DMG NEWSLETTER FOR APRIL 26th, 2024

But when things go wrong
Go wrong with you
It hurts me too

He loves another woman
Yes, I love you
But you love him
And stick to him like glue

Oh, when things go wrong
Go wrong with you
It hurts me too, yeah

Now he'd better leave you
Or you better put him down
No, I wont stand
To see you pushed around

But when things go wrong
Go wrong with you
It hurts me too

WE ALL GOT THE BLUES!

Let me hear you say “Yeah!” Again, louder this time! Say it as if you mean it! YEAH! Have you got the blues?!?! Well I have, yes indeedee. Earlier this week, on Tuesday morning, I couldn’t get out of my bed. I hadn’t slept much in two nights since I was in pain, pain in my back, pain in my shoulders and a throbbing in my head. I was completely exhausted from lack of sleep. Oye! I felt as if I were being tortured by some outside force, why would God or some other deity do this to me?? I had this feeling that I had done something wrong and that I had to pay the piper. I couldn’t work since I couldn’t think straight so thanks to John P Nadien & John Mori for covering for me. I feel much better now that I’ve slept, drank more water, eaten a big salad, meditated and done some exercise, taken a long walk to calm down and think about my life.

Ever since my Blues LP collection fell off my top shelf in my living room when the earthquake struck and shook my apt building several weeks ago, I’ve been thinking about The Blues and they way they are universal. I’ve listened to a handful of those albums since that calamity, Butterfield Blues Band, Canned Heat, Muddy Waters and a couple of Chicago Blues Anthologies LP’s. Plus a handful of blues songs that Pigpen sung when he was still performing in The Dead (like the above one, “It Hurts Me Too”). I read a Willie Dixon autobiography a while back which I really dug since Mr. Dixon talks about the many ways of looking and listening to the Blues: the universality of the Blues worldwide and the fact the Blues are one way the Black folks deal with their legacy and their ongoing suffering on this planet. Since I’ve quit smokin’ herb and drinking anything other water, juice and coffee, I want to listen to music with a more clear mind. I want to hear what is still special about music that continues to inspire me and make me think about my life and the rest of humanity and what we are all doing to each other and to Mother Nature. It’s a long journey and I am still working on it. Thanks to all of you for your ongoing support. - Peace, Bruce Lee Gallanter at DMG

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THE DMG 33rd ANNIVERSARY IN-STORE FREE MUSIC SERIES Continues with:

Tuesday, April 30th:
6:30: SALLY GATES - Guitar / TREVOR DUNN - Bass / ALEX KOI - Vocal
7:30: JAMES PAUL NADIEN / LAO DAN / JOE FONDA - Alto Sax / Suona / Contrabass
8:30: TODD CAPP - Drums / JOHN HAGEN - Tenor Sax

Tuesday, May 2nd:
6:30: EYAL MAOZ - Solo Guitar
7:30: JAMES WENGROW / HERY PAZ / JAMES NADIEN
8:30: AARON RUBINSTEIN - Solo guitar

Tuesday, May 7th:
6:30: PATRICK BRENNAN / PAUL AUSTERLITZ - Contrabass Clarinet / CLAIRE de BRUNNER - Bassoon / NICK GIANNI- Bass Flute / THOMAS HEBERER - Trumpet / DAFNA NAPHTALI - Electronics / SAM NEWSOME - Soprano Sax!
7:30: JAMES WENGROW - Guitar / KAELEN GHANDI - Sax / ANNA ABONDOLO - Bass / PATRICK GOLDEN - Drums!
8:30: PAUL AUSTERLITZ CLARINET CHOIR: JASPER DUTZ / STEPHEN GAUCI / RAS MOSHE BURNETT / IVAN BARENBOIM / FRED ROSENBERG / TSOYUSHI NIWA / RANDOLPH MURPHY / MICHAEL MOSS / KATIE PORTER
9:30: LISA MEZZACAPPA - Bass / SARAH BERNSTEIN - Violin / SARA SCHOENBECK - Bassoon

Saturday, May 11th: DMG and GauciMusic Co-Hosts for:
6pm: LISA MEZZACAPPA - Contrabass / CHRIS WELCOME - Guitar / MIKE PRIDE - Drums
7pm: STEPHEN GAUCI - Reeds / KEVIN SHEA - Drums!
8pm: JOHN DIKEMAN - Tenor Sax / BRANDON LOPEZ - ContraBass / - ? Drums

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

******

THIS WEEK’S IMPORTANT DISCS BEGIN WITH:

JOHN ZORN with JOHN MEDESKI - The Hermetic Organ - Volume 12 - The Bosch Requiem (Tzadik 9307; USA) Recorded at the Grote Kerk in Den Bosch as part of Zorn’s 70th birthday celebration at November Music in Den Bosch, this exciting performance pays tribute to one of Zorn’s seminal influences—the 15th century painter Hieronymus Bosch. Performing on two different organs simultaneously, running from one to the other, this is one of the most bizarre installments in the entire Hermetic Organ series. The CD begins with a rare private performance of Zorn alone in the church exploring and stretching the organ’s capabilities. For the evening performance, A Pilgrimage Through Hell, Zorn’s dear friend and colleague of over thirty years John Medeski joins as his organ assistant, and the two of them literally pull out all the stops!
CD $16 [In stock tomorrow - 4/26/24]

