Songs and verses, handy captions
Photographs of real-life action
Horror, madness
Can it be that something's happening?
Wash me, paint me
But please don't taint me
Give me a chance, give me chance
Give me a chance
When I was young, the sky was blue
And everyone knew what to do
But now it's gone, the telly's here
Mass media, the sewer too
Universal maximillion
Eight rare cases
Chickenpox and crawling gladness
Seemingly it's nothing happening
Cure my doctor, don't swallow him down
Give me the cure, give me the cure
Give me the cure...
The night was cool, the moon was bright
The air was clear with oxygen
The stars were there, and in my eyes
Were thousands of chrysanthemums
Don't use magnets, geophysics
Carry you back
Wholesome, health food, home pride, satisfied
Something outside gives out hunger
Face my mirror
Electricity
When I was in 9th grade in Junior High School, a guitarist from a local band named Gary O came up to me and asked if I was a Mothers of Invention fan. I said that the Mothers were my favorite band and I was a fan addict. He asked if I had heard of Soft Machine and I said no. He said if you dig the Mothers, then you will probably love Soft Machine. I soon went out and bought the first Softs album, 'Volume One' and after several spins, I was indeed a Soft Machine fan. This was in 1968 and I found Soft Machine to be rather enigmatic, musically, lyrically, image-wise... but I was hooked and they've been my favorite prog/psych/rock/jazz band ever since. It took some time to discover what was referred to as The Canterbury Scene and to find out about Pataphysics, an obscure, absurd, yet fascinating philosophy. I turned my friends onto Soft Machine as well as the other original Canterbury band Caravan when I was in high school. In college, I made new friends and was surrounded by fellow music freaks. We were into the Mothers, the Canterbury Scene, avant/jazz, etc and especially Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, Gong, Hatfield & The North and Henry Cow. In my junior year at college, I did an exchange program for one semester and went to school in London. Besides checking out many concerts, I interviewed several members of Soft Machine, Dave Stewart, Lol Coxhill, Keith Tippett and Gary Boyle. It was a dream come true for yours truly. I occasionally go back to relisten to early Soft Machine, Caravan, Robert Wyatt and Kevin Ayers albums and I can still hear tyhe magic that I used to hear within. The above song appears on the second side of Soft Machine 'Volume Two' and it is sung by Robert Wyatt with acoustic guitar and harpsichord backing. It is a sublime gem and the words still haunt me.
This week we got in Soft Machine 'Thirteen', a new studio album by the current version of Soft Machine. John M & myself listened to it on Monday and we were blown away by what we heard! Soft Machine's first singles were released in 1967 and now it is almost 60 years later and the adventurous Spirit of Soft Machine remains true. The personnel for Soft Machine (1967-1975) changed on every record and hence, their sound was/is always evolving. This unpredictable metamorphic spirit is still there. All of the songs were written by current band members and they understand their legacy. They even include a looped guitar part from the early Softs guitarist Daevid Allen! The Softs have toured the US three times in the past decade, twice at the Iridium and once at City Winery in NYC and they still sound amazing! They are currently on tour in Europe so I urge anyone who has a chance to see them to do so. Hopefully they will return to the US in the future. Aymeric Leroy's big Canterbury bible was translated into English and will be available in the near future so stay tuned to the W-DMG dial. That's right folks don't touch that dial... - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
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THE DMG 35th ANNIVERSARY IN-STORE CONCERT SERIES Continues with:
Saturday, March 21st: GauciMusic Series Continues with:
6:30: ELIJAH SHIFFER - Alto Sax / LORIN BENEDICT - Voice / DMITRY ISHENKO - Bass / JAMES PAUL NADIEN - Drums
7:30: STEPHEN GAUCI - Tenor Sax - Flute / LIM YANG - Contrabass / KEVIN SHEA - Drums
8:30: JUAN PABLO CARLETTI - Drums / WILLIAM PARKER - Contrabass / YONI KRETZMER - Tenor Sax
Tuesday, March 24th: A Night Featuring Four Sets of Experimental Vocalists!
6:30: LORIN BENEDICT / CHARMAINE LEE - Vocal Duo
7:15: KYOKO KITAMURA - Solo - Vocals, Objects & Audience Participation
8:00: AMY SHEFFER - Vocals / ROSI HERTLEIN - Vocals & Violin
8:45: NOA FORT / YOON SUN CHOI / ELENA CAMERIN - Vocal Trio
Tuesday, March 31st:
6:30: EVAN PALMER - Contrabass / PHILLIP GREENLIEF - Sax
7:30: PATRICK GOLDEN - Drums / SARAH BERNSTEIN - Electric Violin / LIM YANG - Bass
8:30: KEN KOBAYASHI - Drums/ MATT KNOEGEL - Sax / JEFF MILES - Guitar / EVAN PALMER - bass
9:30: STEPHEN GAUCI - Tenor Sax / JOE HERTEN- Drums
Tuesday, April 7th:
6:30: SKETCHBOOK SERIES # 16: Duo: patrick brennan - Alto Sax / MICHAEL TA THOMPSON - Drums
7:30: PHILLIP DORNBUSCH - Sax / EVAN PALMER - Bass / JAMES PAUL NADIEN - Drums
8:30: AIDAN O'CONNELL - Contrabass / MATT KNOEGEL - Saxes / MICHAEL LaROCCA - Drums
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NEW STUDIO OFFERING BY THE LEGENDARY SOFT MACHINE RULES!!!
SOFT MACHINE with JOHN ETHERIDGE / THEO TRAVIS / FRED BAKER / ASAF SIRKIS DAEVID ALLEN (Moonjune; Spain) ‘Thirteen’ features legendary guitarist John Etheridge who has been with the band over 50 years in superb form. Whilst all four members of the band contribute compositions, the album’s main composer is saxophonist, flautist and keyboard player Theo Travis who wrote six of the album’s thirteen tracks, including the longest most progressive track of the set ‘The Longest Night’ (clocking in at just over 13 minutes). The newest member of the group is drummer and composer Asaf Sirkis. Former Soft Machine drummer and songwriter Robert Wyatt said of Asaf – “I’ve known Asaf’s gifts for years, certainly enough to say that as far as I can see there’s nothing he can’t do when he puts his mind to it.....his kit skills just keep expanding but what really gets to me are his ethereal, haunting compositions....”
The album is incredibly broad in its breadth and scope. Tracks include ‘Pens to the Foal Mode’ which is a completely free group improvisation; ‘Open Road’ a rocky track which sees the band soaring on all burners with fiery solos by both Etheridge and Travis; the ballad ‘Disappear’ which starts with ethereal looped flutes and develops into a beautiful piano led and drum less miniature and ‘Turmoil’ penned by bassist Fred Baker which brims with deranged fuzz bass, manic solos and an almost unhinged clamor. ‘Daevid’s Special Cuppa’ sees a cameo by founder member Daevid Allen (his guitar part being recorded years earlier, and the track built around it) in a psychedelic tribal set piece with soprano sax, guitar and duduk (a haunting Armenian traditional wooden flute like instrument) floating over hypnotic rhythms.
John Mori & myself listened to this disc several times when it came last Monday. Holy sh*t! It is just incredible, the best jazz/rock/prog release I've heard in recent times! Nearly 60 years after then started in 1967 and the Cosmic/Magic/Medicine remains..! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15
JOHN ZORN // GNOSTIC TRIO: BILL FRISELL / CAROL EMANUEL / KENNY WOLLESEN IKUE MORI - Sing Me Now Asleep (Tzadik 9328; USA) Featuring: Bill Frisell (guitar), Kenny Wollesen (vibes), and Carol Emanuel (harp) are The Gnostic Trio and their unique blend of minimalism, early music, and jazz has resulted in some of the loveliest music Zorn has ever created. Sing Me Now Asleep is their first CD in over five years and not surprisingly it explores some unexpected new directionsnotably two ambient-influenced pieces in the spirit of Zorns Absinthe and Redbird, and a dramatic long form composition in the style of his cinematic file card works. Enhanced by the moody electronics of Ikue Mori on one hypnotic track, this ninth CD in the legacy of The Gnostic Trio is their most gentle and soothing to date, and heralds a striking new musical direction for this beloved super group.
