There's nobody stopping you, baby, there's just yourself,
And if you can't see that, baby, girl you need help.
I could teach you things, you never could learn,
Show you just exactly how you got burned.
It doesn't have to be,
No, no, it doesn't have to be,
So hard on you.
It's easy to see now, baby, you're nobody's fool,
But you won't gain nothing, baby, by staying cool.
Better leave all your troubles and worries behind,
Give in to something, well it crossed your mind.
It doesn't have to be,
No, no, it doesn't have to be,
so hard on you.
1968 was the year when a number of “horn bands” popped up, each one better than the last one: Butterfield Blues Band, Blood, Sweat and Tears, The Electric Flag, Chicago Transit Authority, Sons of Champlin and Cold Blood, are/were some of my faves. “Groovin’ is Easy” comes from the first studio album by the Electric Flag, led by Mike Bloomfield. Electric Flag debuted at the Monterey Pop Festival in the summer of 1967. The band made one great record (this one) and several mediocre ones. Their lead singer was Nick “the Greek” Gravenites, close friend of the early Butterfield Blues Band (he wrote “Born in Chicago”), friend of & collaborator with Quicksilver Messenger Service. Gravenites wrote the above song under the pseudonym Ron Polte. There is often a feeling of universal coolness or hipness in his words as if the author knows something that only other cool folks know. I guess I thought I was cool at that point since I used to understand the inside jokes that many a hipster lyricist used but rarely explained. This song was recently covered by my favorite current psych/jam band, The Third Mind and it opens their last album, ‘Third Mind 2’, released around one year ago. The Third Mind features Dave Alvin from the Blasters, two members of Camper Van Beethoven and Jesse Sykes (my current fave singer/songwriter/bandleader). They were just on tour on the west coast, don’t miss them if you get the chance. They will have a live record out in March. Both of their albums are great! - BLG at DMG
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Happy New Year to all of you/us DMG Newsletter subscribers & friends of DMG worldwide!
We’ve had a good deal of visitors come to DMG in recent months and many of them have been thanking me for the weekly DMG newsletters, especially the intros where I include the lyrics to a song or poem that has inspired me at some point through my life, discussing what I think is being expressed through the lyrics themselves. I started doing this consistently during the Pandemic in March or 2020 and have continued to do almost every week. My job and goal in life has been to promote the Creative Music(s) that have long inspired me in many different ways. I will keep doing this for as long as I can, as well as talking at length with whatever serious listeners come to visit and discuss the music that is important to them. I do appreciate the kind words of thanks for doing this. Peace and Love, not Greed & Hate, Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
RECOMMENDED GIGS COMING UP, JANUARY OF 2025!
GARY LUCAS’ GODS and MONSTERS - Insurrection Resurrection
The Return of Gods & Monsters with ERNIE BROOKS (bass) & G CALVIN WESTON (drums)
At City Winery this coming Monday at 7pm, January 6th.
The City Winery NYC is located at 25 11th Avenue (Pier 57), NY, NY - 646.751.6033
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THE DMG 34th ANNIVERSARY IN-STORE FREE MUSIC SERIES Continues with:
Tuesday, January 7th, 2025:
6:30: ROSE TANG - Guitar / PATRICK GOLDEN - Drums
7:30: ARON NAMENWIRTH - Guitar / STAN ZENKOV - Reeds / STEVE SWELL - Trombone / MARC EDWARDS - Drums
8:30: KRISTIAN SAARUP - Drums / BRANDON LOPEZ - Contrabass / JOE MOFFETT - Trumpet
9:30: MARCO CAPPELLI / EYAL MAOZ - Guitar Duo
Monday, January 13th - Another DMG Guitar Fest Featuring:
6:30: GIAN PEREZ - Guitar / CHRIS COCHRANE - Guitar
7:30: JON MADOF TRIO: JON MADOF - Guitar / YOSHIE FRUCHTER - Bass / NATE RAPPAPORT - Drums
8:30: BEN GOLDBERG - Clarinet / SPENCER HOEFERT - Electric Guitar / LUKE BERGMAN - Pedal Steel / HAMIR ATWAL - Drums
Tuesday, January 14th:
6:30: patrick brennan - alto sax / ON KA’A DAVIS - Guitar / JASON KAO HWANG - Violin / COOPER-MOORE - Diddleybow
7:30: STEPHAN CRUMP - Solo Contrabass
8:30: KEN KOBAYASHI - Drums / JEFF MILES - Guitar / MICHAEL GILBERT - Bass
Monday, January 20th:
6:30: JAMES PAUL NADIEN - Solo Drums
7:15: CHRIS PITSIOKOS - Solo Alto Sax
8:00: JAMES PAUL NADIEN / CHRIS PITSIOKOS - Drums / Alto Sax Duo!
