Want two heads on your body
and you've got two mirrors in your hand
Two heads can be put together.
And you can fill both your feet with sand.
No one will know you've gutted your mind
but what will you do with your bloody hands?
Your lions are fighting with chairs,
your arms are incredibly fat;
Your women are tired of dying alive
if you've had any women at that.
Wearing your comb like an axe in your head
Listening for signs of life;
Children are sucking on stone and lead
And chasing their hoops with a knife;
New breasts and jewels for the girl,
Keep them polished and shining;
Put a lock on her belly at night, sweet life,
For no child of mine.
Want two heads on your body
and you've got two mirrors in your hand
Jefferson Airplane were/still are one of my favorites of all of the many great rock bands in the 1960’s. I remember buying their first hit single, “Somebody to Love” in the summer of 1967 and playing it over and over. “When the truth is found to be lies and all the joy with you dies…” is the opening line and the song still spooks me today more than a half century later. I bought their ’Surrealistic Pillow” (2nd) album later that summer and it blew me away, Jefferson Airplane becoming a favorite of mine ever since. I remember buying a cut-out mono copy of their next album, ‘After Bathing at Baxter’s’ for a dollar or two in early 1968 and that album completely blew my mind. It is made of two side long suites and it is still my favorite record by them, a psychedelic masterpiece! I fell for their lead singer, Grace Slick, since she was beautiful, sang wonderfully, wrote great lyrics and seemed to be pretty honest in interviews. She claimed to have not listened to any advisers, did whatever drugs were around, drank alcohol and had sex with whomever she wanted to (according to interviews with her). Grace wrote the words to the above song and there is/was a psychedelic influence going on here. Although I find this song a bit puzzling, it does make perfect sense at times. Perhaps my soul was psychedelicized when it finally made sense to me. I finally caught Jefferson Airplane at the Atlantic City Rock Festival in early August of 1969, several weeks before the more popular Woodstock Festival. Jefferson Airplane had their own light show and their set was phenomenal! The Airplane and the Mother of Invention were my two favorite sets of that festival. I caught Grace Slick again around 1973 with Jefferson Starship and they were pretty good. Grace seemed a bit out of it, though. At one point, most of the band left the stage while Grace sat on top of the piano and sang a blues song with the pianist. She sounded OK but word is that she took off her top and showed off her bare breasts. A guy next to me loaned me his binoculars and I saw her nude top. Rather perplexing but Grace always did whatever she wanted to do. I caught the Airplane one more time around 1989 for a reunion gig at Radio City. The concert was pretty great although the reunion album on Epic was pretty bad. Oh well. I still go back to the first half dozen albums by JA which still sound great to me. Grace Slick retired from music not long after the JA reunion which was probably a good thing. I read an interview with her from the last few years and it was hilarious as she was very honest about her life as a rock star/lead singer/sex symbol. Check out the album, ‘After Bathing at Baxter’s’, from the beginning until the end, it is one of the lost treasures of the sixties. - MCBruceLee at DMG
********
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
Saturday, October 12th - The GauciMusic Series Continues with:
6:15: KEN KOBAYASHI - Drums / JEFF MILES - Guitar / MICHAEL GILBERT - Drums
7:15: STEPHEN GAUCI - Tenor Sax, Flute, Clarinet / PATRICK GOLDEN - Drums
Tuesday, October 15th:
6:30: RAFFI GARABEDIAN - Tenor Sax / KENNY WARREN - Trumpet / - Drums
7:30: DAVE GROLLMAN - Solo
8:30: JOHN HAGEN - Tenor Sax / TODD CAPP- Drums
9:30: LUKE POLIPNICK - Guitar / KAELEN GHANDI - Saxes / SHOGO YAMAGISHI - Contrabass / JAMES PAUL NADIEN - Drums
Tuesday, October 22nd:
6:30: CLAIRE de BRUNNER - bassoon / HARUNA FUKAZAWA - flutes / TREVOR BAJU - guitar / SHU ODAMURA - guitar / JARRED CHASE - Drums
7:30: NATHAN NAKADEGAWA-LEE - Sax / MICHAEL GILBERT - Bass / GARY JONES III - Drums
8:30: PATRICK GOLDEN - Drums / MATT HOLLENBERG - Guitar / STEPHEN GAUCI - Tenor Sax / LIM YANG - Bass
9:30: LUCIANA RIZZO - Solo Drums & Feedback
**********
THIS WEEK’S SONIC TREASURES START WITH:
DARIUS JONES with CHRIS LIGHTCAP / GERALD CLEAVER - Legend of e’Boi (The Hypervigilant Eye)(Aum Fidelity 120-2; USA) Featuring Darius Jones on alto sax, compositions (all but one song) & direction, Chris Lightcap on bass and Gerald Cleaver on drums. This release is the 7th chapter of Darius Jones’ ongoing Man’ish Boy epic which will end after it gets to its 9th chapter. In the lengthy, informative liner notes, Mr. Jones and a half dozen other writers, musicians and poets discuss current mental health issues. Mr. Jones himself talks about his own trauma and the way the music community he is a part of helped him deal his issues. Each of the writers also discuss their own mental health issues and the way this music reflects the observations and/or feelings of each artist. There is quite a bit to think about even before I got a chance to hear this music. Hence, there is more going on here than meets the ears and eyes at first listen.