CD $16
JOHN ZORN // BRIAN MARSELLA - The Bagatelles Vol. 7 (Tzadik 5223; USA) From March to May 2015, John Zorn composed 300 new tunes that were eventually collected into a book of music he called The Bagatelles. Volume 7 is a remarkable solo piano performance by Brian Marsella who has become a lynchpin of Zorn's crew of musical masters. Blending classical and jazz into an exhilarating and varied suite, Brian presents a group of thirteen Bagatelles as a beautiful set of themes and variations. This is piano virtuosity at its finest, a profound exploration into the world of Zorn's Bagatelles.
CD $18
FRED FRITH / KAREN STACKPOLE - Nature (Sub Rosa SR 546CD; Belgium) "I have been fascinated by the sound and potential of gongs since I first heard Stockhausen's 'Mikrophonie '1' in the late 1960s. When I moved to Oakland in 1999 I discovered the work of Karen Stackpole, one of the few percussionists in the world specializing entirely in gongs, and attended several of her performances. I always tried to imagine how I could combine my own sonic vocabulary with her incredibly rich array, and we enthusiastically agreed to a musical meeting which somehow kept being postponed, year after year. These recordings are among his most precious ones. Finally, as my teaching career at Mills College was winding down, we succeeded in making an appointment to record together at Karen's home studio in the Californian hills. As a seasoned professional recording engineer, she had her vast and beautiful collection of gongs meticulously placed and amplified. It was a joy! Guitar as gong, gong as harmony and everything in between, an interweaving that left me breathless." - Fred Frith
CD $17
BILL LASWELL / P.ST with HENRY KAISER / GRAHAM HAYNES / NILS PETTER MOLVAER / PETER APFELBAUM / HIDEO YAMACKI / et al - Mount Analogue (Sub Rosa SR581; Belgium) This musical journey pays tribute to René Daumal and his enchanting world of mysteries and magic. The album shares its title with Daumal's novel, Mount Analogue: A Novel of Symbolically Authentic Non-Euclidean Adventures in Mountain Climbing, published posthumously in 1952, eight years after the author's untimely death. Mount Analogue is a classic allegorical adventure novel. The novel describes an expedition undertaken by a group of mountaineers to travel to and climb the titular Mount Analogue an enormous mountain on a surreal continent, that is invisible and inaccessible to the outside world and can be perceived only by the application of obscure knowledge. The central theme of mountaineering is extensively explored through literary and philosophical lenses. Daumal died before the novel was completed, providing an uncanny one-way quality to the story, which ends abruptly in the middle of a sentence. The first disc features a fifty-minute composition divided into six chapters: "Introduction," "Meeting," "Supposition," "Crossing," "Arrival," and "Conclusion." This album weaves together a rich tapestry of diverse instruments, sounds, and voices that collectively tell the story of this conceptual work, loaded with a synesthetic multitude of colors, aromas, meanings, textures, and moods. The second disc presents five improvisations for solo electric guitar by Henry Kaiser. The first solo, Jodorowsky's "Peradam," draws its inspiration from Alejandro Jodorowsky's 1973 film The Holy Mountain, which was inspired by the Daumal novel. Kaiser's initial forty-eight-minute guitar solo serves as a foundational guide for his four subsequent, Rashomon-esque, solo musical interpretations of Mount Analogue, as seen through the psychedelic labyrinth of Jorodrowsky's cinematic masterpiece. Contributors to this musical poem include Bill Laswell (bass), Henry Kaiser (guitar), Anna Clementi (vocals), Percy Howard (voice), Hideo Yamaki (percussion), Graham Haynes (cornet), Dorian Cheah (violin), Nils Petter Molvaer (trumpet), Peter Apfelbaum (keyboard), and P.ST (concept, electronics), who all lend their talents to a series of excerpts from Daumal's text.
2 CD Set $22 / 2 LP Set $34 [In stock in 1-2 weeks]
PAUL DUNMALL QUARTET with SOPHIA DOMANCICH / JAMES OWSTON / MILES LEVIN - Afghan Women (Rogue Art ROG-0148; France) Featuring Paul Dunmall on tenor & C soprano saxes, Sophia Domancich on piano, James Owston on contrabass and Miles Levin on drums. After releasing more than 65 CD-R's on his own DUNS label (1999-2010), British sax colossus, Paul Dunmall, continued to produce around a half dozen discs a nyear on other labels: FMR, Slam, Rare Music, 577, Discus and Rogue Art. Similar to the legendary Mujician quartet, Dunmall continues to organize a series of quartet sessions with other pianists, guitarists, trumpeters or saxists in the frontline. For this session, Mr. Dunmall chose French pianist Sophia Domancich, who has worked with Dunmall previously in three quartet/quintet line-ups. Ms. Domancich is a great pianist who has worked with Elton Dean, Hugh Hopper, a Hatfield & The North reunion, as well as having five of her own leader projects strong rhythm teams: William Parker & Hamid Drake and Mark Helias & Andrew Cyrille. British bassist James Owston has worked with Mr. Dunmall on a dozen previous discs. Miles Levin is the son of the late, great British jazz drummer Tony Levin and has worked with Dunmall on a half dozen previous releases.
The first thing I noticed while listening to this disc is how much it sounds like the classic John Coltrane Quartet from the early 1960's. The opening piece is called "Afghan Women" and according to the liner notes, it deals with the appalling plight of Afghan women. Mr. Dunmall's tenor is warm and larger-than-life, very Trane-like in tone and overall sound. Ms. Domancich even plays similar to the way McCoy Tyner did in the original Trane quartet, with lush, lyrical and haunting chords. Miles Levin kicks off "I Was Free Once" with a sublime, soft, swirling drum intro before the rest of the quartet slowly enters. This piece is free yet focused and keeps building in intensity. Eventually, it slows down and becomes more sparse with thoughtful interplay between all four musicians. I love this since it sounds so organic, like a warm conversation between old friends. On "Voices Unheard" (a duo for soprano & piano), Mr. Dunmall switches to soprano sax, his sound is coy, playful and spinning along with Ms. Domancich's equally solemn restraint. What I often hear in this music is the one of creating a dialogue which weaves its way together with several currents flowing and an undertow which holds things together. Mr. Owston plays a spirited bass solo midway through "The Clouds Will Part Eventually", the rest of the quartet playing in slow motion, carefully around him. The final piece is an appropriate Coltrane song called "Spiritual" and it fits just right with the rest of the program as a perfect, righteous conclusion. Both Sophia Domancich and Paul Dunmall take superb, heartwarming solos here, the vibe has a healing force emerging. As a longtime John Coltrane Quartet fan, this music feels just right and touches me deep within. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $16
FRANK GRATKOWSKI'S IN CAHOOTS with INGRID LAUBROCK / PHILIP ZOUBEK / ROBERT LANDFERMANN / DOMINIK MAHNIG - In Cahoots (Klanggalerie GG 524; Germany) After playing complete improvised music with no constraints from 2016 on and releasing their first Album "Torbid Daylight" the quartet "Gratkowski / Zoubek / Landfermann / Mahnig" got renamed in 2023 to "In Cahoots" and now performs compositions by Frank Gratkowski, still with plenty of space for creative improvisation. In Cahoots also extends to a Quintet featuring Ingrid Laubrock on tenor and soprano saxophones. The new Quintet version had its debut in Darmstadt 2023. "Beneath the subatomic particle level, there are fibers that vibrate at different intensities. Different frequencies. Like violin strings. The physicists say that the particles we are able to see are the notes of the strings vibrating beneath them. If string theory is correct, that music is not only the way our brains work, as the neuroscientists have shown, but also, it is what we are made of, what everything is made of. These are the stakes musicians are playing for", says T-Bone Burnett. - label blurb
