It will include around 120 discs from John Zorn, Fred Frith, Cecil Taylor, Keith Tippett, Henry Threadgil, Paul Dunmall and others. I decided not to list these on Discogs or our regular USED CD list for now so that only those who read our weekly newsletter will get a chance to order these before anyone else. We've gotten in some 5,000 CD's in donations over the past few years as well as purchasing another 5,000 CD collections, which we are slowly listing on Discogs, listing in our USED CD database or putting in boxes underneath our regular CD racks. It will take us a long time to clean, price and list many of these titles so we work diligently around the clock to deal with the deluge of what we have. Please note that out database, which lists some 100,000 items is old and not that accurate as to what is still available today, it is better for information purposes, a large want-list type of service. If you really want to check out what we do have in stock, please check out our Discogs store on line, probably 95% of what is listed is here and we can find it without much trouble. You can always contact us (via email or phone) to have us hold onto anything listed in our Discogs store that you want for pick-up or through mail-order. We just got in 4 boxes of older classical box sets, some pretty big and lavish. We put some on Discogs so far. For those of you who still like explore via crate-digging, please come visit as you will all sorts of odd gems here wherever you look. Best regards from Bruce Lee at DMG
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UPCOMING JOHN ZORN GIGS IN THE NEXT WEEKS:
THE NEW MASADA QUARTET with JOHN ZORN, JULIAN LAGE, JORGE ROEDER & KENNY WOLLESEN will be playing for a week at the Village Vanguard (178 Seventh Ave South, NYC) from September 23rd - 28th, 2 sets per night at 8 & 10pm. Tickets at: https://vv.squadup.com/artists/john-zorn-new-masada-quartet I've caught this quartet a half dozen times live so far and they are the best avant/electric jazz band on the planet! I mean this most sincerely, the New Masada Quartet rule! - Bruce Lee Gallanter at Downtown Music Gallery
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THE DMG 34th ANNIVERSARY IN-STORE CONCERT CELEBRATION CONTINUES with:
Saturday, September 20th: The Gauci-Music Series continues with:
6:30: RAINER JANCAS - Guitar / TIM DAHL - Electric bass / KEVIN SHEA - Drums
7:30: STEPHEN GAUCI - Tenor Sax - Flute - Clarinet / SANDY EWEN - Prepared Guitar
8:30: TJ BORDEN - Cello / GRANT BEALE - Guitar / LEMUEL MARC - Trumpet
Tuesday, September 23rd: Rosh Hashanah - No In-store
Tuesday September 30th: RELATIVE PITCH RECORDS Presents: 3 sets from 6:30 to 9pm:
1.CHUCK ROTH - Guitar / CAMILLA N - Tenor Sax
2.RYAN SAWYER - Drums / CAMILLA N - Tenor Sax
3.CHUCK ROTH / CAMILLA N / RYAN SAWYER
Tuesday, October 7th:
6:30: MUSIQUE LIBRE FEMMES with CHERYL PYLE - Flutes / AYUMI ISHITO - Tenor Sax / JEONG LIM LANG - Contrabass
7:30: patrick brennan: CLAIRE de BRUNNER & SARA SCHOENBECK on bassoons, JOSH SINTON on bari sax & NICK GIANNI - bass clarinet
8:30: JONATHAN REISIN - Tenor Sax / EVAN PALMER - Bass / MARC EDWARDS - Drums
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JOHN ZORN // CHRIS OTTO / AUSTIN WULLIMAN / JOHN PICKFORD RICHARDS / JAY CAMPBELL / YURA LEE / MICHAEL NICOLAS - Prolegomena (Tzadik 9325; USA) This CD is about quality not quantity—less than thirty minutes in total, but absolutely some of the most incredible music Zorn has ever composed. Dramatic, intense, mercurial, challenging, and endlessly virtuosic, Zorn’s writing for strings is amongst the most exciting ever achieved in the classical world. Here he expands the fabulous JACK Quartet to a quintet and sextet with the addition of two of the most accomplished musicians in the New York scene: Yura Lee and Michael Nicolas. Composed in 2020, during the initial months of the COVID-19 lockdown, these are two of Zorn’s greatest masterpieces, beautifully recorded at Oktaven by Ryan Streber, and passionately performed by six members of Zorn’s inner circle. ESSENTIAL! Release date is September 19th, 2025
CD $16
CARMEN STAAF with BEN GOLDBERRG / AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE / DARREN JOHNSTON / DILLON VADO / JOHN SANTOS / HAMIR ATWAL - Sounding Line (Sunnyside SSC1792; USA) Featuring Camen Staaf on piano and direction, Ben Goldberg on clarinets, Ambrose Akinmusire & Darren Johnston on trumpets, Dillon Vado on vibes & tambourine, John Santos on bongo and Hamir Atwal on drums. Pianist Carmen Staaf has long studied the music of Thelonious Monk and Mary Lou Williams. During her studies, Ms. Staaf discovered that Mary Lou Williams ran weekly salons at her apartment, inviting other pianists to share ideas about their music and playing. Thelonious Monk was amongst the pianists who were part of Ms. Williams’ salon and hence they influenced one another. For this disc Ms. Staaf composed pieces of her own as well as rearranging songs by my Ms. Williams and Mr. Monk. Ms. Staaf chose a fine cast of musicians for this session including several west coast players like Goldberg, Johnston and Atwal. The other trumpet player here is Ambrose Akinmusire, another great Bay Area musician with ten disc since 2008m and who has worked with Mary Halvorson.