Darius Jones has organized a formidable trio here with Chris Lightcap (multi-bandleader & every-busy collaborator) and Gerald Cleaver (another multi-bandleader and in-demand drum wiz). Beginning with “Affirmation Needed”, the trio take off. Mr. Jones has a distinctive, tart, slightly bent tone on his alto sax. His unique tone and opening solo is particularly strong and sets the stage for things to come. The rhythm team are equally strong, spirited and right on target, throbbing, swaying, emoting, the trio locked into one solid force. Toward the latter part of this piece, Mr. Jones takes another solo in which he bends each note in his own way, this section stands out and has an exciting, breath-taking effect. “Another Kind of Forever” goes through several sections with the rhythm team changing the groove/vibe/rhythmic flow several times. Mr. Jones slows down at first as he solos concentrating on each note before the trio start to double up the rhythm. Jones stretches out some of his notes, pushing them towards a scream and reaching deep inside, letting the demons out. In the last section Jones plays a twisted yet jubilant repeating line, which the rest of the trio seize and sail away with. “No More My Lord” is based on an old prison song and features Mr. Lightcap bowing a drone-tone underneath while. Mr. Jones’ feverish tone reaches out like a cry for help from someone who is searching deep within. The more that Darius stretches out his notes, the deeper he seems to go into the turbulent inner waters that affect each of us. Mr. Lightcap’s contrabass is at the center of “We Outside”, changing the structure/groove as it evolves, even getting rather funky in the second half. Mr. Jones takes another long & winding story-like solo here, pushing the limits to near breaking point which feels like release from some pent-up pressure. “We Inside Now” has a solemn, blues-like vibe, stripped down yet filled with immense emotion, quite poignant at times. “Motherf*ckin Roosevelt” brings things to a close with more of Jones’ intense note-stretching cries as well as the rhythm team also playing with much soul-searching emotions. On my days off, I often sit at my computer writing or reading and occasionally checking out the (mostly bad) news. I often feel battered by what I hear on the news, each and every day. This disc often reminds me of the way we, as humans, have to deal with whatever we take in every day, rising and falling as waves of good and bad vibes wash over us, over and over again. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14
BEN MONDER with THEO BLECKMANN / CHRIS TORDINI / TED POOR / SATOSHI TAKEISHI / et al - Planetarium (Sunnyside SSC 1762; USA) Featuring Ben Monder on guitars & most songs, Chris Tordini on bass, Ted Poor, Joseph Branciforte & Satoshi Takeishi on drums and Theo Bleckmann, Charlotte Mundy, Emily Hurst & Theo Sable on voices. I’ve long admired guitarist Ben Monder since we can’t pin any one genre or approach to his playing since it always crosses the lines that jazz journalists and marketing knuckleheads need to guide us by. Consider his playing with Paul Motian, the Maria Schneider Orchestra, Dan Weiss’ Starebaby or for David Bowie’s last studio effort. On each of those albums, as well as groups that Mr. Monder leads, he sounds different yet always fits in and rises to the occasion no matter who he is working with.