JOHN LUTHER ADAMS // JACK QUARTET - waves and particles (Cold Blue Music CB0069; USA) I am a longtime Pulitzer prize-winning composer John Luther Adams. I own most and still enjoy each of his more than 30 releases, going all the way back to ’Songbirdsongs’, released in 1982, more than 40 years ago. “Waves and Particles” is performed here with the great JACK string quartet and it was inspired by quantum physics, fractal geometry and noise. Each of the six pieces was based on simple fractal forms. “particle dust” is first and it is a busy blur of intense activity. The density slowly shifts between a quieter section and more intense sections, the balance feels right. There is an internal pulse pounding which reminds me of the way many people see what has unfolded throughout the 20th century, one conflict after another. “spectral waves” starts out calmly and slowly with notes turning into drones and expanding over time. There are several waves or currents which are moving slowly around one another. “velocity waves’ erupts most intensely and is somewhat brutal in it's force. It slowly calms back down yet soon builds up again which feels like the sound of a triumphant return. “triadic waves” has the strings moving back and forth in harrowing waves, it feels as if we are losing balance as we tip from side to side in our unsteady boat or raft. “murmurs in a chromatic field” has a most eerie vibe as if some spirits or ghosts are peeking through windows to our souls. Although this piece is quite restrained, there is a feeling of unsettled vibes flowing underneath. The final piece is called “particles rising” and although it starts off slowly, the violinists are soon banging with their bows on their strings with the cello soon joining in, their lines sound like morse code trying to tells something like a warning for things to come. The main thing that I like about much of what John Luther Adams does is that he is able to tap into the elemental forces of Mother Nature. Many of his pieces have a visceral quality, awesome and organic. When I listened to this disc all the way through, I heard a force or power being unleashed like a storm coming and being swept away by fierce winds, with occasional moments of calm or grace to balance us between. This is strong sonic medicine for times which need to be balanced against the extreme forces which surround us every day. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14

THE MESSTHETICS with ANTHONY PIROG / JOE LALLY / BRENDAN CANTY and JAMES BRANDON LEWIS - The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis (Impulse! 143471; USA) “As far as meetings between punk elder statesmen and avant-jazz explorers go, the Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis is an intuitive one. Drummer Brendan Canty and bassist Joe Lally, as the rhythm section of Fugazi, had a wide appetite for grooves from outside of hardcore’s pummeling standard vocabulary, whether the half-time sway of reggae or the piston-pumping backbeat of funk. And Lewis, though deeply rooted in jazz tradition, is similarly willing to stray from genre orthodoxy in search of a sound that suits him: The saxophonist’s modern-classic 2016 LP No Filter, full of distorted electric bass and throaty horn lines, has the gleefully pugilistic energy of an all-ages basement show. Lally and Canty formed the Messthetics as an instrumental trio in 2018, filling out the lineup with Anthony Pirog, a left-field jazz guitarist who’s equally adept with sidewinding melody and searing noise, and has worked often with Lewis, including on No Filter. After Lewis sat in with them on a couple of live dates, it must have felt only natural to invite him into the fold for an album.
The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis, which the four men composed collaboratively, sits comfortably apart from any prevailing trends in 2020s jazz: no new-agey ambient soundscapes, cerebral free improvisation, nor incense-and-hand-bells spiritual-jazz revivalism. Its sensibility has a whiff of downtown New York in the freewheeling 1980s and early ’90s, when John Zorn was playing grindcore in Naked City and Sonny Sharrock shared a bassist with Henry Rollins. As in that era of cross-pollination, the players meet each other confidently and generously on their own terms. The punks don’t sound eager to prove their jazz bona fides, and the jazzers don’t seem to view punk with any condescension toward its rudimentary building blocks. Each one brings his particular skill set, and the others figure out how to work with it. The results can be astonishing, as in the climactic final section of “Three Sisters,” when Lewis and Pirog play intertwining solos and the Fugazi guys churn beneath them, each player urging the others toward ever higher flights of intensity and invention.
There are also moments that sound more or less like Fugazi with a free-jazz saxophonist instead of a singer. Though they may lack the grand scale of a composition like “Three Sisters,” they ground the album in a sense of boisterous good fun. “Emergence” should be particularly easy for fans of Canty and Lally’s old band to love, with the Messthetics making breakneck switches between “Waiting Room”-style syncopation and pogo-ing power chords, and Lewis blowing like hell on top. Even in his more overtly jazzy work, the saxophonist tends to favor relatively static harmonies over the elaborate chord changes of bebop, an approach that proves a good fit for the lean-and-mean compositional sensibility of a couple of guys schooled on hardcore. With the rest of the band providing such a solid and stripped-down framework, Lewis is free to embellish the melody of “Emergence” in whatever direction he chooses: first straight and declarative, then with increasingly frenetic dissonance as the song goes on.
On a high-profile collaboration like this one, the players could have easily just vamped on a few different grooves with the tape running and called it a day. They’re good enough that even no-stakes jamming would have yielded some compelling moments, and they have enough collective clout that people would have listened either way. To their great credit, they didn’t skimp on actually composing. From the sideways funk riffs of “That Thang” to the bluesy refrain of “Railroad Tracks Home,” each tune is robust enough to stick with you, all providing meaningful context and structure for the improvised journeys they frame. The most ambitious of them is “Boatly,” which spends its first half as a sultry ballad and its second as a soaring post-rock anthem. If a group without this quartet’s easy chemistry and clear mutual respect attempted such a drastic change, it might come out hokey or unpleasantly abrupt: the clear point at which one member’s ideas fade to the background and another’s take over. But as the Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis shift into their finale—Canty stops caressing the drums and begins to pound, Lewis brings his sax from a purr to a scream—you get the sense that these four would only reach this particular conclusion together.” - Andy Cush, Pitchfork.com
CD $16 / LP $32 (The LP version is limited & we have just a few]

