Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
I’ve been a big fan of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas after discovering his poetry at college in the early 1970’s. I recall reading “Altarwise by Owl-Light” over and over at school, trying to figure out what it meant until I finally has an idea. I remember trying to decipher the words to several Captain Beefheart songs (like “The Old Fart at Play”) at college and spending an entire Saturday night trying to figure out its meaning. Captain Beefheart’s lyrics often reminded me of Dylan Thomas’ so I read his poems many times to get their sense. I reviewed a CD on the Ilk Music label by Eggs Laid By Tigers, a Danish quintet, earlier today. All of the lyrics on that disc come from poems by Dylan Thomas. The above poem is one of them so I’ve read it over a few times while listening to the disc. I recall an episode of ’Northern Exposure’ which ends with local DJ Chris Stevens turning on his vast light sculpture and speaking these words: “Rage, rage against the dying of the light”. I am going to find my big book of Dylan Thomas poetry and read through it tonight, a good exercise for the mind. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
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THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU ALL!
Last week I began the weekly newsletter with a plea for help since the rent at my/our store has gone up and the rent for my apartment had also gone up signifigently. Making things more difficult to survive in these trying times. Since last week we got in around $6,500 in donations. I was shocked and pleased by the outpouring of support for my/our efforts in keeping the store and the DMG newsletter going for a while longer. I will continue to search out, promote and support all sorts of Creative Music, since this is something which we all need for some Inspiration. The weekly gigs in the store continue to amaze and inspire me, so check out our 1 minute videos on InstaGram which can be viewed from our homepage as well. The newsletter will remain free to all who care to read it but donations/subscriptions are most welcome if you want us to continue. Although it looks dark outside, I can feel the light or Love at the end of the tunnel, a beam or a ray of sunshine which connects us all. It is there, sometimes you have to search a bit to find it. Remember: Resistance is not futile, Resistance is Essential if you want to be Free! Peace and Love over hate & division, Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
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THE DMG 34th ANNIVERSARY IN-STORE FREE MUSIC SERIES Continues with:
Tuesday, January 28th:
6:30: JONATHAN WILSON - Drums / TAKUMA KANAIWA - Bass / KEENA RUFFIN - Guitar / STEN ZENKOV - Reeds
7:30: MAX JOHNSON / BRANDON LOPEZ - Rare ContraBass Duo
8:30: JEREMY CARLSTEDT - Drums / RAY ANDERSON - Trombone
Tuesday, February 4th:
6:30: RōNIN PHASING: patrick brennan - Solo Alto Sax
7:30: DAFNA NAPHTALI - Electronics-Voice / FORBES GRAHAM - Trumpet-Electronics
8:30: JONATHAN RESIN - Tenor Sax / YONI KRETZMER - Tenor Sax / MICHAEL GILBERT - Bass / JARRED CHASE - Drums
Tuesday, February 11th:
6:30: STEVE SWELL - Solo Trombone
7:30: RICH ROSENTHAL - Guitar / JOE FIEDLER - Trombone / KEN FILIANO - Bass / JEFF DAVIS - Drums
8:30: STEVE HIRSH - Drums / DAVE SEWELSON - Baritone Sax / MATT HOLLENBERG - El Guitar / SANA NAGANO - Violin
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THE TWO BELOW CD’S ON THE LIBRA LABEL WERE SHIPPED FROM JAPAN EARLIER THIS WEEK AND SHOULD BE HERE SOON:
HAINO KEIJI / NATSUKI TAMURA - What Happened There? (Libra 102-078; Japan) Featuring Haino Keiji on guitar & voice and Natsuki Tamura on trumpet, toys & voice. Recorded live at Shinjuku Pitt Inn in Tokyo in January of 2024. The first time I heard guitarist/vocalist Haino Keiji play was around 1980 in a quartet with Fred Frith, Charles K Noyes and a Japanese drummer whose name I can’t recall. The quartet played 2 sets and I was knocked out by both but I was unsure about Haino Keiji since I wasn’t sure how I felt about his strange guitar playing or even stranger vocals. Since Haino was playing with my hero & friend, Fred Frith, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. Since then, I’ve caught Mr. Keiji live many times and have acquired many of his recordings. He is still pushing the barriers of what some folks call music and others call noise, but I’ve been a longtime fan no matter what others think. In recent years, Keiji has had a trio with Jim O’Rourke & Oren Ambarchi, plus he’s been collaborating with Merzbow, Peter Brotzmann and Jean-Marc Foussat. Natsuki Tamura is one of my favorite trumpet players and has been collaborated with his wife, Satoko Fujii for many years. One of the things I like best about Tamura is that he has a sense of humor and often adds unexpected twists & turns (with toys & vocals) to each live performance.