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THIS WEEK’S DMG NEWSLETTER BEGINS WITH TWO TREASURES, Both of which should be here early next week:
JOHN HOLLENBECK & NDR BIG BAND with PATRICIA BRENNAN / MATT MORAN / FLORIAN WEBER / PERCY PURSGLOVE / et al - Colouring Hockets (Flexation IC Records 003; Earth) Drummer/vibist/multi-bandleader/composer, John Hollenbeck, keeps quite busy teaching (at Magill College in Montreal) as well as assembling or reassembling several different projects. Aside from his early bands like the Claudia Quintet and Quartet Lucy, Hollenbeck has organized his own big band or large ensemble, as well as working with the Orchestre National De Jazz, two other German big bands plus a current quartet known as George. The NDR Big Band is celebrating its 80th anniversary (circa 1945) this year and has long championed Creative Music of many different types, often inviting composers to collaborate with so the NDR can perform their music. Hollenbeck has also invited two great guest percussionists, Patricia Brennan and Matt Moran.
The first piece is called “Opening” and it has a majestic, cinematic sound. There are several layers moving around one another here, a sea of flutes, other reeds and brass all in waves, washing over us. “Cool Code” features guest percussionists Patricia Brennon and Matt Moran, playing interlocking parts along with Hollenbeck and the rest of the rhythm team. I am a sucker for double marimbas (due to Frank Zappa’s usage) so I dig the way they sound here, reminding me of the way a gamelan orchestra works. Also featured here is British trumpeter Percy Pursglove who has worked at length with Paul Dunmall. “Entitlement” has rich, orchestral colors and seasoned harmonies for the large ensemble. Both Frank Delle on tenor sax and Dan Gottshall on trombone both swirl around one another in tight connected orbits here, as well as featuring strong solos from both, as well as an inspired solo from bassist Ingmar Heller. Both marimbas are also featured on “Marimba Hocket”, along with flute(s) and clarinet(s). A hocket is a rhythmic linear technique that alternates between notes, pitches, or chords. Hollenbeck turns up the flame on “Shaking Peace”, the large ensemble simmering and then erupting. On “Drum Hocket”, there are several layers of lines which are moving around one another in varied (yet connected) rhythmic cycles. On “Owts Hgis”, there are several lines of percussion parts all revolving around one another while the rest of the ensemble plays a long, intricate line as one, slowly breaking the line into smaller parts, all of which are connected somehow. There is a central rhythmic flow which permeates of the pieces here, varying different pulses yet still united through an undertow. All in all, this is a long form masterwork on several levels. Another feather in the large hat that John Hollenbeck wears which seems to change color and dimension with each of his impressive releases. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14 [In stock next week]
BRAD SHEPIK HUMAN ACTIVITY with LAYALE CHAKER / AMINO BELYMANI / SAM MINAIE / JOHN HADFIELD - Dream of the Possible (Shifting Paradigm Records 210; USA) Featuring Brad Shepik on guitar, Bulgarian tambura, saz, banjo & compositions, Layale Chaker on violin, Amino Belyamani on piano, Sam Miniaie on bass and John Hadfield on drums. Aside from the more popular guitarists from the ongoing Downtown scene (Nels Cline, E#, Mary Halvorson, Marc Ribot, etc.), there has long been an underground of great creative guitarists who get much less recognition than the chosen few. Thanks to the Alternative Guitar Summit and the ongoing in-store live series here at DMG, there are a couple of dozen of other creative guitarists who rarely get the recognition they’ve long deserved. The short list of those would be Terrence McManus, Jonathan Goldberger, Todd Neufeld, Jessica Ackerley and at the top is Brad Shepik. Mr. Shepik moved to NYC in the nineties and has worked with Pachora, Tiny Bell Trio, Paradox Trio and many others. He’s made a number of fine solo efforts and continues to release them sporadically. We just in this new one from a promo service last month and it is one of the best guitar releases I’ve heard in recent memory.