German saxist & clarinetist, Frank Gratkowski, has been on the Euro avant/jazz scene since the early 1990's working with Georg Gräwe, Gerry Hemingway, Bik Bent Braam, Misha Mengelberg and many other creative musicians. Mr Gratkowski has had a quartet since 2020 which is called In Cahoots. The quartet features Philip Zoubeck on piano & synth, Robert Landfermann on bass and Dominik Mahnig on drums plus for this disc, current first rate Downtown saxist & composer Ingrid Laubrock. The quartet version used to play mostly all improvised sets although Mr. Gratkowski has been doing more composing for the current quintet version of the band. I recall each member of this quintet from previous recorded groups and combinations of players. "OKTF" opens with a slightly bent repeated line. Both saxes seem to be playing tightly around one another while the rest of the ts all swirling tightly together at the same time. "Hainot - Madeleines" begins with stark piano, eerie, soft, sax drones with a bit of subtle reverb. Although the sound is somewhat free, there seems to be a directed energy which brings it together. The written part(s) starts midway with some challenging twists and turns going on. The combination of Gratkowski's bass clarinet with Laubrock's tenor sounds like a thoughtful match done right with the piano holding down the tight structure. This piece reminds me of 'Conference of the Birds' (by the Dave Holland Qt), one of my favorite avant/jazz records ever. "Time Layers" falls somewhere between Braxton's Ghost Trance series and Tim Berne's repeating phrase pieces, the quintet playing their lines tightly together in a more restrained way. "Rotation" starts freely with several lines swirling around one another in tight, subdued orbits. This piece keeps increasing in tempo and volume yet somehow it sounds connected, organically unfolding, rising and calming back down. Midway through this piece, a churning bassline begins while the rest of the quintet jump in and hold the swirling groove with free spirit delight, things wind down with terse piano solo and a peaceful conclusion. "Passeggiata" begins with flute and soprano playing their lines together with bowed bass humming underneath. The flute and soprano sax play in a similar range and sound great together, carefully playing their parts in a most natural way. The final piece is called "Wie Lieblich Schallt" which means "How Lovely It Is". The piece does have a nice, laid-back sound with some charming, quaint harmonies for the two reeds. The two saxes play a series of circular lines in tight orbits while the piano-led rhythm team holds down the bottom. Over the past few years, current Brooklyn-based saxist, Ingrid Laubrock, has been collaborating with a handful of diverse musicians/composers like Anthony Braxton, Nels Cline, Myra Melford and Willy Rodriguez. She has continued to surprise us with her ongoing selective collaborations, composing and band-leading talents. The same can be said for saxist Frank Gratkowski, whose varied collaborations also show off his diverse talents. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $18
CHARLES K. NOYES - Blue All (zOaR ZCD 198; USA) Featuring Charles K. Noyes on electric guitars, effects and Ferrous (a magnetic string resonator that utilizes six strong earth magnets and variable speed motor to generate harmonics and string-like swells). I originally encountered percussionist Charles K Noyes in the early days of the Downtown Scene (1979-1981) when he was collaborating with John Zorn, Eugene Chadbourne, David Moss and other Downtown musicians who were experimenting with a variety of extended techniques on their respective instruments. Mr. Noyes, used to play his own odd, stripped down drums set in his own particularly odd way. I didn't know that Mr. Noyes even played guitar until zOaR recorded released a solo album of his (in 2020) and a duo effort with Elliott Sharp (in 2021). All of the pieces here were recorded between 2022 and 2025. "Blind Ghost, What Do You See?" opens and it is pretty long (17 minutes). The music here is careful, experimental, Mr. Noyes creates strange and often captivating sounds for his guitar. Since Mr. Noyes is playing a resonator guitar, we can hear the way it sounds although there is little of the usual blues-like licks we often hear from dobro or other resonator guitars. Mr. Noyes seems to be creating his own strange, mysterious sonic landscape. Drones, eerie humming, subtly scraped sounds, select reverb, and music which sounds rather ethnic yet we can't tell from which ethnic source it is coming from are all part of what we hear throughout. Each of the nine pieces here creates its own sonic landscape. We seem to be moving through an assortment of strange yet somewhat familiar inner worlds. This disc is extremely long at more than 74 minutes so it might be better to listen to parts of this rather than sitting through the entire length. The length is a bit mind-numbing although I did appreciate this disc when I played one piece at a time and then thought about what I heard and the way it affected my consciousness. Persistence and patience is required here. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14
LDL with URS LEIMGRUBER / JACQUES DEMIERRE / THOMAS LEHN - the eerie glow of jellyfish (Relative Pitch RPR 1240; USA) Featuring Urs Leimgruber on soprano sax, Jacques Demierre on amplified spinet and Thomas Lehn on analogue synth & sound processing. Swiss saxist, Urs Leimgruber, started out recording with the legendary Swiss jazz/rock quartet known as OM, who were around from 1972-1982 and have had several reunions since then. Leimgruber has always kept busy with more than 50 releases under his belt working with Fritz Hauser, Marilyn Crispell, Joelle Leandre and many more. Experimental pianist and wordsmith, Jacques Demierre, also has a large number of recordings with Sylvie Courviosier, Hans Koch and Barry Guy. I've caught analogue synth player Thomas Lehn playing with John Butcher, Konk Pack and Gerry Hemingway in the past, amongst many other fine improvisers.
This set was recorded live at a festival in Ulrichberg, Austria in April of 2024. One thing to remember here is that Mr. Demierre is playing an amplified spinet. A spinet is a smaller version of a piano which sounds like a harpsichord. Amplifying a spinet is certainly a unique choice. The soprano sax and the spinet both play in a higher, more fragile register. The spinet sounds prepared at times although perhaps Mr. Lehn is processing it or creating a similar sound on his analogue synth. The soprano sax is recorded in a clean, warm way while the spinet and synth are often carefully manipulated. It is rare to hear a harpsichord played in an experimental session but this is what we find here. Midway through "part B", the music becomes much more dense and intense with the soprano being overblown and the spinet on the verge of erupting with some violent scraped strings. I didn't notice Mr. Lehn's synth until the last section of the second piece. The eerie electronics and sped up spinet sound quite hypnotic together with Leimgruber's soprano inserting a series of bent notes over the top of the storm below. The collective buzzing of scraped strings, bent sax notes and odd electronic punctuation is somewhat disorienting at times. Although the music sounds somewhat chaotic at times, it remains focused as if it was being directed so that each member of the trio was in the same current or flow. The synth seems to be the wildcard here at times since its sound changes from section to section, adding an air of mystery as to who is doing which sound. Is that the synth? Are those vocal samples? I am unsure if there is anything written here although it does sound like the sax and spinet often arrive at the same place or on the same note. Considering how much the spinet sounds like a harpsichord, it often feels like the trio are reaching backwards and forwards at the same time. There are definitely some transformational (or Cosmic) moments as well. If you like your free/improv rather intense, then some of this should blow your mind! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $13
DIETRICHS with CAMILLE and DON DIETRICH - Live Bahdu (Relative Pitch RPR 1256; USA) Featuring Camille Dietrich on cello and Don Dietrich on tenor sax. This is the second disc from the Dietrichs, a afther and daughter duo. Some of you should recall Don Dietrich from his long tenure with the legendary/notorious jazz/noise trio Borbetomagus. Borbeto was an over-the-top trio with two blasting (and often amplified) saxes and a guitarist who often used a file to scrape the strings of his guitar. Generally creative music fans either loved them or disliked them. I always liked them although the music could test one's patience for extremes. I believe that they broke up when their guitarist, Donald Miller, passed away in 2024, although after (Mr. Miller) moved to New Orleans, they rarely played live. This disc was recorded live at the Ear We Are Festival in Biel, Switzerland in February of 2025. Initially I was going to state that sax & cello duos were a rare thing but I once put together a night of three sax & cello duos at the Old Knitting Factory in the early 1990's. I don't recall any more duos like these since then. The music begins with some extreme hard-blowing free/jazz sax (tenor) and amplified cello. Yowsah, this is way intense! Both instruments are playing through the P.A. or an amplifier, hence the music is often distorted and pretty close. There are some quieter moments here and there oddly enough, as well as a few short sections when the duo sound like they're playing a few written parts. It is rare to hear a cello played so aggressively and this is what sets Ms. Dietrich apart as she pushed her playing to some noisy extremes. Some might say that this music was disturbing and overly noisy and I would have to agree. After so many years of extreme music (noise?) making, loud volume and music which some/many would question to be music, I've learned to step back and not react so quickly since it takes some getting used to these somewhat scary, hard-to-deal-with sounds. Is Ms. Dietrich looping her lines? Is that a sax and a cello??? Jeez! I have been listening (seriously) to a wide variety of experimental music since discovering the Mother of Invention at age 13 in 1967. Hence, I no longer judge music too quickly as it does take time to appreciate sounds which others might call noise or even worse. This disc is just under 45 minutes, an entire set and the encore. It took me a bit to adjust but I am impressed nonetheless. Is this music? Does it really matter? Are you still listening? - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $13