This set was recorded at an annual Satoko Fujii/Natsuki Tamura festival in January of 2024 in which either or both members of the couple played in six different sets with alternating personnel. This set was a first time live meeting of Haino Keiji and Natsuki Tamura. Things begin quietly with fragile guitar and restrained trumpet with a bit of reverb added. Mr. Tamura has added kitchen utensils to his table of hand percussion, bowls & toys so we hear this as well as his trumpet. Keiji switches between his unique spoken/sung word vocals and his guitar, sometimes quiet, sometimes explosive. Tamura is a great match whether playing trumpet or other oddities. Haino once played a duo set here at DMG (our first location) with guitarist Loren Mazzacane Connors. It took place on a Sunday around 1, with both guitarists sitting on the floor and the music being rather restrained. Some folks think the Haino is all about explosive noise guitar and screaming vocals but this is just a part of what he can do. Much of the set here is also calm in part with occasional outbursts. Both musicians have found a common ground here and work together quite well. I wasn’t so sure what to expect when I slipped this disc into my CD player but I admit that I do dig this disc immensely. It shows a much different side to Haino Keiji. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $16 [In stock next week]
* SATOKO FUJII GEN - Altitude 1100 Meters (Libra 206-077; Japan) Featuring Satoko Fujii on piano & compositions, Yuriko Mukoujima & Ayako Kato on violins, Atsuko Hatano on viola & electronics, Hiroshi Yoshino on bass and Akira Horikoshi on drums. One would think that after releasing more than 100 discs as a leader and then releasing one CD a month for a year when she turned 60, that pianist/composer/multi-bandleader Satoko Fujii might slow down a bit, release-wise. No chance! Ms. Fujii has continued to release even more discs from her assorted ensembles as well as recording with both older and younger collaborators. Although Ms. Fujii has recorded a couple of duos with violinists, this is the first time she has written for and worked with a string trio and rhythm team. Although I didn’t recognize the names of the other musicians here, it turns that Yuriko Mukoujima has worked with Lars Homler, Hiroshi Yoshino has worked with the Flying Mijinko Band (with Bill Laswell) while Akira Horikoshi has worked with Ms. Fujii on numerous occasions.
Ms. Fujii composed this music over the summer of 2023 while taking care of her aging parents in the mountains of Nagano. She only had a small electric keyboard to work with as well as her imagination. “Part 1: Morning Haze” begins with some quite eerie string swells which move in slow waves up and down, up and down. On “Part 2: Morning Sun”, the strings play these dark, haunting lines with Ms. Fujii playing dark, resonant waves on the low end of the piano, the vibe is pretty scary. The rhythm team stretches out with bassist Yoshino taking a thoughtful solo with Fujii erupting on piano, the drums pounding and the strings also exploding together. The vibe is rather apocalyptic, most effective at capturing some of the darker spirits that we all deal with at times. The rhythm team plays at a furious uptempo pace on “Part 3: Early Afternoon” with the bassist speeding up and slowing down as the strings are plucked in a skeletal fashion, with those hypnotic swirls emerging from time to time. The longest piece here is “Part 4: Light Rain”, which clocks in at around 20 minutes. This piece is most haunting with just floating strings and mysterious electronics moving around one another. Ms. Fujii plays inside the piano tapping on and rubbing the strings which adds to the mystical vibe. This piece is episodic and moves through different sections. While the bass solos midway, the strings float in and out adding odd harmonies at times. Although there are occasional solos (like an unaccompanied drums solo), everything flows like film or series of short stories. The last piece, “Part 5: Twilight” begins with an expressive drums solo before the rest of sextet comes in. The piano, bass & drums work tightly together improvising as one while the strings play (what sounds like) written parts around the rhythm team. Things grow in waves here, the vibe is most organic. The six musicians involved sound like a chamber group of sorts with progressive seasoning utilized throughout. Another impressive work from the great Satoko Fujii. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $16 [In stock next week]
* SATOKO FUJII will be playing at I-Beam in Brooklyn on April 2nd of 2025.
DENNIS PALMER with COL. BRUCE HAMPTON / JESSICA LURIE / FRANK PAHL / BOB STAGNER - White Wuff (Public Eyesore 160; USA) Featuring Dennis Palmer on assorted synthesizers, Col. Bruce Hampton on vocals & incantations, Jessie Lurie on alto & tenor saxes, flute, percussion, vocals & sweet potato, Frank Pahl on banjo & whistles and Bob Stagner on drums, guitar, mandolin, percussion & voice. The Shaking Ray Levis were a strange duo from Chattanooga, Tenn, who released a half dozen discs between 1986 & the early aughts. They consisted of Dennis Palmer on keyboards & synths and Bob Satgner on drums & percussion. They collaborated with other mutants/creative musicians like Derek Bailey, Fred Frith, Amy Denio, Killick Hinds and Borbetomagus. Dennis Palmer passed away in Feb of 2013. This the last recording that Mr. Palmer worked on before his passing. He has gathered a strange crew of musicians from varied backgrounds or scenes. Col. Bruce Hampton was the lead singer/madman for the legendary Hampton Grease Band and the Aquarium Rescue Unit, Jessica Lurie is a longtime member of the Billy Tipton Memorial Sax Qt & Zion 80, Frank Pahl has worked with Klimperei & Only a Mother while Bob Stagner was half of the Shaking Ray Levis. Each piece here has its own odd sound and can't be described as rock or jazz or prog or whatever. Mr. Palmer's synths are at the center of each piece with layered saxes, spooky voices and effective drumming or percussion. Col. Bruce Hampton, who also passed away a few years back, doesn't really sing lead as much as play an assortment of strange characters. He is perfect for his part in this. Jessica Lurie is one of the better and more distinctive saxists of the current Downtown Scene. Here she adds odd sax licks and occasional vocals and fits well within the unexpected twists and turns. As weird as this is at times, it sounds like a compelling view of an altered reality. Ever since listening to the Mothers of Invention at the ripe age of 13 in 1967, I've learned to appreciate those who show us the other side of normality. We are united by the ridiculousness of life and this is our current soundtrack. A most impressive detour through life as we know it. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14 [In stock next week]
TUNGU a/k/a SERGEY SENCHUK with SUSAN ALCORN / SAINKO NAMCHYLAK / GUNDA GOTTSCHALK / JAAP BLONK / DJ SNIFF / XAVIER CHARLES / JEAN-MARC MONTERA / RENE LUSSIER / FRED LONBERG-HOLM / et al - Successful Utilization of Elements (Public Eyesore 157; USA) Featuring Tungu (a/k/a Sergey Senchuk) on voice, samples, field recordings & acoustic bass, Susan Alcorn on pedal steel, Sainko Namchylak, Jaap Blonk & Guylaine Cosseron on vocals, Gunda Gottschalk on violin, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Hui Chun Lin & Ulrike Brand on cellos, Rene Lussier on guitar, Jean-Marc Montera on corsican catera, synth & effects, DJ Sniff on turntables, Xavier Charles on clarinet & processing, Philippe Petit on Buchla synth, etc. Initially I thought that I hadn't heard of Tungu before now but another disc showed up this week with Tungu, Mia Zabelka and Stephan Strasser on FMR Records plus Tungu does have a half dozen previous releases. Since each of the 19 pieces is a duo, Tungu gives his guests a chance to stretch out, often quietly, the combination often restrained yet mysterious.