This disc opens with Mary Lou Williams’ “Scorpio”, a piece from her great Zodiac Suite, originally released in 1945. The version here is stripped down and has that lurching Monkish off-kilter sound with an inspired yet skewered trumpet solo by Mr. Akinmusire. Monk’s “Bye-Ya” starts off with a bongos solo which leads into an infectious Latin-jazz-like groove/vibe. The piano and bongos trade lines here, which also gives this a charming aura. Another piece from Ms. Williams Zodiac Suite is included called “Libra”. West coast clarinet master, Ben Goldberg, plays sublimely, his solo a tasty gem as Ms. Staaf plays in a quaint somewhat majestic way. For “Monk’s Mood”, vibist Dillon Vado bows his vibes to get some eerie drones, which stretches out the song into a more dreamy vibe. Ben Goldberg switches to a bass (or contrabass) clarinet for Ms. Williams’ “Koolbonga” with Darren Johnston adding some splendid muted trumpet. The last two pieces were composed by Ms. Staaf and sound quite a bit the other Monk & Williams’ piece here. “Boiling Point” goes back and forth between two different sections with quirky harmonies for the muted trumpet and clarinet. “The Water Wheel” has the piano and (Ambrose’s) trumpet playing some rich, harmonious lines together. It sounds like a wonderful way to bring this fine disc to a close with Carmen Staaf weaving some superb chords over the top. There is something charming yet quirky about this disc that makes me feel better, not giving into the blues ion a rainy Wednesday afternoon. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14
JAMES McKAIN / DAMON SMITH / WEASEL WALTER - ...seeing the way the mole tunnels... (BPA-LTD 28028ISQE 002; USA) Featuring James McKain on tenor & baritone saxes, Damon Smith on amplified contrabass and Weasel Walter on drums. Over the past decade, I've noticed a number of younger musicians who have played at our weekly instore and outdoor performances, each one bringing something new to the traditions of free/jazz and creative musics. Saxist James McKain has played here at DMG on several occasions and he plays with the fire music, free/jazz spirit/force. For this disc and session he is working with an older rhythm team of Damon Smith and Weasel Walter, both of whom have worked with a long list of free music greats: Henry Kaiser, John Butcher, Peter Evans, Sandy Ewen, Vinny Golia and even more.
Brace yourselves! The trio launches off on "Wrecked brain in the capital", with Mr. McKain on some blistering bari sax while the bass and drums match his rambunctious, intense playing. Considering how many sessions and different musicians have worked with and for how many years they've been at it, these two are a strong, crafty and endlessly inventive team. There is ongoing dialogue going on here, a powerful, tight-knit, powerful, hurricane-like force which just keeps expanding and exploding throughout. As a longtime fan of drum wiz Weasel Walter, I noticed how much inventive, creative and unstoppable Weasel's playing constantly brings forth. I haven't heard a more intense free/jazz session like this in recent times. If you are a fan of free form Spirit Music at its best, then you should love this disc. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15
KARL EVANGELISTA's APURA with FRANCIS WONG / LEWIS JORDAN / REI SCAMPAVIA / LISA MEZZACAPPA / ANDREW CYRILLE - Bukas (577 Records 5980; USA) Featuring Karl Evangelista on guitar & compositions, Francis Wong on tenor sax, Lewis Jordan on tenor sax (2 pieces), Rei Scampavia on keyboards & electronics, Lisa Mezzacappa on bass and Andrew Cyrille on drums. Over the past few years Bay Area guitarist, Karl Evangelista, has three strong discs utilizing a handful of elder, often British musicians like Trevor Watts, Louis Moholo, and Alexander Hawkins. For this session Mr. Evangelista has utilized the talents of respected elders like Francis Wong and Andrew Cyrille, as well as another west coasters like Lewis Jordan and Lisa Mezzacappa. Recently bay area bassist Lisa Mezzacappa had a 4 day residency at The Stone, bringing with her a handful of Bay Area musicians who played in different combinations each night.