I must admit that I hadn’t heard of Lebanese violinist Layale Chaker before this disc arrive, but I had heard of Amino Belyami from his work with Dawn of Midi and Sam Minaie from his work with Tigran, Davin Templeton & Daniel Rosenboom. Drummer John Hadfield has recorded with Skye Steele and Suphala (great disc on Tzadik). It’s been a while since we heard a new leader disc from Mr. Shepik, although he continues to record with the Jamie Baum Septet. Mr. Shepik has a lovely, pure-sounding, minimal effects guitar tone which has often been the main part of his sound. The opening piece is called “Code Red” and it has an infectious, groove or vibe. Ms. Chaker also has an enchanting sound on violin and works perfectly with Mr. Shepik. This piece has a lovely Pat Metheny-esque sound which I find to be most touching. Mr. Shepik and Ms. Chaker’s sound blends together quite well, often sounding like one united instrumental force. The second song, “The Search” has one of the loveliest guitar solos I’ve heard in recent memory and is followed by an equally endearing piano solo. Shepik wrote a challenging line for the guitar and violin to play together on “Dream of the Possible”, a line that the Mahavishnu Orchestra might’ve played more loudly during their heyday in the mid-1970’s. “Symbioticity” continues with another difficult theme and the guitar and violin trading some exciting lines. Shepik switches to a saz (a longneck Turkish lute) on “Future Generations”, which gives the song a more middle-eastern sort of vibe/sound. Ms. Chaker kicks off “Travel Back” with an exquisite violin intro, soon the piano takes over with some strong interplay between the piano & guitar and a fine feisty guitar solo which keeps reaching for more heights at each turn. On “All Hands” the piano and guitar sound like they are muting their notes together to great effect, the main theme is powerful. a most entrancing one. “Naturitude” has several sections which give it a cinematic presence and series of imaginative solos. The final piece here is called “Orange Haze” and it has a solemn, dream-like vibe, like a handful of ghosts all swaying together and waiting patiently for what comes after the end. All of the ten pieces here sound connected to a larger canvas, a world which dreams or elusive images gather and work well together enhancing our understanding of the world we are currently living in. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG [In stock next week]
CD $14
NEW FROM THE AMAZING FMR LABEL:
PAUL DUNMALL / LIAM NOBLE / JOHN EDWARDS / MARK SANDERS - Disappearing Worlds (FMR CD693-0524; UK) Featuring Paul Dunmall on tenor & sopranino saxes, Liam Noble on pipe organ & piano, John Edwards on contrabass and Mark Sanders on drums. It might seem hard to believe that British sax colossus, Paul Dunmall, seems to be just as prolific after the demise of his own DUNS label, thanks to other great labels like FMR, Discus, 577 Music, Rogue Art and Listen! Foundation. This particular quartet has been around since 2016 and this is their sixth disc. Both rhythm team members have been collaborating with Mr. Dunmall for many years apart & together over more than a dozen sessions. The one difference between this and the previous sessions is that Liam Noble switches between piano and pipe organ, an instrument rarely used in fully improvised sessions. The starts off quietly, tentatively but soon ascend, increasing the tempo and intensity as they evolve. Mr. Dunmall takes his time, often lays back to let the other members fill in the ongoing flow. Liam Noble is an under-recognized yet immensely creative keyboardist. He gets several chances here to stretch out, interact and solo, which he does well. Both Mr. Edwards and Mr. Sanders rank among the best of all UK rhythm teams and they are in fine form here throughout. Everything here flows organically from one section to the next. About halfway through the first long piece, Dunmall switched to his sopranino sax, the turbulence increases and then slowly calms back down. The interaction here is extraordinary, tightly wound, exciting, heated and intense. Dunmall eventually switched back to his tenor, playing it with more restrained Trane-like tone, the rest of the quartet moving right along with him. The second long piece is called, “Gone” and begins with fluttering bass, hand-muted piano and skeletal drums. Again, the quartet slowly builds with different layers of interaction. The quartet again escalates, the power ascending higher and higher, erupting like a whirlwind. This 43 minute piece builds in sections. In one segment, Mr. Noble begins tapping out one note quicker and quicker, nervous energy reverberating throughout the quartet which starts to play more sparsely once again. When Dunmall switches back to his sopranino, the rest of the quartet join him, the quartet play as one tight, robust force together. There is mutual respect and admiration which runs throughout this disc, it often sounds like all four members are part of a tight knit family that work or play so well together. I watched the sun set outside my kitchen window as this disc unfolded, a similar process of organic reality was/is taking place. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14
SZILARD MEZEI QUARTET with IVAN BURKA / ERVIN MALINA / ISTVIN CSIK - Old Book for Quartet (2023)(FMR 868; UK) Featuring Szilard Mezei on viola & compositions, Ervin Malina on contrabass and Istvin Csik on drums & percussion. Hungarian/Serbian violist & composer, Szilard Mezei, leads several quartets, this one is his newest with fine discs released at the same time. Considering that Mr. Mezei has more than 50 discs out with some dozen different ensembles, he has composed a large book of music which increases with every release. For this disc, Mr. Mezei has decided to take some of his older compositions for his earlier ensembles and rework them for his current quartet, hence the title of this disc. Each of Mezei’s compositions involve both written and improvised elements/sections. “Waterair Song” opens with eerie viola, the sound solemn with skeletal vibes and rhythm team. A written section begins with some challenging, tight ensemble work. Both Mezei on viola and Burka on vibes solo together, shadowing each other, speeding up, slowing down yet consistently connected. While the trio (viola, bass & drums) play the piece tightly together, the percussionist adds intricate flourishes. “Supernormal Slap” features some challenging plucked viola leading the quartet with more intricate percussion that keeps shifting through different cycles. Things settle down into a very sparse section, building as the plucked viola & bass start playing their lines tightly with the vibist. While Mezei and Burka play their lines together, the rhythm team shifts underneath, increasing and decreasing the tempo.
