Why why why?
I wish I were stoned on my mind
Why why why, oh why?
Dreamed I saw a man walked upon the sea
Dreamed it once again and saw that he was me
Looking close at me I looked a lot like you
Knowing where to go but not quite what to do
Why why why?
I wish I were stoned on my mind
Why why why, oh why?
Give me all your love in a smile
And I'll tell you what I'm thinking
Let me see the world through your eyes
And I'll show you where I'm sitting
Once I had a dream, nothing else to do
Sat and played my mind in time with all of you
Got down in the road, crossed my heart and cried
When you told me how you'd love to kill and not to die
Why why why?
I wish I were stoned out of my mind
Why why why, oh why?
Give me all your love in a smile
And I'll tell you what I'm thinking
Let me see the world through your eyes
And I'll show you where I'm sitting
Don't Worry
Don't worry about me
I've got all that I need
And I'm singing my song to the sky
You know how it feels
With the breeze of the sun in your eyes
Not minding that time's passing by
I've got all and more
My smile, just as before
Is all that I carry with me
I talk to myself
I need nobody else
I'm lost and I'm mine, yes I'm free
The third year I was at college (Glassboro State, ’74-’75), I lived on campus at the New Campus Apartments with three roommates. Almost every night, we would all hang together and listen to our favorite records by the Mothers of Invention, Soft Machine, Caravan, Hatfield & The North, Kevin Ayers and Robert Wyatt. Aside from the Mothers, these were all Canterbury bands and this was the music that we held so dear. The above song is the second track on the second album by Caravan from 1970. Soft Machine and Caravan were both hatched from an early Canterbury band called the Wilde Flowers. When they started (recording-wise) in 1968, both bands originally had the same instrumentation, plus both bands had two lead singers, one with a high voice (Robert Wyatt & Pye Hastings) and one with a lower voice (Kevin Ayers & Richard Sinclair). Both bands are early examples of progressive tendencies and were full of whimsy (a/k/a Pataphysics). Whenever I need to break away from the current chaotic political climate, I listen to one of the cherished records. The Canterbury Spirit is one of Good Vibes and Endless Discovery, trying to inspire others and make the world a better place. Whenever I listen to this song, I long for the times I used to get stoned with my roomies and consider the better aspects of life. I just want to send you all some good vibes as well as my old friends: John Masucci, Frank Ruck, Ed O’Donnell and Mike Rice. A toast and a toke to the good old days! - Rock N. Rollo a/k/a MCBruceLee
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THE DMG 33rd ANNIVERSARY IN-STORE FREE MUSIC SERIES Continues with:
Tuesday, January 23rd, 2024:
6:30: SYLVAIN LEROUX - Fula Flute
7:30: TOADAL PACKAGE: COSMO GALLARO - Guitar / BRENNA REY - Bass / JAMES PAUL NADIEN - Drums
8:30: ANTONIN FAJT - Nord Keyboard / KYLE MOTL - Contrabass / CARLO COSTA - Percussion
Tuesday, January 30th:
6:30: VIV CORRINGHAM - Voice / AL MARGOLIS - Violin, Contact Mic & Objects / SANDY GORDON - Percussion
7:30: JAMES McKAIN / ALINA JACOBS - Two Tenor Saxes
8:30: GIAN PEREZ - Guitar / DIEGO HEDEZ - Trumpet / PATRICK GOLDEN - Drums
Tuesday, February 6th, 2024:
6:30: STAN ZENKOV - Bass Clarinet / AYUMI ISHITO - Tenor Sax / KEENEN RUFFIN - Guitar / YUKO TOGAMI - Drums
7:30: RICHARD ROSENTHAL - Guitar / THOMAS HEBERER - Trumpet / DMITRY ISHENKO - Bass / COLIN HINTON - Drums
8:30: STRING CONSENSUS: patrick brennan - sax-comps / CHARLES BURNHAM / gabby fluke mogul / STEPHANIE GRIFFIN / JASON KAO HWANG / DAVID SOLDIER - All Strings
DMG stands for Downtown Music Gallery and we are 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 EXCITEMENT FILLED NEWSLETTER BEGINS WITH A JEWEL FROM MARY HALVORSON:
MARY HALVORSON // AMARYLLIS SEXTET with ADAM O’FARRILL / JACOB GARCHIK / PATRICIA BRENNAN / NICK DUNSTON / TOMAS FUJIWARA plus LAURIE ANDERSON - Cloudward (Nonesuch 75597 90235; USA) The Amaryllis Sextet features Mary Halvorson on guitar & compositions, Adam O’Farrill on trumpet, Jacob Garchik on trombone, Patricia Brennan on vibes, Nick Dunston on bass and Tomas Fujiwara on drums plus guest Laurie Anderson on violin (1 track). This is the second disc from award-winning guitarist Mary Halvorson’s Amaryllis Sextet and her third disc for the prestigious Nonesuch label. There are dozens (hundreds?) of great guitarists in NYC presently as well as in the past and over the past decade or so, Ms. Halvorson has risen to the top of the heap. This is due to the fact that Ms. Halvorson has worked hard at blending a number of streams from jazz, rock, folk, psych and modern classical both in her idiosyncratic playing, selective bandleading and ever-evolving composing talents. Ms. Halvorson has had led a half dozen different bands since moving to NYC in the early aughts, recording in solo, duos, trios, Paimon quartet, quintet, sextet & septet, as collaborating in varied sized ensembles with her mentor Anthony Braxton. She even got her hero, retired vocalist Robert Wyatt (Canterbury icon) to sing on a Code Girl disc! Canterbury fans rejoice and find that disc.
I’ve caught the Amaryllis Sextet a couple of times, playing together with Ms. Halvorson’s string group at the FIMAV in 2022. Ms. Halvorson has organized a wonderful all-star sextet, each member a leader/composer as well. ‘Cloudward’ begins with “The Gate” which has an odd structure. Since there is no keyboardist in this group, Mary has Patricia Brennan playing some challenging chords, bridging the rhythm team with the two horns. Both Adam O’Farrill on trumpet and Jacob Garchik on trombone take strong, inspired solos here, the guitar led rhythm team pulsating underneath in waves. Over time Ms. Halvorson has become a master of using looping devices to explore and repeat certain riffs or lines. “The Tower” starts off with a series of haunting looped lines, somber and hypnotic with some drone notes from the vibes and subtle horn ornamentation. Over the last few years, a number of fine vibes players have moved to NY. Patricia Brennan is my favorite of the handful, since she is always exploring and challenging herself by using her vibes in a variety of settings and ways. Both Ms. Halvorson and Ms. Brennan work especially well together here, both playing their lines in intricate, connected ways. I like the way Ms. Brennan often stretches out her notes with her pedal, blurring the vibes and guitar into an effective stream. Ms. Halvorson’s writing & arranging talents shine on “Unscrolling”, which has some lush, layered horns, eerie bowed bass and a cerebral, dreamy vibe. Halvorson keeps hitting this dark, probing chord over and over in the first section of “Desiderata”. This piece goes back and forth between a more subdued section with Mary taking a powerful, bent note rock guitar solo midway with Ms. Brennan also taking a spirited solo herself. “Incarnadine” has a freer, spacious, dream-like vibe with Laurie Anderson guesting on violin. “Tailhead” has a theme that sounds a somewhat klez-like, with an exciting uptempo groove pumping throughout, intense interlocking parts and a superb trombone solo by Mr. Garchik. Ms. Halvorson takes an astonishing guitar solo on the closing song, “Ultramarine”, which also features some strong contrabass from Mr. Dunston. It seems hard to believe but it is only the third week of January (2024) and already we have a contender for the best discs of the year! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15
* There is an informative recent interview with Mary Halvorson which was just published in the Guardian, UK found here: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/jan/16/jazz-guitar-genius-mary-halvorson-sometimes-everything-has-to-blow-up
JOHN ZORN - The Hermetic Organ Volume 11 - For Terry Riley (Tzadik 9306; USA) This newest edition of The Hermetic Organ is a beautiful and evocative tribute to one of Zorn’s biggest mentors, the pioneer West Coast visionary, Terry Riley. Performed at San Francisco’s historic Grace Cathedral during the epic concert series presented by Fred Barnes at the Great American Music Hall in September 2023 for Zorn’s 70th birthday, this is one of the most touching and personal of all Zorn’s organ recitals. Present in the audience were a large number of the composer’s closest and oldest friends and as a result the music has a deep spiritual edge. Looming over much of this music is the spirit of Terry Riley, one of Zorn’s early influences, and one of his dearest friends. Magical!