This disc begins Lewis Jordan speaking about being a force for good. "What I Am Concerned About Now" starts with some hushed guitar with subtle eerie electronics bubbling underneath. Evangelista plays with an older style sustained tone here, giving the music a somewhat 70's sound. On "Midas", Evangelista does a spoken word piece talking about our current unjust world, with simmering throbbing bass, soft swirling saxes and spacious drums. When the guitar and saxes land together near the end, it feels like a righteous conclusion. "High Temperature" sounds more like the group is simmering together with Evangelista playing in a more cerebral, laid back way, somewhere between Pat Metheny and Bill Frisell tone-wise but more angular. The rhythm team speeds up as the guitar calms down yet it still sounds connected. "Confirm the Truth" opens with a layer of eerie, spinning electronics, before the rest of the ensemble enters. Mr. Evangelista takes a spooky, mutant guitar solo, altering his tone is odd yet effective ways as the tempo speeds up furiously. Both saxes soon add to the freer and forceful soaring wave, with the rhythm eventually dropping out for a focused saxes only section. "Ghost Captain" starts with just a throbbing bass and skeletal drums with the guitar and saxes soon playing some haunting written lines together. Evangelista speaks another incisive poem on this piece talking about "freedom" with swirling electronics interwoven throughout, ending with another mutated sustain guitar solo. The overall mood here is rather dark yet it feels the same way many of feel as we read the sad news every day during this troubled point in our current history. The music here is often unsettling as it mirrors some of the dark currents that surround us like quicksand. Creative Music does have a way to provide a light at the end of the tunnel of life. You can see that light in the distance if listen closely and balance yourself on a raft before it tips over or sinks. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD-R $14
SILKE EBERHARD QUARTETT with JAN RODER / NIKO MEINHOLD / SEBASTIAN MERK - Mohnmarzipan (Intuition 33932; EEC) The Berlin-based saxophonist and clarinetist, Silke Eberhard doesn't trivialize Jazz into a style that one has to justify, but despite critical cries, turns it into a hallmark. The title "mohnmarzipan" (poppy marzipan) can, at first, be misleading for the listener. It suggested Gemütlichkeit, snuggling and a bit of homely nostalgia. The music of the CD, however, seems to stand for just the opposite. Silke Eberhard sees her Jazz as a means of transporting contrasts. "That's just the way life is," is her passionate angle. "I can't just go on making beautiful music, when the world is so full of dirt. On the other hand, it is in this dirt that you can find unending poetic, joyful moments." On her record, Silke Eberhard tells us the exciting story of fundamental human conflicts, of holding on and letting go. She takes the transformation of the principles of controlled of compositional givens and the abrupt drifting away in collective and individual openness to extremes. At a time when the search for common middle ground has become intellectual consensus, she dares to take her narrative proclivity beyond the limits. She is too humble to call Ornette Coleman one of her main influences. Nonetheless, she internalizes in her music the harmonolodic emergence of personal idioms into a complex form of expression. Pianist Niko Meinhold and drummer Sebastian Merk provide the urban base, while pianist Jan Roder and the band leader embody more the jazzy stability of the group. Silke Eberhard herself happily provides the band with her own contradiction between luster and dust. Silke Eberhard belongs to a new generation of Berlin-based Jazz musicians, who are attempting to form an idiom between reflection and change. Jazz made in Europe, which allows them to measure themselves against their American counterparts, but also allows them to stand with both legs in the Old World.
