You and me go walking south
And we see all the world around us
The colors blind my eyes and my mind to all but you
And I do know that I need to have you around
And I do, I do know that I need to have you around
I have a house where I can go
When there's too many people around me
I can sit and watch all the people
Down below goin' by me
Halfway down the stair is a stair
Where I sit and think about you and me
But I wonder will the sun still see all the people goin'
Will the moon still hang in the sky when I die
When I die, when I'm high, when I die?
If you were a cloud and you sailed up there
You sail on water as blue as air
You'd see me here in the fields and say
"Doesn't the sky look green today?"
I've been a Jefferson Airplane freak since the Spring of 1967 when they played their first hit single "Somebody to Love" on the radio over and over. I was smitten! The opening lines really touched me: "When the Truth is Found to be Lies and all the Joy within you Dies"... It reminded me that the positive side of the Hippie Dream (Peace, Love, Civility and drugs like pot & acid) wasn't so far from the negative side (lies, greed & manipulation). I got a mono copy of 'Surrealistic Pillow' in a trade that summer and thought that Jefferson Airplane were/was the best of the big Bay Area bands. In early 1968, I found a cut-out (w/ hole-punch thru the cover) copy of their third album, 'After Bathing at Baxter's' at a Woolworth's or Grant's store near me. I kept playing that record over and over and over and it became my favorite Airplane album and still is today. What's interesting about it that it is a series of 2 or 3 song suites so that it flows together as one long 2-sided trip. What I love about JA is that they had three singers, Grace Slick, Marty Balin & Paul Kanter, who sang in odd yet winning harmonies, each one being a great songwriter. Plus their rhythm team (Jorma on lead, Jack on bass and Spencer on drums) were also astonishingly great players. Since many listeners and bands were smoking pot and tripping on acid, lyrics often were not so easy to decipher. The words above do make some sort of sense to me. I had only one chance to catch Jefferson Airplane live in August of 1969 at the Atlantic City Rock Festival and they were fabulous, even having their own psychedelic light show. I still cherish their first five albums but feel that 'Baxter's' was by far their best. Grace, Jorma and Jack are still with us so I raise a toast to them and the other members who have moved on to another realm! - MC-BruceLee, DMG
**********
THE DMG 35th ANNIVERSARY IN-STORE CONCERT SERIES Continues with:
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 / ADAM LANE - Bass / 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
Tuesday April 14th:
6:30: BEYOND FLUTE GROUP: CHERYL PYLE - C, alto flutes / MICHAEL EATON - soprano sax / GENE COLEMAN - bass flute, piccolo / SYLVAIN LEROUX - C, fula flutes
7:30: GIAN PEREZ - Solo Guitar
8:30: JOSH SINTON / MARTY EHRLICH - Reeds Duo
9:30: KILLICK HINES - Guitar / CHUCK BETTIS - Electronics / JERRY LIM - Guitar
Tuesday, April 21st: Relative Pitch Series: 6:30 - 8:30:
1st Set: CHUCK ROTH - Guitar / REUT REGEV - Trombone
2nd Set: CHUCK ROTH - Guitar / KELSEY MINES - Contrabass
3rd Set: CHUCK ROTH / REUT REGEV / KELSEY MINES
*************
This week's Sonic Gems begin with:
JOHN LUTHER ADAMS // AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA - Horizon (Cold Blue Music CB0071; USA) Over more than forty years, former Alaskan-based composer, John Luther Adams has composed a large number of works inspired by his own and other environments that he has visited or contemplated at length. Over some 35 releases, Mr. Adams does a good job of capturing the audible essence of a place where his audience can be transported to when listening. In the liner notes to this disc, Adam discusses the true (or actual) horizon and the visible horizon (from what we can see ourselves). The two works here are called, "Visible" and "True Horizon". As I listen to "Visible Horizon", I gaze out my kitchen window which feels like an early glimpse of Spring, the sun shining brightly, the cool breeze coming in from my window. The strings here are resonating together, pumping slowly like the pulse of (Mother Nature's) a heartbeat. There are several layers of strings moving in waves together. Each layer seems to evoke a different ghost-like entity. The layers continue to expand over time. The varied layers work well together, each one pulsating at a different rate, with some strings spinning in different connected orbits. There is a distinctive seesawing effect which keeps swirling throughout, the overall sound similar to a church organ at times. I found this piece to be a blend of calming sounds which is also somehow disorienting. Adams began composing "True Horizon" en route to Australia, a place where the true horizon can be seen from a distance without being obscured. This piece begins with what sounds like a sea of cellos expanding slowly together. Over time, other layers of strings are added, each layer evokes a different hypnotic vibe. Although I think that all of the music here was created organically, acoustically with no effects added, it does sound like certain effects (like backwards lines or organ-like swirls) were added. Over his long career as a composer, Mr. Adams has learned how to evoke these eerie, often dream-like sounds through his composing without any manipulation. Midway, this piece comes back down to a softer, quieter section which slowly builds up again. Although "True Horizon" was composed at sea, both pieces do have a strong, organic outdoors vibe which will sweep us (our imaginations) away. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14
