Into my eye comes visions of patterns
Designs the image of her I see
Into my mind the smell of her hair
The sound of her voice, we once were there.
And even though I know that you and I
Could never find the kind of love we wanted together
Alone, I find myself missing you and I, you and I, you.
The above song, “Janis” is/was dedicated to the great singer Janis Joplin. From what I understand, both Country Joe MacDonald (lead singer of CJ & the Fish) and Ron “Pigpen” McKernan (lead singer of the Grateful Dead), both dated Janis Joplin at different times before she hit fame with Big Brother and the Holding Company (around 1967). Basically a strong blues/rock singer, Ms. Joplin, rose to popularity through her time with Big Brother (check out the ‘Cheap Thrills’ album), her own Full Tilt Boogie Band and her Kozmic Blues Band. I had mixed feelings about her full throttle singing at times but eventually came round after checking out her performances at the Monterey Pop Fest in 1967 plus I finally caught her live at the Atlantic City Rock Fest in 1969. She seemed to be a tragic figure who had problems with alcohol, drugs and fame. She also inspired two great songs, the one above and “Bird Song”, which became a staple of the Dead’s lengthy song list and which still touches me deeply every time I hear it. Janis Joplin led a relatively short life and died at the age of 27 in October of 1970, 54 years ago next month, of a tragic drug overdose. “All I know is something like a bird within her sang, All I know she sang a little while and then flew on…” A toast to the one and the only Janis Joplin! - MC-BruceLee at DMG
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THE 33rd ANNIVERSARY IN-STORE CONCERT SERIES AT DMG CONTINUES WITH:
Tuesday, October 1st:
6:30: lo glow redux: PAUL AUSTERLITZ - contrabass clarinet / IVAN BARENBOIM - contra-alto clarinet / patrick brennan - alto sax / CLAIRE de BRUNNER - bassoon / NICK GIANNI - bari sax / MIKE NOORDZY - contra-alto clarinet / JESSICA LURIE - baritone sax / SARA SCHOENBECK - bassoon
7:30: JEFF PEARRING - Alto Sax / KEN FILIANO - ContraBass / MICHAEL TA THOMPSON - Drums
8:30: DEVIN GRAY - Drums / KEVIN EICHENBERGER - Bass / RYAN EASTER - Trumpet
Tuesday, October 8th:
6:30: WaterghOst and WEBB CRAWFORD - Guitar duo
7:30: DOT ISO: VIVEK MENON - Violin / DYLAN DELGIUDICE - Guitar-Sax / ORCHID McRAE - Drums-Percussion
8:30: MARC EDWARDS & SLIPSTREAM TIME TRAVEL: AYUMI ISHITO - Tenor Sax / TOR SNYDER, NATHAN CHAMBERLAIN / DYLAN DELGIUDICE - Electric Guitars / TAKUMA KANAIWA - El Bass / MARC EDWARDS - Drums
Tuesday, October 15th:
6:30: RAFFI GARABEDIAN - Tenor Sax / KENNY WARREN - Trumpet / - Drums
7:30: DAVE GROLLMAN - Solo
8:30: JOHN HAGEN - Solo Tenor Sax
9:30: LUKE POLIPNICK - Guitar / KAELEN GHANDI / SHOGO NAGAI - ContraBass / JAMES PAUL NADIEN - Drums
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THIS WEEK'S MUSICAL DELIGHTS START WITH A BOOK OF POETRY BY...
OLIVER LAKE - “If I Knew This & More” - Poems and Images (Self-published with help from City of Asylum; USA) I still recall the excitement of going to record stores and reading album & concert reviews in the mid 1970’s. My two favorite labels were ECM and Arista/Freedom. Every week a new album would arrive and every week I would go to Loft Jazz gigs at places like Studio Rivbea, the Ladies Fort, Environ, Tin Palace, the Kitchen and Public Theatre. In 1994 alone Arista/Freedom released (40!) records by Anthony Braxton, Julius Hemphill, Oliver Lake, Cecil Taylor, Albert Ayler, Ornette Coleman and the Art Ensemble of Chicago. I had started to check the avant/jazz scene in NYC around 1973. The first two Freedom albums by Oliver Lake, Julius Hemphill and Anthony Braxton were all seminal efforts, so these musicians became my new heroes. I remember checking out the Art Ensemble of Chicago at the Kitchen in 1973, it was their return from living in Paris and they played for three hours! I also recall seeing the debut of the World Sax Quartet (w/ David Murray, Julius Hemphill, Oliver Lake & Hamiett Bluiett) at the Public Theatre a couple of years later and I was blown away! I’ve been a big fan of Oliver Lake ever since, buying each of his albums and checking him out live on dozens of occasions. Mr. Lake started his own record label called Passin’ Thru in 1975 and in the 90’s, he used to call me at store to offer me releases on his label. I am honored to talk with him on the phone since he is still one of my heroes. In 2016, Sacramento guitarist Ross Hammond brought an all-star quartet to play here at DMG featuring Oliver Lake & Vinny Golia on reeds, Adam Lane on bass & Mr. Hammond on guitar. The gig was great and Hammond recorded it and released in on CD. Mr. Lake was a part of another all-star band called Trio3 with Reggie Workman on bass, Andrew Cyrille on drums & Mr. Lake on alto sax & soprano saxes. The trio has 11 albums and each one is great.
