE:
SYLVIE COURVOISIER / WADADA LEO SMITH / CHRISTIAN FENNESZ / NATE WOOLEY / DREW GRESS / KENNY WOLLESEN - Chimaera (Intakt Records 410; Switzerland) Featuring Sylvie Courvoisier on piano & compositions, Wadada Leo Smith & Nate Wooley on trumpets, Christian Fennesz on guitar, Drew Gress on contrabass and Kenny Wollesen on vibes. Swiss-born, New York-based pianist, Sylvie Courvoisier, has been an integral part of the Downtown Scene for nearly three decades and has consistently astonished audiences at each and every concert and record that she does. Her inside-the-piano playing/experimenting still surprises me today, no one does what Sylvie excels at. Check her out on YouTube and you will see what I mean. We got the promo for this disc last week and we got sale copies in stock this week. I left the promo at the store by mistake, so I will have to review it at length for next week. - BLG at DMG
‘Chimaera’ is the newest ensemble of pianist and composer Sylvie Courvoisier. The virtuoso band brings together key musical personalities from the New York jazz scene in Wadada Leo Smith, Nate Wooley, Drew Gress and Kenny Wollesen, and features Austrian artist Christian Fennesz, whose ambient textures can be considered Chimaera’s wildcard. Inspired by the fantastic, enigmatic-hallucinatory paintings of symbolist Odilon Redons, the sextet creates an expansive and shimmering soundscape. “The lucid, dreamlike sounds of Courvoisier’s Chimaera album are floating and elusive like shadows on the ocean; the melodic glitter of trumpet, piano and vibraphone on a rolling groove of rhythmic ambience, with Fennesz’s magical guitar clouds enveloping the band,” writes Bradley Bamberger of the music of this new sextet. Another high point in the musical career of Sylvie Courvoisier, about whom jazz journalist Kevin Whitehead said, “Some pianists approach their instrument as if it were a cathedral. Sylvie Courvoisier sometimes treats it like a playground”.
2 CD Set $28
ERIK FRIEDLANDER SENTINEL with AVA MENDOZA / STOMU TAKEISHI / DIEGO ESPINOZA - She Sees (Skipstone SKST 029; USA) Featuring Erik Friedlander on cello & compositions, Ave Mendoza on guitar, Stomu Takeishi on bass and Diego Espinoza on drums. Although master cellist Erik Friedlander has had some health issues over the last few years, he is back with a new disc and four nights at The Stone (10/25-28/2023). Mr. Friedlander released the first disc by his band Sentinel in July of 2022. The first disc featured a trio and they’ve now added bassist Stomu Takeishi (who has worked with Henry Threadgill, Myra Melford & Brandon Ross). Former Bay area-based guitar sorceress, Ava Mendoza, has been wowing us with her more recent collaborations with: James Brandon Lewis (check out Ava’s ‘Echolocation’ CD!), William Parker (in Mayan Space Station, also astonishing) and her band with Abiodun Oyewole (from the Last Poets, sadly unrecorded as of now). I hadn’t heard of drummer Diego Espinoza before he appeared on the first Sentinel disc but he sounds fine here.
Starting with, “Baskets, Biscuits, Rain”, the first thing I noticed is how well Mr. Friedlander’s cello and Ms. Menodoza’s guitar sound together. This song has an infectious, rocking groove with the cello & guitar locked tightly playing those sly riffs. “Wit and Whimsy” sounds like a perfect title for the second song. After an eerie intro, Friedlander’s pizzicato pluckings, Mendoza’s guitar and the rhythm team lock tightly together. It sounds like Espinoza is playing a glockenspiel to punctuate a certain end-of-the-line note, hitting it just right. Whether playing their lines together or soloing, both Friedlander and Mendoza sound like they are unified soundwise. Every song features a (mostly rockin’) riff that is most memorable and will have you smiling and perhaps dancing around the room. “Summit” is a somber ballad with a most poignant melody and lovely cello. “Ache, Air” features some powerful drumming from Mr. Espinoza as well as some heavier (more rocking) playing from the rest of the quartet. “Rush, Rush Slowly” has a riff which reminds me of a spaghetti western soundtrack with fine solos from Friedlander’s cello and Mendoza’s guitar. Many of these songs are much heavier than anything we’ve heard from Mr. Friedlander in the past. It sounds like all the songs were written with both the cello and guitar playing together tightly, backing each other or playing their riffs together as one unit/force. This version of Sentinel is one of Downtown’s best newer units. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14
TOMAS FUJIWARA’S 7 POETS TRIO with TOMEKA REID / PATRICIA BRENNAN - Pith (Out Of Your Heads 022; USA) Featuring Tomas Fujiwara on drums & compositions, Tomeka Reid on cello and Patricia Brennan on vibes. This is the second disc from Tomas Fujiwara’s 7 Poets Trio. Mr. Fujiwara is a member of several important Downtown bands like Thumbscrew, Illegal Crowns and the Mary Halvorson Quartet. Cellist Tomeka Reid got married not too long ago and moved back to Chicago. Ms. Reid keeps busy in several different bands: Art Ensemble of Chicago, Ingrid Laubrock, a duo with Joe McPhee and a few of her own projects. New vibist in town, Patricia Brennan, leads several of her own bands and is becoming the busiest and more revered of all NYC vibes players. Her recent residency at The Stone and work with Mary Halvorson and Matt Mitchell show her to be a contender for the best Downtown vibes player.