DENMAN MARONEY QUINTET with EMILIE LESBROS / ROBIN FINCKER / SCOTT WALTON / SAMUEL SILVANT - The Air-Conditioned Nightmare (Neuma 204; USA) Featuring Denman Maroney on hyperpiano & compositions, Emilie Lesbros on vocal, Robin Fincker on tenor sax & bass clarinet, Scott Walton on bass and Samuel Silvant on drums. Ever since hyper-pianist Denman Maroney moved to France several years ago, he has steadily released a number of fine CD’s, each one with a nice batch of French or French-based collaborators. Mr. Fincker, Mr. Walton and Mr. Silvant all worked with Mr. Maroney on a previous CD. I know of vocalist Emilie Lesbros since she lived in New York at one point and has worked with Darius Jones, Pascal Niggenkemper and Marc Ducret.
The title of this disc, ‘The Air-Conditioned Nightmare’ is also the name of a non-fiction memoir by American author Henry Miller, whose words are used for a piece here as well utilizing the words of two great poets: T.S. Eliot and W.B. Yeats. The opening piece is also the title track and it is something else. The words by Henry Miller present a fascinating look at contemporary life in the US during the early 1940’s after Mr. Miller got back from spending a decade living in Paris. The playful yet insistent music fits the words just on this piece. “The consumer is king, the thinker’s a fool” pronounce the words. The later words poke fun at what our gods (Buddha, the Lord & Christ) tell us to do. Ms. Lesbros has a lovely voice which she uses well without ever having to emote too much. “A Game of Chess” words were written by T.S Eliot, the music has a charming yet forlorn quality and Ms. Lesbros’ voice is shadowed by Mr. Fincker’s sly sax. The instrumental pieces here are quirky yet enticing, slightly bent, inventive without trying to be very far out. “The Sea of Chairs” was written by American poet Jack Agueros, who once wrote a script & lyrics for a song for the Sesame Street TV show in the early 1970’s. The song has a dreamy feeling which is stripped down yet quietly hypnotic. On a piece called “Roads”, Ms. Lesbros has no lyrics so she uses her voice as a part of the quintet, whether adding harmonies to the piano and/or reed instrument involved. All of the lyrics/poetry here seems to deal with the way we all get along, in harmony with each other or not. I heartily agree with Denman Maroney that we all can get along if we make the effort. The music here helps us deal with those thoughts and ideals. The second disc here is all instrumental and I reviewed it a couple of years ago. You can find my review here: https://downtownmusicgallery.com/search.php?id=2023_01_27_12_46_49. Both discs here are superb! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
2 CD Set $16

MIKE McGINNIS 9 with CAROLINE DAVIS / PETER HESS / BRIAN DRYE / JACOB SACKS / VINNIE SPERRAZZA / et al - Road Trips II - Outing (Sunnyside 1719; USA) Featuring Mike McGinnis on clarinet & compositions, Jeff Hermanson on trumpet, Caroline Davis, Peter Hess & Barry Saunders on saxes, Brian Drye on trombone, Justin Mullens on French horn, Jacob Sacks on piano, Dan Fabricatore on bass and Vinnie Sperrazza on drums. Over the past decade I’ve gotten to appreciate the playing of Downtown clarinetist Mike McGinnis from several of his recordings as well as the times he has played here at DMG and knocked me out. Mr. McGinnis studied with the legendary clarinetist/composer/professor Bill Smith a/k/a William O. Smith. On each of McGinnis last two discs, he has recorded two pieces by Bill Smith, one from 1956 (“Concerto for Clarinet & Combo”) and “Transformations for Clarinet & Nonet” which McGinnis had commissioned from Mr. Smith. For this disc, McGinnis decided to write music which would specifically challenge each member of his nonet. I know of about half of the musicians here from previous collaborations/recordings: Ms. Davis, Mr. Hess, Mr. Drye, Mr. Sacks and Mr. Verrazza.
“Rollover” opens with layers of tumbling reeds and brass, quite a fine fanfare before the piano-led rhythm team takes over. Daredevil pianist Jacob Sacks takes the first rambunctious yet understated solo before the tight swirling horns come back in. Ms. Davis takes the next spirited sax solo here, long and filled with numerous detours. The ensemble writing here and throughout is extraordinary and thoughtfully conceived. Mr. McGinnis takes a short thoughtful, inventive solo right up until the song ends. Bill Smith’s “Transformations” is a superbly written work and closer to chamber music than regular jazz. McGinnis leads the band and plays a long, thoughtful solo throughout its length. Once again, it is (Bill Smith’s) arrangements which truly stand out here. “A Nice Boy / Discover Laughing” starts off with an Aaron Copland-like marching fanfare and soon moves into a quirky, funky groove piece with some smokin’ bari sax work from Barry Saunders interspersed with some Zappa-like swirls. Two of the pieces here are mainly freely improvised although it is hard to tell this by listening. “Roundtable” starts off with what sounds like a partially written section, yet it gets freer as it evolves. “Roundtable” features a most expressive trombone solo from Brian Drye. Mike McGinnis put a great deal of work into this disc, I hear something new in each listen. Take a ‘Roadtrip’ with Mr. McGinnis and his 10 piece band. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14