In 2017, Oliver Lake was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Since then, he retired from playing his sax. In order to keep his creative juices flowing, Mr. Lake has been composing music, writing poetry and painting. It turns out that he is great at all three and continues work on his own art, no matter what form it takes. At the last Vision Fest (in June of 2024), Mr. Lake read his poetry with William Parker on bass. It was an extraordinary set and what blew me away since Mr. Lake’s poetry and the way he read those poems with Mr. Parker’s inventive bass as the perfect collaborator, it was a perfect combination of talents. I asked Mr. Lake if I could put one of his poems at the top of the DMG newsletter a few months ago and he graciously agreed. The poem was wonderful and it got some good response from some you DMG subscribers. It turns out that that poems and some of the ones he read were/are all from his book of poetry called ‘If I Knew This & More’. I’ve been reading and thinking about these poems for the past few weeks. I am deeply impressed. Each of these poems discusses an observation by Mr. Lake and a good deal of thought has gone into their creation. I read a few poems on my way to and from going to NYC to work or gigs or both. I savor them one at a time. None of these poems are hard to read or too eclectic. They are direct from the heart, mind and soul of my man, Mr. Oliver Lake. Peace. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
BOOK [100 pages] $16
KRIS DAVIS TRIO with ROBERT HURST / JOHNATHAN BLAKE - Run the Gauntlet (Pyroclastic Records PR 36; USA) Featuring Kris Davis on piano, prepared piano & direction, Robert Hurst on bass and Johnathan Blake on drums. Ever since moving to NYC from Vancouver in the early aughts, pianist Kris Davis has continued to take on challenges and evolve as a pianist, composer and multi-bandleader. Over time, Ms. Davis has led a series of trios with different collaborators for each one. Each trio has had different personnel (with Tony Malaby & Nick Fraser, Borderlands Trio & The Eric Revis & Mario Pavone Trios). For this disc Ms. Davis has organized another strong trio with bassist Robert Hurst and drummer Johnathan Blake, both of whom are known for their more straight straight-ahead. For this disc, Ms. Davis chose six woman pianists who have inspired her: Geri Allen, Carla Bley, Marilyn Crispell, Angelica Sanchez, Sylvie Courvoisier and Renee Rosnes, all of whom are great pianists and composers. In the liner notes, Ms. Davis explains what what about each pianist has inspired her.
The title of this disc, ‘Run the Gauntlet’, refers to a series of challenges that Ms. Davis has set up for her and her trio which were inspired by each of the pianists she chose to celebrate here. The title track is first and the main theme is indeed challenging. If has a lopsided, somewhat twisted rhythm groove/line which the trio plays easily before it gets into a hypnotic, churning, repeating line. As the theme repeats, Ms. Davis plays a number of exuberant, sweeping crescendos, the trio building up as the intensity increases. Ms. Davis has chosen a perfect rhythm team to pull this off. In the last section of this piece, drummer Johnathan Blake, revs up and plays a series of powerful drum eruptions. “Softly, As You Wake”, starts off suspensefully with slow muted notes from inside the piano, somber, eerie bowed bass and skeletal percussion. “Little Footsteps” has a memorable repeating line on which the drums keep shifting the flow, building up and then winding down, over & over, with a spirited bass solo midway. The inner melody here, which repeats throughout this pieces has an infectious vibe. “Beauty Beneath the Rubble” is a most lovely, lyrical piece, plucking lightly at our collective heartstrings. It is followed by a meditation with more exquisite, haunting muted notes from inside the piano. Considering how many piano trios that Ms. Davis has played in, this one is something else, sounding as if they’ve been playing together for a long time. This just might be the best piano trio I’ve heard in recent memory and that is surely saying something. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15