Mr. Fujiwara wrote all but one song here with one group improv included as well. “Solace” opens and features Ms. Brennan’s vibes sailing over a well-written cello and drums groove. Ms. Brennan has a way of extending her lines by using a pedal to keep her vibes ringing or resonating longer, making her sounds more cloud-like. Ms. Reid is also a master cellist who keeps pushing herself into demanding situations. On many of these pieces she switches between the role of the bassist and occasional soloist. For “Swelter”, Fujiwara keeps an uptempo pulse throbbing throughout while the vibes throb more densely until the trio erupts freely midway and then gets back to cosmic throb in the last section of the piece. “Resolve” is a slow moving, eerie, drone-like piece for hypnotic vibes and subtle reverb on the cello. “Josho” is a mellow, dreamy, playful song with Ms. Reid playing an infectious walking bass-line at the center. “Other” is the group imrov and it is an intense, freer excursion that flows organically, getting more dense as it goes until the drums take off by themselves and are then rejoined by the cello and vibes for a feisty free conclusion. The last piece is called “Breath” and it is laid back with the cello playing the melody and then soloing pizzicato and the trio playing their lines in tight unison for the last section. Although much of the music sounds deceptively simple at times, there is much more going on below the surface if you listen closely. There is a magical ingredient here that I can’t really put my finger on but I can hear or feel it nonetheless. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14
JESSICA PAVONE with KATHERINE YOUNG / MARIEL ROBERTS / SHAYNA DULBERGER / AIMEE NIEMANN / CHARLOTTE MUNN-WOOD / ABBY SWIDLER - Clamor for String Quartet and Soloists (Out of Our Head 023; USA) Featuring Jessica Pavone on viola & compositions, Katherine Young on bassoon, Mariel Roberts on cello, Aimee Niemann & Charlotte Munn-Wood on violins, Abby Swidler on viola and Shayna Dulberger on double bass. Violist/composer Jessica Pavone has produced a half dozen discs over the past few years, each one very different in personnel and/or approach. Aside from a couple of solo efforts and improv trios, Ms. Pavone organized her own string ensemble for two discs on Astral Spirits and one on Birdwatcher. The string ensembles show off Pavone’s ever-evolving compositional palette. In addition to Ms. Pavone’s string quartet, she has added three musicians: Katherine Young on bassoon (Braxton collaborator), Mariel Roberts on cello (Mivos Quartet, Threadgill & Anna Webber collaborator) and Shayna Dulberger on contrabass (Bill Cole & William Parker collaborator).
‘Clamor’ is a four part suite for string sextet with soloists. “Neolttwigi” opens with a series of drones for strings. The string quartet plus contrabass has a deep, seesawing, pulsating sound. The overall sound is like a small symphony, moving in waves. The bass throbs at the bottom of the sound/register here giving the string quartet a more dense, powerful sound. Each string player has her own presence here with a certain solemn vibe which flows throughout. The strings move in layers different drones, some longer or shorter, overlapping. Things become more agitated and intense in the last section of the first piece. On “Nu Shu (part 1)”, Ms. Young is playing her bassoon through some device to give it a bent, more disoriented sound while the strings play some equally bent notes around her. Ms. Young plays an extraordinary bassoon solo here bending her notes both acoustically and with some devices to give things a truly odd yet compelling sound. On “Nu Shu (part 2)”, the bassoon erupts with the strings buzzing intensely around her. This part is one of the most hair-raising sections I’ve heard in recent memory, eventually breaking into a more skeletal conclusion. The last part is called “Bloom” and it features Mariel Roberts’ cello. The six strings here wheeze together like a broken accordion, resonating together and making us feel as if we were on a raft rocking slowly up and down, wave upon wave with the bassoon also wavering amongst the strings. This is also a powerful section which evokes some strong spirits of ghost-like vibrations. Jessica Pavone, who has been an important part of the Downtown network for two decades continues to make strides with every release. For ‘Clamor’, she has reached a plateau so please do check this modest masterwork out now. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14
TONY OXLEY / STEFAN HöLKER - The New World (Discus Music 165; UK) Featuring Tony Oxley on percussion & electronics and Stefan Hölker on acoustic percussion. British percussionist Tony Oxley has long been one of the best avant/jazz drummers to emerge from England in the late 1960’s. Since the early 1970’s, Mr. Oxley has also been playing and inventing his own percussion instruments as well as playing electronics. The last time I caught Mr. Oxley, he was playing in concert with Cecil Taylor (a few years back) and playing a sampler of his recorded percussion instead of his drum set-up. Mr. Oxley has been working with German percussionist Stefan Hölker for a while, being a member of Oxley’s Celebration Orchestra (Soulnote CD in 1995) and both percussionists have a duo CD on Confront from 2020. This disc was recorded in Viersen, Germany last year (2022).