CD $14
NOBUKAZU TAKEMURA - knot of meanings (Thrill Jockey 639CD; USA) "Nobukazu Takemura's music is singular in its ability to create a musical sense of childlike wonder and curiosity, with gracefully executed yet complex compositions. His pieces embody an innocence and the intricacies of self-discovery that every human is faced with as their worlds become more complex. An acclaimed producer and composer, Takemura is known for his idiosyncratic music and video artistry as well as his prolific collaborations including those with Tortoise, Yo La Tengo, DJ Spooky, and Steve Reich. knot of meanings, Takemura's first proper album in a decade, finds the Japanese artist wrestling with the rise of technological influence on art and culture in the modern era, in tandem with his own relationship to religion, and where those struggles meet. Like the colorful, irregularly shaped glasses on the cover, the album is a mosaic of technicolor elements that come together to form a complete picture, a dense portrait of interconnected struggles and triumphs. Throughout the album, Takemura exudes an unpredictability that builds surprise from unlikely combinations of instruments, tonalities and harmonic motions that embody bewildering knots to untangle, held together with a youthful sense of wonder. 'I attended a Catholic kindergarten as a child and cherished those early years, which laid the foundations for my future. This is in part why I have always used the keyword 'child' in my work as an adult,' notes Takemura. knot of meanings culminates his use of that child's perspective, or as Takemura has used extensively, that 'Child's View' to explore deeper life philosophies to ecstatic ends. The meanings and mysteries contained within make for an enchanting excavation for those attuned to deep listening, a journey that rewards the kind of inquiring open-mindedness of the listener."
"Japanese composer Nobukazu Takemura, who turned in a brilliant set of electronica...At points the music turned radiant, glowing with major harmonies, the pulse of the music driving. The music makes you concentrate, it promotes ecstasy." --NY Times
CD $15
CERYS HAFANA - Angel (Tak:Til / Glitterbeat GB 178CD; Germany) Acclaimed Welsh composer, singer and multi-instrumentalist Cerys Hafana's third album, Angel, is a deep exploration of minimalism, traditional and avant-folk music and Hafana's primary instrument the Welsh triple harp. The album alternates between vocal songs (all sung in the Welsh language) and instrumentals, often buoyed by a deft trio of sympathetic and exploratory musicians (drums, double bass, alto sax). The uncommon breadth and innovation of Angel soundly confirms Hafana as one of the UK's most exciting young contemporary folk artists. Their spellbinding music is rich with atmosphere and heart and stubbornly resistant to genre boxes and easy classification. Hafana has been self-releasing their music for a few years, with 2022's Edyf making the Guardian newspaper's Top Ten Folk Album Of The Year list. They also recently had an album of piano pieces called Difrisg released on Instant Karma Classics. Although Hafana is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist and considers the piano to be their "main instrument, technically," it's for their work using the Welsh triple harp that they've gained a reputation as an innovative, exploratory, singularly powerful musician. Hafana's harp has a distinct sound, in part because they had the idea of damping the harp's strings using blu-tac to produce a woody, muted sound, after hearing about other harpists threading strips of paper and other material to create a 'buzzy' effect. It's this kind of experimentation that sees them both reach back to artists in the Welsh triple harp tradition like Llio Rhydderch and forward to fellow contemporary artists and sonic adventurers like Rhodri Davies. Hafana's music manages to be immersed in and informed by Welsh harp traditions but also embraces minimalism, jazz, the avant-garde and, particularly on the track "Angel," contemporary Breton folk styles. Hafana says: "on this album I wanted to try to push the musical limits more than I have previously, and to swing between the extremes of dynamics and texture as much as is possible on the instruments at my disposal. Lots of the writing also draws from contemporary Breton folk music with its driving and repetitive dance rhythms, more sparse, contemporary styles of composing and improvising, and some brief moments of very Welsh and traditional harp playing and unaccompanied singing."