IVO PERELMAN / MATTHEW SHIPP / JEFF COSGROVE - Live in Carrboro (Soul City 95269-22138; USA) Featuring Ivo Perelman on tenor sax, Matt Shipp on piano and Jeff Cosgrove on drums. Recorded at the ArtsCenter in Carrboro, North Carolina in November of 2022. Tenor saxist Ivo Perelman and pianist Matt Shipp have been working together in duo, trios and quartets for many years and have several dozen releases out. Drummer, Jeff Cosgrove, is based in the Washington, DC area, which is where he also teaches and has recorded Frank Kimbrough, Scott Robinson and John Medeski. This trio has recorded previously for Leo Records in 2017, as well as with William Parker replacing Mr. Perelman on a couple of previous discs. Things begin quietly, as if we are within a solemn dream-world. Unlike many of the duo, trio and quartet disc that Mr. Perelman and Mr. Shipp have done in the past, this session is more restrained. Due to this restraint, there is a sense of calm going on throughout. This causes Mr. Perelman to be more introspective, going out but not too far. About a third of the way through this disc/session, the trio start to turn more turbulent, which only lasts for a short bit. Mr. Cosgrove takes a lovely, soft mallet-on-drums solo which is one of the highlights of this fine session. The trio become a bit more animated in the last section of this disc, increasing the tempo and intensity as they evolve. Throughout this disc, there is an organic flow from one section top the next which unites the way things unfold in a natural feeling way like the flow of life itself. That dream-like vibe feels better after ready the bad, sad or fake news of the day. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD-R $13
IVO PERELMAN / MATTHEW SHIPP - Magical Incantation (Soul City; USA) Featuring Ivo Perelman on tenor sax and Matt Shipp on piano. Recorded at Park West Studios in April of this year (2024). Tenor saxist Ivo Perelman and pianist Matt Shipp have been working together for almost three decades in duos, trios and quartets. This is their ninth duo offering on record. They’ve obviously developed a creative bond. This disc begins with what sounds like an old school ballad with both musicians playing with exquisite restraint and warmth. Mr. Perelman sounds like he is dipping into that older tenor tone that was favored by the ancient titans like Coleman Hawkins or Ben Webster, most lyrical, lovely and somewhat haunting. This piece is called “Prayer” and it does indeed sound rather prayer-like. The duo play more intensely on “Rituals”, with Perelman starting to twist some of his notes inside out and then calming down for a more dreamy sequence. Mr. Shipp plays most elegantly here, soft and warm overall. The duo start to erupt more intensely on “Incarnation” with Mr. Shipp hitting some dark, somewhat disturbing chords. It is actually the quieter, more somber pieces here that I like the best. “Vibrational Essence” has a haunting, dream-like vibe before it starts to submerge into some darker currents. I am currently watching the sunset from my kitchen window with the sound of this disc playing here. The music and sunset go together so well like a dream as it fades away. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD-R $13
STEVE HIRSH / STEVE SWELL / JIM CLOUSE / WILLIAM PARKER - Out On A Limb (Soul City 55491-31452; USA) Featuring Steve Swell on trombone, Jim Clouse on tenor & soprano saxes, William Parker on contrabass and Steve Hirsh on drums. No doubt you know about trombone hero Steve Swell since he collorates with many heavy hitters like Ken Vandermark, Peter Brotzmann, Joelle Leandre & lots more. Saxist Jim Clouse runs Park West Studios in Brooklyn, where many great avant/jazz releases have been recorded over the past decade. In the past few years, Mr. Clouse has played here at the store on several occasions mostly with Patrick Golden & Ivo Perelman. It turns out that Mr. Clouse is one of the best free/jazz saxists that has played here in recent memory and I look forward to each of his sets. Bassist, author, multi-instrumentalist and multi-bandleader, William Parker certainly needs no intro. When drummer Steve Hirsh first played here at DMG a few years back, I wasn’t familiar with his playing. Since then, I’ve heard him collaborating with Joel Futterman, George Cartwright and Eri Yamamoto. Mr. Hirsh also turned out to be a fine drummer so keep your eye on him in the future.