CD $16
AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE with BILL FRISELL / HERLIN RILEY - Owl Song (Nonesuch 75597 90185; USA) The news that Ambrose Akinmusire likes owls comes as no surprise once you start pondering the watchful patience and swooping accuracy of this California-raised trumpet virtuoso’s jazz creativity for the past 15 years. Showered with plaudits in that time (with comparisons with Miles Davis often among them), Akinmusire shares Miles’ belief that less is more. He called this beautiful trio album Owl Song because his favourite birds’ cool occupancy of their world mirrors this project’s search for space and precious time in a clamorous human habitat he considers “assaulted by information”.
Akinmusire could have just played Owl Song as an ambient reverie in duo with his legendarily harmonious guitar partner Bill Frisell – but it’s the mix of that vibe and the quietly swinging jazz grooves of sometime Wynton Marsalis drummer Herlin Riley that casts Owl Song’s particular spell. Version one of the title track opens to the whispering breeze of Riley’s brushes pulsing above soft bass drum thuds, before a slow trumpet theme of warm low sounds and long-tone falsetto resolutions is caressed by Frisell’s echoing guitar chords.
In the cannily timed swapping of paired figures with single tones on Weighted Corners or the unison ascents and descents of trumpet and guitar on Grace, this music is close to minimalism, but its palette embraces much more. Frisell mingles seamlessly circling trumpet figures, pitch-bending swirls and phrases like softly stuttering fanfares, Riley sets a New Orleans street march tattoo under wriggling postbop improv, and Owl Song 2’s opening procession of sedate single tones and padding tom-tom sounds becomes a ballad-like narrative, discovering its rapturous melody and harmony piece by sparingly-revealed piece. As befits the title, Owl Song doesn’t raise its voice much, but what it quietly says is joyously vivid, even spine-tingling. - John Fordham, The Guardian
CD $15
ULF IVARSSON / BILL LASWELL with THOMAS BACKMAN / RICARD NETTERMALM / PER WIBERG - Nammu (Ropeadope 6650.2; USA) “Composer, producer, bass-riffing madman, bottomless musical mind Ulf Ivarsson shares a 4-track magic carpet ride to planes of both tension and placidity with Nammu. Having quite the resume under his belt, boasting musical contributions dating back as far as 1991, fans of Ivarsson should find it no surprise that this new release brings a familiar quality of composition to the listener. The album also incorporates the likes of Bill Laswell for added bass duties, as well as being credited with extra layers of effects to broaden the sonic timbre. Altogether, we get something of a textured masterpiece; polyrhythms for days, catchy bass lines that stick out even when reintroduced, hazy electronics and synths that are easy to get lost in, and an entire 50 minutes and 36 seconds of this instrumental, layered bliss spanning over all four of the tracks.
Being a tremendous fan of Laswell’s work in the past; seeing his name on virtually any release always tends to pique my interests. However, I did a bit of research on Ivarsson to really understand his evolution as an artist and what makes him one of Sweden’s most highly acclaimed producers and musicians. Not to take away the influential qualities of a band like The Beatles, but for someone whose spark for music is accredited to their album Revolver, Ivarsson definitely breaks boundaries and packs quite the flavorful punch that branches far outside of his punky roots.
When asked about the conception of the album, Ivarsson has been quoted, in an interview with PostGenre, saying he came into the recording process with ideas essentially ready to go. An interesting concept considering a writing process, for most artists, can vary greatly, and I’ve even heard of some artists claiming to have songs ‘come to them in the studio’, so to speak. It’s as if this album existed in Ivarsson’s mental years and years before he even hit the big red button on the first takes of it:
‘When I sat down to put these tracks together, I came prepared. I had my ideas ready to go and was clear about what I wanted to do with the music. We had only a few months to put everything together musically, instead of a few years. I programmed the drums and the synthesizer. I started approaching the recording, essentially as a demo. Once my ideas became clearer, and I knew better what I wanted to do for certain parts, I put them into the music. A lot of the music was tightly arranged before I showed it to the musicians. Most of the sax parts are improvised but there were guides for him to follow. And the electronic parts were programmed and played by me. Overall, my picture of the music was very clear before I brought in the other musicians.’
Opening track “Agrun” immediately creates a cinematic type of element. Something reminiscent of late ’90s or even early ’00s spy movies, this track had me feeling like I was on a mission. The song maintains this sort of atmosphere for much of its duration, occasionally changing tempos or maybe even time signatures mildly, while reintroducing melodies as well as bringing in new ones. Ivarsson’s shifts between electronic drummer and back to the traditional, acoustic kit make for a pleasant dynamic, too. You could probably summarize the instrumentation down to electronics/synths, bass, and drums, and even with as minimalist as that sounds, the end product is a massive soundscape.
The next two tracks seem to follow a theme of sorts with this rising tension mixed with an almost tribal-like, but oddly calming, kickback. By the time we get to “Im-Nun”, the timbre increases a little further by introducing brass, which carries a staggering, rapid-fire, bebop-like melody to pour your next cup of coffee to. Remember, you’re not allowed to do anything but snap your fingers to bebop! By this point, you have to also take a minute and realize you’ve successfully listened to about 35-40 minutes of music without falling asleep.
This brings me to another quality I’ve recognized about Ivarsson’s work: Apparently he knows how to make 10 to 13-minute progressions that don’t get too stale or uninteresting, even with repeating parts, to continue listening to and still feel the hype. This is no easy task, of course, given that most popular songs average around 2-3 minutes or so, with a max of about 4 minutes in some cases. Even with the overall atmosphere of the music, the vibe still doesn’t resonate with me as ‘background music’ per se; even halfway through the album, I still feel well-involved. Well played, Ivarsson (pun perhaps a little intended?).
Personally, Ulf Ivarsson has me sold on this EP. I typically don’t end up revisiting albums or even EPs with such a vast duration unless I’m on a long drive or doing an arduous task around the house that will take time and require something good, sonically, to help me get through it. While this album could certainly still come in handy with that, I’ve already found myself coming back to songs and finding new things to appreciate about each. Perhaps it’s the juxtaposition of thrilling and calm I sense while listening, maybe Bill Laswell’s signature, smoothly muddy bass tone and licks are just that infectious to me, or maybe it’s the fact that, as described above, what is seemingly so minimal in timbre of instruments in some spots still manages to create a mountainous aura of enchanting, complex, audible serotonin. Regardless, Nammu passes as an interesting listen for all those sonic explorers looking to go elsewhere mentally with the pieces they indulge their ears with. - EverythingIsNoise.Net
CD $17
CYRO BAPTISTA with KEVIN BREIT / JOHN LEE / BRIAN MARSELLA / JAMIE SAFT / TODD CLOUSER / ROMERO LUBAMBO / LAURIE ANDERSON / SAE HASHIMOTO / et al - Chama (Ropeadope 711.2; USA) “There might not be a better match in the forward-thinking, hard-to-pin-down Ropeadope catalog than the Brazilian-born percussionist and composer Cyro Baptista. Few if any are more far-ranging than Baptista, currently a 20-year-plus member of Trey Anastasio’s band but one who has worked with Paul Simon to Yo-Yo-Ma and John Zorn, Herbie Hancock to Kathleen Battle, and Laurie Anderson, the legendary Brazilians Milton Nascimento and Caetano Veloso, and those in more conservative camps such as Wynton Marsalis and Sting. In addition to his ten albums as a leader, including this one, Chama (Portuguese translation “Flames”), Baptista has appeared on several Grammy award-winning records and over 300 albums as a sideman. He leads four different ensembles and tours continuously globally. His credits as an educator are equally dazzling.