A planetarium is a theatre/space where one goes to view (a representation) of the stars. Perhaps this disc is another way of gazing at the stars. Mr. Monder has been collaborating with vocalist Theo Bleckmann for many years, they’ve recorded six discs together so far. Except for Mr. Bleckmann and David Bowie, Mr. Monder has rarely worked with other vocalists so it is interesting that he would employ four different singers here. Disc one begins with “Ouroboros II” starts with a floating, rather dream-like sound with Mr. Monder’s guitar reverberating somber waves while angelic vocalists sail quietly on top. Although there are lyrics here, the two vocalists just sing “ahs” in a most orchestral sounding way, the guitar and vocals enhancing each other perfectly. Even without the vocalist involved, Mr. Monder does a fine job of layering several guitars in a most ethereal way. He often uses subtle sustain in a more restrained Frippish way. While listening to the second piece, “The Mentaculus”, I was reminded of mid-seventies prog-rock, yet more subtle and just as sweeping. This piece is pretty long and shows Monder’s ability to weave several layers of waves in a most enchanting way. “1973” featuring a small chorus of eerie vocals over another somber dreamy space. On “Li Po”, Monder again adds several layers of space/rock effects on the guitars and drifting ghost-like vocal sounds together. Music on the title track is again warm, ethereal and a soundtrack to a film of outdoor nature themes.
Disc 2 has only one vocalist, Theo Bleckmann, on two of the four tracks with two tracks of solo guitars. “Globalstructures: Option II” is for solo guitar and it has a couple of layers with Mr. Monder playing exquisitely, each note or chord bathed in subtle reverb. I was waiting for a chorus of angels to come in… Monder speeds up (an acoustic 12 string, perhaps?) with his graceful rhythm team (Tordini & Branciforte) racing tightly along with him and Mr. Bleckmann’s lovely, haunting voice sailing on top. I love the way the layers of guitar lines are enhanced by Mr. Bleckmann’s lush vocals, both can be tender, both can sail out to space as well.
Disc 3 features four different singers on one track each plus two instrumentals. Again it is Mr. Monder’s sublime yet inventive guitar playing that is featured and holds things together thematically. Monder here occasionally reminds me of Bill Frisell with the way he paints lush, tranquil yet hypnotic scenes which somehow feel warm and inviting to dwell within. At first, I wasn’t so sure why Ben Monder wanted to make a vast three CD set but after listening to this set in its entirety a few times, it makes sense to me since he chooses to let some of these songs grow and evolve over time. The sly, reverb effects he uses and some depth like the way a large string section can do on other ambitious efforts. It often felt as if I were on a long voyage on the sea with the sound of waves and wind sweeping over me as I/we drift or sail into the vastness of an ocean or even outer space. Are you ready to sail or soar into another world?!? I know that I am. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
3 CD Set $21
PETER EVANS BEING & BECOMING with JOEL ROSS / NICK JOZWIAK / MICHAEL SHEKWOAGA ODE - Ars Memoria (More is More 231; USA) Featuring Peter Evans on trumpet, piccolo trumpet & compositions, Joel Ross on vibes, Nick Jozwiak on bass and Michael Shekwoaga Ode on drums. Last week, trumpet wizard Peter Evans played four nights (9/25-28/24) at The Stone, with different personnel and concepts on each night. I dug his duo with Cyro Baptista on percussion since it made him deal with more groove-infested material. Even better was a chamber-like quartet with flute, bass, percussion & electronics. Peter Evans has had several quartets over the years, each one different. I caught this quartet a few years back when they had Savannah Harris on drums. This quartet features Joel Ross on vibes and Nick Jozwiak on bass. For me, Joel Ross and Patricia Brennan are the two best vibes players to come to town in years. Drummer Michael Shekwoaga Ode has worked with Van Morrison, Joey DeFrancesco & Isaiah Collier.