This disc consists of three long pieces. As with all releases that I’ve reviewed or heard recorded at Park West Studios, this disc is warm, clean and superbly recorded. “but where” is first, the rhythm team playing at a more moderate tempo with Mr. Swell’s trombone and Mr. Clouse’s tenor sax swirling, graciously around one another. Drummer Steve Hirst seems to telegraphing the tempo, speeding up and slowing down with the quartet playing in a focused yet free manor. Steve Swell takes the first long solo on trombone and shows off his prowess. When Mr. Clouse enters on soprano sax, the two has a strong dialogue, tossing lines back and forth, the rhythm team even dropping out for a bit. Mr. Clouse continues and solos next, his soprano playing most extraordinary! For some normal listeners “free music” is difficult to listen since it has no obvious melodies or hooks. For myself (and other serious listeners), I hear quite a bit more going on. There are a number of different sections going on here, each one with either evolving combinations of the players and the dynamics and tempo consistently shifting from one part to the next. There are quite a bit of quieter, more restrained moments going on here, hence this is not just a long fire-breathing, free/jazz series of eruptions but much more balanced. The central pulse or throb here is often the powerful contrabass of William Parker. On the third and last piece, “Escape Velocity”, the quartet lay back for a for cerebral, solemn vibe. The piece builds slowly and increases in tempo and intensity. Drummer Steve Hirsh is featured here and sounds like he is leading the quartet and navigating through some treacherous rapids. The moderate tempo and vibe here has a thoughtful vibe and makes this piece a nice conclusion for a well-paced disc. Most organic and inviting throughout. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $13
TATSUYA NAKATANI with CHARLES CHACE / CROWMEAT BOB / PHIL VENABLE - Tragic Assembly (Soul City 55491-29991; USA) Featuring Tatsuya Nakatani on percussion, Charles Chace on guitar, Crowmeat Bob on reeds and Phil Venable on double bass. I was friendly with avant percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani when he was living in the NYC area in the late 1990’s and early aughts, before he moved to Penn. He’s always been a gifted improviser on percussion, especially gongs and also makes his unique bows form string and other percussionists. Last I heard, he had moved to Colorado but no idea where he is living now. I hadn’t heard of the other members of the quartet before now. After doing some research I see that Crowmeat Bob has worked with Eugene Chadbourne and the Micro-East Collective, while bassist Phil Venable also runs this, the Soul City label.
This disc was recorded at the ArtCenter in Carrboro, North Carolina in November of 2022. I recall that Tatsuya Nakatani loves to travel and has worked with dozens of improvisers from all over the world. This disc starts off with probing acoustic bass, swirling sax and sparse percussion and some fractured guitar soon coming in. The music here is well recorded and balanced just right. Crowmeat Bob sounds like he is playing clarinet on “Slowly Comprehending” with the guitar and bowed bass interweaving their lines and Mr. Nakatani adding a layer of cymbal fragments. The quartet moves into a more harrowing area as clarinet, bowed bass, guitar and percussion ascend together. I like the way this quartet sounds as they play together, they sound united as one haunting force of nature. This is free/form music that is focused and thoughtfully played. Most organic in the way it unfolds, section per section or scene after scene. Although only Mr. Nakatani is the only name I recognize here, all four members of this quartet are integral to the group sound and ongoing exploration. So much great improvised to hear, so little time to check it all out. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD-R $13 (LTD Edition of 75]
KYLE MOTL / WILFRIDO TERRAZAS - Seven Gifts (FMR CD692-0524; UK) Featuring Wilfrido Terrazas on flutes and Kyle Motl on contrabass. Recorded in Studio A at the University of California in San Diego in February of 2023. Young contrabassist Kyle Motl went to school in San Diego and recorded with Peter Kuhn, Abbey Rader and Nathan Hubbard. He moved to NYC a few years back and has kept busy recording with Anthony Davis, Tatsuya Nakatani and put together a strong duo called TreeSearch with Keir GoGwilt on violin. Mr. Motl has played here at DMG on several occasions, the sets of TreeSearch have been especially engaging each time they’ve played here. I hadn’t heard of Mexican flutist, Wilfrido Terrazas until now although he has a half dozen discs out including an ensemble called Generación Espontánea from Mexico City.