For these sessions, he doesn’t specify a particular band and instead mixes the instrumentation throughout, calling on many longtime collaborators in the process such as Todd Clouser and Laurie Anderson, with key players Brian Marsella, Gil Oliveira, Felipe Hostings, Aaron Cruz, Jamie Saft, Romero Lumbamo and Sergio Brandão. Other notables include guitarists Kevin Breit, Clay Ross, Wesley Amorim, among several others. The album was recorded in seven studios and features a different instrumental lineup on each of the fourteen tracks, all of which Baptista wrote or co-wrote. Baptista adds his own oft-wordless vocals to several tracks and plays as few as two and as many as nine instruments on a given track, beginning with the former on the opener “Fast Forward,” a danceable Brazilian tune with Oliveira on drums, Hostings on accordion, Jorge Continentino on fife, and Brandao on bass. The acid bluesy “Gotta Move” features the guitars of Clouser and Breit with English vocals traded between Baptista and Clouser. “Afriksy” is a solo venture with nine percussion tools creating an entrancing jungle-like vibe.
The title track is a mix of flamenco with John Lee’s acoustic, and a celebration driven by Hostings’ accordion and Berit’s mandola, with Carlos Eduardo Costa arranging the joyous voices. As is customary Baptista’s various percussive devices blend well with Oliveira’s drumming. “SanfoSeven” is much like the opener, as the quintet, featuring Continentino’s fife, Hostings’ accordion and Wesley Amorim’s acoustic guitar play an infectious groove while “A Drop in the Ocean” delivers a spooky, more ethereal harmonic with cello (Vincent Segal) and piano (Costa). Baptista twists the arrangement of Mexican favorite, “La Bamba” with Lumbambo on guitars and Cruz on the Mexican bass as Baptista sings with Pamela Driggs. The haunting, agitated “Annuntiatio,” a co-write with Laurie Anderson, features her strings as the light, trio rendered “Constellation,” with longtime associate Brian Marselia, features the latter on an array of keys and flutes. Perhaps the various whooshing sounds can be attributed to Baptista’s waterphone (whatever that is).
The Afro-Cuban chant of “Perigo Na Area” has a trio as well with Amorim and Brandao while two other pieces, “Candomblues” and “477” feature the duo of Baptista and Sergio Krakowski creating insatiable grooves mixed with chants and a bit of spoken word. The funky, stirring “Paramaribo,” the final combo piece, sets four voices against the percolating rhythms of Baptista, Oliveira, Marselia, and Clay Ross on guitar with an amusing, obvious Mexican coda mixed in near the end. The one-minute “Wash Your Hands” concludes with another highly danceable flourish.
It’s probably fair to say that only Cyro Baptista could concoct a mix of music to include Brazilian, Mexican, and Afro-Cuban forms with hints of jazz, funk, and whatever else may fit, sometimes with multiple forms within the same song. Yet, even while you may not detect the particular style or have a total grasp on what he’s up to, he somehow makes it accessible and infectious.” - Jim Hynes, Glide Magazine
CD $16
SATOKO FUJII TOKYO TRIO with TAKASHI SUGAWA / ITTETSU TAKEMURA - Jet Black (Libra Records 203-073; Japan) The Tokyo Trio features Satoko Fujii on piano & compositions, Takashi Sugawa on contrabass and Ittetsu Takemura on drums. This session was recorded in March of last year (2023). After more than a hundred discs as a leader (starting around 1996), one might think that Satoko Fujii might run out of ideas for new compositions and new releases. This is certainly not the case. This is the second disc from this trio, although Mr. Sugawa also worked with Ori Dakari for a Tzadik CD while Mr. Takemura played with Mr. Fujii previously for another project. Ms. Fujii is a gifted composer who knows how to engage and inspire whichever musicians she chooses to work with. Starting with “Along the Way”, the trio is playing some challenging written lines when the piece begins with quite a bit of starting and stopping and with some unexpected changes in direction. There are a number of more skeletal, suspense-filled sections yet things keep changing throughout. “Gentle Slope” has another thoughtful written part when it begins but then keeps changing, speeding up, slowing down, with more unexpected twists and turns, including several unaccompanied solo sections. One of the things that Ms. Fujii does the best is composing pieces with occasional short written bits with long sections of organic improv. “Take a Step” sounds mostly free yet it has several episodes which take place. There are sections which are stripped down to just skeletal ghosts which are cautious and filled with suspense. The title track, “Jet Black” is last and it is a most streamlined, exquisite piece where every note or sound counts. Like all of the many discs by Satoko Fujii that I’ve heard and reviewed, this one is also a gem. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $16
MATANA ROBERTS with DARIUS JONES / MATT LAVELLE / MAZZ SWIFT / COREY SMYTHE / RYAN SAWYER / MIKE PRIDE / et al - Coin Coin Chapter Five: In The Garden… (Constellation 170.2; Quebec, Canada) “Matana Roberts’ Coin Coin series, now in its fifth chapter, illuminates the long tail of African-American history. In the US/Europe-based multi-disciplinary artist, composer and musician’s works, sounds and stories collapse into each other, blurring lines between past and present, genres and disciplines. Age-old folk songs transform into abstract, expressionistic melodies and stories that hail from years past feel like they could have happened yesterday. The success of the Coin Coin series has been its ability to blend its elements, letting the fiery rise and fall of soundwaves tell a story as much as Roberts’ words. With Coin Coin Chapter Five: In The Garden, Roberts takes on the theme of reproductive rights, chronicling the anxiety, frustration and tragedy that reverberates from an ancestor’s story into the current moment.
The record draws on the ensemble sound of previous Coin Coin entries like 2019’s Chapter Four, letting the sound of frenetic violin meld with blown-out saxophone, urgent drums and meditative piano, played by a ten-person ensemble including Kyp Malone, Stuart Bogie, Gitanjali Jain, Darius Jones, Matt Lavelle, Mike Pride, Ryan Sawyer, Corey Smythe and Mazz Swift. But with this chapter, Roberts’ music takes a more brooding and anxious mood, conveying a sense of the unknown and unknowability, rocking back and forth between certainty and uncertainty and between being heard and being drowned out.
Where other Coin Coin chapters have felt like seamless blends, Chapter Five is more jagged, seesawing between explosive and introverted moments. ‘we said’ opens the album with hollow, jangling pulses and eerie drones, while ‘different rings’ follows up with blaring, dissonant fragments that burst and bleed out. Elsewhere, ‘a caged dance’ follows the sound of a forlorn saxophone, building a lamentation, and ‘shake my bones’, one of the album’s standout tracks, jumps from dissonant fragments to wispy shimmers to a defiant melodic repetition. Each of these tracks effortlessly conjures the swirling feeling of needing to make a decision – and questioning your own being – never quite settling, always moving.
