Will we ever be ourselves again?
Worried minds in need of silencing
I do not wish to be free but I know
It's what needs to be
Oh marble son, why can't I love you more?
I wish I'd found you beautiful before
Oh, before
Who is the Marble Son that Jesse Sykes is singing about? A Spirit, a God, another mortal or something more ethereal?!? I guess we can all answer that question in our own way since the search is a personal inner one that most of us are still on as we navigate through our lives. I just got back from my week-long vacation to the FIMAV Fest in Quebec, an annual journey that’s I’ve been doing every year since 1987, except for the two years when the fest moved from October to May and the year after the pandemic when only Canadians could attend. I attended 18 sets of music over four days and I feel altered by the experience. I realized that Victoriaville is like my second home, as I surrounded by so many friendly kindred Spirits and so much challenging Creative Music. This was a personal as well as a musical journey. I will transmit my review in about 2 weeks.
Many of you have heard about my discovery of Jesse Sykes in 2002 and how I played her first album every night for a year to help unwind. She made four albums from 2002 until 2011, when ‘Marble Son’ was released. In retrospect, I am starting to hear more things within her words now that I’ve heard them so many times. Reading the words to this song makes me wonder… do we really want to be free or do we want to connect to another person or force?!? I often question the existence of God yet I still believe in Spirits. - Bruce Lee Gallanter @ DMG
PS - After ‘Marble Son’ was released in 2011, Ms. Sykes broke up with her longtime collaborator, lead guitarist and boyfriend, Phil Wandscher. She quit making music but made some short non-musical films. I was bummed out by this turn of events and was wondering if she’d find her way back. She did! Thanks to me old partner, Manny ‘Lunch’, I discovered that she was in a new band called The Third Mind with Dave Alvin (from the Blasters), two members of Camper Van Beethoven and L.A. drummer, Michael Jerome (who played with Richard Thompson). The Third Mind have two albums out, from 2020 and 2023, and both are phenomenal, if you dig late sixties roots/psych/blues rock. Plus they do mostly covers songs by a number of my favorite songwriters: Fred Neil (natch!), Alice Coltrane (!?!), Butterfield Blues Band’s “East West”, “Groovin’ is Easy” (the Electric Flag) and “Sally Go ‘Round the Roses” (Bay Area staple cover by the Great Society). We are currently out of both but hope to get them back soon. - BLG@DMG
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THE DMG 33rd ANNIVERSARY IN-STORE FREE MUSIC SERIES Continues with:
Tuesday, May 28th:
6:30: SYLVAIN LEROUX - Fula Flute
7:30: ABACOA: HERY PAZ - Tenor sax / KENNETH JIMENEZ - Bass / WILLY RODRIGUEZ - Drums
8:30: SCOTT FIELDS - Guitar / JAMES ILGENFRITZ - Contrabass
Tuesday, June 4th, 2024:
6:30: SALLY GATES - Guitar / LESLEY MOK - Drums
7:30: KYLE MOTL - Contrabass / ROCIO DIAZ de COSSIO - Cello / FERNANDO SOLARES - Saxes
8:30: ERIC DUANE PLAKS’ COLTRANE MEDITATIONS PROJECT
9:30: INVISIBLE GUY: BEN GOLDBERG - Clarinet / MICHAEL COLEMAN - Keyboard / HAMIR ATWAL - Drums
Tuesday, June 11th:
6:30: RICHARD ROSENTHAL - Guitar / JOE FIEDLER - Trombone / KEN FILIANO - Bass / COLIN HINTON - Drums
7:30: ANDY HAAS / DAVID GROLLMAN / MICAHEL FOSTER / JAMES PAUL NADIEN
8:30: EDEN QUARTET with DAN KURFIRST / ERIC PLAKS / EVAN CRANE / NICK LYONS
9:30: FUGITIVE: HARRISON CLARK - MC / JONATHAN PAIK - Keyboard / SHOGO ELLEFSON - Bass / MARK VALDES - 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. The GauciMusic Series has been canceled here for the Summer. 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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NOW IN STOCK:
JOHN ZORN / JESSE HARRIS // PETRA HADEN / BRIAN MARSELLA / JORGE ROEDER / CHES SMITH - Love Songs Live (Tzadik 9308; USA) Petra Haden shines in Love Songs Live—an exciting concert version of the new musical from the songwriting team of John Zorn and Jesse Harris. Presented at National Sawdust in September 2023 as part of the Zorn@70 NYC concert series, the music is beautiful, lyrical, with heartwarming lyrics about a love lost and found. Accompanied by the soulful trio of Brian Marsella, Jorge Roeder, and Ches Smith, this is a dynamic concert performance that pushes musical theatre forward with a creative downtown edge. Touching upon the languages of the 20th century’s most creative musical songsmiths—Sondheim, Weill, Bacharach and the Tin Pan Alley tradition—Love Songs Live is an absolute delight!
CD $16
* JOHN ZORN with JULIAN LAGE / JORGE ROEDER / KENNY WOLLESEN - New Masada Quartet (Tzadik LP6013; USA) The long awaited first recording by John Zorn’s newest and most exciting ensemble, the New Masada Quartet. Performing eight classic compositions from the Masada songbooks, NMQ is a tight unit of like-minded virtuosi and one of the best groups Zorn has ever had. Bristling hot guitar master Julian Lage, bass wizard Jorge Roeder and 30-year Zorn veteran Kenny Wollesen perform with a crackling live energy that brings the Masada music to life like never before! Led by Zorn’s versatile sax and stop and start conducting, the music is filled with burning solos, telepathic group interaction, heartfelt lyricism and hypnotic grooves. Beautifully recorded at Bill Laswell’s studio in New Jersey this is an absolute masterpiece. Essential! I’ve seen this quartet around a half dozen times and they are the best band in the Land! - Bruce Lee Gallanter at DMG
* Both versions of this LP are benefit LP’s so we are not making much money on them. Most of the funds will go back to Tzadik Records which was ripped off by their last Limited Edition distributor for a large sum of gelt. A nasty hex upon those evil crooks.