Each piece here is called “Composition” numbers 1-6. The overall sound on “Composition 1” is swirling percussion (mostly drums & cymbals) with subtle electronics also interwoven together. The blend of acoustic and electronic sounds is a seamless stream which evokes a series of images which blur the lines between acoustic and electronic phenomena. The cymbal work and electronics are very similar in sound or texture so that it is hard to tell which is which at times. Ever since being a Mothers of Invention fanatic in the late sixties and checking out Varese’s “Ionization”, I’ve been a longtime fan of percussion music and hence, I find the music here to be consistently fascinating and pretty diverse. Each piece seems to evoke a different vibe or inner landscape (for the mind). The more I listen to supposedly “free” music, the more I hear direction, intent or purpose within what seems to be free. This music seems to breathe and evolve in an organic, logical way. “Composition 4” is the longest piece and the most dense and imaginative. It reminds me of some spirits or ghosts which have been set free of the usual barriers, growing and slowly evolving into something else. The sounds here are often pulsating and sounds alive. The more I listen to this, the more I hear the way it is connected and how it unfolds. Is it composition or improvisation or both? Questions to consider as we listen. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14
SIAPIAU with MAGGIE NICOLS / PHIL HARGREAVES / FRAN BASS / RICHARD HARRISON - π (pi) (Discus 161CD; UK) Siapiau features Maggie Nicols on voice, keyboards, Phil Hargreaves on tenor & soprano saxes & flute, Fran Bass on electric bass, Richard Harrison on drums & percussion with all members adding voices & little instruments. Siapiau (pronounced sha’-pea-eye) is Welsh for “shapes” which is what Maggie Nicols claims this band does, making shapes from nothing. Legendary British free-form vocalist, Maggie Nicols, has been part of the UK free scene in the late 1960’s/early 1970’s and has worked with founding members: Keith & Julie Tippetts (in Centipede & Tapestry), John Stevens, the Dedication & Glasgow Improvising Orchestras and recent duo with Mark Wastell. Phil Hargreaves can be found on around a half dozen discs from other obscure players like Caroline Kraabel & Barry Chabala. Equally obscure is Richard Harrison who was once a member of the Honkies, along with the aforementioned Caroline Kraabel. Mr. Hargreaves wrote a couple of the pieces, as well as the poetry throughout except for one piece by dadaist Kurt Schwitters. Ms. Nicols plays a quirky, magical electric (casio?)keyboard on “Approximately Diagonal”, with Mr. Hargreaves on some fine soprano sax. “Music for Hands” features hand clapping and tap dancing and it is quite charming and odd. “Hamadryad” features an infectious funky groove bass with some sly electric piano. I found this disc to be immensely charming, silly at times and even quite weird at times yet still fun. In some ways, this sounds to me like music for children with the fun & games vibe at the center. It does make me feel good to be alive. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14
KEVIN DANIEL CAHILL - Impossible Worlds (False Walls 11; UK) This disc features Kevin Daniel Cahill on guitars, tape loops and FX. Kevin Daniel Cahill is a Scottish (formerly Glasgow-based) guitarist, currently living in London, England. He was originally a classical guitarist inspired by Chopin and Toru Takemitsu and has collaborated with drummer Graham Costello (LP on Gearbox) and a noise rock band called Units. This disc contains two long pieces. The first piece is in three parts and is entitled, “Impossible Worlds/Procession/Lamentation”. Although most of this music was created on an electric guitar with loops, it is hard to tell what we are hearing. It begins with distant, rumbling, thunder-like sounds. It sounds like we are hearing strings from a distance with a shimmering sound or sample which is slowly being manipulated or stretched. It sounds like we are listening to music from another room which changes very slowly as we get used to the shifting waves. There are several layers of sounds going on here, each one carefully being shaped as they drift through the soundscape. There seems to be something buried beneath waves which is trying to emerge through waves or streams of watery sounds which occur throughout this piece. Is it our imagination or is there a spirit poking through the dark clouds in the distance? The second piece is called, “Caoineadh” and it is an Irish word for “crying”. Again, it is hard to tell what exactly is going on here. The shimmering sounds are moving more quickly in the second long piece. There are two alternating audio waves which shift back and forth. The two shifting waves remind me of a chorus of vocals which are also alternating like “ahhhhhhhhhhhhh” and “oooooooooooohhhhhh”. It feels like I am in a large church where there are two large choral groups but struggling to be heard amongst clouds of shifting sounds. Both choruses represent a different group of people who are all chanting together. Are these groups opposite in some way? This is unclear but I can still hear the way they are balancing with each other. Good vs evil? Electronic vs acoustic? Hmmmmmm. Time to think and consider what is going on around us. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $16