CD $17
JUNG AN TAGEN - Revenge of the Speaker People (Editions Mego 321CD; Austria) In 1978, at the University of London, the physicist David T. Kemp made an unusual discovery. Kemp noticed that faint sounds, known as Otoacoustic emissions (OAEs), revealed the existence of the cochlear amplifier, a mechanism responsible for sound sensitivity and frequency resolution. This discovery proved that the ear is an active rather than passive organ. Following this discovery the experimental music world embraced these findings by incorporating them into sound works. Maryanne Amacher was a notable early pioneer of this technique resulting in large scale sound works, the likes of which audiences had never encountered prior. Since these early explorations the use of OAEs has spread more widely in the experimental music landscape, notably by Editions Mego artists Florian Hecker and Marcus Schmickler. Stefan Juster aka Jung An Tagen is known for conceptual works and has a large back catalogue of intriguing ideas and sounds. Revenge of the Speaker People is another adventurous release, one which takes the Otoacoustic discoveries of David T. Kemp and applies them to a techno framework. OAEs are fragile and can collapse quickly when combined with other elements. Jung An Tagen's success in combining OAEs with beats is therefore quite an achievement, without precedent. The first CD comprises the results of Juster's experiments, resulting in some of the strangest techno committed to digital since the initial burst of the Mego label. A series of head spinning, ear tickling extreme electronic miniatures bleed in a continuous form. This adventurous and playful music would likely have many a raver run to the bathroom. There is a tangible subversive delight in mixing in such sounds to what is ostensibly "club music." Because the record had this clear divide of beat and otoacoustics the idea came to see how the material would lend itself to a series of remixes. The second CD has remix contributions from a selection of artists from the Editions Mego stable alongside Juster's own ETAT imprint along with DJ Nervoso from the Príncipe crew. The results are a head-spinning variety of Otoacoustic mayhem as the likes of Evol, Thomas Brinkman, Ellan Phan, Nik Colk Void and others fold these initial bizarre sounds into even more twisted shapes. Revenge of the Speaker People is a daring, playful and audacious release. One that will baffle your ears, neighbors and dancefloor clients.
2 CD Set $25
ARCHIVAL & HISTORIC RECORDS, REISSUES & RESTOCKED ITEMS:
FAUST - Faust (Bureau B 492CD; Germany) Few debut albums arrive with the kind of self-contained logic and radical spirit found on the self-titled Faust. Released in 1971, it marked the beginning of a project that would sidestep genre and expectation, offering a fractured, exploratory take on rock music, blending tape experiments, improvised structures, and surreal collage. This Bureau B reissue offers a fresh opportunity to engage with one of the most curious and uncompromising records of its time. The story of Faust begins in 1969, when cultural journalist Uwe Nettelbeck met with Horst Schmolzi, an A&R man at Polydor in Hamburg. Schmolzi was looking for a German answer to The Beatles, but Nettelbeck had other ideas. With a generous advance in hand, he set out to assemble something far more radical. Nettlebeck headed into the Hamburg underground and fused members of the bands Nukleus and Campylognatus Citelli into a new six-piece lineup. From Nukleus came bassist Jean-Hervé Péron, guitarist Rudolf Sosna, and saxophonist Gunther Wüsthoff. From Campylognatus Citelli, he brought in keyboardist Hans-Joachim Irmler and drummers Werner "Zappi" Diermaier and Arnulf Meifert. Their debut album Faust feels deliberate in its unpredictability: a meticulously chaotic document of six musicians discovering a new musical language in real time. At its heart lies a groove so deep and syncopated it borders on funk, only to collapse into chaos once more. Drums stutter toward cohesion and then back away in terror. Guitars unravel into smoke. And in the final moments, the music recedes, leaving behind a broken narrative, fragmented speech, laughter, coughs, like a bedtime story told by ghosts of a Europe still recovering from war. Despite the experimental nature, surrealist lyrics and a complete rejection of conventional music form, this isn't an over intellectual exercise, or a display of willful antagonism. Instead, Faust packed these three sprawling, sputtering pieces with the breadth of human emotion, capturing the chaos and complexity of existence in an audio analogue to Jackson Pollock's abstract expressionism. More than 50 years on, it remains a thrilling reminder of what can happen when artists abandon the map and follow instinct instead.
CD $18 / LP $28
ELIANE RADIGUE - Trilogie de la Mort (XI Records 119CD; USA) 1998 release. Voted one of 1998's top 15 Records of the Year in Modern Composition by the writers and critics of The Wire, Trilogie de la Mort is a work in three parts for anolog Arp synthesizer. The first third of the work, Kyema, is inspired by The Tibetan Book of the Dead and invokes the six intermediate states that constitute the existential continuity of the being. Kailasha, the second chapter, is structured on an imaginary pilgrimage around Mt. Kailash, one of the most sacred mountains in the Himalayas. Koumé makes up the last part of the trilogy and emphasizes the transcendence of death.