But one repeating refrain sticks through all the ups and downs: "my name is your name / our name is their name / we are named / we remember / they forget.” The line first comes out matter-of-fact and off-the-cuff, it shrinks to a whisper, and then it grows into an explosion, layering into itself over and over again. Though history has passed, the stories remain, and the one thing you’ll always keep is your name – and your voice.” - Vanessa Ague, TheQuietus.com
CD $16
JOE FONDA with ANTHONY BRAXTON / HERB ROBERTSON / BRENDA BUFALINO / VICKIE DODD / GRISHA ALEXIEV - From The Source (Listen! Foundation/Sluchaj Fundcacja FSR 19/2023; USA) Featuring Joe Fonda on contrabass & compostions, Anthony Braxton on alto,F melody & sopranino saxes, clarinet, contrabass clarinet & flute, Herb Robertson on trumpet & pocket trumpet, Brenda Bufalino on tap dance, concertina & vocals, Vickie Dodd on vocals and Grisha Alexiev. This session was recorded at Systems Two Studio in Brooklyn in March of 1996. It was released on Konnex Records but never promoted and soon disappeared. Visionary & influential composer, alto saxist giant & former professot, Anthony Braxton, rarely records as a side-person and this might be the last times he did this. I know about all of the men on this record but not the two women. Brenda Bufalino was a tap dancer and was invited to do this session with her tap dancing as a part of the sextet. Vickie Todd was/is a healer who used her voice in her healing process. She had worked on Joe Fonda when he was in pain and had helped to heal him. NJ-raised trumpeter, Herb Robertson, is a master in his playing and has worked with many great American and European musicians. I do recall seeing drummer Grisha Alexiev playing live on a few occasions around this time but I can’t recall who he was playing with. I see that he has recorded with bebop bassoonist Michael Rabinowitz.
The first thing I noticed about this record is that it is well-recorded and tap dancing sounds perfect with the sextet. It sounds like Mr. Fonda had put a good deal of thought into composing, arranging and performing this music. All of the instruments, including the tap dancing and vocals are integral to the quirky yet enchanting group sound. It is nice to hear Mr. Braxton as a side-person switching from one reed instrument to another one and keeping the creative flow going throughout. Ms. Todd has a humorous yet ever-expressive voice which never dominates the proceedings. Ms. Bufalino also adds some odd vocals and concertina in the background. Mr. Fonda ensemble writing is consistently engaging and thoughtful and perhaps a bit Braxtonian (ghost-trance like at times), he did play with Mr Braxton for several years. Ms. Bufalino must read music since her rhythmic tap dancing is an important part of the group-sound. Mr. Braxton plays some mighty fine flute on “High Tech #1” (an amazing solo!), which also includes some wonderful ensemble work/writing. There is also an extraordinary drum solo on this piece. Jeez, I wondered what happened to Grisha Alexiev?!? Ms. Dodd keeps changing her voice as she improvises, making odd sounds, at times like a cartoon character, she always fits the sextet just right adding her own quirky humor. On “My Song” Herb Robertson gets a chance to stretch out and takes a long, amazing trumpet solo. He is followed by an equally extraordinary sax solo by Braxton, as well as a fantastic bass solo by Mr. Fonda. Throughout this entire disc, the rhythm team of Joe Fonda and Grisha Alexiev, are consistently tight, connected and endlessly inventive. “My Song” opens with a bass solo by Mr. Fonda which is just incredible. The last piece is a song “No One There At All” which was written by Brenda Bufalino and it features just soft voices, acoustic bass and tap dancing. It sounds like a lullaby of sorts and it is a fitting conclusion to a wonderful record. Don’t miss out on this gem, so glad it is back in print. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15
SICK BOSS with JP CARTER / JOSH ZUBOT / PEGGY LEE / COLE SCHMIDT / JAMES MEGER / DAN GAUCHER - Businessless (Drip Audio 12188; Vancouver; Canada) Sick Boss features JP Carter on trumpet, Josh Zubot on violin, Peggy Lee on cello, Cole Schmidt on guitar, James Heger on bass & synth and Dan Gaucher on drums. This is the second disc from the Vancouver based band Sick Boss. Their first disc was released in 2018 and featured a big cast of players, the main sextet is the same as last time. Three of the members I know pretty well from previous collaborations: cellist Peggy Lee (worked with Dave Douglas, Gordon Grdina & Wayne Horvitz), violinist Josh Zubot (brother to Jesse, worked with Tristan Honsinger, Matana Roberts & Ensemble SuperMusique) and trumpeter JP Carter (worked with Michael Blake, Fond of Tigers & Tony Wilson).
Guitarist Cole Schmidt, who comes to visit us here at DMG from time to time, wrote all of the songs on this disc. “Useless Genius 1” is first and it begins with a rather demented, bent-note rock/noise guitar riff, the repeating groove is punk-like with reverb trumpet(s) on top. The rhythm team lays out midway with layers of eerie guitar, trumpet and synth swirling hypnotically together. Mr. Schmidt has an odd way of combining electric and acoustic instruments. “When the Buzzards Leave the Bones” combines free-form acoustic chamber-like string sections with bursts of noise. “Useless Genius 2” features noisy fuzz-toned guitars in the distance with a chorus of horns chanting on top. “Doctor Dawn” blends the dream-like strings with a dark, electric undertow, sounding unlike anything else I’ve heard. It sounds like a soundtrack to a film and feels like we are drifting or moving slowly over the ocean waves. The strings are a bit fuzzy sounding and similar to a mellotron but closer to real strings. “Useless Genius 3” is an explosive post dark-metal riffage which blends with the disorienting cloud of bent strings. The last piece is called “CJ Blues” and it has a laid back, sort of drum n’bass groove with a rich blend of horns, strings, guitar(s) and rhythm team churning out waves together. This piece has a space-rock overall sound at times. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15
JOHN EDWARDS - Just Another Day at Home (Klanggalerie GG452; Germany) John Edwards is a true virtuoso whose staggering range of techniques and boundless musical imagination have redefined the possibility of the double bass and dramatically expanded its role, whether playing solo or with others. Perpetually in demand, he has played with Evan Parker, Sunny Murray, Derek Bailey, Joe McPhee, Lol Coxhill, Peter Brötzmann, John Butcher and many others. Edwards studied art and knew from very early on that his future wouldn't be a desk job. From inheritance money he bought his first double bass at the age of 22. From that moment on, he learns, exercises his passion and begins to gain a reputation in the London community. He has a completely intuitive approach and only learns to read notes at a much later time. Maybe this is the secret to his unique technique, a result of years of hard work and a very creative imagination. In 1987 Edwards founded The Pointy Birds, his early music is a mix of avant-garde and an anarchic punk spirit. Soon he becomes a key player in the improvisers' scene of which he is now one of the most important representatives. Just Another Day At Home was recorded during a covid lockdown in 2020 and originally released as a digital download only. This CD edition is the first physical version of this music, remastered in 2023.
CD $18
KENNETH JIMENEZ with ANGELICA SANCHEZ / HERY PAZ / GERALD CLEAVER - Sonnet To Silence (We Death 051CD; Finland) Brooklyn-based bassist/composer Kenneth Jimenez presents his new work Sonnet to Silence on We Jazz Records. Consisting of seven original compositions by Jimenez performed by his quartet including pianist Angelica Sanchez, drummer Gerald Cleaver, and saxophonist Hery Paz, Sonnet to Silence echoes the original fire of New York free jazz while stepping into a terrain of its own, boldly forward-thinking. Jimenez, originally from Costa Rica, has a knack at composing pieces that breathe naturally and take fight on the wings provided by the first-rate quartet, joining scene stalwarts and newcomers together as a coherent unit. "Since I was a kid I've had this reoccurring dream of running towards the edge of a mountain and suddenly discovering myself flying down to the valley, feeling weightless and fearless," say Jimenez. "This record is the materialization of that dream. The uncompromising voices in the band and our shared desire to explore the unknown make this music live and breathe. It feels that the possibilities become endless when creating with these master improvisers, and the only thing that matters is to take that initial jump into the abyss." The opening track and first single "Dos Tazas" is a fine example of what the quartet can achieve. It sneaks up on the listener, drawing you in from the first moments, before revealing its melodically adventurous nature in its fullest. As a whole, the album lets the band loose at times, while the music maintains its natural flow. With Sonnet to Silence, Kenneth Jimenez establishes himself as a composer and bandleader with remarkably strong presence.