Four of the five pieces here were recorded at Seizure’s Palace, a studio in Brooklyn while the last piece was recorded live at the Jazz gallery in midtown, NYC. “The Cell” begins with a hypnotic repeating bass groove with Mr. Evans’ trumpet, bathed in reverb sailing high while the vibes and drums swirl tightly underneath. Mr. Evans actually has a Miles-like tone on trumpet here when he isn’t in the high end register. Instead of having a jazz pianist comping underneath, Joel Ross does a fine job of playing the groove and adding a fine layer of percussive interaction throughout. On “Opus 5”, the quartet erupt at a quicker pace with Peter Evans playing a series of astonishing, frenzied solos. The final title track was recorded live at the Jazz Gallery and the quartet sped up even more. Drummer Shekwoaga Ode's furious pace and power are just incredible here as Mr. Evans pushes the tempo even more and with some equally astonishing interplay from Joel Ross’ amazing vibes. The quartet goes through a series of sections, increasing and decreasing the tempo several times, playing furiously in one section and then slowing down to a quiet section. Peter Evans is at his best here, taking a number of spirited solos. By the end of this disc, I was exhausted by the high energy expelled throughout this massive disc. Absolutely mind-blowing! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14
PETER EVANS with PETTER ELDH / JIM BLACK - Extra (We Jazz Records 73; Finland)Featuring Peter Evans on piccolo trumpet, flugelhorn, piano, compositions & production, Petter Eldh on bass & synthesizer and Jim Black drums & electronics. This disc was recorded in a studio in Lisbon, Portugal in August of 2023. Last week (9/25-28/2024), trumpet master Peter Evans played four nights at The Stone in NYC, with different personnel & concepts for each night. Considering that Mr. Evans is (technically) one of the greatest trumpeters alive, he still loves to challenge himself and his listeners by working in a variety of demanding situations. This trio features Swedish-born, Berlin-based bassist & synth player, Petter Eldh and American-born, Berlin-based drummer Jim Black. I recall Mr. Eldh’s name from his work with the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, a trio with Kaja Draksler and with Django Bates’ Beloved. No doubt you all know former Downtown drummer, Jim Black, from his time with Bloodcount, Pachora, AlasNoAxis and a trio with Ellery Eskelin & Andrea Parkins.
The first thing I noticed here is how strong the rhythm team sounds here, swinging hard from the gitgo. Peter Evans is overdubbing several trumpet & flugelhorn parts together before he solos expressively on his piccolo trumpet. Mr. Evans often makes things seem easy (for him), although no doubt his astonishing math/wiz playing is more difficult than it looks. On “In See”, the bass & drums play their fast, complex lines tightly together with Evans adding his own incredible cascades on top. The playing here often sounds sped up or superhuman but this is not the case, this is the way that these folks play, often beyond belief. On each piece, Mr. Evans has the bass & drums play a different demanding rhythmic challenge in which he plays tight lines together as one solid force. On “Nova”, Mr. Evans actually plays some skeletal, suspense-filled piano as well as some minimal trumpet reverberating from a distance. This piece gives us a breather between the rest of the storm fest which goes on before and after. “Movement 56” opens with what sounds like an electronic sequencer turned up louder and more brutal than anything else here which is an electronic music interlude. Mr. Evans’ work on his piccolo trumpet is often quick, intense yet brittle with many spiraling lines. Another thing that Evans has mastered is the way he plays short, percussive phrases right on top of the mic. This is a wonderful trio that has obviously worked hard to get their own sound/approach. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15
SALLY GATES / DANIEL CARTER / STEVE HIRSH - Phosphene (Mahakala Music 080; USA) Featuring Sally Gates on guitar & cover art, Daniel Carter on trumpets, saxes & flute and Steve Hirsh on drums. Most of you know of metal-based guitarist Sally Gates from her one disc on the Tzadik label from around 2 years ago (9/2022). Since then, Ms. Gates moved to NYC and has kept busy playing a variety of free sessions with Jessica Pavone, Elliott Sharp, Patrick Golden, Trevor Dunn, Simon Hanes and many more. Ms. Gates has played here at DMG more than a half dozen times and has impressed with her ever-evolving playing. I've often called Daniel Carter, the hardest working man in show business since he seems to play more often and with more musicians than anyone else in the Downtown Scene or anywhere else on this planet. Over the past couple of years, I’ve gotten to hear drummer Steve Hirsh play in several different projects with Eri Yamamoto, Joel Futterman, George Cartwright and recently in a great quartet with Steve Swell, Jim Clouse & William Parker.