3 CD Set $30
K. LEIMER - Resting Forms (Palace of Lights POL 007-2025; USA) "Resting Forms is the second set of collected tracks in K. Leimer's Forms series. While adhering to the same process used for Proximate Forms, these pieces tend to settle into slightly calmer, more meditative states. Bathed in lush timbres, smooth harmonic distortion set in wavering, modulated soundstages, the music is at once evolving and still. 'Pare' closes the album as the clearest example of the guiding principle of Resting Forms: to reduce every aspect of the audio to some granular minimum. As the title implies, 'Periphery' keeps its distance, refusing to coalesce or adhere to a center. Limn properly provides the barest outlines of a construct while 'Littoral' evokes a more fluid state, perhaps referencing the watery calms of a Neu! track. All the while the instruments shift their character, moving in and out of their original state reaching for the remote and the recognizable, for distortions and deformations. Leimer sought to explore and manipulate sampled acoustic instruments in ways that find a balance between the original source and its reinvented self. The Resting Forms began by using a more traditional compositional approach -- shared meter; chromatic settings; melodic gestures. All were present at the outset, then dismantled, reimagined, reevaluated, and reassembled. Across the nine tracks of Resting Forms Leimer guides and edits and processes and restates his work to invent a music which has never existed in any single genre. And he arrives again and again at a reliance on and an embrace of the absolute primacy of sound. K. Leimer's Forms project is comprised of three collections emphasizing the free association of voices, pitches, effects, structure, and processing."
CD $15
LP Section:
LUCIAN BAN / JOHN SURMAN / MAT MANERI - The Athenaeum Concert (Sunnyside SSC 1767; USA) There is a spirit that passes through all the folkloric music of the world. The sounds may differ from region to region and from people to people, but folk music holds deep truths that speak to the connective tissue of humanity. There is something mysteriously universal in the way peasants or, for that matter, jazz musicians approach music. // For this double release, long time collaborators pianist Lucian Ban and violist Mat Maneri alongside legendary woodwind master John Surman further explore the folk music of Transylvania collected by Béla Bartók more than a hundred years ago. For the past five years the trio has deepened the spirit of their music while touring, as can be heard on their new recordings, Cantica Profana and The Athenaeum Concert (vinyl LP only). // From Ban and Maneri’s informative liner notes: “Once we took the music on the road an unfolding of a new musical spirit was happening to us with each concert. Revisiting the dances, carols, dowry songs, doinas and lamentations first recorded in Timisoara in 2018 with each live performance new vistas would open, new forms would spring, themes and instrumental roles would be freely interchanged, a ‘pulsing life of peasant-music,’ to use Bartok’s own words, carrying us forward.”
Extensive touring allowed the trio to really explore their repertoire. The pieces began to expand and evolve. Surman observed, “Sometimes using small fragments of material and developing those fragments whilst trying to retain the spirit of the original material.” Each performance allowed the trio to approach each song in a new and original manner, whether it was dropping the theme entirely or just mixing in subtle hints of the melodies or harmonies to lead the group into new territories. The trio had matured to become a seemingly living musical organism, dancing to their own contemporary folkloric sounds.
To find such a dedicated collaborator in Surman has been a blessing for Maneri and Ban: “He has an uncanny way of playing these historic melodies in his own language, while never giving up the recipe that made them so durable in the first place. His wondrous range of instruments and sonorities wove a wonderful sense of orchestration that allowed us to enhance our own extended techniques and rhythmic altercations.” Each musician brings a unique sound and approach to the music, from Maneri’s singular microtonal viola tones and esoteric musical influences to Ban’s jazz leanings and archaic Romanian romanticism to Surman’s contemporary cool and Cornish shine.
The material presented on Cantica Profana and The Athenaeum Concert stem from the pieces the trio recorded on their initial recording, Transylvanian Folk Songs (Sunnyside, 2020), yet the live reinterpretations of the pieces are so radical that a new songbook was born underlining the extraordinary power contained in these historical gems and the profound originality of an ensemble working night after night in unbound creativity.
Cantica Profana compiles recordings from three different concerts, all captured from November 2022 to November 2023, in remarkable clarity from tremendous sounding spaces, including the Centre Culturel Opderchmelz in Dudelange, Luxembourg, Stanser Musiktage in Stans, Switzerland, and Strasbourg Jazzdor Festival in France. The June 2024 concert at the fabulous Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest was so singularly rewarding in its sound quality and performance that the trio decided to release it as a stand-alone vinyl LP release, entitled The Athenaeum Concert.