STEPHEN GAUCI / SHINYA LIN / ADAM LANE / KEVIN SHEA - Live at Scholes Street Studio (GauciMusic 45121 04863; USA) Featuring Steve Gauci on tenor sax, Shinya Lin on piano, Adam Lane on bass and Kevin Shea on drums. Recorded live at Scholes Street Studio on December 13th of 2022. The first or second Saturday of each month, saxist/curator Stephen Gauci presents three sets of music here at DMG. The second set each month features Mr. Gauci leading a different trio, duo or quartet. Mr. Gauci has been curating several weekly or monthly series at different spots (Bushwick Public House, Scholes Street Studio & the Main Drag) for a half dozen years with various groups, giving many folks an opportunity to play in public, as well as leading his own group with an ongoing cast of musicians to draw from. Mr. Gauci also runs the GauciMusic label which has released several dozen discs with combinations of musicians from different series. The quartet on this disc features Gauci on tenor, Shinya Lin on piano, Adam Lane on bass and Kevin Shea on drums. The only time I had heard of Shinya Lin was when played here at DMG last July with Jonathan Resin and Noa Fort. The rhythm team here, Adam Lane on contrabass and Kevin Shea on drums, are amongst the best players that Gauci performs with. The last two times that Mr. Lane played here with Gauci or Patrick Golden, I was blown away by his powerful bass playing. Drummer, Kevin Shea, plays with Mostly Other People Do the Killing, one of Downtown’s best bands and plays here often. He is also an incredible and inventive drummer.
This session was recorded at Scholes Street Studio as part of an ongoing series, hence the sound is just right. Adam Lane’s powerful bass playing is at the center of the storm here, pumping it up as the quartet spins freely. There is some strong, spirited, tight, intense, sprawling interplay going on here. Ms. Lin is a strong free improviser and takes off with the trio when Gauci lays back at times. Mr. Lane is a master of bowed bass and he takes a fine solo midway through the first long piece. As this disc/session evolves, it does so organically. The playing is often fierce, intense, and in-your-face. This is free music at its best! It doesn’t get much better than this. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $13
* PAUL r. HARDING / MICHAEL BISIO / JUMA SULTAN - They Tried to Kill Me Yesterday (ESP-Disk 5083; USA) Featuring Paul r. Harding - poetry & small percussion, Michael Bisio - contrabass and Juma Sultan - percussion. I hadn’t heard of the poet Paul r. Harding before this disc arrived, so I am glad to check him out. Contrabass giant, Michael Bisio is one of the best free/improv bassists around, check out his work with Matt Shipp, Kirk Knuffke or Joe McPhee. Percussionist Juma Sultan is a legendary figure who played with Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock and went on to work with Free/Jazz’s finest: Noah Howard, Kalaparusha and Archie Shepp. Juma Sultan founded a group called Aboriginal Music Society (with Julius Hemphill, Abdul Wadud & James Blood Ulmer). Check out his great boxset called, ‘Father of Origin’ on Eremite, essential listening for us Free/Jazz Freaks. Mr. Harding and Mr. Bisio worked together at length when both were living in the Pacific Northwest.
Starting with “Forgive, Forgive, Forgive”, Mr. Harding’s poetry comes from his heart and mind, speaking the truth about what he sees and hears around him. Harding describes different places in Brooklyn on “Accordion Dream”, home to many of the musicians who make up the Downtown NYC Scene. Mr. Sultan is a master conga player and appears on 6 of the 13 pieces here. In some ways, I am reminded of the Last Poets but without their more alarming observations. “They Tried to Kill Me Yesterday” does evoke some of the fears to black folks feel within our overly racist society. The more I listen, the more observations or ideas I hear that I can relate to as a sensitive human being. Michael Bisio is the perfect bassist for this record since he knows how to improvise with other artists, the ideas flowing back and forth. I really dig this duo/trio since they sound as if they are united in their sound/view of current life on Planet Earth. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $12
* Paul r. Harding will be performing here at DMG with Daniel Carter, Takuma Kanaiwa & Jonathan Wilson on December 26th at 6:30.
JASON ROEBKE with EDWARD WILKERSON JR. / MABEL KWAN / MARCUS EVANS - Four Spheres (CvsD 102CD; USA) “On this maiden recording, Chicago-based bassist Jason Roebke leads a new quartet, featuring his original compositions and a stellar lineup. The music, which was brilliantly recorded at Steve Albini's legendary Electrical Audio and expertly mixed and mastered by Alex Inglizian at Experimental Sound Studio, is performed by veteran reed player Edward Wilkerson Jr., whose own bands Eight Bold Souls and Shadow Vignettes were among the great ensembles of eighties/nineties Chicago, extending the AACM tradition and spotlighting Wilkerson's sensitive improvising. Here, wielding tenor saxophone and alto clarinet, Wilkerson is a commanding -- but also supremely collaborative -- voice, joining the younger pianist Mabel Kwan and drummer Marcus Evans. Roebke's scores are rich and flexible, but they concentrate on exploring multifarious ways of stopping, something that's been a feature of the bassist's own improvisation for decades. Investigating the interrelationships between flow and cessation, the quartet is at once organic and halting, Roebke and Evans playing together with great assurance, but occasional interruptions of metronomes or Roebke's lo-fi cassette recordings pushing against the fluidity and expressiveness in revelatory ways. Roebke's own bass playing has been a feature of scads of ensembles, both working and ad hoc, including Jason Stein Trio, Jeb Bishop Trio, James Falzone's KLANG, Jorrit Dijkstra's Flatlands Collective, Pillow Circles, The Whammies, Keefe Jackson, and Mike Reed's People, Places, and Things. The CD package for Four Spheres comes adorned with a beautiful painting by Rebecca Shore.”