CD $17
ADAM CAINE / KEVIN SHEA - New York 69 (Chant Records CR2211NE; USA) Featuring Adam Caine on electric & acoustic guitars & synth and Kevin Shea on drums & electronics. Last Saturday (1/13/24), the GauciSeries at DMG started with an acoustic guitar duo of Adam Caine and Christian Cale. The duo played mostly bebop standards and were exuberant, a great way to start off the night. Brooklyn-based guitarist Adam Caine has been around for many years, playing in duos with Federic Ughi & Robert Dick as well as in a recorded trio & quartet. Mr. Caine seems to record infrequently. Founding member of Mostly Other People Do The Killing, Kevin Shea is one the best and most in-demand drummers of the entire Downtown scene, playing with a wealth of greats: Stephen Gauci, Max Kutner, Sana Nagano and Ayumi Ishito and many others every week. Mr. Shea has played here at DMG around a dozen times in the past couple of years and he knocks me out each time.
Things begin with “Covid-69”, which erupts with gnarly guitar and furious, uptempo drumming. Both musicians play intense, free, fractured lines shadowing each other’s rapid stream of lines. As this piece unfolds, both players slowly turn up the flame so that the duo goes from simmering to boiling. Eventually Mr. Caine slows down a bit with Mr. Shea continuing to match Caine’s fractured lines. The duo continue to whip up a frenzy of intense activity at a whiplash-like pace. Mr. Caine switches to acoustic guitar on “Stone Tools”, the duo laying back a bit but still playing tightly together. It is nice to hear Mr. Shea playing more quietly than he usually does, the duo do a good job of listening and playing more sparsely than usual with Caine stretching out his notes in a fashion similar to Eugene Chadbourne’s equally fractured yet focused style. Eventually the tempo slows down as Caine starts playing these twisted Derek Bailey-like chords in between the fractured note bursts. “The Unknowable Object” features mostly synth and electronics and sounds quite a bit like the way Sun Ra played synths. It is interesting to hear these two musicians playing just electronic sounds, slowing down and exploring those ancient analog synth sounds. On the last piece, “Covid-18”, the duo again slowing things down with both players concentrating on bent-note chords and stuttering drums. Mr. Caine plays some of those Beefheartian bent-note guitar lines making the duo sound more like the Magic Band. Kevin Shea sounds consistently strong and inspired here, in constant motion and matching every lick or sound that Mr. Caine makes. Solid jackson! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14
SIMON KANZLER / JAMES PAUL NADIEN - The Proclivity to Acquire Mass Amounts of Knowledge (JPN Records 002; USA) Featuring Simon Kanzler - live electronics, recording, mixing & mastering and James Paul Nadien on drums & percussion. Young drummer, James Paul Nadien, has been working here at DMG for around 1 & 1/2 years which is great for us as he is a good employee, musically knowledgable and a all around nice-guy. JP often plays here at DMG with an endless assortment of superfine local musicians like Steve Gauci and the power trio Toadal Package. I’ve caught James Paul (named after Paul McCartney since his parents are big Beatles fans) with a wide variety of improvisers and he is often in demand, playing as much as is possible and is currently on a solo tour. Electronics musician Simon Kanzler I don’t know as well although he has played here at DMG on a couple of occasions with Josh Sinton and Devin Grey.
This disc was recorded in Gowanus in Brooklyn on 12/7/23. Opening with “Romhack”, I like the way this disc sounds, the drums are close mic’d and the balance with electronics is just right. The blending of both instruments is so seamless that it is often hard to tell them apart. What stands out here is that Mr. Kanzler’s electronics sound like they are analog giving the duo a more organic sound. Mr. Nadien seems to concentrating on a section of his drumset at a time and slowly moving his way around. I dig the overall sound and balance here. The cymbals and electronics are often similar in texture so they work closely together, flowing together in a calm stream. There are those who can’t accept or appreciate electronic music since it is not “human” sounding enough. This is not the case for me since I’ve heard many different, acoustic and electronic, some manipulated with effects and some just naked. All of those sounds are part of the palette of serious & diverse composers, as well as sounds created by non or not accepted instruments. I can hear the way certain patterns and/or ideas are developed here. What I like the most is the way these two men play together, there is a sympathetic conversation going on here. There is also a warmth to these sounds that sounds obvious to me. A most impressive duo which is not too far out. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD-R $10
TOSHIMARU NAKAMURA / DAVID LEE MYERS - Elements (Surface World SW 005; Earth) Toshimaru Nakamura usually played no-input mixing board and has been working with the erstwhile (label) crew since the late 1990’s. In a similar fashion David Lee Myers invented a feedback machine and has been recording under the name Arcane Device since 1987. Both of these men have worked with a a variety of improvisers as well as recording and releasing numerous solo projects. Nakamura has recorded with Keith Rowe, Ami Yoshida, John Butcher and Anla Courtis. David Lee Myers mostly records solo efforts but has done duos with Merzbow, Asmus Tietchens, Ellen Band and Todd Dockstader.
Although the common element or central sound here is feedback, there is quite a bit more going on than one might think. Until I had the opportunity to check out Arcane Device live playing his feedback machine, I had no idea how he did what he did. For this disc we hear a couple of layers of electronic streams flowing together or around one another. Each piece sounds completely different. On “Cantor”, there is one softly pulsating line with other fragments carefully interwoven along with the central flow. Both players are cautiously manipulating their sound(s) so that as we listen to one stream, it is slowly twisted in different ways. Certain lines come in, slowly mutate and then drop out while other lines are chopped up and/or stretched out. On “Servo”, the sounds quiet down to a more calm level, gently manipulating certain bits showing a more charming side to these sounds. When Mr. Myers first used his feedback machine, he would take a feedback signal (or stream) and slowly alter its sound. This is also what we have here as both players take a signal and slowly alter it, blending the 2 or so lines into an ongoing stream. “Tarmac” is even quieter with just a sonar-like sound softly throbbing in the distance. Even when things slow down on ”Geophyte”, the duo play these eerie, churning metallic-sounding, electronic sounds. “Tentacle” sounds like the duo are using an organ-like sound and then carefully manipulating that sound, while adding other odd lines above and below the central stream. What’s great about this disc is that many of the sounds are not too extreme or too weird. There is an overall warmth and subtley going on here. What’s interesting is how well these two sonic manipulators work together. The outcome is consistently fascinating and often diverse in different ways. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $12
ANNI KIVINIEMI TRIO - Eir (We Jazz WJCD 058CD; Finland) US based Finnish pianist Anni Kiviniemi debuts her trio featuring bassist Eero Tikkanen and drummer Hans Hulbaekmo (from Gard Nilssen's Supersonic Orchestra and Moskus). The new album Eir is an introspective, moody, yet swinging trio set comprising of eight Kiviniemi originals. Modeled for a classic jazz piano trio, Kiviniemi's music reaches far beyond, bringing together influences from classical music, Norwegian musical tradition and North African music. Of her compositional process, Kiviniemi says: "I always gravitate towards the unknown in music and, I suppose, in life. If I hear an unusual melody or a bizarre chord that I don't immediately recognize, I need to jump on the piano and figure out what it is. Then I play around with it a bit, making sure I understand it and that I'm able to use it in a different context in the future. I always set strict limitations on myself as a composer, but give my fellow musicians the complete freedom to interpret my music in their own way. If they want to change something, they're free to do so. I love being surprised as a bandleader. It teaches me a lot, which is always fun. I'd say the album is 95% improvised but when we play live, we edge towards 99%." Named after Kiviniemi's daughter, who was born after the recording of the album, but before its release. This also highlights the nature of the record, which is highly intimate, pulling the listener in for the finer details, while flowing along with the overall sound.