Although Daniel Carter used to be known as a free/jazz firebrand, his playing has mellowed a bit in recent years although it depends on who he is playing with at the time. “Tendrils” kicks things off with soft flute, nimble guitar and skeletal drums. This piece has a dreamy, somber vibe which builds slowly over time. Gotta love those Hendrix-like chords that Ms. Gates utilizes throughout this piece. The pace picks up on “Orange Squares” with Mr. Carter switching to tenor sax and Ms. Gates adds some eerie sustain to her tone. The interplay between all three musicians gets more intense and spirited throughout building to a strong conclusion. Drummer Steve Hirsh breaks into a groove giving Gates and Carter a chance to play along with the groove yet still push freely here and there. The melodic tones of Mr. Hirsh’s toms are featured & at the center on “Dependence on ESP”. Mr. Carter plays with somber, restrained while Ms. Gates adds another layer of fractured guitar licks, turning on the sustain midway and adding a different layer to the spirited trio excursion. For “Vague Geometry”, Ms. Gates and Mr. Carter trade lines, spinning out ideas like an heated conversation (yet still restrained) with Hirsh playing with brushes providing a nice cushion of support. This piece keeps building and turns into a quicker paced jam in the last section. On the last piece, “Afternoon Spiders”, Ms. Gates steps out and shows her metal/avant jazz guitar chops along with tight, spirited support by drummer Hirsh. This piece closes this disc and it is both restrained yet somehow rambunctious at the same time. This mighty trio played here at DMG in the past and they might just play here again in the not too distant future. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14
SATOKO FUJII QUARTET with NATSUKI TAMURA / TATSUYA YOSHIDA / HAYAKAWA TAKEHARU - Dog Days of Summer (Libra 204-076; Japan) Featuring Natsuki Tamura on trumpet, Satoko Fujii on piano & compositions, Hayakawa Takeharu on electric bass and Tatsuya Yoshida on drums. It shouldn’t be too surprising that the ever-prolific Satoko Fujii, who has over 100 releases & runs several different ensembles, hasn’t worked with this particular ensemble in almost two decades. Master drummer, Tatsuya Yoshida is nearly as prolific and also runs or collaborates with many bands: Ruins, Acid Mother Gong or Temple, Korekyojinn, Koenjihyakkei and way more. Seasoned trumpet great Natsuki Tamura is Ms. Fujii’s longtime married and music partner and a perfect foil for anything that Ms. Fujii indulges in. Drummer Hayakawa Takeharu was once a member of Kazutoki Umezu’s Kiki Band, an all-star Japanese fusion/prog quartet that was under-recognized here, but has die-hard fans all over.
The opening track is called “Not Together”, which seems misleading since this quartet is quite tight and together. The music sounds like fractured, start & stop prog, something that drum wiz Yoshida has long employed as his rambunctious drums are featured. Mr. Takeharu is playing some intense fuzz bass here which gives the quartet a rather 70’s sounding fusion-like aura. This quartet is very different from any of the other projects that Ms. Fujii has over her long 3 decade plus career. “Haru wo Matsu” starts off with just some expressive electric bass before Ms. Fujii’s superb, sweeping acoustic piano comes in. When Mr. Tamura’s trumpet comes in, I realized that Tamura, who loves to experiment and add some humor to his projects, actually plays normal trumpet jazz here, his solo most melodic, refreshing and perfectly executed. One thing to remember is that Tatsuya Yoshida is a big Magma fan, something you can often hear on many of the Ruins releases. One of the things I like most about Ms. Fujii is her ability to write for and utilize the talents of whomever is in her present band/project. Hence, we can hear from of that Magma influence flowing through this music due to the way that Mr. Yoshida plays. Except for one song, Ms. Fujii has written all new material for this quartet. After listening to a rehearsal of the band, Ms. Fujii decided to rewrite most of these songs so that whenever someone soloed, there would be some interesting interaction going on underneath. This is colossal quartet of immense talent and Ms. Fujii has done an incredible job of whipping them into great performance shape. Like the best prog bands still playing, this quartet should be placed on the top of the small mountain. There are few incredible duets that pop up here and there like one with Fujii & Tamura midway through “A Parcel for You”, and then the bass & drums also solo tightly together as one force, balancing two storms simultaneously. This is my fave CD of the week and it is just incredible. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $16