CD $14
JOSE CANHA / DAN BANKS / TREVOR TAYLOR - Guernica (FMR CD632-0422; UK) Featuring Dan Banks on piano, Jose Canha on contrabass and Trevor Taylor on drums. Recorded at Paul Higgs Studio in January of 2022, two years ago today! Multi-percussionist, electronics player and FMP head honcho, Trevor Taylor, continues to play & record in a variety of projects. Mr. Taylor has been working with pianist Dan Banks and bassist Jose Canha for nearly a decade, in several different projects. Their last trio project was called, ‘The Anthropocene Epoch’ and it was a CD/DVD with some alarming news (warnings & pics) about how climate change is destroying our fair planet.
There doesn’t seem to be a solid theme here although the title ‘Guernica’ and cover artwork, which come from a famous painting by Pablo Picasso which reflected the horrors of an early Nazi bombing of civilians in Spain. The title piece is first and begins with haunting bowed bass, sparse piano and marching drums. The piece has a disturbing vibe as if we are waiting for something bad to occur, which in fact we are at present does to the recent election. There is a central feeling of dread that runs through the entire piece. Pianist Dan banks kicks off “Kinetic Facade” with some strong, two handed, sprawling unaccompanied intro, which evolves into a solid piano trio effort. “Herja” starts out quietly yet quickly moves into a more intense trio excursion, organically building in intensity and then winding down. This piece is long and unfolds like a tale moves through a few different scenes. “A Lucid Tautology” is filled with suspense and space, making each note or line count. From sparse to a lovely ballad to a solemn conclusion. On “Zenith”, it sounds like they are stretching out time, with sparse, melodic or dramatic fragments which float in or out of view. Each piece unfolds like a mystery where one feels a certain vibe yet doesn’t know when things will change or morph into something else. I get the feeling that a good deal of thought was put into playing each piece as it all sounds focused or directed. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14
GRAVITY with TREVOR WATTS / VERYAN WESTON / JAMIE HARRIS - Eternal Triangle (Jazz Now JN 01SCD; JazzinBritain; UK) Gravity features Trevor Watts on alto & soprano saxes, Veryan Weston on Nord keyboard and Jamie Harris on percussion. Legendary British saxist, Trevor Watts, has been a longtime member of the British Creative Music Scene since the mid-1960’s. Mr. Watts was a founding member of SME, Amalgam and several Moire Music groups. After a half century of playing Creative Music, Mr. Watts has developed close relationships with several musicians, playing in different groupings over time. Watts has played & recorded in duos with pianist Veryan Weston and percussionist Jamie Harris. Trevor Watts and Jamie Harris recorded several duo discs in the early aughts while Watts & Weston also recorded several duo discs after that period. All three played at an 80th birthday celebration for Mr. Watts in 2019. They decided to record a trio CD and this is the results, with Watts composing all of the pieces and the trio arranging them in a studio in Hertfordshire, UK.
The Nord keyboard that Veryan Weston is using seems like a keyboard with several settings like electric piano, acoustic piano & synth. “Sure” opens with a great riff played by Weston’s electric piano like keyboard. The repeating riff has an infectious sound with Watt’s great alto sax riding on top. Mr. Harris soon joins them on congas and adds to the gleeful groove/vibe. Throughout this disc, Watts has written a series of enchanting themes or melodies. Most of the music is not very out or avant yet each piece has a a tasty memorable theme and Mr. Watts a great solo on each piece. Each song has a melody/theme worth hearing and exploring. After so many years of playing more freely in SME and Amalgam, Watts started to compose more rhythmic and melodic-based songs, each one is a marvel to absorb. This disc is some 71 minutes long and each piece has something enchanting going on. Another gem from Trevor Watts and his cohorts to savor. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $16
IANCU DUMITRESCU - Ansamblul Hyperion (CVSD 115CD; USA) It's a miracle that some records ever get made. Right in the middle of Ceausescu's ultra-repressive dictatorship, composer Iancu Dumitrescu managed to arrange for his first LP, a compilation of radical new music by Dumitrescu and three of his Romanian colleagues, all older than him: Ocavian Nemescu, Stefan Niculescu, and Corneliu Cezar. Dumitrescu was -- and remains -- one of the most iconoclastic figures in contemporary music. Often referred to as a spectralist (though he distances himself from the approach taken by the French spectralists) and self-described as an adherent of "acousmatic" music (though again he situates himself at a remove from the French electroacoustic composers) and highly influenced by deep studies in phenomenology, Dumitrescu's music often focuses intensely on one sonorous object, penetrating it until it is entirely blown open. He formed Ansamblul Hyperion, a chamber group featuring adventurous young musicians, in 1976. Four years later, against all odds, in a radio studio in Bucharest, they recorded this groundbreaking compilation for Electrecord, the state record company. The program starts with one of Dumitrescu's most important works, the breathtaking, string-centric "Movemur et Sumus" (1978), translated from the Latin as "move and exist." Nemescu's "Combinatii In Cercuri" (1965) was composed for the ensemble together with an electronic component that was added to the piece in 1980. Composed in 1979, Niculescu's "Sincronie" features Dumitrescu himself on piano, as well as conducting, as he does on all the works; written for an indeterminate number of performers between two and twelve (here featuring nine) it utilizes fixed elements in the score together with openly improvised elements, expanding from a core vibraphone part to encompass an almost ecstatic meditation on stasis and motion. Cezar's work "Rota" (1976) combines Romanian, Balkan, and other Eastern melodic resonances with electronics (some of them startlingly video-game-like) and preparations on various instruments, lending an ear to the natural sounds of wind, waves, and seagull calls. This historically charged document, released in 1981 in Romania and available for the most part only there, has never been reissued in any form. Gorgeously remastered from the original tapes, it appears here with its original cover design.