LP - [Limited Edition of 800, not signed] $55
LP - [Limited Edition of 200, autographed by John Zorn] $75
WADADA LEO SMITH / SOREN NORBO / KRESTEN OSGOOD - Dét, som ikke kan kaldes tilbage (ILK Music 358; Denmark) This is an intimate meeting between three master improvisers: Wadada Leo Smith, Kresten Osgood and Søren Nørbo. Wadada Leo Smith (US) is a living legend trumpet player and composer. He was chosen a trumpeter of the year and composer of the year in Down Beat Magazine, and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Søren Nørbo is a Danish pianist and composer, labeled by the main Danish magazine Politiken as “one of our most prestigious pianists”. On this album he presents nine compositions written for the occasion and recorded in his living room on one winter evening. Kresten Osgood is one of these people who at the same time defy and totally own categories. An extraordinary drummer and improviser with the fullest respect for tradition, without fear to challenge it at any given moment of his creative endeavors. Review next week, although no doubt a gem! - BLG at DMG
CD $17
BRUCE ACKLEY / ANDREA CENTAZZO / TANIA CHEN / DANIELLE DeGRUTTOLA / HENRY KAISER / MICHAEL MANRING - Two Views of Steve Lacy’s The Wire (Don Giovanni Records DG-296; Planet Earth) Featuring Bruce Ackley on soprano sax & B-flat clarinet, Tania Chen on piano, Danielle DeGruttola on cello, Henry Kaiser & Michael Manring on basses and Andrea Centazzo on percussion. Recorded at Megasonic Studio in Oakland, CA in June of 2017 and produced by Henry Kaiser. Soprano saxist supreme and composer, Steve Lacy, remains a towering figure amongst the jazz avant-garde due to his distinctive sound on soprano sax, his band-leading and his adventurous composing. In the same year that this disc was recorded (2017), the ROVA Sax Quartet along with Henry Kaiser and Kyle Bruckmann, combined forces and created a tribute to Steve Lacy’s seminal recording, ‘Saxophone Special’ (Revisited). For this new disc, Bruce Ackley (from ROVA), Henry Kaiser and friends do a tribute to another seminal Steve Lacy album called ‘The Wire’ (from 1977). The original “The Wire’ album was super rare and only released on vinyl in Japan. It sells for around $500 on Discogs. The group on that record was a sextet, which this group also is plus the original group were all Japanese including such giants as Masahiko Togashi, Masahiko Satoh and Motoharu Yoshizawa. For this sextet, Mr. Kaiser has chosen a number of Bay Area luminaries, each of whom he has worked with in the past. I was very glad to see and hear the two women here, modern classical pianist Tania Chen and cello great Daniele DeGruttola, both of whom are under-recorded and well worth checking out. Legendary Italian percussionist, Andrea Centazzo, now lives in L.A., has worked with Mr. Kaiser for many years and is a master improviser on a variety of percussion instruments as well as electronics.
There are two versions of ‘The Wire’ performed for this session/disc. Bruce Acklet was/is a member of the ROVA Sax Quartet, who have covered Mr. Lacy on several of their albums. Hence, Ackley is a great choice to take Lacy’s chair for these sessions. For the opener, “The Twain”, the sextet play most cerebrally, thoughtfully. “Esteem” features an ominous drone on the cello with fretless bass(es) bubbling underneath. Much of these pieces are most mesmerizing, carefully unfolding and often dream-like in their sound. It sounds like Mr. Centazzo is adding subtle electronics which makes this sound even more dreamy. Mr. Ackley is a featured on several pieces and does a great job of playing Mr. Lacy’s written parts in a similar quirky way. The second versions of each of the six pieces sound very different than the first versions. I myself am a big Steve Lacy fanatic so I love the way the music is performed here, often capturing the sound of Mr. Lacy’s own recordings. Consistently marvelous. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15
VOID PATROL with ELLIOTT SHARP / COLIN STETSON / BILLY MARTIN / PAYTON MacDONALD - Live @ Victo (Les Disques Victo CD 136; Quebec, Canada) Void Patrol is Elliott Sharp on electric guitar & electronics, Colin Stetson bass, tenor & alto saxes, Billy Martin on drums & percussion and Payton MacDonald on marimba, vibes & gyil (African xylophone). The first Void Patrol disc was released in 2022 and was recorded during the pandemic. Percussionist Payton MacDonald conceived the music and recorded his parts in a home studio and had Elliott Sharp, Billy Martin and Colin Stetson record their parts on their own, sending MacDonald the results to put together as a finished project/session. I hadn’t heard of Mr. MacDonald before receiving that disc in the mail from the Infrequent Seams label. This method of recording the different musicians separately doesn’t always work but I found the disc to be pretty great nonetheless. I was glad to see that Void Patrol were playing at FIMAV last year and thought that their set was pretty great. It was also different from the first effort since all four members were recording live together on a large stage at Le Carre 150 in Victoriaville, Quebec.