“Violin Sing” appears twice on Cantica Profana and once on Athenaeum Concert. Ban plays inside the piano, muting the strings with a strong rhythmic purpose, sounding like a cimbalom or the West African ngoni, providing the perfect drive for Surman’s soprano and Maneri’s viola dance against one another. “Bitter Love Song” is radically reborn as “Evening in the Village” (a nod to Bartók’s famed composition) and “Cantica Profana.” The latter’s opening of percussive piano notes ringing introduces the melody by Maneri, who uses microtones that have been integral to the Blues, Arabic melodies, and Japanese traditional music, not to mention Greek doina and Sephardic dance music introduced to Maneri by his father, the late master, Joe Maneri.
“Carol” is transformed into the somberly cinematic “Dark Forest” using techniques from contemporary classical and chamber jazz improvisation. The two versions of “Up There” feature Surman’s unmistakable bass clarinet, one of the wonders of modern jazz. The LP version is particularly soaring in the stunning acoustics of the Romanian Athenaeum. On “A Messenger Was Born,” Ban leads with a patient, somber piano solo, building with the addition of Maneri and Surman who carry the melody to a solemn whisper.
“The Return” has two tremendous versions: “First Return” featuring a solemn refrain in a sort of row and “Last Return” showcasing the subtle dynamics of restrained group interplay, reminiscent of Surman’s collaborations with Paul Bley and Paul Motian, both heroes of Ban and Maneri. “Transylvanian Dance” concludes the program with a lilt and flair, conjuring peasants dancing as the spirit of the music escalates until its dramatic finale.
Folk music is a container of a communal culture. Through Ban, Maneri, and Surman’s improvisations on these folk songs, all can partake in the beauty and mystery of this culture long after the Transylvanian peasants sang into Bartók’s Edison phonograph. Cantica Profana and The Athenaeum Concert provide ample proof of the trio’s limitless creative drive and strikingly illustrate Bartók’s foretelling 1921 observation: “A future generation might conceivably discover and embody in their art music properties of the peasant music which have altogether escaped us.” The LP contain a booklet with liner notes by Ban and Maneri, along with archival photographs from early 20th century Transylvania and from the Athenaeum Concert.
LP $30 [LTD Edition LP only release]
SEAN NOONAN / AVA MENDOZA / MALCOLM MOONEY / JAMAALADEEN TACUMA - Slide Gate (Noonan Music SNMR1001; USA) Featuring Malcom Mooney on vocals, lyrics & artwork, Ava Mendoza on guitar, Jamaaladeen Tacuma on electric bass and Sean Noonan on drums, vocals & compositions. American-born and currently London-based drummer & composer Sean Noonan always has several aces up his sleeve, as he leads several bands and composes for different ensembles from modern classical string quartets to unique prog-rock units. For the past few years Noonan has led a quartet called Pavees Dance which has featured former Can lead singer Malcolm Mooney and former Prime Time bass wizard Jamaaladeen Tacuma. Lead guitar duties have included Aram Bajakian (from Abraxas & Dalava) and Ava Mendoza (one of Downtown's best guitarists who has worked with William Parker, James Brandon Lewis & Erik Friedlander). Mr. Noonan has great talent for choosing just the right musicians for each of his varied projects/bands.
Considering that the legendary vocalist Malcolm Mooney has recorded so little since his time with Can (circa 1968-1970), Noonan gives Mooney a chance to stretch out, write odd lyrics, create album cover artwork and sing at length. "Android" opens and has a rather Beefheartian tight yet bent structure. While Mr. Tacuma plays those knuckle-busting high speed harmelodic lines, both Mendoza's guitar and Noonan's drumming locks in the groove and expands it in different ways. Mr. Mooney has a distinctive voice which I find most charming in its own distinctive way. On the title track, "Slide Gate", Mooney sings about a slide gate which encloses something that our imaginations can only conjure. The music here is rock music with some unexpected twists. Ms. Mendoza does a fine job of playing different parts as each piece comes from somewhere else. Mooney appears to be singing about different things on each piece so it will take time to consider what he is addressing. Noonan changes the structure and grooves on each piece yet the inner vibe sounds connected. Mr. Tacuma is an amazing bassist who often nails those funk, rock and prog lines in his own ways and works well with drummers who can match his complex lines, which Noonan does throughout. Ava Mendoza has become the Downtown guitarist to watch since she moved here several years back. She never ceases to amaze me as she always fits in a wide variety of contexts. "We Will Take Our Minds Back" opens Side 2 and it has a churning repeating riff with eerie, dreamy vocals from Mr. Mooney. As the piece evolves, the guitar, bass & drums start playing these circular, tight lines over and over, with different layers interlocking as Mendoza plays a powerful, inventive solo. "Take Our Minds Back" Mooney chants over and over. Is this record some sort of prog rock epic, not really but it is still unique, inventive and beyond any rigid categories. Most impressive, nonetheless. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