BRANDON ROSS PHANTOM STATION with GRAHAM HAYNES / DAVID VIRELLES / HARDEDGE / JT LEWIS - Off The End (Sunnyside 1732; USA) Featuring Brandon Ross on electric & soprano guitars & vocal, Graham Haynes on cornet & electronics, David Virelles on keyboards & piani, Hardedge on soundesign (a/k/a electronics) and JT Lewis on drums. I’ve long admired the work of guitarist Brandon Ross since he is impossible to pin down to any one genre, style or predictable pigeonhole. Mr. Ross has worked in a variety of odd bands or projects: Cold Sweat, Butch Morris, Archie Shepp, Kip Hanrahan and mainly for his dynamic playing in Henry Threadgill’s amazing Make a Move band. Mr. Ross is also a founding member of the power trio Harriet Tubman, another band impossible to pin down to one thing. Ace drummer, JT Lewis was also a member of Make a Move and Harriet Tubman, hence he & Brandom have been working together for many years. Cornetist & electronics player Graham Haynes has also worked with Mr. Ross in several projects (for/with Bill Laswell & a Graham Haynes project). Hardedge is also known as Velibor Pedevski, someone who designs or manipulates sounds in his own unique way and has worked with Wadada Leo Smith, Roscoe Mitchell and DarkMatterHalo. Cuban keyboardist David Virelles is one of NY’s best pianists currently and has also worked with Henry Threadgill and Tomasz Stanko.
Although Mr. Ross has worked with vocalists like Cassandra Wilson, John Lurie and Arto Lindsay, he has only sung on his own records on rare occasions, known more for his distinctive between categories guitar work. Phantom Station is the name of this project and this disc was recorded live at Firehouse 12 in New Haven, CT in December of 2023. The first piece, “May Forever Pass Between” is soft, spacious and skeletal. JT Lewis sounds like he is playing a large frame drum. On “Through the Heart of of My Demarcation” Mr. Ross’s guitar and Mr. Haynes cornet trade long, droning lines with JT Lewis’s power drumming leading the charge and layers of electronics erupting in different layers, some sputtering, some explosive, many subtle yet somewhat scary simultaneously. Mr. Ross sings/speaks softly, his voice bathed in echoes at times on “The Gate is Open”, Virelles plays el piano trading lines with Haynes circular, echoed cornet, the overall effect is most mesmerizing like a series of swirling dreams within your mindscape. All the pieces here are continuous and flow organically into one another. On “I Can See All of This”, Ross switches to acoustic guitar, Virelles to piano and Haynes on acoustic cornet, the sound is forlorn, skeletal and most enchanting. On each piece, the group creates a different groove and/or vibe, the drums enter, kick in, provide the rhythmics at times the lay out as other members take over the flow/groove. Mr. Ross plays some soft, greasy, acoustic slide guitar blues for a short interlude on “Immaculate Toes”, the group breaking into a more fractured semi-acoustic episode on “Leave It on The Ground”. Things get a bit dark on this piece between the haunting sound of the cornet, Ross’ strange ghost-like sounds on guitar and voodoo-like angular chords on the piano. I felt as if I were losing balance here and slowly being pulled within a quicksand trap. Phantom Station seems like an apt title for this ensemble since they seem to be inhabited by different phantoms or spirits which are often messing with our inner gravity. The last piece, “Harmonic Convergence” is a somber, calm, charming conclusion and perfect way to bring this unit to a righteous ending. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14