CD $17
JOZEF VAN WISSEM - The Night Dwells In The Day (Incunabulum Inc 034CD/LP; Netherlands) Dutch lute player and composer Jozef Van Wissem presents his album The Night Dwells in the Day. The ability to constantly extract something different and explore fresh terrain is evident throughout Van Wissem's sprawling back catalogue and up to his latest album, The Night Dwells in the Day. Over the years he's released countless solo albums stretching into double figures, there's been collaborations with Jim Jarmusch and Tilda Swinton, award-winning computer game soundtracks, along with award-winning film soundtracks, from Jarmusch's Only Lovers Left Alive to Pierre Creton's 2023 film A Prince. The genesis for his latest album began during lockdown in Warsaw, where Van Wissem splits his time between Rotterdam. "The Call of the Deathbird" was the first song he wrote from the album and is the first to be shared. One of the relatively rare tracks that Van Wissem sings on -- along with some stirring and enveloping guest vocals from Hilary Woods -- his towering voice circles above the music much like the swooping deathbird he sings of. Normally Van Wissem writes all the music for one album within a confined period but this one song from a few years ago stuck around and took on a new lease of life and so joined a bunch of freshly written songs for the album.
CD $17
LP $25
FABIANO DO NASCIMENTO - Mundo Solo (Far Out Recordings FARO 241CD; UK) Far Out Recordings presents the new album from Brazilian guitarist and composer Fabiano do Nascimento: Mundo Solo. Recorded at his home studio in Los Angeles (2020) the album is fundamentally the sound of a man alone with his instruments. Utilizing a variety of guitars, including six, seven, and 1ten strings, Oktav guitar and electric baritone guitar, alongside a host of pedals and synthesizers, Fabiano tracked imagined landscapes with expressive, expansive improvisations, which tend toward the more ambient and atmospheric reaches of his recent output. Adopting Hermeto Pascoal's concept of "Universal Music," a rejection of nationalistic tendencies in order to express all of one's musical influences all at once, Fabiano avoided leaning too heavily on any particular musical language, without denying his own musical roots. After studying classical piano as a child, the Rio de Janeiro native discovered the guitar at aged ten. Studying under his late uncle, Lucio Nascimento, he eventually left Brazil for LA, where he soon became an in-demand player for his distinct and authentic sound. He has since released seven albums under his own name and collaborated with renowned Brazilian artists including Arthur Verocai and Airto Moreira, as well as experimental US saxophonist Sam Gendel. Mundo Solo (Do Nascimento's eighth), was recorded in one take per track, with occasional overdubs and a few appearances from collaborators and friends Julien Canthelm (drums on "Etude 1"), Ajurinã Zwarg, (percussion on "CPMV") and Gabe Noel (bass on "Curumim"). Fabiano Do Nascimento's consummate mastery of his instrument has afforded him a freedom of expression few can claim. Blending the emotional with the elemental, Mundo Solo is a stunning snapshot of solitude and the beauty which can blossom within it.
CD $16 / LP $28
SARAMACCAN SOUND (SURINAME) - Where the River Bends Is Only the Beginning (Glitterbeat GB 144CD; Germany) Saramaccan Sound (Suriname) are a brother duo -- Dwight Sampie and Robert Jabini -- who write and perform flowing acoustic songs sung in Saramaccan, the language from the Americas with the most African elements. Their debut album was recorded in situ by Grammy winner Ian Brennan (Parchman Prison Prayer, Ustad Saami, The Good Ones) along a remote riverside in the Amazon region of Suriname. The lyrics are topical and reference everyday strife such as the rising tides and floods in the area due to global warming. Their bone raw songs and performances evoke heart-worn longing, a deep sense of place and a strange familiarity. As if Merle Haggard had been raised in the Amazon rather than Bakersfield. Where the River Bends Is Only the Beginning is the 12th release in Glitterbeat's acclaimed Hidden Musics series.
CD $17
HIBUSHIBIRE - Magical Metamorphosis Third Eye (Riot Season Repose 128CD; UK) Osaka based psych-rock three-piece Hibushibire return after a long break, with a new line up and a stunning third album. Produced by Acid Mothers Temple/Mainliner guru Makoto Kawabata who also guests on the album. Following the successes of their debut album Freak Out Orgasm! (2017), the follow up Turn On, Tune In, Freak Out (2019) and two very well received UK tours, the band headed home to Osaka, Japan and then, the pandemic hit. During this downtime, guitarist/vocalist Changchang decided to create a new power trio. Enter Tetsuji Toyoda (Bass/Vocals) and Aoi Hama (Drums/Vocals). The new trio have spent the last three years writing new music, playing live and honing their sound in Japan, and a short well received tour of Taiwan with Riot Season labelmates Dope Purple. And now finally, Hibushibire mark 2 is born properly. Entering the studio, the band recorded album number three, Magical Metamorphosis Third Eye. Makoto also adds some of his own trademark guitar howls throughout the album, perfectly complimenting Changchang's own growing prowess. Like the band's first two albums, Magical Metamorphosis Third Eye is very much an album of two halves. It's clear with the lineup changes, Changchang has decided to expand the band's musical pathway, and he's achieved stunning results.
CD $15 / LP $30
HISTORIC & ARCHIVAL RECORDINGS & REISSUES OF NOTE:
MIKE WESTBROOK with GARY BOYLE / GEORGE KHAN / BUTCH POTTER / ALAN JACKSON - Live 1972 (Cadillac SGCCD 001; UK) To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Cadillac Music & Publishing they present this special reissue of Cadillac's very first release, legendary British jazz pianist/composer Mike Westbrook's 'Live' With additional tracks, mastered by Jon Hiseman of Colosseum, and released with the blessing of Mike, 'Live 1972' stands out as a document of the Westbrook project in transition, and as a bloody great slab of music in its own right pleated by a brilliant collection of musicians. Mike Westbrook: electric piano, harmonica George Khan: electric saxophone Gary Boyle: guitar Butch Potter: bass, pongo stick, flute and Alan Jackson: drums, alto saxophone.