Although all four members of this quartet come from much different backgrounds, live they sounded like they had been playing together for many years. I remain a big fan of Elliott Sharp, Colin Stetson and Billy Martin, since each once excels at different projects which often cross barriers and genres. From what I remember most of the pieces started off with Mr. MacDonald playing a riff on one of his percussion instruments (mostly xylophone or marimba-like). “Canis Major” starts with Mr. Sharp’s unique muted strumming and it is soon joined by the gyil (which looks like a balaphon to me). Mr. Sharp is soon playing some sly bluesy, slide guitar licks as MacDonald sets the groove and Mr. Stetson soon joins them on sax. Most of the six pieces are long and unfold slowly. Percussion master Billy Martin switches between doubling up the percussion parts and adding cross-current drums or hand percussion punctuation. Mr. Sharp is a virtuosic guitarist which can rock hard and play the blues with conviction, but here he lays back and adds more subtle sounds on both guitar and electronics. At times, the quartet does erupt with some roaring, throttling sounds which are played by Mr. Stetson saxes (usually his large bass sax) or Sharp’s biting guitar. There are also a number of sections featuring both percussionists playing layers of connected parts, sometimes moving in waves together. Since the entire concert was mostly continuous, Mr. Payton often played a segway on his balaphon or marimba. Stetson’s sax and E Sharp’s guitar play a theme together at times, creating lines or streams which flow through the center of the quartet providing a flow. Mr. Stetson circular breathes his lines creating a hypnotic stream which provides us with a wave to ride or soar upon. I recall thinking this entire set was strong, spirited and inventive throughout its length and listening to this disc I am convinced at how well it worked out. Extraordinary. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15
FRANCOIS HOULE / KATE GENTILE / ALEXANDER HAWKINS - Fatrasies (Les Disques Victo CD 137; Quebec, Canada) Featuring Francois Houle on bass clarinet, clarinet & electronics, Alexander Hawkins on piano and Kate Gentile on drums & percussion. I often wonder how and why certain combinations of musicians come together to perform for the a festival like FIMAV, especially when that combination has never played together before. I see that Vancouver-based clarinetist Francois Houle and British pianist Alexander Hawkins did record together in a trio with NY-based percussionist Harris Eisentstadt for a disc on Songlines which was released in 2018. Having listened to quite a bit of Kate Gentile’s recent recordings with Matt Mitchell as well as with her collaboration with the International Contemporary Ensemble, I can see why she would make a good choice here since she is a sympathetic collaborator as well as a thoughtful composer. I admire all three of these musicians immensely and have heard each one live as well as many different recordings.
The title of this disc, “Fatrasies”, which means jumble, is a poem in which the meaning is often found in the way a particular poem sounds when we hear it rather than a literal translation of the chosen words. I just got back from the recent (40th-2024) FIMAV Fest in Quebec, having caught all 18 sets over four days. The sound and view at each concert was consistently well done. Hence the set on this disc from last year’s fest is superb. Considering that this is indeed a live recording on a large stage (at the Le Carre 150 venue), the sound is especially well captured and intimate sounding. The opening piece is continuous and lush, unfolding meticulously and majestically. The repeating chords played by Mr. Hawkins is/are filled with drama and suspense. Mr Houle plays a powerful clarinet solo on top while Ms Gentile provides a cosmic, percussive cushion underneath. As the piece unfolds, the tension and simmering undertow continue to increase to near boiling point. There appears to be several cross-currents going on here, connecting different layers or streams. On “Revenons A Nos Moutons”, things continue to escalate past the boiling point and into an intense, explosive section which slowly calms down although Hawkins’ piano continues to erupt. Mr. Houle’s clarinet is especially well and often closely recorded so we can hear every nuance just right. As I listen to the last piece, I find this disc to be most magical, focused, a marvelous well-balanced and thoughtfully executed/instantly composed trio. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15
ALEX HARDING / LUCIAN BAN with MAT MANERI / BOB STEWART / BRANDON LEWIS - Blutopia (Sunnyside Records SSC 1736; USA) Featuring Alex harding on baritone sax, Lucian Ban on piano & Fender Rhodes, Mat Maneri on viola with effects, Bob Stewart on tuba and Brandon Lewis on drums. Bari saxist Alex Harding and pianist Lucian Ban have been working together since 2002 when their first collaborative effort was released on CIMP. Both Mr. Harding and Mr. Ban have continued on their own journeys ever since, recording in a number of different projects and coming back together for a duo project/disc in 2019 called ‘Dark Blue’. Mr. Ban has also had an ongoing musical relationship with microtonal violist Mat Maneri, having recorded some six discs together with varying personnel. For this disc Harding & Ban chose tuba great Bob Stewart to replace the bass as well as add his own colors to the quintet.