GIUSEPPE DORONZO / ANDY MOOR / FRANK ROSALY - Futuro Ancestrale (Clean Feed CF 661; Portugal) Featuring Giuseppe Doronzo on baritone sax & Iranian bagpipe, Andy Moor on electric guitar and Frank Rosaly on drums. Recorded live at the Bimhuis in Amsterdam in June of 2022. A completely unique new trio whose saxist/bagpipe player, Giuseppi Doronzo, sounded like a new name to me. It turns out that I had heard of Italian musician Mr. Doronzo from four previous discs that I’ve reviewed over the past few years, all recorded in the Netherlands: the All Ellington band (with Eric Boeren & Joost Buis), the Xavier Pamploma Septet (with Marta Warelis & Michael Moore), the Ava Trio and Falga. Mr. Doronzo plays an Iranian bagpipe which is also called a ney-aban, a droneless double chanter bagpipe. British-born, Netherlands-based guitarist Andy Moor has played with The Ex for almost 45 years, as well as with the Dog Faced Hermans, Kletka Red and the Little Red Spiders. Longtime Chicago-based drummer Frank Rosaly currently lives in Amsterdam and has recorded some 3 dozen discs with a long list of fine collaborators: Natural Information Society, Scorch Trio, Rempis Percussion Quartet & many more.
There are just four pieces here and the entire disc is around 35 & 1/2 minutes in length. It begins with several long drones hovering together with skeletal percussion underneath. The piece flows organically from one into the next one. The second piece is called “Hopscotch”, a childhood game that I used to see children play when I was a kid. Mr. Moor’s eerie guitar and Mr. Rosaly’s skeletal, sly drums hold these down while Doronzo plays his sax on top with strong interaction between all three. Doronzo starts to play a cheerful, spy movie type of riff midway which makes the trio shift to join him adding some humor for a few moments. Moor has a unique way of strumming those dark, punkish chords which he does in this piece and which are most effective in evoking suspense. Mr. Rosaly animated drumming is featured in the next piece, “Magma”, and he is right on the money. The bagpipes and guitar are both howling, bending their notes together and the trio sounds truly Cosmic, the vibe is transcendent! Unlike some folks, I truly love the sound of bagpipes and here the Iranian bagpipes have their own unique sound which is most cerebral. “Digging in the Sand,” is the last piece here and it begins with some brittle, scraped guitar and some distant chanting Arabian-sounding vocals. Is this a sample or a radio broadcast? Who knows, who cares. It works. This piece evolves like a slow, moody blues song at a funeral pace. The bari sax simmers quietly underneath and Andy Moor plays those solemn blues licks stripped down to the bare essentials. This piece feels like a conclusion to a long battle, humanity divided, the tribal forces fighting with one another. None of that really matters. We all need to find our way back to each other's good graces. Amen! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15

STEVE ROACH - Sanctuary Of Desire (Projekt Records 412CD; USA) "Masterfully joining the two worlds that define Steve Roach's signature styles, the 140-minute 2CD Sanctuary of Desire combines deep ambience and mesmerizing, spiral-like forms in a majestic flow of stately elegance and breathtaking aural drift. Disc one explores a realm of suspended tranquility, sustained reflection and emotional resonance. Disc two soars upon a morphing journey into the mythic imagination by way of multi-dimensional mandala-like tapestries woven from Steve's mastery of analog-based synths and sequencers and hovering atmospherics. Drawing from his 44 years of dedication to the evolution of electronic music, concerts worldwide and a lifelong passion for the hardware instrument-based way of working, Steve places the listener in the center of his sanctuary of desire. On Sanctuary of Desire, Steve brings us to a summit drawn from his life in the sound-current: a timeless ephemeral and empowered space that soothes, inspires and enlightens. 2CD in six-panel digipak."
2 CD Set $22

PHILL NIBLOCK / KLAUS LANG / BERNHARD ALNG / JUDITH BERKSON / et al // VARIOUS ARTISTS - Pieces For Sixth-Tone Harmonium (Sub Rosa SR 567CD; Belgium) The only example of a working sixth-tone harmonium in the world belongs to the collections of the National Museum and is permanently exhibited in the Czech Museum of Music in Prague. Sub Rosa presents these new compositions that were written by Phill Niblock, Klaus Lang, Bernhard Lang, Milan Gustar, Judith Berkson, Idin Samimi Mofakham, and Ian Mikyska. The premiere of these compositions took place in August 2023 as part of the Ostrava Days contemporary music festival. Performed by pianist Miroslav Beinhauer, who is currently the only musician in the world to be able to play this unique instrument. The first model of the sixth-tone harmonium was created in the 1920s on the basis of a commission from the pioneer of microtonal music, Alois Hába, whose visions for its construction convinced the company August Förster. The improved model of the harmonium dates from 1936 by the same company. The first Czechoslovak president Masaryk supported the purchase of the new instrument by contributing ten thousand crowns, and the same amount was added by the Ministry of Education and National Enlightenment at the time. In 2018, Miroslav Beinhauer participated in the premiere of Hába's sixth-tone opera Come Thy Kingdom, followed by the staging and recording of Alois Hába's opus Six Compositions For Sixth-Tone Harmonium, op. 37, which was the only solo composition for this instrument for more than ninety years. In the last three years, new repertoire for sixth-tone harmonium has been written by renowned Czech and foreign composers.
2 CD Set $22