CD $16
KASPER T. TOEPLITZ / REINHOLD FRIEDL - La Fin Des Terres (Zeitkratzer ZKR 1101CD; Germany) “An astonishing meeting of two instrumentalists: Kasper T. Toeplitz (electric bass) and Reinhold Friedl (piano), but even more undoubtedly a musical union between two composers: the music is clearly built on a double thought of the architecture of time, of the creation, disappearance and mutation of textures much more than on classical virtuosity, an adequacy to the organological principles of the instruments. Piano and electric bass. Both musicians have left the familiar paths of their instruments to make them the tools of their compositional principles. This opens up new possibilities -- which here extend to the finest level of sound textures. As Laurent Nerzic turned it in the renowned French music journal Revue&corrigée #136: "This piano/electric bass duo offers us two hours of menacing music. I invite you to listen carefully to the roundness of Kasper's bass, particularly at the end of the first piece, which suddenly takes a less abstract and unexpected turn, while Reinhold's piano regularly strikes up a sustained funeral march. Two hours of organic music that never ceases to grow and diminish in perpetual motion. In any case, this disc is overflowing with finesse, richness and subtlety."
2 CD Set $22
BATSUKH DORJ - Ogbelerim (Music For My Ancestors)(Buda Musique 860388CD; France) "Batsükh Dorj was born in 1990 in Tsengel, the last village in western Mongolia. This remarkable musician is a master of the various overtone styles typical of the Tuvas. Rare and complete artist, because, luthier, he brings a major contribution to the tradition. He sings to us about his nomadic culture through mountains and travels, notably imitating the rhythms of horses and the flow of water."
CD $16
MAURICIO MAESTRO JOYCE / NANA VASCONCELOS - Visions of Dawn (Paris 1976 Project)(Far Out Recordings Faro 138X-CD; UK) “Recorded in Paris, in 1976, Visions of Dawn is the stunning "lost" Brazilian acid-folk masterpiece. First uncovered and released in 2009, the record transfixed Brazilian music lovers and fans of otherworldly psych-folk alike. Led by the sharp lyrics and gorgeous, voice of a young Joyce Moreno, the trio is completed by the late great Brazilian percussion legend Nana Vasconcelos, and master arranger, producer and bassist Mauricio Maestro. These beautiful recordings offer a unique opportunity to sit in on the original sessions of tracks that would later become Brazilian cult-classics, like swinging samba-jazz opener "Banana" and "Clareana", a lullaby named after Joyce's daughters Clara and Ana. The trippiest moments come from "Jardim Dos Deuces" (one of Frank Ocean's favorite tracks of all time) and the orgasmic album closer "Chegeda."
CD $15
JOAO DONATO E DONATINHO - Sintetizamor (Far Out Recordings FARO 238CD; UK) “Far Out Recordings presents laid back Brazilian groove maestro Joao Donato's synth-heavy collaboration with his son Donatinho. Sintetizamor sees the father-son duo jovially hurtle through space and time across ten tracks of sparkling pop, Brazilian boogie and club friendly disco-funk. Joao Donato has been a hugely influential figure in the development of Brazilian music since the mid-1950s. He's played and recorded with virtually every one of his fellow Brazilian masters. Many of his own albums (of which he's recorded over three-dozen) are regarded with such adulation that "cult-favorites" doesn't quite cut it. Aged 82 at the time, Donato's collaboration with his prodigious, synth obsessed son Donatinho -- whose keyboard talents have been called on by the likes of the late Gal Costa, Djavan, and Donatinho's contemporaries such as Diogo Strausz - was originally released back in 2017, as a limited Brazil-only release.”
CD $15
RAUL REFREE & PEDRO VIAN - Font De La Vera Pau (Modern Obscure Music MOM 043CD; Spain) “Set for release via Modern Obscure Music, Raül Refree and Pedro Vian unveil their highly anticipated collaborative debut album Font de la Vera Pau. Two creative minds from the Barcelona avant-garde music scene, the pair combine on a boundary-pushing release that oozes with artistic vision and creative genius. The album, simmered slowly and in complete complicity, showcases a strong musical connection interwoven in each of its nine compositions. A grand piano, a synthesizer, and a positive organ engage in a dialogue that breathes life into a hypnotic universe with psychedelic and minimalist nuances. Effortlessly merging a diverse array of influences, Font de la Vera Pau invites us on a transcendental and reflective journey. The pair allow space for the spirituality of cosmic jazz figures like Alice Coltrane and Sun Ra, the enveloping ambient soundscapes of Japan's Haruomi Hosono and Hiroshi Yoshimura, and the meditative minimalism of Steve Reich or Terry Riley.”