Things begin with “Speak Our Silence”, drifting in with a bit of ethereal electronics, sparse piano, Maneri’s drifting viola lines, somber tuba drones and skeletal drums. Considering that Mr. Maneri is a microtonal specialist (like his father Joe), he often plays notes which fall between the cracks of regular tonation which keeps things slightly off balance. “Blue Black” has a sly, simmering, bluesy grove vibe with funky bari sax, old school electric piano and Bob Stewart pumping out that phat bass line. This song reminds me of “Freedom Jazz Dance”, one of few funky jazz hits from the sixties and seventies, when it was created by Eddie Harris and covered by Mile Davis. Alex Harding plays an especially soulful bari solo here with Maneri’s viola and Ban’s el. piano provides a cushion to sit or dance upon. There are two cover songs here, the first one is called “Fantasm”, written by Paul Motian. This piece is most mystical, skeletal and hypnotic. “Hieroglyphics” has a great riff that you won’t soon forget while “Marrakesh” (which is dedicated to Randy Weston) seems to wander between a North African melody and something my dream-like. “Spirit Take My Hand” was written by Alex harding and it sounds like a righteous, blues, gospel song with some soulful bari sax leading the choir. I almost expected to hear a sermon after Harding finished his superfine solo. This disc ends with Lucian Ban’s “Hymn” which also evokes a gospel-like spiritual vibe, a solemn lullaby for our sad times or world. This is a truly heartfelt yet somehow challenging disc. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14
ANDREA GROSSI BLEND 3 / JIM BLACK - Axes (We Insist! Records; Italy) Axes and layers, but also the axes, for striking and cutting. This work embraces the muscular energy of avant-jazz and delicate and dreamlike introspection. The musical references are to the America of Tim Berne and the Europe of Marc Ducret -- the polyphony and rhythmic pulse of the urban environment. But the connections, even if not strictly musical, reach far; "Axis: Bold as Love" by Jimi Hendrix and "AlasNoAxis," Jim Black's debut album. More than one axis: axes (or the term for guitars or saxes that certain musicians play).
CD $22
SARAH HENNIES // ENSEMBLE O / TALEA ENSEMBLE / ENSEMBLE DEDALUS / DIDIER ASCHOUR - Motor Tapes (New World Records 80844-2; USA) I’m just so happy that this album is coming out. I wouldn’t say it’s the best thing I’m ever going to make, but it certainly is the best thing I’ve made thus far. It feels like I’m composing a person. A vivid, rich picture of a life, of a brain. — Sarah Hennies
Sarah Hennies (b. 1979) is a composer and percussionist whose work is concerned with a variety of musical, sociopolitical, and psychological issues including queer & trans identity, psychoacoustics, and the social and neurological conditions underlying creative thought.
The booklet for this, her second New World recording, features an extensive and wide-ranging conversation with the composer, wherein Hennies discusses her compositional practice and how these three pieces—all in some way related to brain activity, specifically mood disorders and circadian rhythm—represent an important step in the evolution of her work....
“[T]hese works do signal a transformation. Up until Clock Dies, for instance, every piece I had written involved a stopwatch. But Talea Ensemble wanted a work with a conductor, and so Clock Dies was the first piece I made where I thought, “Let’s see if I can make chamber music.” So Clock Dies is through-composed; of course there’s lots of repetition, there’s a form with sections and climaxes—things happen. There’s a more traditional kind of contrast in Clock Dies and really in all three of these pieces. But Clock Dies specifically was the first piece where I challenged myself in a practical way to see if I could make “normal” music.
Motor Tapes is … well, it came about in a similarly practical way, where because of when the commission [from Ensemble Dedalus] came and where it was being played, I had a long time to make it. And I really, really wanted to challenge myself to make something with a lot of detail, to work harder on something than I had in the past. There’s a Word-doc outline of Motor Tapes that’s pages long because it got so complicated. And finishing the last 20% was so challenging; it had become so unwieldy that I had to make a to-do list of tasks because I couldn’t view it as a totality anymore. And now that it’s done and I can see it as a whole, there’s a very clear order of events, a script, it follows a very birth-to-death trajectory”
2 CD Set $30
ENSEMBLE 5 with HEINZ GEISSER / FRIDOLIN BLUMER / RETO STAUB / ROBERT MORGENTHALER / CHRISTOPHER DELL - The Human Factor (Hat Ezz-Thetics 1053; Switzerland) The long-running quartet of percussionist Heinz Geisser, bassist Fridolin Blumer, pianist Reto Staub and trombonist Robert Morgenthaler have for years extended their 4-tet with a 5th guest, here asking vibraphonist Christopher Dell to join them in the studio after a successful live performance in the spring of 2022, capturing this spectacular, wide-ranging example of collective improvisation.
CD $17
KENNY DORHAM with JACKIE McLEAN / KENNY BURRELL / BOBBY TIMMONS / TEDDY SMITH / JC MOSES - Round About Midnight At The Cafe Bohemia To Matador - Revisited (Hat EZZ-Thetics 1173; Switzerland) Revisiting and remastering two essential albums from New York hard bop trumpeter Kenny Dorham, a tremendous musican who died much too young but left a legacy of 20 albums as a leader, here in his 1956 Blue Note album in a sextet that included Bobby Timmons and Kenny Burrell, and his 1963 United Artists Jazz album in a quintet with Jackie McLean, Bobby Timmons, Teddy Smith and JC. Moses.
CD $17
MEAT BEAT MANIFESTO and MERZBOW - Extinct (Cold Spring Records CSR 330CD; UK) Cold Spring Records present a unique collaboration between industrial breakbeat pioneers Meat Beat Manifesto (Jack Dangers) and the undisputed king of Japanese noise, Merzbow (Masami Akita). "We may not speak the same language, but in the vortex of sound, there's a raw, primal understanding that transcends words. Noise can be art, a visual representation could maybe be Jackson Pollock's No 5, a plexus of chaos redefining what music can and could be. Pushing boundaries with Masami wasn't just a musical adventure, it was a masterclass in sonic anarchy" --Jack Dangers, January 2024. Extinct sees the duo take listeners on a transcendental journey, focusing on the dismantling of beat and structure and recycling the result through layers of beautifully crafted noise and feedback loops, giving birth to new rhythms buried deep in the dirt. The 20-minute opener "!FLAKKA¡" takes constantly evolving breakbeats which are gradually broken down over time, driven through a filter of harsh noise, destroying the old to give birth to the new. Raw and unforgiving, the track is a behemoth that blends mutant forms of broken beats and hints of dub, creating rhythmic noise of the highest caliber in the process. "Burner" takes the record to its ultimate conclusion, the initial drum beat broken down so that it is barely recognizable. Pulsating distortion and high-end audio fragments bleed into each other as the track lumbers forth and destroys everything in its path before slowly unravelling, degrading and falling apart. A harrowing yet somewhat cathartic trip through walls of harsh industrial noise and audio degradation, Extinct is a masterful pairing of artists who have delivered something truly unique yet totally relevant. Composed, recorded, and produced November 2023-January 2024 by Jack Dangers and Masami Akita. Art by Abby Helasdottir (Gydja).