Starting out with experimental vocalist Sainko Namchylak, we hear her whispered voice surrounded by eerie electronics, subtle yet effective. It sounds like Tungu had each musician send him a short solo piece which he added to with acoustic bass, samples, field recordings or voice. Tungu obviously listened closely to add sounds which enhance whatever was recorded first. Since the pieces are relatively short, every duo sounds focused and complete with a flow of electronics or samples which seem to bridge the entire long disc. Although I know about half of the musicians or vocalists here, each one has their own career/music path which can be viewed on Discogs. Originally I was going to list the highlights heard here but as I listen every piece is interesting whether I know of the player or not. I will mention one highlight though since it did knock me out and I put it on repeat for several listened. Pedal steel guitarist Susan Alcorn remains one of my musicians ever and here her distinctive steel guitar is framed with a gauze of haunting sounds and perhaps a ringing alarm in the distance. Essential! I listened to this entire disc in two sittings and considering that the disc is around 70 minutes long, I was thoroughly enchanted throughout. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14 [In stock next week]
MARIJA KOVACEVIC - Music for Broken Violins - Vol. 1 (Self-produced; USA) Featuring Marija Kovačević on solo violins. At almost every in-store concert that we have weekly at DMG, a new musician will approach me, ask me about how to get a gig here and perhaps leave me with a release of theirs. Earlier this week, Serbian violinist handed me a short stack of three solo CD-R’s, entitled ‘Music for Broken Violins’. Ms. Kovačević now lives here and teaches at the Brooklyn Music School. She came across a closet filled with broken violins at the school and decided to work with them rather than having them discarded. Each of her three solo CD’s were recorded in different places, under different conditions. On Vol. 1, Ms. Kovačević layers several violins, each one played, plucked, bowed, rubbed, tapped upon differently. I hear what sounds like a sad voice in the distance like a chorus which is slowly being submerged in the water. It is often hard to tell exactly what is happening since some of these sounds are disorienting, ghost-like, even nightmarish at times. The overall sounds have a life or presence of their own and sound like they are breathing or pulsating. As I listen in my kitchen, I look out the window and see the sunlight bathing the landscape. It is 20 degrees out today and it feels pretty cold. I have turned off the news since it has been depressing me. The music here reminds me of the uneasy feeling that I’ve had since the reality TV dictator took over earlier this week. We are a nation in mourning and the Spirit of Democracy is being suffocated. Here’s a quote from Ms. Kovačević: “I embrace the unpredictable nature of this process.… By abandoning traditional techniques, I find new paths for making sound. The violins inspire me profoundly, also sparking questions that extend far beyond the realm of sound.” I really like this disc although it does make me sad. Seeking the light at the end of the tunnel. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD-R $10
THE ANCIENTS with ISAIAH COLLIER / WILLIAM HOOKER / WILLIAM PARKER - The Ancients (Eremite MTE 080-081; USA) Arriving in North America on Eremite, the debut recording by The Ancients, the intergenerational coalition of Isaiah Collier, William Hooker, and William Parker formed by Parker to play concerts in conjunction with the Milford Graves Mind Body Deal exhibition at the Institute Of Contemporary Art Los Angeles and now a working group. Across 2 LPs of side-length long-form improvised sets recorded at 2220 Arts and Archives in LA and The Chapel in San Francisco, The Ancients bring the free jazz trio languages first explored by the Cecil Taylor Unit and Ornette Coleman's Golden Circle Band (expanded upon in later eras by Sam Rivers' trio and Parker's collective trios with Charles Gayle/Graves and Peter Brötzmann/Hamid Drake) into their own unique and scintillating realms of expression. As we tumble further into the throes of history's tides, people of hope and creativity rely on the works of our great artists to lift our spirits and focus our resolve. Ascension was recorded less than a year after the passage of the Civil Rights Act and four months after the assassination of Malcolm X. Journey in Satchidananda was recorded the month Reagan was re-elected governor of California. M'Boom made its debut recording weeks after the Watergate scandal broke and a couple months after the Wounded Knee occupation ended. The music of The Ancients builds on these great musical legacies. It resounds with the pride of survival and the joys of making and sharing music. It delivers to us hope and balm. Something real in you, real in history, and real in the music is shared, right on time. When Eremite records commenced operations during the 1990s free jazz resurgence, heavyweight freedom-seeking tenor saxophonists such as Fred Anderson, Peter Brötzmann, Charles Gayle, Kidd Jordan, and David S. Ware were at the height of their powers. Isaiah Collier's tenor playing in The Ancients is bracing testimony that the wellspring lives on. To hear the young Chicago firebrand blowing freely with veteran improvisers in an entirely open-form group music is a revelatory study of his vast talent, personal voice, and the intensity of his expression -- as well as a bold complement to his composition-based albums as a bandleader (including The Almighty, a New York Times' best albums of 2024 selection). I've admired drummer William Hooker since first encountering his music in a Hartford, CT, city park, early '90s (on a double bill with Jerry González and Fort Apache Band). From the man himself right off the bandstand I bought his even-then rare first recording, the 1976 self-released 2LP opus Is Eternal Life (reissued 2019 by Superior Viaduct). An imposing force on his instrument and an intrepid DIY cat, Hooker's been exuberantly swinging in-and-out of free time for 50 years. Informed by the innovations of Sunny Murray and Tony Williams yet entirely himself, there is no other term for it than "pure Hooker." At age 78, with the Ancients and everywhere else, THE HOOK is in peak form. With a discography approaching 600 entries and 50 years working across the musical maps, including in the history-defining bands of Don Cherry, Cecil Taylor, Bill Dixon, Peter Brötzmann, in his own wondrous ensembles from small group to orchestra to opera, a bastion of compassionate leadership and a poetic champion of his musical community, in tireless service to what he rather egolessly refers to as "the tone world," multi-instrumentalist, improviser and composer William Parker is a living hero of the grassroots and the Black Mystery Musics, not to mention one of the great bassists in the history of jazz. To quote George Clinton, conquering the stumbling blocks comes easier when the conqueror is in tune with the infinite. Free jazz is an enduring high art. Its greatest expressions belong to their particular moment in history, and live on to transcend and refract in amaranthine ways. Inside our present historical moment, we are fortunate to have the master musicians in the ancients bringing us their high-level creation. First Eremite edition of 1,299 copies pressed on premium audiophile-quality 140gram vinyl at Fidelity Record pressing, from Kevin Gray/Cohearent audio lacquers. Live to 2-track concert recordings by Bryce Gonzales, Highland Dynamics. Mastered by Joe Lizzi, Queens, NY. Album and concerts co-produced with The Black Editions Group.