SIMON HANES with ANNA ABONDOLO / JEN BAKER / TREVOR DUNN / JACOB GARCHIK / KEVIN MURRAY / et al - Gargantua (Pyroclastic Records PR 46; USA) Of the many new musicians who've moved to NYC over the past decade, bassist/composer Simon Hanes is perhaps one of the unique, oddball and unpredictable. Some folks know of Mr. Hanes from Trigger, a post-punk power trio who have covered John Zorn's "Bagatelles" pieces. Others know Hanes from his band Tredici Bacci (4 albums & 2 soundtracks), an amusing project that likes to skewer different types of pop and film music. Hanes also has a strange yet cool post-surf band called Tsons of Tsunami with a great disc on Tzadik from 2024. Simon Hanes consistently surprises us listeners with an assortment of bands or projects which keeps us all guessing as to what's next from the shrewd composer/instigator.
"Gargantua" is Mr. Hanes most ambitious project so far. "Gargantua" features five trio with the same instrumentation: voices: Priya Carlberg, Isa Crespo Pardo & Jolee Gordon, French horns: Kevin Newton, Noah Fotis & Blair Hamrick, trombones: Jen Baker, Jacob Garchik & Colin Babcock, basses: Anna Abondolo, Trevor Dunn & Jesse Heasly and drummers: Jon Starks, Matt Bent & Kevin Murray. The title Gargantua was inspired by a 16th century work by Rabelais which featured a giant named Garantua and his son Pantagruel. The words deal with "erudition, vulgarity and wordplay" and the piece was considered to be obscene, satirical and hilarious. A perfect match for Mr. Hanes' equally humorous musical excursions. There are 16 pages of liner notes penned by Mr. Hanes inside the CD which explain the many influences and compositional ideas which this project draws from. I read the liner notes explaining these songs in the booklet which I found to be most illuminating. The music itself is consistently engaging no matter what I read about. This disc opens with "A Series of Waves Tremble in a Sea of Blood" which has layers of harmonized vocals with pulsating electric bass harmonic underneath and a series of subtle drones from the trombone(s) in the middle. "Gigantes" blends throbbing heavy metalish bass lines with a series of brass waves. I can't say that I've ever heard a combination these extreme elements before now. On "Knockandrow", Hanes blends the vocals and brass seamlessly in a solemn, charming way with a series a waves erupting at unexpected times. "Lacerated by a Flying Shard" sounds like ancient Renaissance music which could be used as a soundtrack for some cartoons from way back when. "The Number of the Beast is 666" was played by a brass ensemble with weird vocals and a somewhat funky rhythm team. The writing here is completely out to lunch, hence the ensemble doesn't sound like anything else I've heard before now. "Submit to the Fabulosity" is an intense, over-the-top series of eruptions. Parts of this remind me of Frank Zappa's Grand Wazoo project, which mixes prog jazz/rock with unexpected twists and turns. and a sly sense of humor. Hanes uses his (Greek-like) chorus of three singers to good effect on "Moirai", blending their voices with the brass in a most enchanting way. On "Lucifer/Aureum Chaos", the drum trio is featured playing a rolling groove with the vocal trio interspersed amongst the groove. This piece is long, rather dark and scary at times. "I Am" is an actual lovely, haunting, lullaby-like piece and I find to be most charming. The final piece is called "Hekla 1970" and it is a most impressive conclusion to this mighty disc. Mr. Hanes pushes his five trios into an intense, storm-like extreme which seems somewhat overwhelming yet it is still focused, a righteous ending to a great work. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15
LUKAS LIGETI // DAN BLAKE / RICARDO GALLO / EYAL MAOZ / RICK PARKER / TOM McNALLEY / ADRIANNA MATEO - Notebook (New World Records 80849-2; USA) Lukas Ligeti’s (b. 1965) Notebook is several things: an album and an ensemble, but also a creative practice and an ongoing series of pieces, all situated in the liminal space “somewhere between composition and improvisation.” As a creative practice, Notebook is Ligeti’s evolving methodology for creating conditions in which structure and spontaneity blur and overlap, manifesting his musical voice while also giving players a great deal of expressive agency, as musicians who are willing and able to “think aloud.”