BILL ORCUTT - Music In Continuous Motion (Palilalia PAL 096; USA) "Music in Continuous Motion, Bill Orcutt's latest entry into his 21st-century repertoire of quartet guitar music, pointedly steps away from the cut-and-paste constructivism of Music for Four Guitars into a sonic stratum that's yearningly melodic, resolutely human, and built for performance. Conceived for a 2026 NYC concert, Music in Continuous Motion shares the concision of its predecessor -- but rather than the discrete, mechanistic precision of Music for Four Guitars, the tracks on Music in Continuous Motion unify -- each song weaving four gleaming threads into the warp and weft of an evolving, complex texture that employs simple, repeating motifs to build new melodies from counterpoint itself. It accomplishes this in the most efficient manner possible: most of these 12 tracks hover around two-and-a- half minutes, each iterating first the substrate, then the melody and its variations, then slamming shut like a clockwork music box. Based on previous recorded evidence, Orcutt is fond of boundary conditions for his studio guitar records. Much of the time, his launchpad is obvious; with others, it's intentionally obscured. When recruiting me to write about each release, he might send me a clue. Although any given dispatch is a potential red herring, up until now, each has implied an Oulipian conceit (however obtuse) that at least somewhat determines the outcome. Thus, I was a bit surprised by his statement on Music in Continuous Motion. Whatever overarching form the recording process may have mapped out, the path of the finished album is explicitly poetic. Echoing its predecessor, the song titles, read in sequence, paint fleetingly-glimpsed forms -- but in contrast to the distant shapes described in Music For Four Guitars, the present narrative spotlights the dance of polygons momentarily grasped (and then lost) as they spin through space. Ultimately, the key difference between the albums (and what places Music in Continuous Motion in the realm of poetry) is its celebration of movement over immutability, of melody over form, of music as a hot wire to the heart rather than another upped ante in an arms race of inscrutability." - Tom Carter
CD $18 / LP $30 [In stock in 1-2 weeks]
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BYRON COLEY / MATS GUSTAFSSON / THURSTON MOORE - Now Jazz Now: 100 Essential Free Jazz & Improvisation Recordings (1960-80)(Ecstatic Peace Library 9798993404004; UK) 277 pages. Soft-cover, fully illustrated. 196 x 268mm. Edited by Eva Prinz. Preface by Neneh Cherry. Afterword by Joe McPhee. New York, NY, USA -- musicians Mats Gustafsson, Neneh Cherry, Joe McPhee, and Thurston Moore, along with music writer Byron Coley, have contributed to an illustrated collector's guide to records -- replete with 277 pages of beatific album art, labels, sleeve notes and collector musings on their life-long obsessions of record collecting, with a distinct focus on the recorded history of free jazz and free improvisation. Compiling personal archives of their selections of recordings which could be contenders within a list defined by a parameter of 100 of the most essential releases presented in chronological order, acknowledging the music to be preternaturally noncompetitive, non-hierarchical, and of equal value, Now Jazz Now is a book for all adventurous music lovers, whether ravenous record collectors, avant-garde jazz enthusiasts, students of radical culture, or simply curiosity seekers in wonder to this music's illustrious history and lineage. The gleanings of Cherry, Coley, Gustafsson, McPhee and Moore will enlighten, delight, amuse, and bemuse all who follow their streams of consciousness, knowledge, perception, and, most importantly, unbridled respect and regard for a genre of music dedicated to the dignity of practicing freedom. All copies of first printing distributed by Forced Exposure in the USA will have an exclusive bookplate signed by Thurston Moore, Byron Coley and Mats Gustafsson; edition of 999.
BOOK $46 [Sold Out & being remanufactured now]
KENNY DORHAM with CHARLES DAVIS / JACKIE McLEAN / JOE HENDERSON / HERBIE HANCOCK /STEVE KUHN / TOMMY FLANAGAN / WALTER BISHOP, JR. / LEROY VINNEGAR / JIMMY GARRISON / BUTCH WARREN / ART TAYLOR / BUDDY ENLOW / J.C. MOSES / TONY WILLIAMS - The Classic Albums 1960-1962 (Enlightenment 9253; EEC) This 4CD set brings together the finest albums composer and trumpeter Kenny Dorham released in the early 1960s. Spanning eight remastered albums across four discs from the peak of his career, the collection showcases some of the most accomplished recordings he ever made and is sure to be a welcome addition to any jazz collection, as well as an ideal entry point for those discovering his work. Titles include: 'Jazz Contemporary', 'The Arrival of Kenny Dorham', Inta Somethin'", 'Matador', 'Una Mas (One More Time)' and more.
4 CD Set $18
RANDY WESTON BIG BAND with BENNY BAILEY / SAHIB SHIHAB / TALIB KIBWE / BENNY POWELL / GEORGE LEWIS / WILBUR LITTLE / SAM KELLY / CLYDE LUCAS - Montreux Jazz Festival 1985 (In and Out Records 771662; Germany) One of three releases marking the 100th birthday of Randy Weston. It features previously unreleased live material. Randy Weston is known to the public thru the lens of the small ensemble of the African Rhythm group, recognition that is very well deserved and his signature around the world. Randy Weston is not only in direct lineage of Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk, he was also the real integrator of African music into the Jazz World. Brooklyn, a cradle of jazz history and home to countless musical legends like Max Roach, Duke Jordan, and Cecil Payne, celebrated one of its finest with a weeklong tribute at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). Later that year, Randy brought his music to Europe with a smaller, but equally remarkable, ensemble. The tour included stops at Jazz à Vienne in France, where founder Jean-Pierre Boutelier had the visionary idea to pair Randy's compositions with the Grenoble Symphony Orchestra. From there Weston traveled to the Montreux Jazz Festival where this recording was made. The concert opened with Randy's iconic composition "African Cookbook," requested by Claude Nobs, the founder and director of Montreux Jazz Festival. It was followed by "Hi-Fly," Randy's signature piece, driven by rhythm and energy. His mastery as a composer shines through in the poignant "Blues for Strayhorn" and the deeply personal "Portrait of Frank Edward Weston," a tribute to his father and one of his great inspirations. "African Sunrise"--also presented that year at the Kool Jazz Festival in Chicago with Machito's orchestra featuring Dizzy Gillespie, Johnny Griffin, Art Blakey, and Richard Davis (a recording of that event exists!)--appears here in an arrangement by Melba Liston, showcasing her genius once again.
CD $16
RANDY WESTON & AFRICAN RHYTHM ORCHESTRA - Brooklyn Academy of Music 1985 (In and Out Records 771652; Germany) One of three releases marking the 100th birthday of Randy Weston. It features previously unreleased live material. Randy Weston is known to the public thru the lens of the small ensemble of the African Rhythm group, recognition that is very well deserved and his signature around the world. Randy Weston is not only in direct lineage of Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk, he was also the real integrator of African music into the Jazz World. In 1985 the city of Brooklyn honored Randy with a week-long tribute, culminating in a unique concert at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) on February 16. For this rare occasion, Randy assembled a dream ensemble -- dancers, singers (including Andy Bey), and a big band like no other. The arrangements and conducting were entrusted to none other than Melba Liston -- his trusted collaborator and musical sister. Melba, a brilliant trombonist and an even more masterful arranger, transformed Randy's compositions into grand orchestrations that paid tribute to his musical legacy.