2 LP Set $45
ROBBIE BASHO - Snow Beneath the Belly of a White Swan / The Lost Live Recordings (Tompkins Square TSQ 4111; USA) ‘These days I hold out little hope that the barren dust bowl that is The Archive could still bear fruit worth eating. It has been overpopulated and overfarmed. So many reissues or ‘lost recordings’ drop like just more plastic pressed up to sell, cashing in on things nobody actually ever thought were any good in the first place, but which have been bestowed with the grace and gloss of time simply pushing inexorably onwards. Yet here I am, happily gorging on what might be one of the most essential live box sets now in my collection. I’ll go out on a limb and say that over the last few months, it has become as important to me as The Complete Matrix Tapes, because it fills in a huge part of the picture that was previously only sketched out. More than that, it shows what there is still to discover when a very good researcher asks the right people the right questions.
Snow Beneath The Belly Of A White Swan is a follow up of sorts to 2021’s Song of the Avatars: The Lost Master Tapes, and is sourced from the same suitcase of tapes that filmmaker Liam Barker tracked down while making his essential documentary on Basho, Voice of the Eagle. Barker says that during filming, he found out that Basho’s personal collection of his own master tapes had been bequeathed to a member of Sufism Reoriented following his untimely death after a chiropractic accident. From there they found their way to a follower of the movement’s founder, the Indian spiritual master Meher Baba, whom Barker was able to track down and who gave Barker access. The case was a holy grail, containing over 100 reel-to-reel tapes which have now been curated into two box sets: the 2021 studio set and now this collection of live recordings, some of which have vague provenance because of poor labelling, meaning that identifying dates and locations have often come down to deduction or guesswork.
What we do know is that Basho was a prolific performer, who nonetheless struggled to make any kind of living from his shows. He never had a manager, and cadged lifts to his own gigs, sometimes taking odd jobs to cover the rent. Robbie Dawson’s liner notes state that he was “not as employable nor as popular as his peers” and quotes from reviews that – quite perplexingly given the glorious flights taken on some of these recordings – criticize his inability to deliver the ‘soaring performances’ of peers John Fahey or Leo Kottke, and that he spent an ordinate amount of time tuning his instruments. The Chicago Tribune commented that he was “wholly too esoteric for most tastes and for his own good”, and Dawson writes that he sometimes tempered the spiritual and non-Western influences for live shows, after finding audiences reacted better to what he called the ‘cowboy trip’ and straighter Americana. That Tribune reviewer was out of their mind – I certainly hear some ‘soaring performances’ here. I have written before for this website about how when Basho reaches skyward it feels so raw it is like he has no skin. This is only intensified in moments of ‘bad’ recording on this release, as when ‘Himalayan Highlands’ slips into the red and begins to distort just as Basho’s impassioned vibrato is lifted on glittering clouds of strings. “I’ve heard things you wouldn’t believe up there in the great sky,” he told Frets magazine in 1981.
I often hear a rushing of energy in these recordings, where his playing flows like a fast and complex river, as in the title track or ‘The Golden Shamrock’ (the only recording of this piece). I listen with the same ears to the coursing waterways in Annea Lockwood’s river recordings, some deep and rolling, some quick and glittering, well suited to a shifting focus on narrow or wide-field listening.
The comparison made is always between Basho and the grumpy John Fahey – Erik Davis termed it well when he said Basho was “the mystic moon to John Fahey’s brash, strumming sun” and one of the things I took from Barker’s documentary is that while it seemed Fahey and Basho were never going to fully ‘get’ each other, being people with entirely different temperaments, that connection was crucial to understanding Basho, who is recorded here playing the languorous blues of ‘Some Summer Day’ and ‘Sligo River Blues’ by Fahey (and the rare track ‘Portrait Of Fahey As A Young Dragoon’). But where Fahey always seemed an obstinate kind of visionary, Basho loved to LARP, incorporating a bazaar of borrowed sounds, motifs, and tunings, and an odd, naive sort of presence.