CD $15
UN DRAME MUSICAL INSTANTANE - Tchak! (Klanggalerie GG 477CD; Austria) "Un Drame Musical Instantané were founded in 1976, featuring Jean-Jacques Birgé, Bernard Vitet, and Francis Gorgé. Their aim was to promote collective musical creation, co-signing their albums, which they consider as artworks in themselves, or their live shows which they tried to renew every time they played. Their sound was created with many influences: They borrowed their sources from rock (synthesizer player Birgé and guitarist Gorgé, both authors of the album, Défense de); jazz (trumpeter Vitet who founded the first free jazz band in France, together with François Tusques, as well as Michel Portal who played with many American and European jazzmen); classical modern music; as well as movies or world news; they were the first in France to give a new impetus to live music on silent movies. After having improvised freely for many years, they led a fifteen-piece orchestra from 1981 to 1986, and from 1989 onwards they produced multimedia shows (live video remix on a giant screen, fireworks, choreographies). Still their music was the most important technique, they called their recordings 'blind cinema.' The Drame used to mix acoustic and electronic instruments in real time as well as original instruments built by Vitet (a reed trumpet, a multiphonic French horn, a variable tension double-bass, a giant balafon with frying pans and flower pots keyboard, a fire organ, plexiglas flutes, etc.). After Francis Gorgé left the band in 1992, Birgé and Vitet went on recording and producing with other musicians close to the 'family' such as percussionist, Gérard Siracusa, or multi-instrumentalist, Hélène Sage. Un Drame Musical Instantané always remained independent (they always owned their own recording studio and record label GRRR) and stopped its activities in 2008, with 2022 seeing the return of the group with a new album. Tchak! presents the group's last recordings with Bernard Vitet."
CD $18
SPLAT! - And Yeah So (1981-1985)(CvsD 112CD’ USA) Corbett vs. Dempsey presents And Yeah So (1981-1985), the first ever compilation by Splat! Emerging amid the primo froth of the British post-punk era, Splat!'s lineup included vocalist Dave Parsons, the mastermind behind Ron Johnson Records. The band released its only 7-inch single as the label's maiden record, going on to follow up with a 12-inch EP. These (plus one track on a compilation) were the sum total official output, but the band was active and made loads of fantastic, high-octane, often hilarious and off-kilter recordings, the best of which are collected here, together with their full discography, and made available on CD for the first time. Nineteen tracks that give truth to the title "Jugular Blowjob," a heavy heap of blessed mess that kicks the whole comp off. Dave Parsons tells the full Splat! story: "Splat! were four, sometimes five, misfits from a small town halfway between Nottingham and Derby in the middle of England. Influenced by the likes of the Pop Group, PiL, The Fall, and the Birthday Party but also by all the punk stuff that they had experienced when they were fifteen years old or so. The band played mainly in the local area and got a good reputation for messy live shows that often ended in blood and tears (and some sweat). The band was around in 1982 -- after some pre-incarnations in 1980 and 1981 -- Paul Walker, drums (17 years old), Dave Parsons, voice (19 years old), John Allsopp, guitar (19 years old), Mark Grebby (bass, 20 years old) was the main lineup. A single was recorded at Cargo Studios. The first Splat! single did okay -- it sold most of its pressing of 1000 -- there was an interview in Sounds and John Peel played it a couple of times and plans went ahead for the second release. The 12" EP (RON2) came out in 1984 and did much the same. Soon after that the band split up, with some recorded but unreleased material (some of which is here for the first time in physical form). Dave continued with Ron Johnson and the label had considerable artistic/critical success from 1984 to 1988 with Big Flame, A Witness, Stump, the Shrubs, MacKenzies, The Ex, etc. gaining the label a reputation for angular post-Beefheartian guitar noise-pop.