CD $16
THE LONG RYDERS - High Noon Hymns (Cherry Red Records CDBred 936; UK) Long Ryder guitarist/mandolinist Sid Griffin states 'High Noon Hymns' is "two thirds the distilled altcountry genre we helped found back in the 1980s, one third Paisley Underground adventurism yet with a dash of our own crazed soulfulness thrown in." Due to the unexpected passing of Long Ryders' bassist Tom Stevens, bass duties on the new album were shared by Murry Hammond of Americana stalwarts The Old 97s and The Long Ryders' own Stephen McCarthy. McCarthy also performs live with The Jayhawks and occasionally records with the Dream Syndicate. Guests appearing in the album include DJ Bonebrake of X on vibes and young bluegrass wunderkind Wyatt Ellis on mandolin. The album was recorded at Kozy Tone Studios in sunny Poway, California.
In the mid-1980's, there was a weekly series of rock concerts at Folk City called 'Music for Dozens' with three bands for a mere $3.00. I attended nearly all of those weekly concerts and discovered a large number of bands, obscure and not-so-obscure. There were a handful of great bands from L.A. which were referred to as the Paisley Underground. Here's a list of who played during that series: Dream Syndicate, Green on Red, Camper Van Beethoven, True West and the Long Ryders. Each was impressive in their own ways and I became fans of each one. It's been nearly forty years since that series happened and I remain a fan of these bands still. The Long Ryders were more of a country rock band with some psych elements added and hugely influenced by the Byrds. As a longtime Byrds fanatic, I warmed up to the Long Ryders quickly and have continued to follow them. The band has recorded some seven studio records in 40 plus years and I look forward to each one.
The Long Ryders no longer sound like anyone else but themselves. They have a roots-rock sound with chugging guitars and infectious choruses. I dig the sentiments on "World Without Fear", something that many of us wish for in times like this. I love that these songs are catchy and from the heart, especially word-wise. From my perspective, this sort of Americana, roots/country rock is timeless and still rings true. There is some weeping/ haunting pedal steel, occasional slide guitar, righteous harmonies, songs rich in warmth and sunniness. After listening to so much live Grateful Dead music over the past six years, I've gained a better appreciation for Americana/roots rock/blues/country/folk music. Hence, the Long Ryders have always maintained their debt and influence to music like this. The disc ends with a charming version of Bob Dylan's "Forever Young", which seems like a fine, righteous conclusion. May you all be forever young in heart and mind. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $18
DOG FACED HERMANS - Everyday Timebomb (Megaphone/Knock 'Em Dead Mega 038; USA) Explosive. Urgent. Wildly inventive. Everyday Timebomb captures Dog Faced Hermans at their most fearless -- fusing punk intensity, free jazz chaos and political fire into a sound that defies genre and time. Long out of print and increasingly difficult to find, this lost classic is finally back on vinyl and for the first time on its own CD -- for a new generation to discover. Formed in the vibrant European post-punk scene of the late '80s, Dog Faced Hermans stood apart for their raw energy, charismatic vocals and an instrumentation that inspired artists from The Ex to Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Their fearless spirit and DIY ethos turned noise into art and protest into rhythm. This limited reissue stays true to the original analog sound while the fresh remastering gives the original tracks new depth and punch. Each copy includes carefully reproduced artwork and archival notes celebrating the band's unforgettable legacy. For fans of Chumbawamba, Rip Rig Panic, Fugazi, and anyone who believes that music should sound like liberation itself. Everyday Timebomb is more than a record. It's a reminder of how revolutionary sound can be. LP limited to 500 copies; CD is mini-LP-format housed in Stoughton tip-on jacket. Cut at Schnittstelle Mastering and pressed at Optimal in Germany.
CD $19 / LP $33
THE RESIDENTS - Animal Lover (Evolution Edition)(Cryptic Corporation NRT 026CD; USA) "From its humble beginnings in 2001 as a Civil War themed album, through multiple incarnations ('Feast Of Manias,' 'Tiger Love' and more), Animal Lover took shape in a way no other Residents album had before. Evolving and morphing across multiple distinct phases, with contributions from collaborators as well as The Residents themselves, the album saw the group explore new sonic territory, complex arrangements and a contemporary sound whilst retaining their own unmistakable aesthetic. This 'Evolution Edition' provides over forty unreleased tracks showcasing the 2001-2004 development of the album, including a detour into abandoned songs such as 'Vanishing Genitalia' and 'Starvation Demon,' as well as contemporary outtakes and the 'Imaginary Jack' suite. Featuring notes from Brian Poole and Carla Fabrizio, and the usual insightful essay from Jim Knipfel (based on the recollections of The Cryptic Corporation's Homer Flynn), this set explores a level of access and detail rarely available to fans of any particular album. A must-hear for Residents fans and collectors, including those not already familiar with Animal Lover, and an essential part of the ongoing pREServed series."
3 CD Box Set $40
LES PERCUSSIONS DE STRASBOURG // LUIS TABUENCA - Luis Tabuenca: Naturstudium III (Kairos 0022057 KAI; Germany) "In Naturstudium III, Luis Tabuenca, together with Les Percussions de Strasbourg, explores the sonic worlds of the Baschet sound sculptures -- resonant bodies of metal, glass, and wood that oscillate between instrument and architecture. From their dialogue emerges a new musical grammar and hybrid notation that seeks to capture the fleeting nature of these resonances. Recorded by Neu Records in immersive sound, Naturstudium III is more than documentation: it is a spatial experience of vibration, reverberation, and transformation -- music as a form in the air, as memory, as a trace of the vanishing." - label blurb
I can't say that I had heard of this composer, Luis Tabuenca, before this promo disc arrived earlier this week. I do know of Les Percussions de Strabourg since they are a renowned French percussion ensemble which has been around since 1962 and have some 60 albums performing the music of Messiaen, Stockhausen, Varese and Xenakis. I recall that Pierre Morlen was once a member of this ensemble before he went on the perform with and lead Gong. The piece here, "Naturstudium III" was composed for the Baschet Sound Sculptures which were invented by the Baschet brothers in the mid-1960's. There are more than 20 recordings by the Structures Sonores Lasry-Baschet. The only records that I've heard from the Baschet brothers are on the FMR label from the early aughts.
The performers on this disc are a quartet with the composer and three members of the Les percussions de Strasbourg. The booklet inside this CD has several pictures of the Bachet structures and they are indeed fascinating to see. Initially, this music was recorded by Neu Records which specializes in immersive recordings. Since the sound of these instruments do not just travel in one (forward) direction, the sound seems to come from different places in the sonic spectrum. During the first few pieces, the music is often quiet so that we can hear every nuance clearly. The sound is often well-balanced between rhythmic and melodic fragments, with what sounds like bowed resonances. "Criptica III" is eerie and spacious, the drone sounds like an organ which fades in and fades out of earshot. Although the Bachet sculptures are considered to be percussion instruments, their variety of sounds is beyond what we think of as percussion, making us listen more closely to what is actually going on. "Criptica VI" sounds like it is being played on the Baschet piano and it is being sped up. It reminds me of Harry Parch who also made his own instruments and invented new scales to work with. Often I'm not sure which of the Baschet sculptures are being used although the sounds remain consistently enchanting. The music doesn't seem to have a linear flow at times yet the sounds seem to flow in their own organic way. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $17
LABORATORIO DE MUSICA NUEVA // JOSE LUIS HURTACO - Star Trail (Kairos KAI 22060CD; Germany) "In Star Trail, José Luis Hurtado sculpts a luminous universe of sound -- music that resembles light itself: expanding, reflecting, distorting. Through multilayered 'parametric counterpoint,' space triumphs over time, revealing textures that shimmer between structure and spontaneity. Each work -- 'Electric Dust,' 'The Untitled 3S,' 'In the Space of Time,' 'Mutual Gravity,' and the title piece 'Star Trail' -- unfolds as a sound installation of infinite possibilities, where every gesture refracts into new meaning. Born from close collaboration with extraordinary musicians, Star Trail represents Hurtado's most mature vision: a luminous fabric of color, density, and freedom -- music 'always living, always giving - never ending.'"