LP $18
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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 BLGallanter@gmail.com
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THE STONE RESIDENCIES / DAN WEISS / SEPT 17-20
9/17 Wednesday
8:30 pm - Dan Weiss Trio
Craig Taborn (piano) Peter Washington (bass) Dan Weiss (drums)
9/18 Thursday
8:30 pm - Dan Weiss Trio
Jacob Sacks (piano) Thomas Morgan (bass) Dan Weiss (drums)
9/19 Friday
8:30 pm - OCTET: Ingrid Laubrock (sax) Anna Webber (sax) Caroline Davis (sax) Sophia Kickhofel (sax) Matt Mitchell (piano) Miles Okazaki (guitar) Chris Tordini (bass) Dan Weiss (drums)
9/20 Saturday
8:30 pm - Dan Weiss - Solo drums
THE STONE RESIDENCIES / ANNA WEBBER / SEPT 24-27
9/24 Wednesday
8:30 pm - DUO: Anna Webber (flute, saxophone) Jason Moran (piano)
9/25 Thursday
8:30 pm - TRIO - Anna Webber (flute, saxophone) Satoshi Takeishi (drums) Sam Pluta (electronics)
9/26 Friday
8:30 pm - QUINTET - Anna Webber (flute, tenor saxophone) Madison Greenstone (clarinet) Ryan Easter (trumpet) Nathaniel Morgan (alto saxophone) John Hollenbeck (drums)
9/27 Saturday
8:30 pm - DOUBLE SIMPLE TRIO - Anna Webber (flute, tenor saxophone) Ingrid Laubrock (tenor and soprano saxophones) Miles Okazaki (guitar) Matt Mitchell (piano) Chris Tordini (bass) John Hollenbeck (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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FREE SUN RA ARKESTRA CONCERT IN PHILLY:
We're only two days away from Chaos and Kisses: A Grand Opening Parade for Calder Gardens! Join us on Saturday, September 20, from noon to 2:00 PM for an unforgettable celebration of Calder’s legacy and Philadelphia’s creative spirit.
Parade Details:
• When: Saturday, September 20, 2025, noon–2:00 PM
• Grand Finale: A free Sun Ra Arkestra concert at 1:00 PM at Maja Park.
• Parade Route: Begins at LOVE Park at noon, travels past the Swann Memorial Fountain, along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, and concludes at Maja Park.
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THIS NOTE COMES FROM MY GOOD BUDDY JOEL HARRISON, Gifted Guitarist and Organizer. His yearly concerts at LPR have been a highlight for myself and other Guitar Freaks…
Dear Guitar Enthusiasts … There's a lot going:
—MIDWESTERNERS: please take note of the below dates. I'm lucky to be playing with two of the greatest B-3 organ players alive, and fantastic drummers as well. https://joelharrison.com/shows/
—On March 14 AGS (Alternative Guitar Summit) recordings releases ANUPAM SHOBHAKAR'S LIQUID REALITY, a tour de force on double neck guitar that fuses Indian music, jazz, and rock. If you like John McLaughlin this is for you. Preorder here: https://agsrecordings.bandcamp.com/
—We have uploaded some GREAT NEW PODCASTS to the AGS youtube channel with Ben Monder, Redd Volkaert, and more to come. Please check it out.
https://www.youtube.com/@alternativeguitarsummit
—For a couple of years I have been working on a major piece entitled "Burn Pit." The orchestration is jazz big band and a 16 person chorus. The subject matter is the deadly toxic burnpits from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that killed or sickened hundreds of thousands of military personnel. To fulfill my obligation to the NY State Council on the Arts and the Governors Office of NY, from whom I received a generous composition grant, I have posted a video discussing and playing excerpts from this work here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulyk1Pgrym8
Don't forget to sign up for our summer camp! Kevin Eubanks, Vernon Reid, Kurt Rosenwinkel, John Scofield...come on! https://www.alternativeguitarsummitcamp.com/ - Joel Harrison
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NEW VIDEOS from GUITAR MASTER HENRY KAISER:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgcxTkoIgQI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAWxt3EJSPw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcvoYygehqE
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From 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