CD $16 / LP $37
LP SECTION:
DEEP LISTENING BAND with PAULINE OLIVEROS / STUART DEMPSTER / DAVID GAMPER - Needle Drop Jungle (Taiga 021LP; Earth) Last copies... May 30th, 2012 marked the 80th birthday of American visionary musician Pauline Oliveros. Needle Drop Jungle is a continuation of the celebration. Together with bandmates Stuart Dempster and David Gamper, Oliveros and company churned up a vigorous storm at their January 2011 residency in Seattle, captured on this double vinyl release. With the help of staff at DXArts, the Deep Listening Band recorded impromptu downpours unhindered by technical issues, a peak in their collective creative output. Suddenly and unexpectedly, David Gamper died on September 27th, 2011. Needle Drop Jungle thus includes the brightest moments from what have sadly become the last recordings of this exceptional trio. Along with the simultaneously released Pauline Oliveros Primordial/Lift 2LP, this title completes a tetralogy of Oliveros releases on Taiga that started with the Deep Listening Band Then & Now and Timeless Pulse Trio 2LPs. Needle Drop Jungle was mastered by James Plotkin, cut direct to metal and pressed on 200 gram virgin vinyl in an edition of 500. It comes packaged in a double-wide raw brown cardstock jacket with essays by the band and a flooded pocket. The jacket is encased in a custom slipcase, with gorgeous photographs by Michael S. Carlson from deep within the expansive Taiga forest's southern edge.”
2 LP Set $33
NECRONOMICON - Tips zum Selbstmord (Guerssen Records Guess 211LP; Spain) “50th anniversary official reissue of this holy grail kraut album from 1972. Real underground heavy-prog/psychedelic hard-rock with raw, in-your-face production, German lyrics, insane acid-fuzz guitar, garage organ and dark, proto-doom atmosphere -- the real deal! Named after the famous Lovecraft book, Necronomicon formed in the German town of Aachen in 1970, first influenced by bands like Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Hendrix... In 1972 they entered a small studio in the Dutch border and recorded in just five days a concept album named Tips zum Selbstmord. The title roughly translates as "Tips on how to commit suicide" but the message the band wanted to give had nothing to do with taking your own life but instead with how mankind was facing self-destruction, destroying its own planet by pollution, wars, exploitation and overpopulation. 500 copies of the album were privately pressed by the band, housed in a lavish, cross shaped multi fold-out cover. It was a graphical translation of what they wanted to express musically. Original copies are impossible to find, making it one of the most desirable and sought-after kraut/German albums ever. Here's a long overdue new vinyl reissue. RIYL: Black Sabbath, Amon Düül, Gila, Paternoster, Hawkwind, Gäa, German Oak, Pink Floyd, Hendrix. Faithful reproduction of the original multi-fold-out cross shaped cover; sourced from the original master tapes; insert with detailed liner notes and photos. "... one of the best and most unique German records of the early seventies." --Cosmic Dreams At Play "... Necronomicon has created a dark and powerful vision that blends psychedelic and progressive music with a proto-punk garage band sensibility" --Rolf Semprebon (AllMusic)”
LP $38
THE CRAMPS - Hot Pearl Radio Broadcast (Mind Control 722P-LP; Italy) This is an FM broadcast live, Volkhaus, Zurich, April 21st, 1986. The godfathers of psychobilly/garage punk. Track Listing: A1. Intro, A2. Heartbreak Hotel, A3. Chicken, A4. How Far Can Too Far Go, A5. Hot Pearl Snatch , A6. People Ain't No Good , A7. Cornfed Dames, A8. What's Inside A Girl, A9. Bluemoon Baby // B1. You've Got Good Taste, B2. Can Your Pussy Do The Dog?, B3. TV Set, B4. Surfin Bird & B5. Human Fly.