CD $17
MIROSLAV BEINHAUER - Pieces For Broken Piano (Sub Rosa SR 577CD; Belgium) Grand Piano Gebrüder Stingl from 1916. The year is 2021. The piano is in the garden; the sun shines on it and rain falls on it. The piano cannot be tuned. Some keys work only partially, some not at all. It is Broken Piano. The first pieces for Broken Piano were recorded on this piano in 2021 and became part of the Fluxus editions Stolen Symphony (2023) and Keep Together (2024). The pieces for this edition were written and provided by Terry Riley and Milan Knízák. "Broken Piano," which was acquired by the Opening Performance Orchestra to make live and studio recordings, was the focus of both volumes of this edition between 2021 and 2023. Compositions for Broken Piano intended for Fluxus editions were recorded by Czech pianist Miroslav Beinhauer. During this time, other new works for Broken Piano were written by a variety of Fluxus and non-Fluxus composers. In the spring of 2022, the Opening Performance Orchestra and Broken Piano participated in an event hosted by Mieko Shiomi. This was a new version of her early work "Spatial Poem": it was a moving event, documentation of which was presented at the Aichi Triennale 2022 in Tokyo. During this performative event, consisting of moving any object, Broken Piano was moved from the village Vyzlovka to Unhost, where the SONO music studio is located. It is in the SONO studio that the new compositions for Broken Piano were recorded, written by Terry Riley, Philip Glass, Milan Knízák, Gordon Monahan, Elliot Sharp, Milan Gustar, and Yoon-Ji Lee, which form the content of this album. All the new compositions were recorded by pianist Miroslav Beinhauer.
CD $17
JOWEE OMICIL - Spiritual Healing: Bwa Kayiman Freedom Suite (Bash! Village Records 001CD; Canada) Joseph Omicil, Jr, a.k.a. Jowee Omicil, is a Haitian-Canadian jazz musician. He has worked in the past with artists such as Roy Hargrove, Pharoah Sanders, Tony Allen, Kenny Garrett, Jacob Desvarieux, Glen Ballard, Harold Faustin, and Michel Martell. He hosted Quincy Jones' 85th birthday celebration at Montreux Festival. He also starred in the Netflix series The Eddy, produced by Damien Chazelle, and Le temps d'aimer, directed by Katell Quillévéré (Cannes Festival 2023). The Bois-Caïman ceremony was Haiti's first major collective uprising against slavery. On his new album, SpiriTuaL HeaLinG: Bwa KaYimaN FreeDoM SuiTe, Jowee performs his ancestors' revolution in his own way. Jowee brought together all his inner tubes, soprano, alto, tenor, wood, clarinets, piccolo flute, cornet, that blows, that winds, that rumbles. This record is an incantation, a therapy, it cleanses the world by drawing on the fantasized memory of the Haitian revolution. There are "Freedom Suites" by Sonny Rollins, Max Roach, and others. Prayer music, music to break the chains in your head and on your wrists, music of black power and white magic. For Jowee, a kid from Montreal, son of a Haitian pastor, who sang Jesus in all the tones, and then Michael Jackson, and then 2Pac, who learned jazz from Ornette Coleman, the ceremony necessarily has the taste of free. This record is a healing hour-long improvisation.
CD $19
MOONJUNE SOFT MACHINE CD'S & LP'S on Sale:
SOFT MACHINE with JOHN ETHERIDGE / THEO TRAVIS / FREDDY BAKER / JOHN MARSHALL plus ROY BABBINGTON - Other Doors (Moonjune; USA) Soft Machine's Other Doors is a compelling exploration into the progressive jazz-rock fusion realm, highlighting the band's evolution and continued dedication to innovative musical expression and capturing the essence of Soft Machine's improvisational brilliance. The record unfolds like a sonic journey, inviting listeners into a world of intricate compositions and virtuosic performances. What sets Other Doors apart is its raw energy and the band's ability to blend various musical elements seamlessly. Tracks such as "Kings and Queens" and the Kevin Ayers & Mike Ratledge classic "Joy of a Toy" convey the group's mastery of complex time signatures, captivating melodies, and the seamless interplay between instruments.
The band pushes the boundaries of their studio recordings, infusing each track with an organic dynamism and an electrifying sense of spontaneity. The musicianship on display, with John Etheridge's guitar wizardry, Theo Travis's saxophone prowess, and the rhythmic foundation of bassist Freddy Baker and drummer John Marshall, is nothing short of exceptional. Moreover, longtime Soft Machine bassist Roy Babbington contributed to two tracks and sadly Marshall passed away on September 16, 2023.
Soft Machine's ability to traverse different musical landscapes within a single performance is evident throughout. From moments of serene introspection to frenetic improvisations, the album keeps listeners engaged and enthralled. Furthermore, the production quality captures the essence of the band's performance without compromising the clarity of each instrument. The mix allows each musician to shine while preserving the collective synergy that defines the group's delivery.
Overall, Other Doors stands as a testament to Soft Machine's enduring musical legacy via the artists' ability to innovate and captivate audiences with their intricate compositions and virtuosic performances, making it a must-listen for fans of progressive jazz-rock fusion. - Glenn Astarita, AllAboutJazz
CD $13
SOFT WORKS with ALLAN HOLDSWORTH / ELTON DEAN / HUGH HOPPER / JOHN MARSHALL - Abracadabra (Moonjune/Tone Center 4029; USA) Soft Works is that Canterbury supergroup featuring four former Soft Machine musicians/magicians: Elton Dean on alto sax, saxello & Fender Rhodes el. piano, Allan Holdsworth on lead guitar & synthaxe, Hugh Hopper on el. (fuzz) bass and John Marshall on drums. Soft Machine were the ultimate Canterbury band that constantly evolved with changing personnel and sound on each of their nine official releases from 1968 to 1977. Elton was in Soft Machine from 'Third' - 'Five', Hugh from 'Volume Two'-'Six', Allan on 'Bundles' only and John from 'Five'-'Land of Cockayne'. What is most surprising is that although each member of Soft Works was in the Softs at different and occasionally overlapping periods, some quarter century later, they sound as if they have been playing together for many years. 'Abracadbra' is a most appropriate title since they only rehearsed for a short bit before recording this most magical and mature treasure. Soft Machine were known for composing hypnotic, repeating riffs that were inspired from their early work with tape loops and here still seduce us with those mesmerizing grooves. What is also beautiful is how strong their playing is throughout this hour-long treat, both Elton's saxes and Alan's guitar have incredibly warm tones, as they play with a calm fire. All four have brought their best tunes, so that each one stands out in a variety of memorable ways. Hugh's "First Trane" has an exquisite melody that is rather Trane-like. As Elton plays his enchanting and relaxed solo, Alan plays elegantly behind him, creating a perfect blend of dreamy spirits. When Allan solos, he also plays equally calm fire, but it his swirling chords that really create a lovely haze. Both Hugh and John also play with incredible taste and resourcefulness throughout, so good to hear from one of the greatest of all British jazz drummers for the first time in many years. Except for a brief Nucleus reunion, I can't recall seeing Marshall's name much since his days in the Softs. One highlight here is Phil Miller's "K Licks" which is also known as "Calyx" from the first Hatfield & the North record, it is grand to hear that Hugh's fuzz-bass at the center of this thoroughly charming offering. When Elton finally takes out his mighty saxello (a rare sax between a soprano & alto in size/sound) on "Baker's Treat", he also spins his sublime web which Allan works perfectly to enhance. Elton's "Willie's Knee" is a funky tune which is certainly catchy enough to be heard on jazz radio, so who knows, stranger things have happened. The title track is also a powerful piece which hits hard and escalates higher as the spirits ascend and soar. The final piece is an incredible duo for Alan and John with some brilliant guitar and drums which builds to a volcanic conclusion. Bravo! Soft Works played one amazing set at last year's Progman (Canterbury) fest in Seattle [under their original name Software] and are touring Japan this very week.