GEOMETRY with TOMEKA REID / TAYLOR HO BYNUM / KYOKO KITAMURA / JOE MORRIS - Geometry of Phenomena (Relative Pitch RPR 1200; USA) Geometry features Tomeka Reid on cello, Taylor Ho Bynum on cornet & flugelhorn, Kyoko Kitamura on voice and Joe Morris on guitar. This is the fourth disc from the all-star quartet Geometry in the past 5 years, all of which have been released on the Relative Pitch label. All four of these musicians keep busy playing in different bands and/or teaching as well. They get together around once a year to record a new disc and perhaps perform a live set or two. I admire each of these four musicians for the varied projects they are involved in, as well as they way they teach and inspire their students to progress and evolve. Like their previous discs, this one was also recorded at Firehouse 12 Studios in New Haven, CT. There is a sympathetic group sound right from the opening, hushed at first with subtle yet soaring playing slowly increasing into restless, thoughtful free/improv. Former Braxton-collaborator, Ms. Kitamura, whispers and speaks quietly at first with the other members of the quartet joining her dialogue, the intensity building slowly yet assuredly as the interplay becomes more frenzied. All four members are well-matched, their unique wave of sounds expanding and contracting organically, erupting and breaking free with all the fragments well-connected. On “Encounter”, Ms. Kitamura sounds like she is singing in her own odd invented language for a bit while the rest of the quartet also spins their own unique web of interaction. I like that there are a number of quieter sections where we have to lean closer to the speakers to hear what is going on, as well as some explosive sections here and there. Is that a voice or brass or both? Is that acoustic guitar or cello or both? Hard to tell at times. This is high end improv at its very best, no doubt. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $13
JOHN BUTCHER / FLORIAN STOFFNER* / CHRIS CORSANO - The Glass Changes Shape (Relative Pitch RPR 1207; USA) Featuring John Butcher on tenor & soprano saxes, Florian Stoffner on guitar and Chris Corsano on drums & half clarinet. Recorded at The Loft in Cologne, Germany in September of 2023. This is a unique international trio with members from vastly different places: John Butcher from England, Florian Stoffner from Switzerland and American/local percussion master Chris Corsano. I remain a big fan of experimental saxist John Butcher for some three decades since he continually challenges himself by playing in unique situations with many other gifted improvisers. I’ve come to know Swiss guitarist Florian “Flo” Stoffner more recently from his work with Manuel Mengis Gruppe 6, Paul Lovens and Don Malfon. Chris Corsano is the favorite drummer of many, his playing is endlessly inventive and unique. Check him out live or on-line and you will be convinced of this.
There is a good deal of concentration going on here: buzzing sax, soft fractured guitar and restless, crafty drums. The trio take their time, assembling fractured sounds into a tight, connected mass. On “wrinkled Shuffle” the duo play quietly, making each note counter as they combine forces and interact more subtly. Mr. Corsano’s mallet-work is especially magical here as he moves around his toms. On “Hidden Bell”, it is hard to tell who is doing what as the sound expands and contracts, is that sax or bowed cymbals or insect-like sounds from the guitar? None or all three together? The playing here is very close-knit, reminding me of ’Topography of the Lungs’, an early Euro improv treasure with Derek Bailey, Evan Parker (on soprano sax) and Han Bennink. John Butcher is a master of extended technique sounds/explorations on both of his saxes and here gets a chance to stretch out and explore his unique, expansive sound. I haven’t heard much from guitarist Florian Stoffner until the last year or so and I like what he does here. His sound does change somewhat over the entire disc so I had to listen closely to what he is doing here. Mr. Stoffner will be playing here at DMG in December of 2024 (see below), so I will get a chance to see & hear him in action. Although I dig all of the 'music I’ve heard on this disc, it is some of the quieter moments which truly stand out. Often stunning, focused and spirited throughout! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $13
* Florian Stoffner (guitar) & Hans Koch (clarinet & soprano sax) will be playing a rare set here at DMG on December 10th at 6:30.