LP $24
JEFFREY ALEXANDER - Reyes (Feeding Tube Records 739LP; USA) "Vinylization of the splendid 2021 cassette, issued by Garden Portal. The music was recorded partially out west in San Francisco and Point Reyes (hence the title), as well as in Jeffrey Alexander's current locale of Philadelphia. An instrumental addition to Alexander's canon, the music was mostly generated on guitar, but other sonic elements include -- bass, pebbles, fake mellotron, waves, moog, shells, fife, magnetic tape, and talking book phonograph. The results are a sweet, rural stroll through the kind of mind gardens the various off-shoots of the Youngbloods explored back in the Raccoon Records era, when they were based in Point Reyes as well. Reyes's other main counter-culture avatar was Philip K. Dick, who lived there for a few years in the late '50s and early '60s. But Jeffrey's music displays none of the red-hot paranoia that flashed through PKD's work of that time. If anything, the mood is paranoia's antidote -- a rolling, casual float through cheeb-scented air with lots going on around the edges, but none of it in the least bit threatening. Given the loud sluice of Alexander's recent work with the Heavy Lidders, Reyes feels laid back and reflective, but there's nothing wrong with that. Indeed, there's everything right with it. In times like this, when the cultural shit storm shows no sign of abating, we can all use a record that allows us to lay back and center ourselves. Reyes is just that kind of record, and man is it ever perfectly timed for just such a moment as this." --Byron Coley, 2023
LP $28
KIRK BARLEY - Marionette (Odda Recordings ODA 002LP; UK) “The organic minimalism of composer and producer Kirk Barley is collected on his new studio album Marionette, released via Odda Recordings. Whether drawing from field recordings, found sound, instrumental improvisations or synthetic processes, Barley's compositions evoke unfolding sound worlds, as simple ideas or motifs are layered and developed into complex set-pieces that reveal themselves over time. Marionette showcases the breadth and variety of the Yorkshire-born artist's sound, weaving together familiar and uncanny moods of rural England and its Victorian architecture, as suggested by the gated garden print of the album's cover. Unfurling between physical textures -- the patina of vinyl crackle or gentle rain -- and the hyper-real spaces that his music inhabits, Barley describes the compositions as "landscape or static scene paintings," with many of the album's tracks taking nature's rhythms as their compositional cue. Drawing from jazz, minimalism and techno, Barley focuses on the detailed qualities of sound, experimenting with time signatures, temporals and tuning systems. His esoteric alter-ego Bambooman (2013-2018) found a home on Matthew Herbert's Accidental imprint, releasing the album Whispers in 2017. In contrast, under the pseudonym Church Andrews (most notably in collaboration with drummer Matt Davies), he produces synthetic, often beat-focused music, using digital synthesis and algorithmic composition techniques, with the live drum performances triggering and modulating Barley's synths. The duo has recently performed at festivals such as Rewire and Waking Life, filmed sessions for Fact Magazine and Slate & Ash, and recently had their music played out by Aphex Twin. Under his own name, Barley released his debut album Landscapes (TTTT 010LP) in 2019 on 33-33 Records and received support from the likes of NTS Radio and BBC 6 Music. Barley has performed at events across the UK and Europe alongside the likes of Andy Stott, Beatrice Dillon, Jan Jelinek, MF DOOM, and Madlib. He has also completed commissioned work for the British Art Show, Camden Arts Centre, MSCTY and the Open Music Archive.”
LP $28
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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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Article by GARY LUCAS:
This is an honest explanation/understanding of what is currently going on in Israel, please read and think about before you come to any quick conclusions.
“JEWS DO COUNT”
at CultureCatch.com
https://culturecatch.com/node/4237
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THE STONE RESIDENCIES / MATT MITCHELL / NOV 1–4
11/1 Wednesday
8:30 pm - QUARTET - Brandon Seabrook (guitar) Matt Mitchell (piano, synths, compositions) Kim Cass (bass) Kate Gentile (drums)
11/2 Thursday
8:30 pm - QUARTET - Yuhan Su (vibraphone) Miles Okazaki (guitar) Matt Mitchell (piano, compositions) Kate Gentile (drums)
11/3 Friday
8:30 pm - SEPTET - Matt Mitchell (piano, compositions) Brian Krock (oboe, English horn) Laura Cocks (flutes) Madison Greenstone (clarinets) Sara Schoenbeck (bassoon) Erica Dicker (violin) Joanna Mattrey (viola)
Mariel Roberts - cello
11/4 Saturday
8:30 pm - TRIO - Matt Mitchell (piano, compositions) Chris Tordini (bass) Dan Weiss (drums)
THE STONE RESIDENCIES / VADIM NESELOVSKYI / NOV 8–11
11/8 Wednesday
8:30 pm - Vadim Neselovskyi presents stellar Ukrainian singer Tamara Lukasheva — US premiere! Tamara Lukasheva (voice) Vadim Neselovskyi (piano, composition)
11/9 Thursday
8:30 pm - ODESSA—A MUSICAL WALK THROUGH A LEGENDARY CITY
Vadim Neselovskyi (piano, composition)
11/10 Friday
8:30 pm - Duo with Ralph Alessi
Ralph Alessi (trumpet) Vadim Neselovskyi (piano, composition)
11/11 Saturday
8:30 pm - UKRAINIAN DIARY—Suite for Piano and String Trio - Bengisu Gokce (violin) Sofia Nikas (viola) Thiago Wolf (cello) Vadim Neselovskyi (piano, composition)
THE STONE is located in
The New School at the Glass Box Theatre
55 West 13th Street - near 6th ave
LIVE MUSIC
wed-sat
music at 8:30pm
ADMISSION
$20 per set
unless otherwise noted
cash only payment
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Arts for Arts Presents:
JOIN US for the Pianos & Poets Festival - a showcase of great creative improvising pianists performing on AFA's magnificent Steinway B Grand, and featuring poets who expand our minds and hearts with their words. In partnership with The Clemente, in the Flamboyan Theater: 107 Suffolk St., NYC
Admission
SINGLE DAY: In-person - $25 / Livestream - $7
THREE DAY PASS: In-person - $60 / Livestream - $20
Thursday, November 9th, 2023
7PM: Angelica Sanchez - piano solo
8PM: Miriam Parker - movement & sound installation / No Land - poetry / Melanie Dyer - viola
9PM: Cooper-Moore -piano solo
Friday, November 10th, 2023
7PM: David Virelles - piano solo
8PM: Tracie Morris - poetry
9PM: Dave Burrell - piano solo
Saturday, November 11th, 2023
7PM: Mara Rosenbloom - piano solo
8PM: Randall Horton - poetry
8:30PM: Anne Waldman - poetry, featuring duo with Matthew Shipp
9PM: Matthew Shipp - piano solo
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This is from Guitarist/Composer - Terrence McManus:
I've been busy composing and I'm happy to announce that I will have three classical work premieres in November.