CD $13
DELTA SAXOPHONE QUARTET with GRAEME BLEVINS / PETER WHYMAN / TIM HOLMES / CHRIS CALDWELL With HUGH HOPPER - Dedicated To You..But You Weren't Listening: The Music Of Soft Machine (Moonjune 017; USA)This is a most extraordinary date and is so much more than anyone could have imagined. The Delta Sax Quartet feature Graeme Blevins on soprano sax, Pete Whyman on alto sax, Tim Holmes on tenor sax and Chris Caldwell on bari sax, plus special guests Hugh Hopper on electric bass & loops and Morgan Fisher on vocal, hurdy gurdy & electronics for one track each. The great Delta Sax Quartet (DSQ), founded in 1984, and in the recent five wears the ensemble in residence at Kingston University in Britain, have several fine discs out - including one on FMR - , and have covered the music of Terry Riley, Mike Westbrook, Steve Martland, Steve Reich, Gavin Bryars, Michael Nyman, Philip Glass, and Karl Jenkins [of Soft Machine/Nucleus fame]. The music of Soft Machine, considered to be England's most influential progressive/jazz/rock band, was always a work-in-progress. The personnel and sound changed/evolved on each of their eleven albums with only one original member (Mike Ratledge) remaining from their humble beginning in 1967 to the bitter end in 1976. Soft Machine was influenced by Terry Riley and utilized their own tape loop experiments, which can be heard on albums 'Third' and 'Six'. This influence was pervasive and ran like an invisible thread throughout much of their history. Even when they stopped using tape loops, the cyclical, repeating or minimal sound remained. Rather than just play the music from various Soft Machine records ('Volume Two' through 'Bundles'), the Delta Sax Quartet have written their own arrangements (often altering and evolving further), as well as composed a few of their pieces with the Soft Machine sound in mind. Another magical quality of the Soft Machine sound was their ability to float in a dreamlike way and this quartet is the perfect choice to do this justice. Opening with an extrapolation of Hopper's "Dedicated to You, But You Weren't Listening", the quartet sails into Hopper's incredible "Facelift" with Hugh's electric bass and loops adding something special. The original version of this piece (which opened 'Third') was live from two different concerts and had some distorted sounds, like fuzz-organ and fuzz-bass. Here, Hopper's rich and haunting melodies, as well as his warm, tasty electric bass blend into a sublime mix, with an excellent soprano solo to make it even better. The quartet take part of "Kings & Queens' from 'Four' and rearrange it with layers of echo and repeating phrases, both used to make it quite hypnotic. Hugh's "Mousetrap" (only found on live recordings), is rich in layers of complex harmonies and is superbly performed. On "Everything is You", Blevins' soprano sax is featured and sounds more like an oboe in the middle of a Baroque string quartet. One stroke of genius is blending two very different pieces from 'Third', Robert Wyatt's "Moon in June" with Mike Ratledge's "Out-Bloody-Rageous". Morgan Fisher guests distant, spooky Wyatt-like vocals and eerie hurdy-gurdy sounds. There is too much wonderful music found here to mention it all and at one hour, it is consistently fascinating. The Delta Saxophone Quartet do an amazing job of illustrating the cosmic thread that runs through all of the great music that Soft Machine provided during their decade-long transformation. - BLG
CD Sale $10
LP SECTION:
JULIUS HEMPHILL with ABDUL WADUS / BAIKIDA CARROLL / PHILLIP WILSON - Dogon A.D. (Superior Viaduct SV 205LP; USA) "Julius Hemphill's debut record, 1972's Dogon A.D., was self-produced for his Mbari imprint, and it was issued with a beautiful black-and-white cover. Very DIY. The label's name writ large along the bottom edge, like it was the band's name. It's a quartet record featuring Hemphill on alto and flute, with Baikida Carroll on trumpet, Abdul Wadud on cello, and Phillip Wilson on drums -- a classic jazz front line/rhythm section format, but nothing conventional about the way the music sounds. The long track -- from where the LP takes its title -- is one of the key epic statements of new jazz in the era. Among its remarkable distinctions, it manages to draw on Wilson's schizoid experience having been a member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and the first drummer for the Art Ensemble of Chicago, in making an 11/8 rhythm into a staggeringly funky thing of joy. Over the course of fourteen and a half minutes, Hemphill builds a nearly continuous solo, his spiritual blood brother Wadud sawing the cello with a deep blues soulfulness that is raw and mantra-like in its repetitive incantation. It feels right and wrong in equal measure, the theme carrying its own piquancy with honked barnyard dissonances and some contrary motion between the horns and string. Most of all, it takes its own sweet time, in no hurry to get anywhere in particular, but out for a righteous stroll." - John Corbett
LP $30 [In stock in 1-2 weeks]
NOAH HOWARD with ARTHUR DOYLE / EARL CROSS / LESLIE WALDRON / SIRONE / JUMA SULTAN /MUHAMMAD ALI - The Black Ark (Superior Viaduct SV 206LP; USA) "In the pantheon of classic free jazz, Noah Howard's The Black Ark looms large. Recorded at Bell Sound Studios in New York City in 1969 -- just prior to the alto saxophonist's relocation to Europe -- the album was eventually released in 1972. The Black Ark exhibits not only the power and imagination of Howard's playing, but also his breadth as a composer and bandleader. Listeners expecting unrelenting blasts of 'energy music' might be surprised to find a cohesion atypical of free jazz; amidst the wild, impassioned solos, Howard weaves in Latin rhythms and fat-bottomed grooves. The first side, consisting of 'Domiabra' and 'Ole Negro,' sets the album's tone. Both tracks sound as if they could have appeared on some of Blue Note's proto-spiritual jazz, groove-heavy releases -- evoking the likes of Horace Silver or Bobby Hutcherson -- before ceding the floor to the horn players' anarchic firepower. Trumpeter Earl Cross' guttural, vocal effects complement Doyle's take-no-prisoners approach, while the estimable combination of Muhammad Ali (Rashied's brother) on drums and Juma Sultan on congas adds an ever-shifting propulsion. The septet is rounded out by the enigmatic pianist Leslie Waldron, who anchors the group with imaginative accompaniment and occasional boppish flourishes. Every bit worthy of its reputation as an 'out-jazz' holy grail, The Black Ark only sounds better with age. It remains the ideal record to convert the remaining free-jazz skeptics."
LP $30 [In stock in 1-2 weeks]
SHANE PARISH - Autechre Guitar (Palilalia PAL095LP; USA) "This record shouldn't, strictly speaking, be possible at all. It's not just that Autechre's music is electronic and Shane Parish's is acoustic. It's not just that Autechre comes from electro and techno, while Shane's solo guitar music is rooted in jazz, folk, and the blues. Those borders, between mediums and genres, are as porous as you want them to be. But Autechre are synonymous with difficulty, opacity, inscrutability -- known for unparseable rhythms, cryptic riffs, and shapeshifting timbres. Even on their early records, before they'd begun building out the mind-bending software systems that have defined the past quarter-century of their music, the duo of Sean Booth and Rob Brown were working at the very limits of their machines: eking melodies out of drum sounds, programming intricate polyrhythms of superhuman complexity, and writing sequences that defy attempts to decipher them. The origins of Autechre Guitar run deep. Translating shades of pewter and graphite into something resembling a 12-tone scale. And, most importantly, finding ways to distill Autechre's seemingly limitless details in ways that could be played by just 10 fingers without losing the soul of the song. The material on Autechre Guitar is drawn entirely from the 1990s. The reason is simple: That's the melodic golden age of Autechre, when Booth and Brown were writing hooks that would go down as some of the most enduring, and emotionally satisfying, in the past three decades of electronic music. Shane has done a remarkable job of capturing those melodies and translating them for the steel strings of his Taylor 214E-G. Listening to Shane, you intuit the way he's had to reach deep inside each song, working by feel alone, to grasp its contours and come back with something that communicates its ideas, even if it sounds all but unrecognizably different. Ultimately, Autechre Guitar works on multiple levels. It's a celebration of Autechre's music, shining a spotlight on the durability and flexibility of their songwriting. At the same time, it's an invitation to listen deep inside the music, to take part as active listeners in the process of translation and interpretation. And while it hardly needs to be said, it's an invitation to simply get lost in Shane's astonishingly fleet playing, which takes these songs of unfathomable difficulty and makes them seem practically effortless."