CD $17 / LP $34
LLYN Y CWN - Megaliths (Cold Spring Records CSR 334; UK) Step into the shadows of ancient mysticism as Llyn Y Cwn, the maestro of Welsh dark ambient, unveils the mesmerizing odyssey that is Megaliths. A profound exploration of the sacred resonance embedded within stone circles, capturing years of field recordings from the silent and enigmatic monuments that stand as timeless witnesses to the ebb and flow of existence. Ben Powell has crafted a sonic voyage that mirrors the sacred spaces marked by stoic pillars of rock, each track representing a specific site. Delving deep into the esoteric significance of stone circles, the album portrays these structures not merely as historical relics but as religious ceremonial sites where the veil between the world and the eternal realm becomes tantalizingly thin. Extracting ambient soundscapes from burial chambers, Ben has utilized convolution reverbs to replicate the ominous ambiance of these ancient spaces. A veteran of stone circle exploration, Ben's decades-long journey has yielded field recordings that capture the haunting whispers of wind and the solemn caws of crows, enveloping the listener in a ghostly atmosphere that transcends the ordinary. Guided by the wisdom found in Julian Cope's The Modern Antiquarian and Aurbrey Burl's A Guide to the Stone Circles of Britain, Llyn Y Cwn embarks on a sonic pilgrimage across the country, exploring the remote bleakness of these sites. The album transitions from the cramped, gloomy chambers of tombs to the unroofed, wide rings -- a journey from darkness to light, from the dead to the living, and from the grave to the sky. Megaliths is a ritual, a sonic séance that beckons listeners to commune with the ancient energies that saturate these sacred circles -- an atmospheric descent into the heart of mysterious realms, where the boundaries between the earthly and the spiritual blur into an indistinguishable, haunting atmosphere. Embrace the darkness, and let the stones speak. The journey begins now. Presented in a six-panel flood-printed digipak with breathtaking photography by the artist.
CD $17 [Pre-order]
LP SECTION:
RAN BLAKE / KRESTEN OSGOOD - The Dorothy Wallace Suite (ILK Music 274LP; Denmark) Featuring Ran Blake on piano and Kresten Osgood on drums. Dorothy Wallace was longtime friend and supporter of the great pianist Ran Blake. Ms. Wallace sought out Ran Blake when he was teaching at New England Conservatory, befriending him and other important musicians, cooking for them, housing them and having them play in her own small concert hall. The other musicians included Jimmy Giuffre, Gunther Schuller, Ricky Ford and Dominique Eade, all of whom taught or attended N.E.C. Inside of the album are lengthy notes by Ran Blake about each song in his suite and each one reveals another story or scene from the life on Dorothy Wallace. All of the pieces on this album are relatively short, yet each one is filled with wondrous music. There is something in Ran Blake’s playing that puts him in a class of his own. He doesn’t quite sound like anyone else but himself. The opener here is called, “Symphony in Green” and Ms. Wallace’s house was surrounded by (green) trees. Blake like to put a great deal of feeling into each note or line, often using space to carefully place each phrase. “Vera Fuller” is named after an old friend of Ms. Wallace’s, who was known for making elegant fruit pieces and shad roe. “Ricky Ford at Logan” is named after the great tenor saxist, a favorite musician & collaborator to Mr. Blake. “Bruni” was named after Ms. Wallace’s beloved dog Brunhilde and it is most exquisite. Each piece evokes a different scene or feeling. Danish drummer, Kresten Osgood, was a great choice for this music as he listens closely, always supports and never upstages Mr. Blake in any way. Side B features three short pieces by Mr. Blake as well as one by Mr. Osgood. The second half of this side features five standards by Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, Jerome Kern and others. Mr. Blake has a unique way of playing chords and embellishing them by letting certain phrases resonate richly. Mr. Osgood’s piece, “Eileen Account” is an impression of an impression of Ms. Wallace by one of her friends. When Blake plays Monk’s Pannonica”, he stretches it out is his own unique way. Ellington’s classic “Mood Indigo” is beyond lush, it is transformed into something else. Blake has a way of adding odd flourishes to standards which turn them inside out and add an ancient melody or tender spot where you’d least expect it. There is so much going on here that I can’t even put into words yet I am greatly moved by the way these two giants work together. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
LP $30 [Limited Edition]
JEROME COOPER / KRESTEN OSGOOD - As of Not (ILK Music 296LP; Denmark) Featuring Jerome Cooper on drums, chirimia, balafon & electronic tonal activator (ETA) and Kresten Osgood on drums & piano. Recorded at Village Recording in November of 2011. I’ve been a good friend and big fan of Danish drummer/multi-instrumentalist, Kresten Osgood, for more than two decades. Besides his consistently inventive percussion playing, I like that he has long searched out many of the older jazz legends to collaborate with: Sam Rivers, Oliver Lake, John Tchicai, Yusef Lateef, Luther Thomas, Tisziji Munoz and Ra Kalam Bob Moses. Around 2004, Mr. Osgood finally met one of his heroes, Jerome Cooper, percussionist for the Revolutionary Ensemble and multi-instrumental sonic wizard. Osgood had the opportunity to invite Mr. Cooper to conduct a masterclass at the Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen in 2011. The two percussionists played a duo concert and Mr. Cooper returned to Denmark in 2014 to lead a workshop at the Jyderup Accordion Traef festival.