It is these Bashovian idiosyncrasies that make me so enamoured with him, in ways I could never feel for Fahey, as much as I adore his music. It pains me to hear of Basho straightening out his sound for the Americana cowboy set, as much as I like that stuff, because I like it more when he is earnestly inhabiting various spiritualities; I like it when he gets on an overwrought mediaeval trip, and I have always liked the stage banter that slips out while he retunes his instruments. On the album Bonn Ist Supreme, one of the few live recordings released prior to this set, he says: “this guitar’s over a hundred years old… it’s a little fussy” in his Kermit sing-song way that pleases me greatly. Similarly, some of my favourite moments on this set include the moments he addresses the audience – the way he speaks is like a tumbling waterfall. “Those lights are funny, they smell. I can smell ’em,” he says on ‘Autumn Nocturne’, an odd thing to say, begging the question: of what?
When I first got into Basho he was in the canon, but as a weirdo and outsider – rumours about the way he lived and what he was like seemed intensified by his freak death at the age of 46 – but what I take from Barker’s biopic and these two box sets on Tompkins Square, is that Basho might just have had too many big real feelings for some of the scene he came from. Was he too theatrical? Too excitable? Too earnest? He studied and was swept up in esoterica and spirituality from various traditions, ready to try and nail the feeling of a raga, for example, if not the form. I love and envy that readiness to engage; the lack of self-consciousness that might be a cause for concern were he playing today. This box set has only increased my fondness for his playing, adding movement and colour to the portrait as it exists. It is a total wonder, and a nail in the coffin of my critical faculties when it comes to the music of Robbie Basho. My heart and not my head for Basho – my heart. - Jennifer Lucy Allan, TheQuietus.com
5 CD Set with Booklet $48 [Limited Edition]
STOMU YAMASHTA with GARY BOYLE / HUGH HOPPER / MORRIS PERT / ANDY POWELL / PETER ROBINSON / ROBIN THOMPSON / BRIAN GASCOIGNE / STEVE WINWOOD / MICHAEL SHRIEVE / PAT THRALL / KLAUSE SCHULZE / AL DIMEOLA / et al - Seasons - The Island Albums 1972 - 1976 (Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 72811; UK) Born in Kyoto, Japan, Yamashta studied music at Kyoto University and Berklee College of Music. His athletic and virtuoso percussion style came to prominence in the early 1970s when his work with the Red Buddha Theatre brought him to Europe. He teamed up with percussionist Morris Pert and members of his band Come To The Edge to record the album ‘Floating Music’ for Island Records in 1972. This was followed in 1973 by the release of the soundtrack album ‘The Man From The East’, which also featured Morris Pert and keyboard player Peter Robinson (from Sunreader)
Later the same year Yamashta formed the band East Wind with Gary Boyle - guitar, Hugh Hopper - bass (both from Isotope) and Brian Gascoigne (keyboards) and recorded the excellent jazz rock album ‘Freedom Is Frightening’. This was followed in 1974 by another soundtrack work, ‘One By One’, also featuring a fine ensemble of acclaimed jazz and rock musicians. The 1975 album ‘Raindog’ was met with critical acclaim and featured vocal contributions from singer Murray Head (lead singer on ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’).
1976 would see Yamashta’s work reach an ever wider public thanks to his contribution to the soundtrack of the film The Man Who Fell To Earth (starring David Bowie) and the release of his concept album ‘Go’. The outstanding record saw him assemble a cast of outstanding musicians such as Steve Winwood (vocals, keyboards), Michael Shrieve (drums), Al Di Meola (guitar), Pat Thrall (guitar), Klaus Schulze (synthesisers) and Rosko Gee (bass). Featuring stunning arrangements by Paul Buckmaster, the album’s fusion of rock, jazz and electronics was greeted with much acclaim. The success of ‘Go’, led to a series of live concerts in Europe featuring the musicians who had appeared on the album. A concert at the Palais des Sports in Paris in June 1976 was recorded and released later that year.”
7 CD Set $55
SOFT MACHINE - Original Album Classics - Third - Seven (Sony Music 886977 814426; UK) Featuring Mike Ratledge on organs, electric piano, synth & keyboards, Hugh Hopper on electric bass, Robert Wyatt on drums & vocals, Elton Dean on alto sax & saxello, Lyn Dobson on soprano sax & flute, Jimmy Hastings flute & bass clarinet, Nick Evans on trombone, Marc Charig on cornet, Rab Spall on violin, Alan Skidmore on tenor sax, Roy Babbington on bass, John Marshall on drums, Phil Howard on drums, Karl Jenkins on keyboards, oboe, bari sax, soprano sax & recorder. My three favorite progressive bands of all time are/were the Mothers of Invention (1966-1969), Soft Machine (1968-1974) and Henry Cow (1973-1979). In junior high school in 1968, a musician friend heard that I was a Mothers fanatic and asked if I had heard of Soft Machine. I hadn’t and soon went out to purchase their first album, ‘Volume One’. Soft Machine were Mike Ratledge on fuzz organ, Kevin Ayers on bass & vocals and Robert Wyatt on drums & vocals. I played this album over & over and it changed my life. There were no other bands quite like Soft Machine, a band with two great singer/songwriters, all three were marvelous instrumentals, especially fuzz organ wonder - Mike Ratledge. What was unique and interesting about Soft Machine was that the personnel and sound of the band was constantly evolving, each of their eleven albums had different personnel. My favorite remain all seven numbered records and their jazz/rock masterpiece, ‘Bundles’. This box set contains 5 of their classic