CD $15
UNSCIENTIFIC ITALIANS with PIERO BITTOLO BON / FRANCESCO BIGONI / DANILO GALLO / ZENO DE ROSSI / et al - Play the Music of Bill Frisell Vol.1 & 2 (Hora Records 007-2211CD; Italy) HORA Records presents the release of Unscientific Italians' Play The Music of Bill Frisell Vol. 2. This new chapter follows the acclaimed Volume 1 (HORA 2105LP), which was released in 2021 and received praise world-wide both from music critics and the community of Frisell fans, leading the band to be awarded as "Band of the Year 2021" by Italian jazz critics pool Top Jazz. The ensemble Unscientific Italians, led by pianist, arranger and composer Alfonso Santimone, features some of the most gifted performers and bandleaders on the Italian scene: Fulvio Sigurtà and Mirco Rubegni on trumpet and flughelhorn, Filippo Vignato and Federico Pierantoni on trombone, Cristiano Arcelli, Piero Bittolo Bon, Francesco Bigoni, and Rossano Emilli on reeds, Danilo Gallo on bass, and Zeno De Rossi on drums. The new volume is presented on vinyl, digitally, and in a special LTD edition Double CD together with Volume 1, with the blessing of Bill Frisell himself, who generously offered some of his sketches for the cover's artwork. Bill Frisell is undoubtedly one of the most influential masters in today's jazz landscape. However, his compositions remain unexplored, perhaps because of a lack of critical distance, perhaps because their apparent simplicity hides impenetrable folds to those who lack the right perspective. Musically speaking, Unscientific Italians is not a tribute or an orchestral rendition of Frisell's music, but rather an idiosyncratic rewriting and orchestration that borrows his compositional and instrumental language. The first four tunes are a reinterpretation of the entire "Some Song and Dance" suite from 1989 Frisell masterpiece album Before We Were Born.
2 CD Set $22 / 2 LP Set $30
SCATTERED ORDER - Career Of The Silly Thing (Klanggalerie GG460CD; Austria) "Scattered Order were formed in 1979 in Sydney, Australia, by Mitch Jones on vocals, guitar and bass guitar, Michael Tee on guitar, and Simon Vidale on drums. Jones worked as a live sound engineer for the Birthday Party and Pel Mel. The band formed their own record label, M Squared. They were joined in Scattered Order by Patrick Gibson on guitar and synthesizer in January of the following year. According to Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, their 'aim was to combine all manner of 'found sounds' and loose song structures with a perverse absurdist sense of humor (in the Snakefinger/Residents vein) and set them to a rock backing.' Career of the Silly Thing appeared in September 1985, and represented something of a breakthrough release, revealing a shift towards a more conventional and melodic yet still challenging sound. It was then described as being 'their most interesting and accessible record so far, with a more harmonious synthesis of noise and beat than they had previously achieved; it reveals an obsession with the grotesque on the part of major songwriters.' Mitch Jones said 'Dru and I got married. This is our honeymoon album. A lot of the lyrics were written on our honeymoon. I'm fascinated with the grotesque.' They toured with fellow Sydney-based label mates, Severed Heads, and supported United States group, the Residents, on their Australian tour. As a bonus to the original album comes the whole Selling The Axe To Buy The Wood EP."