This wonderful rare 2 LP set was recorded in November of 2011 and is finally seeing its release now. The duo recorded two versions of the long work, “As of Not” and chose the best versions of each piece for the final 2 LP set. There are seven parts to this work, either one or two per LP side. Things begin quietly, sparsely on “Part 1” with suspense-filled piano and a distant drone. Soon there is a lovely duo for piano and balafon (an African xylophone). This leads to a duo for electronic tonal activator (which sounds like a theremin) and chirimia (a double reed instrument similar to an oboe). Like other double reeds (a musette for example), the chirimia has an intense, throttling presence. Since there are no overdubs here, the duo work together as they switch between several instruments, often playing sympathetically together. On “Part 3”, the chirimia, ETA and mallet percussion create a cosmic, somewhat spiritual sound. The effect is most mesmerizing and rather intense. “Part 4” has a somewhat calypso-like groove with strange Monkish piano throbbing on top. The overall vibe here is similar to the way that Sun Ra evoked spiritual space travel in his music, it is as if we are entering another world, hypnotic and a bit scary or just plain alien. For a section both drummers play together and evoke tribal, ritualistic vibes with their throbbing rhythmic landscape. This piece builds intensity and tempo and then slowly calms down (somewhat) until the throbbing Sun Ra-like keyboard and cosmic double reed blend into an intoxicating force. On “Part 6”, the chirimia continues to bend notes and bend minds while the drums play that distinctive Jerome Cooper like odd groove. A soft throbbing keyboard bass line takes over with an electric piano-like Sun Ra solo on top. This entire 2 LP work has a most transcendent vibe which can be a bit harrowing at times as if we are losing our balance as we listen. It reminds me of our current stance on the planet earth, rooted in something like gravity yet still stretching out to meet the Sun and Stars in the Heavens. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
2 LP Set $40 [Limited Edition]
DON CHERRY / COLLIN WALCOTT / NANA VASCONCELOS - Codona Live Willisau, Switzerland September 1, 1978 (WHP 1477LP; Italy) The magical encounter of three skillful players, right before their self-titled debut on ECM. On September 1, 1978, the musical trio Codona performed live in Willisau, Switzerland. This Swiss FM broadcast captured Codona in full flight, with Collin Walcott on sitar, Don Cherry on trumpet, and Nana Vasconcelos on percussion. Their performance weaved a magical web of sound. The opening track, "New Light," is a 16-minute journey of pure joy.
2 LP Set $36
GEORGE ADAMS & DON PULLEN QUARTET with CAMERON BROWN / DANNIE RICHMOND - City Gates (Music on Vinyl MOV 3713Col-LP; Netherlands) "City Gates was released by the George Adams-Don Pullen Quartet in 1983. The quartet consisted of George Adams on tenor sax and flute, Don Pullen on piano, Dannie Richmond on drums, Cameron Brown on bass, and together they recorded five jazz-bop tracks. All tracks were either written by George Adams or Don Pullen, except for the traditional African American spiritual song 'Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen' which was arranged by Adams and Pullen. City Gates is available as a limited edition of 500 copies on white colored vinyl and contains liner notes on the back sleeve by music journalist Frits Lagerwerff."
LP $40
KRZYSZTOF KOMEDA with TOMASZ STANKO / MICHAL URBANIAK / et al - Jazz Jamboree 63 (Honey Pie 093LP; Italy) This is the legendary Krzystof Komeda Quintet caught live a the Jazz Jamboree Festival in Warsaw in 1963. A marvelous combo featuring some of the greatest Polish jazz musicians such as Tomasz Stanko (trumpet), Michal Urbaniak (tenor sax), Maciej Suzin (bass), and Czeslaw Bartowski (drums). Komeda, Stanko and Urbaniak were sort of pioneers who effectively opened up a way for jazz in Poland. Komeda's fluent modern jazz conception was a perfect synthesis between the American influence and a certain Slavic lyricism. The album includes an astonishing version of "Ballad -- From Knife In Water" from Komeda's soundtrack for the 1962 Roman Polanski movie. A major statement in the East European music history.
LP $26
TONY CONRAD & JENNIFER WALSHE - In The Merry Month Of May (Blue Chopsticks 033LP; USA) "In the Merry Month of May is the final studio recording of the late, great Tony Conrad, and the first duo release with Jennifer Walshe, one of Conrad's most important collaborators in the final decade of his life. Befitting these two absurdly gifted hell-raisers, this is a wild, improvisatory flaying of song, with Walshe's clarion voice at the heart of the enterprise. The sheer sonic force of opener 'In the Merry Month of May' recalls the ecstatic charge of Conrad's Slapping Pythagoras. Ramshackle, go-for-broke performances provide gist for your next twelve months of earworms. Conrad's and Walshe's prior work are about the only relevant reference points, and even then In the Merry Month of May is a one-of-a-kind concoction whipped up by two fearless and often peerless souls. It's a joy to hear the two of them, with such manifest mutual regard and commitment to busting a gut. According to Walshe, early in their collaboration Conrad related how they first began working together after they ran from service as servants of King Pepy I at the end of Old Kingdom Egypt. They were subsequently monks in Carolingean Gaul during the period roughly 820 to 850, Venetian courtesans at Pope Eugene's court during the mid-15th century, and prisoners on what was then Van Diemen's Land in 1843, where Walshe tried to secure Conrad's escape using 'remote viewing' techniques. The unfortunate outcome of the latter incident resulted in Conrad's work as a stage magician in Australia in the 19th century, where in trying an audience riot, they both accidentally ingested leprosy vectors and subsequently lost three legs and two arms between them.'"