I really like the way these two musicians play together. They sound like they are having a heated dialogue, ideas flowing back and forth quickly and easily. Mr. Terrazas occasionally adds shorts bits of vocal sounds to his flute playing, rather like punctuation to the ongoing flow of sounds and/or ideas. The flow often sounds like it is elastic with notes being bent towards one another, bow the bass and bending notes on the flute in similar ways. At times, Mr. Terrazas will blow harder as the tension increases while Mr. Motl bows or plucks sympathetic notes/sounds underneath, the balance just right. There are some quiet sections where it is hard to tell who is playing which sound as the slightly bent notes sounds very similar. On “Mystery Groove”, Motl breaks into a stirring walking bass line, which he slowly alters as it evolves while Terrazas matches him rhythmically and melodically. There is a good mix of more subtle sounds with some more exciting moments. It sounds like Mr. Terrazas is creating some sort of (acoustic) feedback on the last piece. Hard to tell but still engaging throughout. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $16
KENNETH JIMENEZ with ANGELICA SANCHEZ / HERY PAZ / GERALD CLEAVER - Sonnet To Silence (We Jazz WJCD 051CD; Finland) Brooklyn-based bassist/composer Kenneth Jimenez presents his new work Sonnet to Silence on We Jazz Records. Consisting of seven original compositions by Jimenez performed by his quartet including pianist Angelica Sanchez, drummer Gerald Cleaver, and saxophonist Hery Paz, Sonnet to Silence echoes the original fire of New York free jazz while stepping into a terrain of its own, boldly forward-thinking. Jimenez, originally from Costa Rica, has a knack at composing pieces that breathe naturally and take fight on the wings provided by the first-rate quartet, joining scene stalwarts and newcomers together as a coherent unit. "Since I was a kid I've had this reoccurring dream of running towards the edge of a mountain and suddenly discovering myself flying down to the valley, feeling weightless and fearless," say Jimenez. "This record is the materialization of that dream. The uncompromising voices in the band and our shared desire to explore the unknown make this music live and breathe. It feels that the possibilities become endless when creating with these master improvisers, and the only thing that matters is to take that initial jump into the abyss." The opening track and first single "Dos Tazas" is a fine example of what the quartet can achieve. It sneaks up on the listener, drawing you in from the first moments, before revealing its melodically adventurous nature in its fullest. As a whole, the album lets the band loose at times, while the music maintains its natural flow. With Sonnet to Silence, Kenneth Jimenez establishes himself as a composer and bandleader with remarkably strong presence.
CD $17 / LP $30
STEVE HUBBACK - The Last Free City (FMR CD0695-0524; UK) Featuring Steve Hubback on invented percussion. Recorded at Massart Studio in Boston in November of 2023. I’ve been a fan of British percussionist and instrument-maker, Steve Hubback after hearing his early records on the FMR label starting around 2000. Mr. Hubback has worked with Frode Gjerstad, Paal Nilssen-Love, Andrea Centazzo and David Moss. In December of last year (2023), Mr. Hubback played solo set at DMG, after doing a series of workshops and concerts up in Boston, where this disc was recorded. After checking out Mr. Hubback live at DMG, I realized how unique his home made instruments/drumset were/are, rather like metal sculptures with a sly design. Similar to percussionist, Tatsuya Nakatani, Mr. Hubback also bows his metal percussion. Beginning with “The Last Free City”, we hear a series of eerie drones, sometimes in layers. Aside from the drones, Mr. Hubback is also tapping rhythmically on his percussion. “The Worksop 0f Amazing Creations”, has Mr. Hubback playing what sounds like a regular drum kit at first and moving methodically around his set. On the third piece, things slow down for a more spacious vibe. The last two pieces are pretty short and the entire CD is only 21 minutes long. I find the sounds that Steve Hubback creates to be consistently fascinating. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14
UD0 SCHINDLER / MICHEL WINTSCH - Toute L’ame resume (FMR CD696-0524; UK) Featuring Udo Schindler on B & bass clarinets, alto sax & tubax and Michel Wintsch on piano. Recorded live in November of 2023. German reeds player, Udo Schindler, has been recording for nearly three decades and has more than 100 discs released with mostly German and other European musicians. Mr. Schindler has recorded in a variety of duos with Frank Gratkowski, Jaap Blonk and Eric Zwang Erikssen. Swiss pianist Michel Wintsch has been recording discs for about the same amount of time but only has some 20 discs as a leader or collaborator. I recall hearing several of Mr. Wintsch’s discs with Gerry Hemingway and Fred Frith. This appears to be the fourth disc from this particular duo, who’ve been recording since 2022. Mr. Schindler starts off on bass clarinet, the duo playing quietly at first before taking off for some freer more intense terrain. For the second piece, Mr. Schindler switches to a tubax, a rarely heard modified contrabass sax developed in 1999. As Mr. Schindler works his way through the lower end of the reeds spectrum, he bends and twists his notes (a sort of grumbling sound) while Mr. Wintsch plays some well-matched piano excursions. Mr. Wintsch’s piano playing sounds closer to modern classical music than free/form free/jazz. Wintsch seems to be drawing from several themes, which he develops throughout each piece. Schindler switches to a regular clarinet on the fourth piece, playing more carefully and sparsely. Wintsch’s playing here is somewhat darker as he hits those turbulent chords while hold the pedal down, feeling like we are being pulled down into some audible quicksand. Soon things lighten up with Schindler letting up a layer of notes, making kissing sounds at one point, with the duo’s intensity soon ascending like a storm erupting. Mr. Wintsch plays with humorous abandon for the last piece with Mr. Schindler playing his ornery tubax once more, growling through those lower notes. Both musicians sound like they were meant to play together as they work so well in similar areas. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14