I haven’t heard this one yet but we did get a promo so I will check it out in the next few days. I bet this is great since it has Gary Boyle on guitar (from Isotope, one of the best early fusion bands which had Hugh Hopper from the Softs on bass). Also tenor saxist George Khan (who played with Battered Ornaments, for Peter Lemer and can by heard on Robert Wyatt’s ‘Ruth is Stranger than Richard!). I am a longtime fan of pianist/composer/multi-bandleader Mike Westbrook, especially his large ensemble album ‘Marching Song’ and his great fusion/jazz/rock band Solid Gold Cadillac. Canterbury fans, prog-heads and fans of British Progressive Jazz, this should be like Manna from Heaven! - BLG at DMG
CD $16
RICHARD THOMPSON BAND - Historic Classic Concert (The Store for Music SFMCD 570; EEC) Recorded Live At Rock City, Nottingham, November, 1986. Here is a concert that has been hidden in the archives for all these years; an historic classic live performance, now to be enjoyed by all Richard Thompson fans around the world. I caught this version of the Richard Thompson Band at the Bottom Line in NYC the same the year that this was recorded and I was blown away by that gig. The band included Clive Gregson on rhythm guitar & vocals. Mr. Gregson was formerly in a new wave band called Any Trouble and was a fine singer, songwriter on his own. On back-up vocals was Christine Collister taking the place of Linda Thompson, who had separated from Richard. Both Clive Gregson & Christine Collister ended up as a couple and recorded a number of fine records both as solos and as duos. The previous album that Mr. Thompson was called “Shoot Out the Lights” and the band here does many of those songs. I recall that when Thompson played the title track live, it featured one of the best, most vindictive & scary guitar solos I’ve ever heard. I thought that my head was about to explode. Can’t wait to hear this 2 CD live treasure. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
2 CD Set $18
CASSIBER with HEINER GOEBBELS/ ALFRED HARTH / CHRISTOF ANDERS / CHRIS CUTLER plus FRED FRITH / DAGMAR KRAUSE / TOM CORA / GEORGE LEWIS / DIETMAR DIESNER / RENE LUSSIER / et al - The Cassiber Box Redux (ReR CBOX2; UK) Long out of print, this is the definitive Cassiber collection. It contains all 4 classic studio albums, re-mastered by Bob Drake, plus 2 extra CD collections: The Way it Was, an amazing set of studio sketches & live recordings (w/ guest appearances by Dietmar Diesner & Rene Lussier), and Collaborations, documenting 3 extended special projects, those being Duck and Cover - with the addition of Fred Frith, Dagmar Krause, Tom Cora and George Lewis, Cassix - a recording project from Montepulciano with half of Stormy Six; and one track from Otomo Yoshihide/Ground Zero's Cassiber Live in Tokyo with Shinoda Masami Remix project. Also included is a 2 hour DVD of live & studio footage from Brasil, Frankfurt & Berlin - including a mini-documentary made during the recording of A Face We All Know. The new edition comes in a sturdy box w/ 40 pages of documents, interviews, information, photographs, pictures, itineraries & miscellaneous memorabilia. Bio: In 1982 Cassiber crashed into the Deutsche Neue Welle. Founded by Heiner Goebbels, Alfred Harth, Christoph Anders and Chris Cutler, they fused experimental rock, fringe jazz, punk, pop, plunderphonics, improvisation & musique concréte into a complex form of studio - and then concert - composition that was unique in mashing experimental form w/ a risky and expressionist mode of execution. In content and aesthetics, Cassiber tracked and anticipated the political and technological changes of its times, shifting, over its 10 years of existence, from the high stakes energy of the earlier releases to the more composed & complex studio works of its later years. Most impressively, Cassiber opened up song form by abandoning, extending or crashing sideways into it - and by creating unlikely structures from a combination of noise, libido, high musicality, dramaturgy & cultural debris. Discs (1) Man of Monkey, (2) Beauty and the Beast, (3) Perfect Worlds, 4) A Face We All Know, (5) The Way It Was, (6) Collaborations and (7) Elvis Has Left the Building.
7 CD Set $70
LP SELECTION:
DON CHERRY COMPLETE COMMUNION with GATO BARBIERI / KARL BERGER / BO STIEF / ALDO ROMANO - Live at the Liederhalle in Stuttgart, May 12th 1966 (Modern Silence OI 013LP; Malta) The legendary Don Cherry with his great 1966 quintet featuring Gato Barbieri on tenor sax, Karl Berger on piano, Bo Stief on bass and Aldo Romano on drums. This quintet can also be heard on three volumes titled Live at Café Monmartre 1966 (ESPDISK 4032CD, 4043CD and 4051CD) and with the New York Total Music Company in 1968. This recording is taken from an excellent radio broadcast, presented here in a glorious vinyl release.
LP $26
STEVE REICH - Live at Berkeley University Museum, July 11th 1970 (Modern Silence OI 001-2024; Malta) A live performance of four early works by Steve Reich: "Four Organs," "My Name Is," "Piano Phase," and "Phase Patterns." This 1970 performance marked an important moment in San Francisco Bay Area new music history with the triumphant return to the East Bay by Reich, who studied at Mills College with Luciano Berio and performed the 1964 world premiere of Terry Riley's seminal In C at the San Francisco Tape Music Center. The resonant acoustics of the University of California at Berkeley Museum's concrete interior were especially appropriate for "Four Organs", with its long additive sustained chords over a maraca pulse. 180-gram LP. Black vinyl. Limited edition of 500.
LP $26
PHIL RANELIN - The Found Tapes: Live in Los Angeles (ORG Music ORGM 2286LP; USA) “Four LP version. "The Found Tapes: Live in Los Angeles is a box set from Tribe Records co-founder Phil Ranelin, celebrating a trio of LA club performances from 1978 - 1981 which remain especially significant to the visionary trombonist. Backed by a young Billy Childs on piano, Ralph Penland on drums, and Tony Dumas on bass, Ranelin was in peak form as a player and bandleader during this period. This is particularly true of one specific outing at the now shuttered Maiden Voyage in Los Angeles on July 19, 1981, which is presented in full within this set. The audio was restored from decades old cassette tapes which have never been heard until now. A master trombonist of the J.J. Johnson tradition, Ranelin's career has spanned over five decades with eleven records as a solo artist, four as a Freddie Hubbard sideman, session recordings for Motown.”
4 LP Box Set $120
THE WILDE FLOWERS with ROBERT WYATT / KEVIN AYERS / HUGH HOPPER / RICHARD SINCLAIR / DAVID SINCLAIR / PYE HASTINGS / RICHARD COUGHLAN - The Wilde Flowers (Tiger Bay Records 6348LP; Earth) Although the band never released an album during the years of their activity, Wilde Flowers is certainly to be counted among the foundation stones of the Canterbury scene of the mid-to-late '60s. After their departure from the band, the members formed other two seminal groups of the Canterbury sound: Soft Machine (Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, and Hugh Hopper) and Caravan (David Sinclair, Richard Sinclair, Pye Hastings, and Richard Coughlan). The name is of course an homage to Oscar Wilde, and this album is a selection of some of their rarest gems that originally came out in 1994.
LP $24
ALBERT MANGELSDORFF QUINTETT With HEINZ SAUER / GUNTER KRONBERG / GUNTER LENZ / RALF HUBNER - Now Jazz Ramwong (Tiger Bay Records TB 6171LP; Earth) As soon as came back from a long concert tour in Asia, The Albert Mangelsdorff Quintet went in their Frankfurt studio to record many of the originals performed on the road. This session offers a splendid mix of Eastern and Western music. Featuring "Now, Jazz Ramwong," an enticing modal piece inspired by a Thai folk dance and "Three Jazz Moods?", a jazz adaptation of music by sitarist Ravi Shankar.
LP $24
GRUPPO DI IMPROVVISAZIONE NUOVA CONSONANZA - Gli Occhi Verdi Della Paura (Tiger Bay Records TB 6164LP; Earth) For this great 1971 soundtrack of Enzo Castellari's Gli Occhi Freddi della Paura, Ennio Morricone called on the services the Gruppo d'Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, the legendary avant-garde and improvisational combo of which he was a founding member. Not only a classy soundtrack but also a classic of the experimental and free jazz genre.