Monday, November 13
7:30 p.m.
It's Not a Trio or a Sextet
(flute, bass clarinet, violin, cello, piano)
performed by Talea Ensemble
Baisley Powell Elebash Recital Hall
The Graduate Center
365 5th Ave.
New York, NY 10016
Wednesday, November 15
7:00 p.m.
Mood One for Solo Violin
performed by Josh Modney
Ida K. Lang Recital Hall
Hunter College
695 Park Ave
New York, NY 10065
Monday, November 27
7:30 p.m.
Music for Solo Cello
performed by Athos Brown
Baisley Powell Elebash Recital Hall
The Graduate Center
365 5th Ave.
New York, NY 10016
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JOHN ZORN @ 70 - Year Long Celebration Continues with:
JOHN ZORN @ 70 - 3 Concerts at Miller Theatre at Columbia University:
Composer Portraits: John Zorn at 70
Thursday, November 16, 2023, 8PM
Barbara Hannigan - Piano John Zorn - Composer
John Zorn Star Catcher (2022)
John Zorn Split the Lark (2021)
John Zorn Liber Loagaeth (2021)
John Zorn Ab Eo, Quod (2021)
John Zorn Pandora’s Box (2013)
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John Cage's Japan at Japan Society
An Original Performance Series
Celebrating the Composer's Relationship with Japanese Culture
November 16 at 7:30 pm
Tomomi Adachi's Noh-opera / Noh-tation: Decoding John Cage's Unrealized Project
with Gelsey Bell (voice), Wakako Matsuda (noh), and ICE
Thursday, December 7 at 7:30 pm
Cage Shock: An Homage to his First Japan Visit
with Tania Caroline Chen, Victoria Shen, Tomomi Adachi, and ICE
All Programs Commissioned and presented by Japan Society
Tickets On Sale to the General Public August 17 at JapanSociety.org
They called it the "Cage Shock." In 1962, the iconoclastic American composer John Cage toured Japan for a legendary series of concerts that served to draw attention to the rhymes between his works and the sounds of avant-garde and classical Japanese music. The tour cemented Cage as a pivotal figure in the East but the impact of that trip reverberated both directions. Cage had found truth and validation for his creative philosophy in Japan and returned to his experiences abroad as a wellspring of inspiration for the rest of his life.
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SATURDAY NOV 18
HU VIBRATIONAL PRESENTS
TIMELESS LP RELEASE CONCERT
mutli-kulti-trance-groove-meditational-dance music
Adam Rudolph - percussion, electronics, cajon, kalimba
Alexis Marcelo - electric keyboards
Damon Banks - electric bass
Harris Eisenstadt - bata, shekere
Neel Murgai - electric sitar, overtone singing and electronics
Tim Kieper - percussion, dusu n’goni
Tripp Dudley - cajon, dumbek, frame drums, percussion
@ Public Records
233 Butler St, Brooklyn, NY 11217
doors 7pm / one set 8pm
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NEW VIDEOS from GUITAR MASTER HENRY KAISER:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tj8-LKNXKuE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy9PwsO5umk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFQ7nvA68pA
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CHRIS CUTLER
Formerly of HENRY COW, THE ART BEARS, NEWS FOR BABEL & RECOMMENDED RECORDS (ReR) has been creating an ongoing series of podcasts called the Probes series. I am often fascinated at listening to each of these as Mr. Cutler does an incredible job of showing a deep history of Creative Music in the 20th century & beyond. I usually listen to these on the train to NYC that I take to get to work each day. The most recent Probes (#36) was released a few weeks ago, here is the links:
https://rwm.macba.cat/en/research/probes-36
https://rwm.macba.cat/en/research/probes-362-auxiliaries