ELEPHANT9 - Mythical River (Rune Grammofon RCD 2235CD; Norway) After a solid run of five studio albums and two double live albums, Psychedelic Backfire I and II, (both 2019), Elephant9 had taken their groovy mix of high energy rock and power jazz as far as they could. In this respect their previous album Arrival of The New Elders (2021) came as a welcome and most timely addition to their recorded output. More varied, mature and reflective, they were as groovy as ever, but more structured and less jam oriented. Mythical River is molded much in the same way and a natural follow-up, with six stellar new compositions by keyboard maestro Ståle Storløkken, bookended by two short cosmic snippets. From the hypnotic and magical to the razor sharp and polyrhythmic, this is yet another strong group effort from a trio on top of their game. Comparisons have been made with bands dating as far back as the sixties, but with Arrival of The New Elders and Mythical River, Elephant9 appear as a thoroughly contemporary, timeless and even futuristic sounding band. Mythical River was recorded and mixed by previous Dungen producer Mattias Glavå. Ståle started his musical journey in Veslefrekk with Jarle Vespestad and Arve Henriksen in the '90s, soon morphing into Supersilent with Helge Sten on board. He is also a member of Hedvig Mollestad Weejuns, Møster!, and Humcrush, and have collaborated with a number of artists, most notably Motorpsycho. Nikolai is also a member of Bigbang, Needlepoint, and Band of Gold, and have appeared on a couple of hundred records. The same goes for Torstein, an associate member of numerous bands ranging from pop and soul to free jazz. But Elephant9 has always been their special baby.
CD $16

KRIS GRUDA / DANNY KAMINS - Drop of Sun (ME 007; Earth) Featuring Kris Gruda on electric & acoustic guitars, objects & electronics and Danny Kamins on sopranino & alto saxes & contra alto clarinet. Houston, Texas-based saxist Danny Kamins has played here at DMG a handful of times over the last few years and each time with different Downtown collaborators: James McKain, Max Kutner, Jame P Nadien and most recently with Sandy Ewen & Marc Edwards. He obviously chooses his partners well. I don’t know much about guitarist Kris Gruda although he does have a round a dozen releases listed on Discogs mostly with musicians I don’t recall. When this disc begins, Mr. Kamins is playing sopranino sax with some quick, fractured notes while Mr. Gruda plays equally tight, fractured guitar sounds, using subtle yet strange effects to alter certain notes or sounds on the guitar. Both of the players work well together and match each other's sounds no matter how far out they go, bending certain notes together or tightly around one another. Kamins plays more quietly on his contra-alto clarinet on the second piece, “Uncharted Exclave”, while Gruda also plays his slightly bent notes with equal restraint. I can hear some scratchy record static going underneath some of these pieces as if we were listening to an old LP recording, rather odd. Digital glitches perhaps? Hmmmmmm, hard to tell what’s what here. My CD player at home (Philips) seems to have a problem playing some CD-R’s so I would have to bring this disc back to the store to review then second have of this disc. So far, so good. - BLG at DMG
CD-R $10

BAUDOUIN DE JAER - Five Traces: Geomungo Compositions Vol. III (Sub Rosa SR560CD; Belgium) Five Traces is a wordless opera in three acts. Its sound includes words and images. The notes must speak: "This wordless opera is certainly my most daring experiment with text in sound. Over the ten years I spent discovering the majestic Geomungo, the six-string Korean bass zither played with a suldae plectrum, working on Héros de la pensée gave soft, poetic, melodious and appeasing sounds. Some of my studies continued the reduction process I had started for the piano and the violin (and then for the Gayageum), in the compositions I wrote between 1986 and 2023, attempts at extreme reduction and simplifying down to lines, music stated on one and single note (with exceptions). Lines allows the interpreter to express themselves within the scope of rhythm, nuance, vibratos, stresses and attacks, and to show the many unheard orchestral possibilities at the root of this unique instrument. In stark contrast, Chanson Cubique (Vol II) or Trace III include moments with an excessive variety of notes driving the instrument into a corner. With the warm timbres of the recordings features on the first two CD volumes, the listener is an accomplice to the interpreter, standing in the wings while they rub strings on fret, prepare their fingers and release the strings, tune the instrument while playing, etc. On the other hand, 'Traces' (once every five of them have been listened to) offers a more panoramic view, a look at the geometric structures of the compositions. Vol I was my doorway to the geomungo, while the compositions gathered in Vol II were explorations (experiments, studies) with a more technical aspect, in preparation for the writing of Five Traces." - Baudouin De Jaer
2 CD Set $20

AMALIE DAHL'S DAFNIE - Star Op Med Solen (Aguirre Records Zorn 105CD; Belgium) Står op med solen ("Rising with the sun") is the second album by Amalie Dahl's Dafnie. With this album, the band continues the exploration of their collective sound. There are influences from both old school free jazz, and contemporary Scandinavian jazz like Fire! Orchestra and Christian Wallumrød Ensemble, as well as clear connection to the Trondheim milieu, where the group was founded in 2020. The energetic and expressive band explores their more subtle side with this record. Står op med solen is an album longing for humans to be one with nature. The music comments on the world's ultra-capitalistic power structures of today. The band navigates like one organism through parts of organic free jazz, strict structures and composed cells. They start out where their first record ended, in the familiar free jazz sound with riffs and melodies, and go safely on their onward journey. Amalie Dahl's Dafnie brings together five well-known names from the Norwegian jazz scene, also known from other projects like Kongle Trio, Bliss Quintet, I like to sleep, Veslemøy Narvesen, Galumphing Duo, Treen, and Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, among others.
CD $18 / LP $30