DIAMANDA GALAS - Saint of the Pit (Intravenal Sound Operations IS 008CD; USA) The CD version includes eight-page booklet with lyrics and translations and 14x19 inch poster."Saint of the Pit, Diamanda Galás' fifth studio album and the second in her trilogy, The Masque of the Red Death, is an urgent record. Its theme is essentially passion, in the sense of suffering, although here, and unlike the passion of Christianity, there is little to offer solace. Re-released on Galás' own Intravenal Sound Operations (ISO) after its initial release on Mute in November 1986, Saint of the Pit is a masterpiece of witnessing, forged from grief and fury during the HIV-AIDS epidemic. While its precursor, The Divine Punishment (originally via Mute, now ISO), released only five months before in June 1986, invoked Old Testament laws around the clean and the unclean, as a way of raging against the inhumanity of systemic neglect of people with HIV-AIDS, this album is focused on a more interior response. Saint of the Pit was an urgent record and now, nearly 40 years on, it remains an urgent record because, ultimately, its major theme is not limited to HIV-AIDs, but profound suffering. It is this music's capacity to bear witness, to wrap a humanity around another's pain, to hear that anguish, that gives Saint of the Pit its continuing relevance. Remastered by Heba Kadry in 2024. Vinyl pressed at RTI, packaged in a printed euro inner sleeve with lyrics and translations and 18 x 24-inch poster."
CD $16 / LP $28
MARCUS FJELLSTROM - The Last Sunset of the Year (Miasmah 056CD; UK) Miasmah Recordings presents the posthumous release of this double a bum of the final work by experimental composer Marcus Fjellström, titled The Last Sunset of the Year. Collected by Marcus' friends and colleagues Erik K. Skodvin and Dave Kajganich, this release brings together music written and produced during Marcus' tenure as composer for the first season of the AMC anthology series The Terror, which told the story of the doomed 1845 Franklin Expedition to find the Northwest Passage. That said, The Last Sunset of the Year is, by design, not a soundtrack to the show. Dave Kajganich writes in the album's liner notes: "The selected pieces have a unity unto themselves, and we feel strongly that this release should be taken not as a companion to the show, but as Marcus Fjellström's final album, on its own terms. We've presented these pieces without titles, except for titling the four movements of the journey they suggest. It is a journey that evokes the mystery, grandeur, and desolation of the Arctic, and articulates the spiritual and existential implications of traveling there." Kajganich reached out to begin discussing the idea of this release with Skodvin, back in 2017, after Marcus' death, but before the series had premiered. In the years since, Dave and Erik have Zoomed and emailed back and forth hundreds of times, studying all seventy-five of the pieces Marcus wrote for the show in all their forms (as many as six or seven versions to a piece), to winnow down a final list of pieces to include. The most difficult phase of the process, Kajganich reveals in the notes, was understanding the best way to sequence the tracks. It required listening to many different track orders and paying close attention to how each order created a slightly different identity for the album through their specific juxtapositions and dynamics. The album's title comes from a moment in the show when a group of Victorian sailors who are trapped in winter pack ice, suffering dwindling psychological resources and supplies, stand on the deck of one of the doomed ships to watch the sun rise above the horizon for a moment, and then immediately set in the last sunset of the year before six weeks of darkness, an event which, even through the lens of their inevitable coming losses, could still be viewed as something astonishing and beautiful.
2 CD Set $32
MARCOS VALLE - Tunel Acustico (Far Out Recordings FARO 246CD; UK) Between the release of his first album in 1962 and 2024, Marcos Valle has released twenty-two studio albums traversing definitive bossa nova, classic samba, iconic disco pop, psychedelic rock, nineties dance and orchestral music. With his twenty-third studio album Túnel Acustico, Valle set out to bring it all together. Originally moving over in the mid-sixties on the back of bossa nova's international proliferation, Valle toured with Sergio Mendes and became hugely in demand as a composer and arranger. He spent the years following Vietnam in Rio writing music for TV and film, as well as four cult favorite albums in collaboration with some of Brazil's most groundbreaking musicians including Milton Nascimento, Azymuth, Som Imaginario, and O Terco. Túnel Acústico features two songs originally conceived during Valle's time on the West Coast: "Feels So Good," a stirring two-step soul triumph written in 1979 with soul icon Leon Ware, and the sublime AOR disco track "Life Is What It Is," composed around the same time, with percussionist Laudir De Oliveira from the group Chicago. Built around an unfinished demo Marcos found on a shelf in his house 44 years after it was made, the "Feels So Good" demo was restored with the help of producer Daniel Maunick, who also utilized AI stem-separation to remove the placeholder vocal ad-libs. Valle added Portuguese lyrics to sit alongside Ware's vocal hook, as well as extra keyboards and percussion. On Túnel Acústico, Valle's core band features two members of the renowned Brazilian jazz-funk group Azymuth: Alex Malheiros on bass and Renato Massa on drums. The rhythm section is completed by percussionist Ian Moreira, with additional contributions from guitarist Paulinho Guitarra and trumpeter Jesse Sadoc. The contemporarily composed music on Túnel Acústico features an impressive lineup of guest lyricists, including renowned Brazilian artists: Joyce Moreno, Céu, and Moreno Veloso, as well as Valle's brother Paulo Sergio Valle.