2 LP Set $46
LYDIA LUNCH and THE ART GRAY NOIZZ QUINTET with STU-ART GRAY / SKELETON BOY / NIKKI D'AGOSTINO / RICH HUTCHINS - Permafrost b/w Mass Productionv (ITR 416EP; USA) "The Art Gray Noizz Quintet is spearheaded by twisted Australian guitar legend Stu-Art Gray, most notoriously known as Stu Spasm of Lubricated Goat, Crunt, Salamander Jim, and The Beasts Of Bourbon. Adding another crazed chapter to an already solidly sordid musical history, The Art Gray Noizz Quintet stars some of the finest scoundrels of the New York City underground scene -- Skeleton Boy of Woman on two-string bass, Nikki D'agostino on sax, and veteran drummer Rich Hutchins of Live Skull providing the savage, swinging beat. A rotating roulette of characters swagger into the second guitar slot as needed, each showcasing their particular specialty -- twang, treble, or atmosphere. Stuart Gray's wayward path through the flashpoints of noise, grunge, and swamp-rock history is well-represented in the Quintet's sound -- chaos with a cinematic edge. Sharing stages with kindred spirits such as The Scientists and Mudhoney got the attention of audiences early on. Their recordings and incendiary gigs throughout the New York scene and beyond soon caught the eye of the infamous Lydia Lunch, and it was only a matter of time before a new collaboration was born. Now, The Art Gray Noizz Quintet collide with the queen of no wave Lydia Lunch on a new two-fisted ten-inch single. Melting the Magazine classic 'Permafrost, and grinding out an apocalyptic version of Iggy Pop's 'Mass Production.' Only on In The Red Records!"
10" LP $17
LUCIANO CILIO - Dialoghi Del Presente (Superior Viaduct SV 203LP; USA) 'Luciano Cilio was born in Naples, Italy, in 1950. He studied music and architecture and, in the late '60s, collaborated with local artist Alan Sorrenti, American expat Shawn Phillips and various avant-garde theater groups. A virtuoso guitarist and self-taught composer, Cilio released only one LP before his untimely death at the age of 33. Dialoghi Del Presente (1977) is a work like no other, one that sounds both ancient and ahead of its time. Produced by Renato Marengo, it features a series of muted tableaux for strings, woodwinds, guitar, chorus, piano and percussion. Cilio carves out a space where subtle, repetitive phrases yield -- almost imperceptibly -- to breathtaking silence. As Jim O'Rourke writes, 'These recordings sound as if they were to please no one but himself; they feel self-contained, introspective, and determined. You can feel in the music a sort of necessity that can be rarely found, like in This Heat's debut or Nick Drake's Pink Moon.' While each subsequent 'quadro' grows slightly more abstract, Cilio draws the listener into an expansive, pastoral soundscape. The closing piece, 'Interludio,' begins with a plaintive guitar, which is joined by haunting strings and woodwinds before concluding, poignantly, as the album began, with Cilio and his guitar, alone once more. Superior Viaduct's edition reproduces the original sleeve design. Sourced from the original master tapes."
LP $30
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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 KRESTEN OSGOOD NEW ENGLAND TOUR - March 16th - March 23rd, 2026:
March 16th at Wellspring Sound, Acton, MA USA - 7:30pm
1st set: Jorrit Dijkstra (sax), Pandelis Karayorgis (pia), Nate McBride (bass), Osgood (drums)
2nd set: Eliot Cardinaux (pia, poetry), Kit Demos (bass), Osgood (drums)
March 17th at the Black Squirrel Club, Philadelphia USA, - 7:30
Gabriel Meyer - tb
Caleb Wheeler-Curtis - sax
Eli Pace - bass
Osgood - drums
March 18th at Solar Myth in Philadelphia USA - 8pm
Marshall Allen - sax, EWI
Bobby Zankel - sax
Dave Burrell - pia
Osgood - drums
March 19th at Smalls NYC, USA - 6pm
Sam Yahel - piano
Rick Rosato - bass
Kresten Osgood - drums
March 20th at the Bitter End, NYC USA - 7pm
Michael Blake - sax
Will Bernard - guitaR
Sam Yahel - B3 organ
Kresten Osgood - drums
March 21st at Bar Bayeux, NYC, USA - 8pm
Caleb Wheeler-Curtis - sax
Michael Blake - sax
Sean Conley - bass
Osgood - drums
March 22nd - THE OSGOOD X DADA JAZZ FEST DAY 1 (at Dada in Queens, NYC)
1st set: Marcus Rojas (tuba), Charlie Burnham (vio), Osgood (drums)
2nd set Daniel Carter (sax, tp), Karen Borca (bassoon), William Parker (bass), Osgood (drums)
March 23rd - THE OSGOOD X DADA JAZZ FEST DAY 2 (at Dada in Queens, NYC)
1st set Cooper-Moore (various instruments), Osgood (drums) duo!
2nd set Michael Blake (sax) Trevor Dunn (bass), Osgood (drums)
Danish drummer Kresten Osgood is an old, dear friend of mine and is someone I admire deeply for his ongoing Creative Music Spirit, Research and commitment to advancing the history and practice of jazz and other creative musics. His important longterm goal is to collaborate with as many of the Jazz Elders as he can. Here's a short list of those collaborators: Paul Bley, Rakalam Bob Moses, Tisziji Munoz, Ran Blake, Dom Minasi, Oliver Lake, John Tchicai, Wadada Leo Smith, Luther Thomas, Yusef Lateef, Adam Rudolph, Tony Malaby and many others. A decade ago, Kresten asked me to give a lecture at a music camp/workshop in the Danish countryside at a place called Jyderup. The group leaders/avant-jazz elders featured: William Parker, Alan Silva, Bennie Maupin, Akira Sakata, LaDonna Smith & Davey Williams. They paid for my flight, put me up in a hotel and paid me to do a two hour lecture (on the History of the Downtown Music Scene). I am forever in his debt as this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Aside from being a great and immensely diverse drummer, Mr. Osgood is wonderful at organizing events like the ones above. I urge you to try and attend any of these gigs if you live in the NYC area, Philly or Boston. A big toast to one of my favorite musicians and Free Jazz Spirit Royalty. - BLG at DMG
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THE STONE RESIDENCIES - THERESA WONG - MAR 25-28
Theresa's 50th birthday celebration at The Stone!
3/25 Wednesday
8:30 pm: DUO - DoYeon Kim (gayageum, voice) Theresa Wong, (cello, voice)
3/26 Thursday
8:30 pm: TRIO - Jane Rigler (flutes) Nava Dunkelman (percussion) Theresa Wong (cello, voice)
3/27 Friday
8:30 pm: DUO - John McCowen (contrabass clarinet) Theresa Wong (cello, voice)
3/28 Saturday
8:30 pm: SOLO - Theresa Wong (cello, voice)
THE STONE is located in
The New School at the Glass Box Theatre
55 West 13th Street - near 6th ave
For more info: https://thestonenyc.com/calendar.php?month=1
LIVE MUSIC
wed-sat - music at 8:30pm
ADMISSION - $20 per set
unless otherwise noted
cash only payment
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The Colloquium for Unpopular Culture presents
COSMIC MUSIC: THE LIFE, ART & TRANSCENDENCE OF ALICE COLTRANE
- book event with Andy Beta, Jenn Pelly, Tulsi Reynolds, Brandee Younger
WHEN: Tuesday 24 March 2026, 6:15pm
WHERE: Immersion Room, 7th Floor, NYU Bobst Library, 70 Washington Square South
Free, open to public, non-NYU guests must RSVP cdzthru this email: ss162@nyu.edu
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NEW VIDEOS from GUITAR MASTER HENRY KAISER:
New one as of 1/19/2026:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyjcwHu5_1E
The above new Henry Kaiser show features Henry & friends using a variety of guitars, tremelo bars & effects and it is around 2 hours long!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KGp0VH4yQo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWn5MRUOTAc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ste9pdLiz_0
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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:
This is a new one as of 1/19/2026:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/simian-podcasts/id1754730297
https://rwm.macba.cat/en/research/probes-37
https://rwm.macba.cat/en/research/probes-36
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