CD $18
MORE ITEMS FROM THE ONGOING ILK MUSIC CD SALE:
JACOB ANDERSKOV With CHRISTINE PRYN / ANETTE SLAATTO / IDA NORHOLM / PETER BRUUN - Strings, Percussion & Piano (Ilk Music 206; Denmark) Featuring Jacob Anderskov on piano & compositions, Christine Pryn on violin, Anette Slaato on viola, Ida Nordholm on cello and Peter Bruun on drums. This is mainly a studio date recorded in Oslo in May of 2012 with one live piece recorded in Copenhagen a few months later. To say that Danish pianist Jacon Anderskov is prolific would be putting it mildly, as he can be found on more than twenty discs in solos, duos, trios situations. For this disc he uses a string trio plus a drummer, something different than usual. I am not familiar with the string players here but do know of drummer Bruun from his work with Mold, the Trees, Django Bates and Marc Ducret. "Soil" is a stark (at first), haunting piece for contemplative strings, melancholy piano and skeletal drums. Today (July 11. 2013) is an overcast, grey day without that simmering heat or humidity that has plagued the rest of the week. The music here seems perfect for the break in our current heat-wave, sad yet touching and just a bit eerie. "Impermanence I" has a freer, more playful sound and is the one live piece, fits nicely within the rest of the written pieces. This entire disc has a more moody, laid back vibe, showing off Anderskov's writing abilities with few if any solos involved. Time to take a walk and search for some sunlight. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD Sale $10
STEVEN BERNSTEIN / MARCUS ROJAS / KRESTEN OSGOOD - Tattoos And Mushrooms (Ilk Music 150; Denmark) Featuring Steven Bernstein on trumpet & slide trumpets, Marcus Rojas on tuba and Kresten Osgood on drums. Multi-bandleader, arranger and trumpet hero Steve Bernstein never seems to rest. Besides running Sex Mob and the Millennial Territory Orchestra, he has four fabulous discs on Tzadik and has worked with Lounge Lizards, Kamikaze Ground Crew, Max Nagl's Big Four, Satoko Fujii and Mario Pavone. He was also a member of an early downtown trio called Spanish Fly with Dave Tronzo and Marcus Rojas, who still get together on occasion when Tronzo is in town. Since Mr. Tronzo has relocated to the Boston area, Spanish Fly plays gigs with guest members like Ned Rothenberg. Hence this new trio with Marcus Rojas and Danish drum wiz Kresten Osgood, who seems to get around and appears on more discs than I can count. It is Kresten who is the main composer on this disc. The very first sound you hear on this disc is Marcus playing his tuba like a dijeradoo, making this spooky hum/growl. Besides four originals by Kresten, there are a few select and diverse covers by Charles Brackeen, Thelonius Monk, Charles Mingus and Hank Williams. Charles Brackeen's "Prince of Night" starts things off and is a perfect opening piece. It has a peaceful, spiritual vibe and a delicate, somber melody. Kresten's skeletal yet seductive "Hope for Denmark" shows how to set the scene with a minimum of notes. It reminds me of how the blues works best with a handful of select notes, where each one counts. Marcus Rojas is a master tuba player with his own distinctive sound and approach. He starts Monk's "Thelonius" by rubbing and tapping on his tuba while he hums or just plays certain eerie notes. When he switches to the bass line, he sounds totally old school and filled with friendly swagger. "Scaramanga" is an eerie, spacy improvised trio that floats freely and thoughtfully. Kresten's drums are recorded with breathtaking care and are at the center of "Abington". His mallet use is sublime and works well with Steve's haunting muted trumpet and Marcus cosmic droning tuba. Initially I thought that there is nothing that connects Mingus' "Eastcoasting" with Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry". Both were written in the fifties and played next to each other, they both evoke a certain timeless quality, especially the way the trio turn Hank's song inside out and sent it to the outer space. The feeling that I get from this gem is that it is Kresten that called the shots and organized to session. This is indeed a wonderful job from all three members of this phenomenal trio. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
CD Sale $12
SOREN KJAERGAARD / BEN STREET / ANDREW CYRILLE - Optics (Ilk Music 140; Denmark) Although Danish pianist Soren Kjaergaard is only thirty, he has played on some 25 discs so far, a number with Michael Blake and Kresten Osgood. Soren wrote five of the eight pieces here with two trio collaborations and one by Andrew Cyrille. The title piece is first and the trio plays ever so delicately and peacefully. Each note is bathed in suspense with minimal acoustic bass and drums balancing softly in the void. This music is most often careful and cautious. On many of the pieces, veteran avant/jazz drummer, Andrew Cyrille seems to balance and provide an equal counterpoint for Soren's selective and minimal piano. On "Mallets," Cyrille's superb mallet-work is on display and is most melodic and enchanting. I love the way the trio moves into a more intense and explosive area on "Work of Art," all three erupting tightly together in a series of intense waves. Finally, this fine disc concludes with a most haunting ballad called "Radio House Requiem," ever so carefully crafted and softly balanced. - BLG at DMG
CD Sale $10