CD $15
LLOYD THAYER - Limitation Is Necessary (Feeding Tube FTR 787CD; USA) "Limitation Is Necessary is the third set of music by Massachusetts-based string genius Lloyd Thayer we've had the honor of releasing. This follows the Duets LP (FTR 406LP) (with percussionist Jerome Duepree) on which Lloyd split his playing between a Weissenborn lap guitar and a 22-string Chaturangui, and the Twenty20 CD (FTR 698CD) which was all done on a double-necked Weissenborn. Both of these album deep and monumental explorations of mesmeric string textures filled with elements that ranged from Indian classical to blues to psychedelic with hypnotic grace. The blend of elements so extraordinary and seamless, his slidework is almost incomparable. When I asked him about the germination and evolution of the new album, he wrote eloquently about its creation. 'The first piece I wrote for the album was the title track, which came out of improvising, day after day after month. I could feel the music pulling towards the last recording Twenty20, but I didn't want to do another 38-minute piece, hence Limitation is Necessary.' Once upon a time, long ago, when I did my first instrumental Dobro recording, I sent a copy to my teacher, the late Stacy Phillips. He gave me some very positive feedback, and then said 'can you play all of this stuff live?' My answer was yes, and for whatever reason that became a foundational part of what I do, recording pieces that I can duplicate live. Of course, some of that happens with effects pedals. One of the influences for me is Indian Dhrupad music, specifically the Rudra Veena, which some call the great grandfather of all stringed instruments. Dhrupad itself is an older and slower river than some of the music westerners are used to hearing, which is faster and flashier (Ravi Shankar, Nikhil Banerjee, Zakir Hussain), and of course all of these forms use some type of a DRONE. For a while now, I have been working on the question: what would be the western drone? Leaf blower, highway traffic noise, Walmart parking lot? etc. Most of the pieces on Limitation have a drone in the background, which comes from a sustain pedal or looping pedal. Sometimes it runs throughout the whole piece and sometimes it comes and goes. The two 12 string pieces ('Rumination' and 'Celebration') were influenced by Ralph Towner, who has sometimes used an 'odd' tuning for his 12 string, in which some of the string pairs/courses are tuned to different notes (unlike a 'normal' 12 string where they are tuned to the same note). I spent a lot of time working on this, trying to develop a very specific light touch, so that I could pick individual strings on the 12 string. The doubleneck Weissenborn is used on 'Deviation.' This track moves between three different Turkish Makamlar -- each with a different sort of feeling or mood -- which go back and forth between the two necks. The theory behind this is a little too 'thick' or turgid for human consumption. So there are three instruments used: 12 string (two songs); doubleneck (one song), standard Weissenborg (two songs). Thats it!' Limitation is, indeed, 'it.' I have difficulty imagining anyone who digs contemporary acoustic string music not falling hard for this album's breadth and quality. It's an amazing musical trip. And we are a proud as could be to help get it into your ears. - Byron Coley, 2024
CD $15
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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 / PETER EVANS / SEPT 25-28
9/25 Wednesday
8:30 pm - SOLO - Peter Evans (trumpet)
9/26 Thursday
8:30 pm - Pulverize the Sound
Peter Evans (trumpet) Tim Dahl (bass, vocals) Mike Pride (drums, percussion)
9/27 Friday
8:30 pm
DUO - Peter Evans (trumpet) Cyro Baptista (percussion)
9/28 Saturday
8:30 pm - Symphony - Peter Evans (trumpets) Alice Teyssier (flute) Nick Joz (bass, electronics) Levy Lorenzo percussion, electronics)
THE STONE RESIDENCIES - MATT MITCHELL OCT 2-5
10/2 Wednesday
8:30 pm - TRIO - Matt Mitchell (piano) Tim Berne (alto sax) Kate Gentile (drums)
10/3 Thursday
8:30 pm - TRIO - Matt Mitchell (piano) Kim Cass (bass) Ches Smith (drums)
10/4 Friday
8:30 pm - QUARTET - Matt Mitchell (piano) Brandon Seabrook (guitar) Kim Cass (bass) Kate Gentile (drums)
10/5 Saturday
8:30 pm - QUARTET - Matt Mitchell (piano) Miles Okazaki (guitar) Chris Tordini (bass) Dan Weiss (drums)
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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ZURCHER GALLERY Presents:
Friday, September 27th at 8:00 pm
Todd Capp, Shoko Nagai, Melanie Dyer
At The Zürcher Gallery
33 Bleecker st, New York, NY 10012
Admission is $20.