LP $26
THE WIZARDS FROM KANSAS - Wizards from Kansas (Life Goes On Records 046LP; Italy) This quintet's sole album -- a legendary set of West Coast-style ballroom psych -- disappeared into obscurity on its original release in October 1970. "I bought my original copy of this unknown classic for 99 cents at a Woolworths in the late sixties because I dug the mandala thing on the cover. Little did I know that this would be one my favorite folk/rock/psych albums of all time. Although I've searched far and wide ever since, little seems to be known about this band. They were from the bay area and did play at the Fillmore. Their versions of two psych classics, "High Flying Bird" (covered by Jefferson Airplane) and Buffy St. Marie's anti-drug anthem "Codiene" (covered by Quicksilver Messenger Service and many others) remain for me, the very best versions and their finest moments. They were very much like the Airplane with their wonderful vocal harmonies and triple guitars, with some bits of the Dead in their rootsy sound and even some Santana-like percussion thrown in. This is a masterpiece of late-sixties roots/rock sound and it works perfectly from the first note to the last. If anyone out there has any other info about this band, I'm all ears!" - BLG
LP $26
THE FAR CRY - Far Cry (Life Goes On Records 042LP; Italy) "Their music reaches from blues to jazz into space," proclaimed the original liner notes to this highly collectible record, just released in 1968. Hailing from Boston, the Far Cry were a talented seven-piece blending psych rock and R&B, in the vein of Blood, Sweat & Tears and Rare Earth, with a further look into the realms of Beefheart Magic Band and John Cipollina Quicksilver Messenger Service. Their sole album still maintains a distinctive sound, melting acid guitar, sax and even vibraphone, organ and conga.
LP $26
ADAN JODOROWSKY - The Dance Of Reality (Finders Keepers FKR 076LP; UK) After a twenty-three-year hiatus, The Dance of Reality marked the triumphant return of Alejandro Jodorowsky, the visionary Chilean filmmaker behind cult classics El Topo and The Holy Mountain. In the radiantly visceral autobiographical film, a young Jodorowsky is confronted by a collection of compelling characters that contributed to his burgeoning surreal consciousness. The legendary filmmaker was born in 1929 in Tocopilla, a coastal town on the edge of the Chilean desert, where the film was shot. Blending his personal history with metaphor, mythology, and poetry, The Dance of Reality reflects Jodorowsky's philosophy that reality is not objective but rather a "dance" created by the imagination. Written, performed and recorded by Alejandro's son, the acclaimed actor, director and musician Adan Jodorowsky, Dance of Reality's original soundtrack expands from gossamer folk acoustic guitar themes and solo piano compositions to rich cinematic orchestral arrangements echoing the work of John Barry and Ennio Morricone combined with extrovert narrative traditional pieces executed in the vein of Nino Rota. This LP contains the sixteen original compositions that make up the score for Alejandro's seventh feature film which witness a return to the ABKCO film company who produced his underground classics El Topo and The Holy Mountain.
LP $16
JEAN-CLAUDE VANNIER with VIC FLICK / DENYS LABLE / HERBIE FLOWERS / MARC CHANTEREAU / PIERRE-ALAIN DAHAN - Roses Rouge Sang (Twisted Nerve 092LP; UK) Precisely four decades since the original release of the 1971 LP Histoire De Melody Nelson, Serge Gainsbourg's most celebrated composer, arranger and composer Jean-Claude Vannier returns to the same artistic territory that has since come to represent his most iconic period and continually inspire almost five generations of experimental rock luminaries. Respected throughout France as a long running singer-songwriter and experimental composer in his own right, it has taken this inclusive forty-year period for his music to travel beyond his central European fanbase thanks to a growing community of vinyl archeologists and French pop and conceptual rock enthusiasts who have come to clearly recognize the recurring production credits to JCV as a seal of quality and approval while taking gambles on Parisian picture sleeve pop. This LP comprises a personnel of the legendary European session players that appeared on classic Vannier and Gainsbourg scores such as Cannabis, La Horse, Slogan, and Les Chemins de Katmandou, as well as Histoire De Melody Nelson itself, and his own mythical follow up LP, the truly bizarre 1973 avant-garde ballet L'Enfant Assassin Des Mouches. The rhythm section line-up for the album comprises Pierre-Alain Dahan (drums), Dougie Wright (drums), Herbie Flowers (bass), Tony Bonfils (bass), Vic Flick (guitar), Denys Lable (guitar and banjo), and Marc Chantereau (percussion). Recorded partly in Paris and partly in the UK (not unlike the classic Gainsbourg LPs) the album Roses Rouge Sang ("Blood Red Roses") hears JCV taking care of vocal duties in his own unique style combining the macabre and the optimistic with ingenious world play and expert poetic use of the French language. Flourishing from initial rehearsal sessions for the first-ever live performance of Histoire De Melody Nelson, Roses Rouge Sang captures the authentic line-up just weeks after their initial reunion. With Roses Rouge Sang, JCV combines a lifetime of experience working with some of the best orchestras and pop rhythm sections in throughout the world with a return to his roots and his initial, radical ideas on how contemporary music could combine the two.