albums, ‘Third’ through ‘Seven’, two of which are double albums (‘Third’ & ’Six’). I love each of these five records, especially ’Third’, ‘Four’ and ’Six’. For me and a number of my friends Soft Machine were the best progressive/jazz-rock/avant/experimental band of all. I have friends, like myself, who are searching each and every live set that was released. The mighty Cuneiform label has done the best job of finding and releasing their rare gems. After you have filly absorbed this box, you should acquire the many live discs. One thing to note, in 2003 four former Soft Machine members got together, toured and recorded as Soft Works. The quartet soon became Soft Machine Legacy and has a number of great releases out on the MoonJune label. With permission from Mike Ratledge (now retired), the group is called Soft Machine and have toured several times in the past decade. They cover songs from the entire history of the band and are still marvelous live, more than a half century after their birth. Long live Soft Machine! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Soft Machine Fan Supreme, DMG
5 CD Set $25
ROSCOE MITCHELL / SANDY EWEN / DAMON SMITH / WEASEL WALTER - A Railroad Spike Forms the Voice (ugExplode 82; USA) Featuring Roscoe Mitchell on saxes, Sandy Ewen on guitar, Damon Smith on contrabass and Weasel Walter on drums. This disc was recorded live at Duende in Oakland, CA in April of 2014 and not released until 2021. When Sandy Ewen offered me copies of this disc earlier this week (late January of 2025), I thought that I/we had already reviewed and listed it when it was released. I was wrong since it was not listed in our database. Hmmmm, I must have missed it. The same quartet has a newer disc out on the Wide Hive label in November of 2024. Unlike the newer disc, this one (recorded a decade ago) consists of one long 72 & 1/2 minute track. This disc is superbly recorded, mixed and mastered by Weasel Walter, who has become a master recordist, doing quite a bit of mixing and mastering for many musicians from different scenes. When the piece begins, Mr. Mitchell is playing sopranino sax, in the way that is most distinctive in tone and phasing. All four members of this quartet are integral to the focused sound and compelling performance. The quartet have their own sound and each member adds to that sound by doing what they do best. I had to listen closely to this music since there was so much going on at once that I would miss something which is buried below the surface. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15
VAN DYKE PARKS - Song Cycle (Warner Bros. IMT7426221.2; Japan) I recall reading about this album in the late sixties with journalists calling it a masterwork and some saying it was complete bullsh*t. I was intrigued. When I finally got a copy in the early seventies, I wasn’t so sure about whether I liked it or not. I kept playing again and then finally it struck me. It reminded me of the quaint oddness of Randy Newman or Harry Nilsson with arrangements by Charles Ives. There is nothing quite like this album so it does take some getting used to. The music is some sort of Americana with little or no rock elements added. The vocals by Mr. Parks and Jim Hendricks are rather precious. I have remained a Van Dyke Parks fan ever since and still collect all of his records. I finally caught Mr. Parks live at the Bottom Line in the early 1980’s. He was completely charming in song, appearance and voice. He hired a small orchestra to back him which included singer Syd Straw (then in the Golden Palominos) and a cymbalom (large hammered dulcimer) player. I still go back to this album and it still sounds fresh, unique and in a world of its own with each spin. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
For more background info check out here: https://downtownmusicgallery.com/search.php?id=2015_08_04_15_39_40
CD $16
CARAVAN with PYE HASTINGS / RICHARD SINCLAIR / DAVE SINCLAIR / RICHARD COUGHLAN / JIMMY HASTINGS - In the Land of Grey and Pink (Deram 982983; UK) Members of the seminal mid-'60s Canterbury group The Wilde Flowers split into 2 major groups of lasting importance: Soft Machine and Caravan. This new 2001 remaster, overseen by Canterbury archivist Mark Powell, of the 3rd Caravan recording from 1971 features the entire album including its famous 22 minute opus "Nine Feet Underground", as well as 4 previously unreleased studio recordings recorded at those sessions, and a new mix of "Dissassociation / 100% Proof".
Along with their brethren from the Canterbury Scene (Soft Machine), Caravan were one of the very best of the late sixties/early seventies British progressive rock scene. Less experimental or jazz-oriented, they were still immensely creative, whimsical, warm and enchanting on several levels. ‘In the Land of Grey and Pink’ was a particular favorite of my roommates and myself at college and it stands up righteously to the test of time, a true treasure. This disc includes five bonus tracks although the original album is good enough to savor on its own. If you don’t own any Caravan records yet, this is a great place to begin. In my estimation, the first five Caravan albums are all essential. There is something immensely charming about this album that makes me smile just thinking about it. It doesn’t get much better than this. - BLG at DMG
CD $16