LP $24
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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
*******
THE STONE RESIDENCEIS / AMIR ELSAFFAR - JAN 17–20
1/18 Thursday
8:30 pm - MICROTONAL RESONANCE ENSEMBLE - Sonya Belaya (piano) Jerome Harris (guitar) Rajna Swaminathan (mridangam) Firas Zreik (qanun) Zafer Tawil (oud, percussion) Amir ElSaffar (trumpet, santur, vocal)
1/19 Friday
8:30 pm - NON-CONCEPTUAL QUINTET - Brandon Ross (guitar) Nasheet Waits (drums) Darius Jones (alto sax) Francois Moutin (bass) Amir ElSaffar (trumpet)
1/20 Saturday
8:30 pm - MUSIC FOR A FREE PALESTINE - George Ziadeh (oud, vocal) Zafer Tawil (oud, percussion) Firas Zreik (qanun) Amir ElSaffar (santur, trumpet)
THE STONE RESIDENCIES / SYLVIE COURVOSIER / JAN 24–27
1/24 Wednesday
8:30 pm - duo/trio/quartet - Ikue Mori (electronics) Ned Rothenberg (reeds) Sylvie Courvoisier (piano) Erik Friedlander (cello)
1/25 Thursday
8:30 pm - SOLO - Sylvie Courvoisier (piano, composition)
1/26 Friday
8:30 pm - Sylvie Courvoisier TRIO with Drew Gress and Kenny Wollesen
Sylvie Courvoisier (piano, composition) Drew Gress (bass) Kenny Wollesen (drums)
1/27 Saturday
8:30 pm - DUO with Wadada Leo Smith
Wadada Leo Smith (trumpet) Sylvie Courvoisier (piano)
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
*******
gaucimusic presents:
Improvised Music @ the Main Drag
Wednesday January 17th, 2024
7:00pm Ryan Honaker - violin
Alex Syner - guitar
Finn Fine - guitar
Greg Albert - upright bass
8:00pm The Main Drag Conduction Orchestra
*Curated by Colin Hinton* *Conduction by Yuma Uesaka*
9:00pm Stephen Gauci - t. saxophone
Adam Lane - bass
Colin Hinton - drums
10:00pm Titus Abbot - bass clarinet
Harris Eisenstadt - drums
Sean Conly - bass
11:00pm Jonathan Haffner - alto saxophone
Yvonne Rogers- keys
Kevin Eichenberger - bass
Matt Bent - Drums
Wednesday January 24th, 2024
7:00pm Willis Edmundson - drums
Andre Sacalxot - saxophone
Charlie Lincoln - bass
8:00pm Bonnie Kane - saxophone/flute/electronics
John Loggia - drums
Shayna Dulberger - bass
9:00pm Stephen Gauci - t. saxophone
Adam Lane - bass
Colin Hinton - drums
10:00pm Santiago Leibson - keys
Noa Fort - voice
Kenny Warren - trumpet
Carlo Costa - drums
11:00pm Ryan Siegel ensemble
Wednesday January 31st, 2024
7:00pm Ken Kobayashi - drums
Jonathan Reisin - tenor/soprano saxophone
Jeff Miles - guitar
Charley Sabatino - bass
8:00pm Yoni Kretzmer & Juan Pablo Carletti's BIGGISH
9:00pm Stephen Gauci - t. saxophone
Adam Lane - bass
Kevin Shea - drums
10:00pm Anders Nilsson - guitar
Nick Lyons - alto saxophone
Ken Filiano - bass
11:00pm Takuma Kanaiwa - bass
Paul r Harding - poetry
Daniel Carter - woodwinds
Jonathan Wilson - drums
**$15 GENERAL ADMISSION**
**$10 STUDENTS (w/ID)**
***PARTICIPATING MUSICIANS (PAST/PRESENT/FUTURE MAIN DRAG PERFORMERS) ATTEND FOR FREE***
(yes, the best things in life are indeed free).
@ The Main Drag
50 South 1st Street
Between Kent ave and Wythe Ave
(718) 388-6365
gaucimusic.com
*****
January 29 thru February 4, 2024
THE OUT MUSIC FESTIVAL
At THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY, NYC
Arts for Art proudly presents the OUT MUSIC FESTIVAL - The Future is Pissed! The world is divided against itself. The earth is in jeopardy. These diverse artists are doing their best with too little support. Their voices have been marginalized. As people of conscience and as creative people, we come together to support each other as we live, create, and work for a world with peace, compassion, justice, and the arts.
As an added attraction, the festival's first night will feature a selection of fiery historic Out Music recordings, presented in partnership with Crossing Tones, an organization which rescues and shares recordings from the music's past. The opening night will feature never heard recordings that underscore the deep roots of music.
Here’s the link: https://www.artsforart.org/out-festival.html
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William Hooker - “ Music and Poetry"
At The Bowery Poetry Club, NYC
Wednesday, 7 February 2024 at 8:00 PM
featuring
Bob Holman,John Pietaro, David Soldier, Yuko Otomo, Kevin Ramsey, Patrick Brennan,
Jair Rohm Wells, Dave Sewelson, Paul Geluso, Ras Moshe and Laura Feathers
Bowery Poetry Club
308 Bowery, Village, NYC
bowerypoetry.com
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MOPPA ELLIOTT TOUR DATES
Tues, Feb. 20 – Rhizome, 6950 Maple St. NW, Washington, DC
7 p.m. Tickets $25.
Mostly Other People Do The Killing (MOPDtK) celebrates the release of Disasters Vol. 2 on Hot Cup Records. The album is a follow-up to their acclaimed 2021 release, Disasters Vol. 1.
https://www.rhizomedc.org/new-events/2024/2/20/mostly-other-people-do-the-killing-sarah-marie-hughes-and-derrick-michaels
Wed, Feb. 21 – Fire Museum, Philadelphia, PA
7:30 p.m. Tickets $10-$20 sliding scale.
Fire Museum Presents MOPDtK and Advancing on a Wild Pitch celebrating their new albums Disasters Vol. 2 and Jonesville. Performance takes place at Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Atonement, 1542 East Montgomery Avenue
Thur, Feb. 22 –– The Cutting Room, 44 East 32nd Street, NYC
7 p.m. Tickets: $20
Hot Cup Records presents an Album Release Evening featuring three bands.
Mostly Other People Do the Killing celebrating "Disasters Vol. 1"
Advancing on a Wild Pitch celebrating "Disasters Vol. 2"
Acceleration Due to Gravity celebrating "Jonesville: Music by and for Sam Jones" https://wl.seetickets.us/event/mostly-other-people-do-the-killing/582194?afflky=TheCuttingRoom
Fri, Feb. 23 – The Bop Shop, 1460 Monroe Avenue, Rochester, NY
8 p.m. Tickets: $20 MOPDtK
https://bopshop.com/events/mostly-other-people-do-the-killing-1
Sat, Feb. 24 – Jazz at the Coop, The Cooperage, 1030 Main St., Honesdale, PA
7 p.m. Tickets: $15 MOPDtK and Advancing on a Wild Pitch.
https://allevents.in/honesdale/jazz-night-at-the-coop/200025940871819
Bands & Personnel
MOPDtK: Moppa Elliott, bass; Ron Stabinsky, keyboards; Kevin Shea, drums.
Advancing on a Wild Pitch: Sam Kulik, trombone; Charles Evans, bari sax; Danny Fox, piano; Moppa Elliott, bass; Christian Coleman, drums.
Acceleration Due to Gravity: Bobby Spellman, trumpet; Dave Taylor, trombone; Matt Nelson, alto saxophone; Stacy Dillard, tenor saxophone; Kyle Saulnier, baritone saxophone; Ava Mendoza, guitar; George Burton, piano; Moppa Elliott, bass; Mike Pride, drums.
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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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NEW VIDEOS from GUITAR MASTER HENRY KAISER:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnWxohqx4tY
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
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ATTENTION TO ALL DMG CUSTOMERS: NEW EMAIL ADDRESS: downtownmusicgalleryofficial@gmail.com
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