LP $16
THE HANDOVER with ALY EISSA / JONAS CAMBIEN / AYMAN ASFOUR - The Handover (Sublime Frequencies SF 124LP; USA) "There is, and has been, a prevailing orthodoxy permeating the Egyptian musical hierarchy that would render this spectacular piece as scandalous. But let us remember that over the past 100 years, Said Darwish, Mohamed Abdel Wahab, Halim El Dabh, Ahmad Adaweya, and the modern Mahraganat movement have all experienced their fair share of scandal and opposition. Music must always be pushed forward -- it may not always succeed as revelatory, but in this particular case, it does. Much like the venerable magic carpet, The Handover slowly builds to escort you into its swirling, ascending expression of the psychedelic, eventually descending, step by step, back to earth, landing as a wonderous spaceship with wide open doors inviting us inside for repeat listening. Perhaps this should have been happening in Egyptian music 50 years ago but it's here right now, and that's what matters. We are often asked an impossible question to answer: 'What constitutes a Sublime Frequencies release?' For the moment, we can point to this record as the answer to that question." -- Alan Bishop/Sublime Frequencies (March 2024)
LP $28
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ATTENTION ALL CREATIVE MUSICIANS OUT THERE, Around the world.
If you have a link for some music that you are working on and want to share it with the folks who read the DMG Newsletter, please send the link to DMG at DMG@Downtownmusicgallery.com
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THE STONE RESIDENCIES / MILES OKAZAKI / MAY 29-JUNE 1
5/29 Wednesday
8:30 pm: TRIO - Tim Berne (sax) Miles Okazaki (guitar) Dan Weiss (drums)
5/30 Thursday
8:30 pm - QUARTET - Miles Okazaki (guitar) Nasheet Waits (drums) Jon Irabagon (sax) Hannah Marks (bass)
5/31 Friday
8:30 pm - DUO - Miles Okazaki (guitar) Craig Taborn (piano)
6/1 Saturday
8:30 pm - TRICKSTER - Miles Okazaki (guitar) Matt Mitchell (piano) Anthony Tidd (bass) Sean Rickman (drums)
THE STONE RESIDENCIES / BEN GOLDBERG / JUNE 5-8
6/5 Wednesday
8:30 pm - QUARTET - Nels Cline (electric guitar) Trevor Dunn (bass) Tom Rainey (drums) Ben Goldberg (clarinet)
6/6 Thursday
8:30 pm - BEN GOLDBERG'S GLAMOROUS ESCAPADES - John Ellis (tenor saxophone) Steve Cardenas (electric guitar) Will Bernard (electric guitar) Ben Allison (bass) Allan Mednard (drums) Ben Goldberg (clarinet)
6/7 Friday
8:30 pm - INVISIBLE GUY WITH VISIBLE GUEST - Kenny Wollesen (electric vibraphone) Michael Coleman (synthesizer) Hamir Atwal (drums) Ben Goldberg (clarinet)
6/8 Saturday
8:30 pm - QUARTET - Angelica Sanchez (piano) Carmen Quill (bass) Ches Smith (drums) Ben Goldberg (clarinet)
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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Celebrating Women Composers
Cheryl Pyle Musique Libre Femmes
Amanda Monaco Deathblow
Stephanie Griffin and Friends
Curated by Abby London ♫♪♫•*¨
At Michiko Studios /studio 3
Friday May 31st, 2024 7:00pm -$20 cash
15 W 39th St, 7th Floor , New York, NY 10018
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Eric Dolphy: Freedom of Sounds Festival
June 1st and 2nd at The New School
John L. Tishman Auditorium
Saturday, June 1st - 6pm to 10:15:
DIANNE McINTYRE (Dance) / PHEEROAN AKLAFF / THE NEW SCHOOL DOLPHY ENSEMBLE
MATTHEW SHIPP & ROB BROWN
PATRICIA BRENNAN
DON BYRON BASS CLARINET QUARTET with JD PARRAN / BOB DEBELIS / TODD MARCUS
REGGIE WORKMAN / JEN SHYU / JASON KAO HWANG / AYANA WORKMAN
THE DOLPHY TRIO with NICOLE MITCHELL / DARIUS JONES / JD PARRAN
Sunday, June 2nd - 3pm to 8:30
Listen Session: DR. JAMES NEWTON & PETER BODGE
Symposium: REGGIE WORKMAN / NICOLE MITCHELL / DR. JAMES NEWTON
TOM CHIU STRING QUARTET
EUGENE CHADBOURNE
JAMES BRANDON LEWIS with KIRK KNUFFKE / CHRIS LIGHTCAP / CHAD TAYLOR
NICOLE MITCHELL & CRAIG TABORN
GERI ALLEN’S Celebration Suite for Eric Dolphy - Featuring:
ANGELIKA SANCHEZ / JAMES BRANDON LEWIS / JALEEL SHAW / TK BLUE / AMIR ELSAFFAR / PATRICIA BRENNAN / CHAD TAYLOR / JAY RODRIGUEZ / KALIA VANDEVER / DEVON GATES
Contact & tickets: https://seedartists.org/
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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: NEW EMAIL ADDRESS as of the Summer of 2023: downtownmusicgalleryofficial@gmail.com
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