FICTIONAL SOUVENIRS with JOHN BUTCHER / PAT THOMAS / STALE LIAVIK SOLBERG - Volatile Object (Trost 253CD; Austria) The second album from the high-caliber improvising trio Fictional Souvenirs captures a visceral meeting between three of todays improvised music's most idiosyncratic, elusive figures. On Volatile Object, Pat Thomas (piano and electronics), John Butcher (saxophones), and Ståle Liavik Solberg (drums) were recorded live at London's Café Oto in January of 2023. Since emerging in the 1980s, saxophonist John Butcher has been one of the most important figures in a second wave of British free improvisation, adapting the innovations of pioneers like Derek Bailey and Evan Parker for a new generation. His musical language adapted those practices with a new emphasis on pure sound, including the use of amplification or reverb-rich spaces. Thomas and Butcher first played together on a Derek Bailey Incus night in 1993. Solberg has been performing with Butcher for more than a decade, often in duo settings, but also alongside figures like bassist Barre Phillips and pianist Kaja Draksler. Still, their connection with Thomas stands out. In 2019 Astral Spirits released the album that gave the trio its name, Fictional Souvenirs, a live session from the beloved and deeply missed London venue Iklectik, where Thomas eschewed piano in favor of a Moog Theremini and electronics. The results from the Oto concert captured on Volatile Object reinforce the special rapport of these musicians, elevating the connection heard on the debut album into something truly sublime. The new album includes both sets from that thrilling evening, with Thomas on grand piano during the first half, electronics for the second. The instrumentation obviously alters the sound of each set, with the piano providing a more familiar thrust as Thomas injects thunderous left-hand patterns and skittery upper register runs with his other hand to illustrate the group's deep engagement with free jazz history. As much as Butcher is known for his original language, his roots in swing-driven sound peak through the proceedings, with forceful tenor blowing that locks in with Solberg's deliciously off-kilter propulsion. The electronics used in the second set reveal a radically different side of the trio, pushing towards a steadily evolving flow of sound-rooted abstraction. Of course, what binds the two sets together is the fierce commitment to spontaneity and heightened listening. The members of the trio push one another out of any comfort zone just as much as their sounds magically coalesce.
CD $18
BACK IN STOCK:
PETER BROTZMANN & PAAL NILSSEN-LOVE - Chicken Shit Bingo (Trost 246CD; Austria) Peter Brotzmann collaborated with many artists in his career, regularly adding new compatriots into the fold, and Norwegian drummer Paal Nilssen-Love became one of his staunchest allies after the percussionist joined the Chicago Tentet in 2004. They worked in various contexts, including this inexhaustible, hard-hitting duo. Most of the albums they've issued have captured live performances, but in 2015 they made this stunning studio recording. As Nilssen-Love says in the liner notes, "Peter had acquired a contra-alto clarinet and was very enthusiastic about the sound of this instrument. I had also bought several Korean gongs which I hadn't used yet." They met up for a two-day session in Antwerp that August, and from the outset it feels different from much of their work.
CD $18 [This disc was released 6 months ago & sold out quickly; it was finally just repressed]
BEN RICHTER // GHOST ENSEMBLE - Rewild (New World Records 80847-2; USA) Rewild is an effort to make visceral the relationship between our own lives and the manifold periodicities of deep time. Inspired by the perspectives and timescales of nonhuman beings and distant orders of magnitude in the universe of life, Rewild seeks new strata in musical parameters, exploring the uncanny zones at which pitch becomes rhythm, harmonic interval becomes beating rate, and timbres morph over time. Like a giant body or ecosystem slowly breathing, Rewild’s constantly transforming sound-world orients temporal perception toward global listening. By offering an aural metaphor for the interacting gradual processes of natural and ecological systems, Rewild aims to auralize the vast and infinitesimal timescales we do not experience in everyday life. - Ben Richter
Rewild (2022) is not meant to be heard as a literal replication of some idealized arboreal setting, but rather a gathering of discrete yet interconnected elements functioning together in balance for a long, slow span of time, suggesting multiple layered and interacting timescales. Put more simply, the music isn’t meant to sound like a forest, but instead to evoke to a listener the depth, breadth, and interdependence of a wild ecosystem’s very being, as well the amount of time such actions take to evolve—and, perhaps, how fragile and precarious the system actually is.