ACID MAMMOTH - Supersonic Megafauna Collision (Heavy Psych Sounds 299CD; Italy) Acid Mammoth presents this brand-new full-length album, Supersonic Megafauna Collision. Get ready to be overtaken by a storm of pachyderm guitar riffs, wooly bass, explosive drumming, and witchy vocals! Supersonic Megafauna Collision is an unholy celebration of all things heavy, and as the album progresses it just keeps getting doomier! It is an evil and explosive album, with 666% fuzz! Recorded, mixed and mastered at Descent Studio. Drums recorded at Ritual Studios. Artwork by Branca Studio.
CD $16

PENNY ARCADE - Backwater Collage (Tapete TR 558CD; Germany) Hailing from a place of ancient mariners' secret coves and vast moors beaten by the wind and rain, Backwater Collage is James Hoare's first solo album under the name of Penny Arcade. Despite leaving London for the West country he grew up in, the Englishman is no stranger to the scene. He has been wandering around as if awakened from a long, not-so-peaceful sleep for some time now. You have most probably come across his washed-out blue eyes several times, in projects including Veronica Falls, The Proper Ornaments, and Ultimate Painting. For this dreamy, hand-stitched record, Hoare has taken his time. Maybe because he had to rescue his songs from various recording sessions tinged with a number of mishaps he amusedly admits he is accustomed to: broken multitracks, failing tape machines, rarely available drummers living in the capital. The eleven intimate and solitary songs which make up the album, delivered in the greatest home recording tradition, are nonetheless cautiously produced. James unfurls pure, uncluttered melodies in which his gentle, melancholic voice mingles with smooth, warm vocals by Nathalia Bruno. Barely saturated guitar solos sometimes disrupt the clear, unpolished musical line. Hopping onboard, longtime friend Max Claps has added keyboard parts which manage to embrace the minimal nostalgia of the tracks while preventing any teary pathos. Similar to Jack Name or Syd Barrett -- only less psychedelic -- in terms of songwriting and stripped back atmosphere, Hoare is sitting on the Velvet Underground's black-and-white sofa and gives his album a subterranean feel. At times restless but light-footed, deprived of any unnecessary effects, the record follows in the steps of a less noisy but just as raw and unadorned Jesus and Mary Chain. With Backwater Collage, alone at the helm under a stormy sky, James Hoare invites his listeners to settle in the sheltered comfort of a cup of tea.
CD $18

LP SECTION:

JULIE TIPPETTS - Shadow Puppeteer (Eargong Records EG 010LP; Italy) For the very first time on double vinyl, one of the most amazing musical adventures of influential singer and songwriter Julie Tippetts. Originally released on CD in 1999, Shadow Puppeteer is the result of a long running career, a devotional solo album fulfilling her royal artistic vision. Surely one of the foremost European vocalists in the field of contemporary jazz and improvised music, she started out with The Brian Auger Band in the '60s fusing soul-jazz and R&B with amazing results. Moving forward into the realms of free improvisation and English jazz she found home in stunning projects as Centipede, Ovary Lodge, Ark, Mujician, The Georgian Ensemble, The Dedication Orchestra, and (late husband) Keith Tippett's Tapestry. Shadow Puppeteer is a suite of compositions and improvisations in which Julie's voice and various instruments (wind chimes, tambourine, mandolin, thumb pianos, zithers and bells) are multi-tracked to showcase the full extent of her powers of expression and imagination.
2 LP Set $38

MERZBOW - Tsubute Mosaic Modern Obscure Music MOM 049LP; Spain) Merzbow (aka Masami Akita), animal rights activist, writer, and musician, an iconic figure in international noise scene. Renowned for his pioneering contributions to the noise music genre, Merzbow has solidified his position as one of its most significant and recognizable figures. From his groundbreaking utilization of tape loops to craft expansive industrial landscapes in the late 1970s, to his transition to laptop-generated static noise at the turn of the century, Merzbow has consistently pushed the boundaries of sonic experimentation. Modern Obscure Music now unveils Merzbow's debut release on the label, Tsubute Mosaic.
LP $35