RUDIGER LORENZ - Synrise: Early Tape Recordings 1981-83 (Bureau B 474; Germany) "If you're already aware of Rüdiger Lorenz, chances are you washed ashore on Southland, his cult kosmische curio graciously reissued by the ever-benevolent Bureau B in the middle of the last decade. Either that, or you're one of the few hundred electronic music obsessives who encountered his work the first-time round, giddily grabbing up the eighteen cassette, vinyl and CD releases the prolific part-timer delivered DIY style on his Syntape and Syncord imprints between 1981-1998. I say this because despite a catalogue both copious and singular, and a renewed interest amongst the switched on and tuned in since his premature passing in 2000, Rüdiger's reception has remained sadly subterranean -- another example of audio inequity. As such, it falls to Synrise, attentively assembled by Rüdiger's son Tim, to shine some rightful light on this unique talent. Although Rüdiger impressed as a member of a local beat group in the seventies, growing exposure to the likes of Neu!, Tangerine Dream, Reich, and Riley pushed him towards the electronic and experimental, a style more suited to his solitary temperament. Unsurprisingly for a man who made eighteen solo albums around his day job, Lorenz was something of a loner, though it's hard to hear that through the emotional resonance of his releases. His search for sonic expression led him to overcome his lack of electrical knowhow, boldly soldering on to create organs, effects units and self-built modular systems, each in service to his specific sound. What then, specifically, is the sound of Synrise? Selected from his first four releases, Queen of Saba (1981), Silver Steps (1981), Wonderflower (1982) and Earthrise (1983), this septet boasts sci-fi anthems and sine wave requiems, nebulous cosmic collages of snapping rhythm boxes, gurgling sequences and synthesized choirs? Though originally released across four different cassettes, these seven tracks all belong to the same sonic universe -- just not the universe we're living in." - Patrick Ryder
CD $18 / LP $28
SHINICHIRO YOKOTA - Pitstop Box (WRWTFWW Records 098LP; Switzerland) WRWTFWW Records presents the Pitstop Box, compiling all 24 tracks from Japanese house music pioneer Shinichiro Yokota's two acclaimed albums Do It Again and Again (2016) and I Know You Like It (2019). The collection, available on vinyl for the first time ever, is presented as six 45rpm-cut 12" housed in a superb slipcase box set created by Lopetz, designer, illustrator, typographer, and co-founder of Swiss graphic design studio Büro Destruct. Included as bonuses are two sticker sheets. Previously only available on CD in Japan via cult electronic label Far East Recording, Shinichiro Yokota's album discography finally gets a long overdue vinyl release. With a production style drawing from a rich blend of funk, hip hop, electronic, and Japanese influences, Yokota's music is loved for its simplicity, its hypnotic quality, and, most importantly, its soul -- homegrown '90s soulful melodic club music -- pure love! The Pitstop Box, full of dancefloor treasures and sprinkled with downtempo gems, not only defines Yokota's personal journey but also resonates as an essential contribution to the house genre and Japanese music in general. It includes his house hits, a cover of "Simoon" by Haruomi Hosono's Logic System, and a collaboration with his longtime partner and electronic music hero Soichi Terada. Shinichiro Yokota began his musical history in Tokyo, inspired by electronic music giants such as Yellow Magic Orchestra and Kraftwerk. He co-founded Far East Recording with the great Soichi Terada (who also worked with WRWTFWW for the Omodaka compilation) in 1990. After releasing the now highly sought after Far East Recording album with Terada in 1992, he took a hiatus from music and, most notably, brought his passion for sports cars to the next level by launching Night Pager, a company he started with his wife, specializing in tuning sports cars and modifying limiters for competition racers. It's this side of Yokota's life which has inspired the design of the Pitstop Box. He triumphantly came back to music with the album Do It Again and Again in 2016, consisting of unreleased '90s recordings as well as new material, and followed it up with I Know You Like It in 2019. His work has influenced generations of producers, and has expanded Japanese house music's reach on the global stage. Experience it on vinyl now.
6 LP Set $145
FIVE MORE ILK MUSIC CD SALE ITEMS:
ANDERSKOV ACCIDENT with JACOB ANDERSKOV / KASPER TRANBERG / ANDERS BANKE / PETER DAHLGREN / et al - Newspeak (Ilk Music 144; Denmark) Anderskov Accident has digested and transcended the irrational time structures from the internationally acclaimed previous album, Unity of Action (2005). The sound on NEWSPEAK is more acoustic, and a number of new approaches have been added to the book: Political accelerations on top of a steady pulse, wedding marches with African GMOs, Baltic rocks in the mist, radioactive lower voices & protest songs without words – etc..
The result is visionary and warm-blooded. It is liquid, sparkling and intuitive yet subtly structured. Though constantly investigating new ground, the music is performed with great musical reserve, giving the music an inner balance and a true spontaneity.
Anderskov Accident works as a vehicle for what may be the most grandiose, poetic, odd and beautiful part of Pianist & Composer Jacob Anderskov’s compositional euvre. The music easily juxtaposes and unifies new combinations of e.g. writing vs freedom, time vs rubato, broad beats vs solid grooves, and displays various types of tonalities. Rhythmically, structurally and emotionally, there is nothing like it.
CD Sale $10
BOOK OF SOUNDS with ANDERS PROVIS / ALBERT RAFT / ANDERS BANKE / NILS DAVIDSEN - Book Of Sounds (Ilk Music 243CD; Denmark) “Everybody ready, steady.....” need not be blared over the air since Book of Sounds is already there. Composer/conductor Anders Provis is alert behind the drum kit while his cronies, the oak-wood bass player Nils Bosse Davidsen and the two aerophonists, Albert Raft and Anders Banke, are eager to play the band’s brand of neo-jazz that set out with a vigorous trinity of tone, harmony and rhythm.