THE LIVING ROOM with TOMAS STRONEN / SOREN KJAERGAARD / TORBEN SNEKKESTAD - Still Distant Still (Ilk Music 182; Denmark) Precious, spacious, expressive and minimal. All the best words to describe this latest experimental trio from Norway featuring Torben Snekkestad, Thomas Stronen and Soren Kjaergaard as The Living Room. Their debut, Still Distant Still, was built out of a number of live performances and in the studio that energy is just as intense and beautiful. Like its title, the album is filled with space that holds you in place but displays a freedom and unique curiosity of performance that leaves you wondering what note will be played next. "Tremelo Hiving" quietly moves along with long breathy squeals by Snekkestad and crackling improvised tones by both Kjaergaard and Stronen. On "Still Distant Still," the trio execute a fine pattern of improvised notes led by Snekkestad and rolling divergent notes by Kjaergaard. Snekkestad stretches the air in the middle of the piece while Kjaergaard and Stronen add a layer of haunting effects over the top of notes. "Rainbow Stomp" is the dark, loud polar opposite to "Still Distant Still." It builds viciously from the start, an intense discordant exchange between all members sets the path for this number. The space is consumed by tweaks, squeals, crackles, muted manipulations and pulses that all form a beautiful cacophony that carries out to its ending. Still Distant Still is a powerful debut from three well known and prolific improvisers that demand you seeking it out. Highly Recommended. - Stephan Moore, DMG
CD Sale $10
JESPER LOVDAL / GUNTER BABY SOMMER - Jesper Lovdal & Gunter Baby Sommer (Ilk Music 188; Denmark) Featuring Jesper Lovdal on tenor & bari sax, clarinet, flute & pennywhistle and Gunter Baby Sommer on drums & jaw harp. No doubt you all know about the great FMP-associated drummer who has worked with some of the finest musicians around: Wadada Leo Smith, Cecil Taylor, Ulrich Gumpert, Peter Kowald, Irene Schweizer and Connie Bauer. You are most likely less familiar with Danish reedsman Jesper Lovdal who has a half dozen discs on the ILK label. Although Mr. Lovdal most often plays with other Scandinavian musicians, he has worked with a few Americans: Cuong Vu, Sam Yahel and Jeff Ballard. Although Mr. Lovdal and Mr. Sommer are a couple of generations apart in age, it often doesn't matter in creative/free music making. Mr. Sommer has done a few duo sessions throughout his long career (Taylor, Smith & Gumpert) and each one of those was wonderful. The same goes for this one. These two gifted musicians sound great together, exchanging ideas and having musical conversations. Mr. Lovdal switches between various reeds and sounds very different and inspired on each one. When he plays clarinet on the second piece, the duo plays carefully and with much suspense. "Maultrommel" is a duo for flute and jaw-harp and it has a most folky sort-of charm which feels just right. Sommer always sounds as if he is drawing from the long history of jazz drumming and European free/music making, which are inter-related yet somehow different. Each duo piece here works, each one is a stimulating dialogue and this is a series of short stories told by experienced wise men. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD Sale $10
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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 / MARTA SANCHEZ / January 2nd-4th:
1/2 Thursday
8:30 pm - TRIO - Marta Sanchez (piano) Val Jeanty (drums, turntable) Nicole Glover (tenor sax)
1/3 Friday
8:30 pm - TRIO - Marta Sanchez (piano) Christopher Tordini (bass) Savannah Harris (drums)
1/4 Saturday
8 pm - TRIO - Sara Serpa (voice) Miriam Elhajli (voice, guitar) Marta Sanchez (piano)
THE STONE RESIDENCIES / MARY HALVORSON / January 8-11
1/8 Wednesday
8:30 pm - DUO - Mary Halvorson (guitar) Peter Evans (trumpet)
1/9 Thursday
8:30 pm - DUO - Mary Halvorson (guitar) Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpet)
1/10 Friday
8:30 pm
QUARTET - Mary Halvorson (guitar) Alex Koi (voice, electronics) Henry Fraser (bass) Tomas Fujiwara (drums)
1/11 Saturday
8:30 pm - STERNO - Mary Halvorson (guitar) Brett Deschenes (trumpet) Dan St. Clair (piano) Nat Baldwin (bass)
A rare appearance of Sterno, established in 2001
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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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…
Sunday, January 12, 2025. 8:00 pm
IMPRESSIONS: Improvisatory interpretations on “A Love Supreme” with Ravi Coltrane & Guests TBA
Wednesday, January 15 AT 8PM:
TAKE TWO: Ganavya reimagines ‘Les Filles de Illighadad’
Thursday, January 16, 2025 AT 8PM:
PATRICK HIGGINS and YARN/WIRE - A two part program: Patrick Higgins will present his most recent album Versus, released on Other People in 2024. Acclaimed new music ensemble Yarn/Wire will also present the NY premiere of Higgins’s work “Three Lines of Flight.” FEATURING: Patrick Higgins guitar and electronics and Yarn/Wire with Russel Greenberg percussion, Laura Barger piano, Julia Den Boer piano & Sae Hashimoto - percussion
Friday, January 17, 2025. 8:00 pm
JACK Quartet Plays JOHN ZORN’s Memento Mori and Necronomicon
Thursday - Saturday, January 23rd - January 25th:
IMPROV NIGHTS 2025: A Tribute to Derek Bailey [3 Night Festival]
Ann all-star cast: Craig Taborn, Kenny Wollesen, Wendy Eisenberg, Ikue Mori, Ned Rothenberg, Brandon Lopez, gabby fluke-mogul & many more, different musicians each night.
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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NEW VIDEOS from GUITAR MASTER HENRY KAISER:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcvoYygehqE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-6p_Q2Dwxc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWJ20KEHAdQ
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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