Just as the natural processes of ecology and evolution that inspired Ben Richter (b. 1986) are too slow, spacious, and complex to command most human attention, so, too, does the resulting music exist in a space that might be imperceptible, unless listeners made a concerted effort to listen deeply and hear differently. As in the natural world, that attention is rewarded with the apprehension of something uncanny and marvelous.
CD $15
SUN RA - Berkeley Lecture, 1971 (CvsD 113CD; USA) The beginning of the 1970s was a watershed moment in the terrestrial life of Sun Ra. With his band, the Arkestra, he began touring internationally. He and his manager Alton Abraham penned a deal with ABC-Impulse! for a series of records which introduced him to many new and distant listeners, as did his Blue Thumb LP Space is the Place. The film of the same name was under way in northern California at the time, too, and Ra accepted a lectureship at University of California, Berkeley, in 1971, teaching a class titled "The Black Man and the Cosmos." This course of study was held in some secrecy, apparently open exclusively to Black students who were strictly forbidden to record the lectures. Ra's assistants did, however, document the sessions, and some of these recordings have made their way to YouTube. The incredible half-hour of Berkeley Lecture presented here, however, is previously unknown, extracted from the Creative Audio Archive's extensive holdings. It presents Ra walking his students through a series of wonderful paradoxes and riddles, the sound of his chalk on the chalkboard serving as a kind of Greek chorus, commenting on or complementing his highly creative pedagogy. At the end of the lecture, Ra performs two musical demonstrations, the first a piano version of the Arkestra classic "Love in Outer Space," followed by a blistering 16-minute solo on the Moog synthesizer. Available for the first time ever, with cover images of the original tape box and reel featuring Ra's annotations. Transfer by Todd Carter. Mastering by Alex Inglizian. Original tape box and reel from CAA. CD designed by David Khan-Giordano. Produced by John Corbett.
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 - 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 RESIDENCIES / JON MADOF / OCT 9-10
Jon Madof, the mastermind of Zion80, Rashanim, and so much more returns to The Stone for the first time since 2021 to present the world premiere of his newest ensemble! A NEW BAND featuring NEW COMPOSITIONS and Jon performing on a NEW GUITAR. DONT MISS THESE TWO SPECIAL NIGHTS!!!
10/9 Wednesday
8:30 pm - Jon Madof Trio
Jon Madof (guitar) Yoshie Fruchter (bass) Nate Rappaport (drums)
10/10 Thursday
8:30 pm
Jon Madof Trio
Jon Madof (guitar) Yoshie Fruchter (bass) Nate Rappaport (drums)
THE STONE RESIDENCIES / BILLY MARTIN / OCT 11-12
10/11 Friday
8:30 pm - QUARTET - Anna Abondalo (bass) Nathan Nakadegawa-Lee (saxophone) Henry Plotnick (keyboards, piano) Billy Martin (drums)
10/12 Saturday
8:30 pm - DUO - Shinya Lin (electronics and prepared piano) Billy Martin (bamboo percussion, 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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ARTS FOR ARTS Presents:
INGARDENS FESTIVAL - Part 2
VOTE · HUMANITY · HEALING
FIRST STREET GREEN ART PARK: 33 E. 1st Street, NYC
Saturday, October 5th
1:30pm: Ras Burnett / Georgia Wartel Collins / Andrew Drury
2:30pm: DoYeon Kim / Mat Maneri / Steven Long
3:30pm: gabby fluke-mogul / Charles Burnham
4:30pm: LaFrae Sci
Sunday, October 6th
1:30pm: Lee Odom / Max Johnson / Andrew Drury
2:30pm: Whit Dickey / Rob Brown
3:30pm: Miriam Parker / Luke Stewart
4:30pm: Joe McPhee
RSVP: https://www.artsforart.org/ingardens/
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Thursday, October 10, 7pm
Uptown Out
Improvised music in different groupings, this time featuring:
Matt Lambiase (trumpet & flugelhorn)
Thomas Heberer (trumpet)
Mary Cherney (flutes)
Claire de Brunner (bassoon)
Nick Lyons (alto saxophone & clarinet), and guests.
At Recirculation, a project of Word Up
876 Riverside Dr
NY NY 10032
$5-10 suggested donation
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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…
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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