OREN AMBARCHI / JOHAN BERTHLING / ANDREAS WERLIIN - Ghosted II (Drag City 917LP; USA) "Oren Ambarchi has been collaborating with the Fire! trio (Mats Gustafsson, Johan Berthling, and Andreas Werliin) for over a decade -- and both Johan and Andreas played on Oren's Live Hubris as well. Oren and Johan began music-making together back in the early aughts -- but it wasn't until 2021 that the three of them got together to record music. That became the first Ghosted album. When they were done, it was clear they had founded a new group. A music of sustained tension and deep atmosphere marked by subtle, shifting dynamics, Ghosted was released in May of 2022 to psyched response everywhere; the trio embarked upon an ongoing series of concert bookings around Europe, with loads of other people in the world still hoping to have the chance to be in the room at the next show. Two years on, Ghosted has gone through several represses; now, it's time for the 'dreaded follow up album.' What made the most sense was to go back to Daneil Bengtsson at Studio Rymden in Stockholm for a couple days, then have Oren and Joe Talia mix and Joe master it at Good Mixture in Melbourne again, then get Pål Dybwik to do some well-distinctive cover art, and once more, call it a record. Ghosted II has a definitively fresh quality radiating throughout it. The mutual feeling among the three players goes deep, allowing for lots more to say every time they get together -- a further recombination of elements, a new expedition through alternative angles. There's always more, and incredibly, it's all improvised, with next-to-nothing prepared going in and minimal overdubs after they've laid things down. As noted, these guys balance their music improbably between a relaxed feel and a nervy resolve, as each member holds down their corner in an open sound field. Making Ghosted II, the band found that there's a different kind of tension making something for an established project rather than the kind one feels making something for the first time -- and they used this new variety, as before, as a kind of fuel --driving their terse minimalism fruitfully through the process of succumbing to and then transcending guilty pleasures. Finding fresh territory in funk sketches, jazzy heads, ambient pastorals and droning soundtrack pieces, Ambarchi, Berthling and Werliin compellingly haunt a mad variety of spaces."
LP $22

HARUOMI HOSONO / MIXMASTER MORRIS / JONAH SHARP - Quiet Logic (WRWTFWW Records 083LP; Switzerland) WRWTFWW Records is flying high as it announces the reissue of the 1997 ambient masterpiece Quiet Logic by electronic music visionaries Mixmaster Morris (The Irresistible Force), Jonah Sharp (Spacetime Continuum), and Haruomi Hosono (Yellow Magic Orchestra). Quiet Logic invites listeners to embark on a captivating sonic odyssey, blending intricate rhythms and celestial environments that push the boundaries of electronic music. Co-crafted at Haruomi Hosono's Tokyo studio in 1997, this album represents a time of rapid transformation in the genre, with these three artists at the forefront of redefining soundscapes. With its unique blend of influences from Hosono's immense contribution to electronic, pop, and experimental music to Morris' worldwide chill out DJ performances and Sharp's pioneering label, Reflective, Quiet Logic remains a timeless piece of ethereal electronica. It was originally only released in Japan in CD format on the Harry Hosono-curated Daisyworld Discs label. Remastered for 2024, this reissue is a must-have for fans of Haruomi Hosono/YMO, The Irresistible Force, Spacetime Continuum, Dreamfish, Tetsu Inoue, FFWD, H.I.A., Fax 49-69/450464, and mind-expanding musics. Immerse yourself now.
2 LP Set $42

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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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THE STONE RESIDENCIES / JON IRABAGON / APRIL 24-27

4/24 Wednesday
8:30 pm
Duo - Jon Irabagon (saxophone) Brian Marsella (piano)

4/25 Thursday
8:30 pm - I Don’t Hear Nothin’ but the Blues - Jon Irabagon (saxophone) Ava Mendoza (guitar) Mike Pride (drums)

4/26 Friday
8:30 pm - Jon Irabagon Trio plus Two - Jon Irabagon (saxophone) Ray Anderson (trombone) Uri Caine (piano) Mark Helias (bass) Barry Altschul (drums)

4/27 Saturday
8:30 pm - Quintet - Jon Irabagon (saxophone) Patricia Brennan (vibes) Matt Mitchell (piano) Chris Lightcap (bass) Dan Weiss (drums)

THE STONE RESIDENCIES / JESSICA PAVONE MAY 1st - 4th

5/1 Wednesday
8:30 pm - Collaborative duos - Ricardo Gallo (piano, moog) Jessica Pavone (viola)

5/2 Thursday
8:30 pm - J. Pavone Trio - Ben Copperhead (banjo, guitar) Jessica Pavone (compositions, viola) Sara Schoenbeck (bassoon)

5/3 Friday
8:30 pm - Trio Improvisations - Matt Nelson (saxophones) Jessica Pavone (viola) Ches Smith (drums)

5/4 Saturday
8:30 pm - Strings - Aimée Niemann (violin) Jessica Pavone (viola) Abby Swidler (violin, viola)

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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NEW VIDEOS from GUITAR MASTER HENRY KAISER:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZHZMLAsL9g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnWxohqx4tY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tj8-LKNXKuE

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IF YOU ARE A CANTERBURY/ROCK IN OPPOSITION FAN OF Bands like SOFT MACHINE, HENRY COW, MAGMA, etc…

Then you should check out the writing & interviewing by Rick Rees, who has a mailing list/website dedicated to Giorgio Gomelsky. Every month, Mr. Rees (who call himself a non-writer, no so says I), sends out an interview with different musicians that Mr. Gomelsky was involved with throughout his long music career. This month’s installment featuring a long interview with Chris Cutler and Maggie Thomas, who did album cover artwork for Virgin Records. The interview with Chris Cutler is long, fascinating and exhausting! Being a Henry Cow, Soft Machine & other Canterbury bands/musicians fanatic myself, I learned quite from these interviews! You can subscribe here: rickrees@substack.com

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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-37
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: Current EMAIL ADDRESS: downtownmusicgalleryofficial@gmail.com

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