Book of Sounds unfolds a wide spectrum of swing, funk and beyond with arranged compositions as springboards for the inspiration of the moment, with all four of them in full control so that the listener is taken along instead of left behind - an absolute quality in this kind of musical effusion. Now the world just needs to discover how challenging music can also be generally fascinating, so take the plunge and order a Book of Sounds! - TS Høeg/2015
CD Sale $10
EGGS LAID BY TIGERS with JONAS WESTERGAARD / MARTIN DAHL / SIMON TOLDAM / PETER BRUUN - The Red-Eyed Earth (ILK Music 233CD; Denmark) Eggs Laid by Tigers features Jonas Westergaard on bass & vocals, Simon Toldam on piano, organ & synths, Martin Dahl on electric & acoustic guitars & vocals and Peter Bruun on drums. All of the text on this disc was provided by the great Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, a longtime favorite of mine. As I listen to the opener, “Lift Up Your Face”, the voice reminds me of Gary Brooker from Procol Harum. The music is laid back and quaint, rocking lightly, with ancient sounding electric guitar and organ (from the sixties, sound-wise). Both the electric guitar and the organ are treated with subtle effects like a Leslie spinning speaker, giving the music a sound that was established a half century ago in the mid-to-late 1960’s. The music reminds me of the better British folk rock that was blossoming in the sixties and seventies. The more I listen to this disc, the more I enjoy it. It sounds like a long lost treasure that only die-hards like some of us could appreciate. I hear a variety of influences or references within these songs: the Beatles, 10CC, Squeeze, etc. Some of the guitar parts have that George Harrison like twang or slide. Time to check the other two discs from this band on the Ilk Music label. A truly undiscovered gem. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD Sale $10
SOREN GEMMER with PER MOLLEHOJ / TAPANI TOLVANEN / ANDREAS FRYLAND - At First (Ilk Music 202CD; Denmark) "Gemmer is particularly dedicated to sound: he cares about it during his keyboard blasts, like in the two-faced “Chords”, first wrapped into stillness and then storming under Fryland’s well delivered drum hits; or in the more contemporary approach of “Russians”, whose lopsided paths deploy themselves and harmonize on Møllehøj’s guitar strings, blending pentatonic lines with clean and dry phrases. An equally frank and pondered work, which turns on the spotlights on Gemmer and his excellent collaborators. - Alceste Ayroldi - Musica Jazz (ITA)
This Danish pianist's debut album is a big surprise - the young man makes the impression of already being an accomplished and mature artist. Superbly composed themes by the band leader - both melodically attractive and spacious enough to constitute a starting point for improvisation. If we add to this the clear and warm sound on the recording - it turns out, that we are dealing with one of the most promising debuts of recent years." - Marek Romanski - Audio-Video Magazine (POL)
CD Sale $10
DYGONG with CHRISTIAN WINTHER CHRISTENSEN / TORBEN SNEKKESTAD / JACOB ANDERSKOV / HELENE LANG / YING-HSUEH - The E-Sessions (ILK Music 185CD; Denmark) Established in 2004, Dygong describes itself as a concert production group, and consists of four members: Christian Winther Christensen, Regin Petersen, Nicolai Worsaae, and Simon Løffler. All four members were trained at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, and together they have produced concerts of their music and the music of others across Europe. These concerts often combine multiple artistic disciplines, perhaps bordering on performance art, so making a CD seems almost an anathema.
I’m listening to an animal sound, which presumably is that of a Dugong. Then there is the soothing radio voice of Tin Hinman, who, like an excellent nature documentarian, is relaying to me important information about this creature. I don’t know why I’m listening to information about the Dugong, but I’m interested. There is background noise. Instruments? Perhaps a percussionist could better answer that question. Now I get to hear the members of DYGONG introduce themselves and answer questions which are not heard. This is working. It’s clear that I’m getting a glimpse into the inner workings of this group, but nothing is explicitly stated—just snippets of conversation, phrases repeated through editing for emphasis.
“Dygong is Jakob Anderskov on piano, Torben Snekkestad on sax, Ying-Hsueh Chen on percussion, Helene Lang - soprano voice and Tim Hinman - podcast vocals. The music here was composed by four different composers and played by a fine Danish quartet. Each of the composers are from different backgrounds and none of them are members if recorded quartet. A unique situation I’d say. Soprano vocalist, Helene Lang, does some shrewd operatic & spoken word vocals on “Du Hast Gesagt”, with eerie sounds expanding under her voice. There are four interludes here which feature the spoken word voice of podcastman Tim Hinman. This sounds like a radio play with music, samples and voices all being used carefully, evoking a sound of subtle transience. It will take some time to figure out what exactly is going on here since some of this disc is sparse. This is odd work which should be revealed over time. - 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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JOHN ZORN - Hermetic Cartography at the Drawing Center- Feb 7th - May 11th, 2025:
John Zorn’s ‘Hermetic Cartography’ will be accompanied by a series of musical performances curated by Mr. Zorn that will be performed in the exhibition. Performances will be held from 7:30 - 9pm on the first Saturday of each month (March - May, 2025) and will be free and open to the public. The Drawing Center is located at 35 Wooster Street, in Soho in Manhattan, NYC. Website: https://drawingcenter.org
Known predominantly as a groundbreaking figure in New York’s avant-garde and experimental music scenes, John Zorn has long been celebrated for his radical innovations in music. However, his abstract drawings—a private language of symbols and notations—have remained a closely guarded secret. Offering profound insight into Zorn’s creative mind, Hermetic Cartography reveals a new dimension of his artistic practice by showcasing works on paper that span seven decades of his visionary engagement with mark-making, improvisation, and the esoteric.
The exhibition includes a diverse array of Zorn’s visual artworks, graphic scores, dense philosophical notations, abstract poetry and artist books, and not only highlights Zorn’s radical approach to marks on paper but also his unique Theatre of Musical Optics and other experimental projects. By exploring these visual elements, the exhibition provides a new perspective on how Zorn's abstract works intersect with and inform his musical compositions.
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THE STONE RESIDENCIES / CHES SMITH / JAN 22-25
1/22 Wednesday
8:30 pm - SOLO - Ches Smith (drums, vibraphone, percussion)
1/23 Thursday
8:30 pm - TRIO - Miya Masaoka (koto) Hans Tammen (blippoo box, electronics) Ches Smith (drums, vibraphone)
1/24 Friday
8:30 pm - TRIO - Craig Taborn (piano) Darius Jones (sax) Ches Smith (drums, vibraphone)
1/25 Saturday
8:30 pm - TRIO - Shara Lunon (vocals) Charmaine Lee (vocals) Ches Smith (drums, electronics)
THE STONE RESIDENCIES / JORGE ROEDER / JAN 29-FEB 1
1/29 Wednesday
8:30 pm - SOLO BASS - Jorge Roeder (bass)
1/30 Thursday
8:30 pm - DUO - Jorge Roeder (bass) Sofia Rei (voice)
1/31 Friday
8:30 pm - DUO - Jorge Roeder (bass) Nels Cline (guitar)
2/1 Saturday
8:30 pm - TRIO - Jorge Roeder (bass) Dan Blake (sax) Richie Barshay (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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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…
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=xAWxt3EJSPw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcvoYygehqE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-6p_Q2Dwxc
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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