Tickets can be purchased at the door. CASH ONLY.
All proceeds go to the artists.
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IN-GARDENS FESTIVAL - Part 2
VOTE · HUMANITY · HEALING
FIRST STREET GREEN ART PARK: 33 E. 1st Street, NYC
Saturday, September 28th
1:30pm: Devin Brahja Waldman / Georgia Wartel Collins / Malik Washington
2:30pm: Siren Xypher: Melanie Dyer / Kyoko Kitamura / Mara Rosenbloom
3:30pm: Anne Waldman, poetry
4:30pm: Michael Wimberly / Jay Rodriquez / John King / Ken Filliano
Sunday, September 29th
1:30pm: The Daves: Dave Sewelson / Dave Hofstra / Dave Hernandez
2:30pm: Lesley Mok / Selendis Sebastian Alexander Johnson / Nathan Nakadegawa-Lee
3:30pm: Warrior of Light: Djassi Dacosta Johnson / Shayna Dulberger
4:30pm: Ayumi Ishito / Rema Hasumi / Yuko Togami
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ROULETTE has been and remains the best place to experience experimental music and arts since 1978. I’ve attended concerts at Roulette since it began in Tribeca and I still go as often as I can. Founder Jim Staley stepped down earlier this year and a new music director named Matt Mehlan has taken his place. Here is the most of the September calendar below, it looks most impressive…
Saturday, September 28, 2024. 8:00 pm
Belongó: Worldwinds
Worldwinds is a collaborative performance bringing together GRAMMY award-winning pianist and composer Arturo O’Farrill and his Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble with two dynamic dance companies: LaTasha Barnes & The Continuum Collective and Soles of Duende. Over the past several years, O’Farrill has forged artistic collaborations with noted choreographers through Belongó’s Worldwinds residencies, which challenge the boundaries of style and medium. The evening’s program features newly choreographed classics and originals from the Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble’s repertoire, as well as new pieces inspired by the movement and steps of its guest companies.
Roulette is located at:
509 Atlantic Avenue (Corner of Third Avenue)
Brooklyn, NY 11217
Telephone: (917) 267-0363
Web: https://roulette.org/
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BURNT SUGAR SMOKE-HOUSE 2024:
Saturday, October 5th from 6:30 to 10pm
Brooklyn Museum’s Birthday Bash
Celebrating 200 years
Brooklyn Museum
200 Eastern Parkway
Brooklyn, NY, 11238
FREE admission -
Registation required
at Brooklynmuseum.org
For more info: Burntsugarindex.com
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This comes from a friend and STEVE LACY Italian fan, Mauro Stocco:
www.stevelacymemorialscrapbook.org is a recent tribute portal dedicated to Steve Lacy, the great soprano sax genius who passed away twenty years ago, on June 4th, 2004. The website currently features contributions by Alvin Curran, Roberto Ottaviano, Gianni Mimmo, Zlatko Kaučič, Andrea Centazzo, Tino Tracanna, Vincent Lainè, Jason Weiss, and others will follow over time.
After having dedicated many years to collecting records, books and magazines about Steve, having met him several times and organized gigs for him in solo, trio, sextet and with Musica Elettronica Viva, I decided it was the time to create a simple, but heartfelt, tribute.
Steve Lacy was a genius of our time, a sort of Leonardo Da Vinci, capable of interacting with Dixieland, Monk, Ellington, free, Indian music, MEV, Giuseppe Chiari, dance, painting, sculpture, cinema, poetry, Living Theatre, philosophy, Tao, codifying the role of the modern soprano saxophone.
Anyone who feels they have a contribution to make to the site can contact the e-mail address listed.
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NEW VIDEOS from GUITAR MASTER HENRY KAISER:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWJ20KEHAdQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuKk7GFtGls
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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 (#37) was released earlier this year, here are 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: downtownmusicgalleryofficial@gmail.com
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