The members of Notebook—the band—are all musicians who thrive in the spaces in between, that is, who are fluent enough to move seamlessly between notated complexity and focused improvisation, and, as the occasions call for, to draw on and morph between several idioms, often within the span of a single piece...
CD $15 [In stock in a week or so]
ALEX WARD / JAMES PAUL NADIEN - Voracity (JPN Records 005; USA) Featuring Alex Ward on guitar & clarinet and James Paul Nadien on drums & percussion. Recorded in London in August of 2025. A double threat on clarinet and guitar, Alex Ward started out as a precocious youngster collaborating with Derek Bailey while still in his teens. Mr. Ward worked with the cream of British & American improvisers ever since (Lol Coxhill, Joe Morris & Eugene Cahdbourne) as well as touring with This Is Not This Heat. A generation younger and considered to be the drummer to watch in recent times, James Paul Nadien has toured with the Flying Lutenbachers and collaborated with Allen Lowe, Dave Tamura and Elijah Shiffer. Mr. Nadien worked here at DMG for several years so I've had the opportunity to observe him mature and evolve as an impressive, diverse and in-demand drummer.
Things lift off intensely with "Deceitful Mechanics" for electric guitar and drums. This is furious, brutal improv at its best, explosive and in-your-face. The pace here is high speed and the two musicians match each other's extreme free yet focused improv on equal terms. When they slow a bit midway, they continue to play in tight well-matched lightning-like surges. The duo quiet down to a more sparse sound/tempo in the last section. Mr. Ward switches to clarinet on "Rebirthed on a Whim", the pace is slowed down, the playing less frenzied. Both players systematically work their way through a variety of approaches. The music is playful and sparse at first, taking its time to build and evolve. Mr. Ward keeps shifting through a variety of licks or patterns, with Mr. Nadien matching every line tightly. Over time, Nadien has become a master of changing his approach quickly to match any line or series of notes that Mr. Ward plays. Sped up, slowed down, bending and twisting notes and lines on the clarinet, Nadien matches every nuance explored. Ward switches back to guitar on "Skiffle 1", the two reaching deep into their respective bags and erupting furiously once again. The velocity here is closer to hardcore punk or high speed fusion, these are brutal extremes soaring higher and higher. On the final piece, "Eels with Wings", Ward switched back to clarinet and then takes his time with each note or line. Alex Ward is again more playful and keeps moving in spurts, section by section. The sound of Ward's clarinet is a happy one, often making humorous, quirky, tongue-twisting sounds while Nadien lays back, listens and takes his time to enter the fold. The duo strip things down to a more skeletal level, more sparse and thoughtful, a fine way to bring this great disc to a close. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14
JOSE LENCASTRE / JOAO HASSELBERG / KRESTEN OSGOOD - This Is A Liar (Fundacja Sluchaj FSR 23/2025; Poland) Featuring Jose Lencastre on alto & tenor saxes, Joao Hasselberg on contrabass & electronics and Kresten Osgood on drums & voice. Last week (from 3/14/26-3/23) Danish drummer and longtime friend of mine, Kresten Osgood came to town and played a concert every night for eight days at different places in NYC, Philly and Boston. I've known Mr. Osgood for nearly two decades and I still admire his creative drumming, composing, bandleading and enthusiasm for working with jazz & creative music legends both older and younger than he is. Although Kresten has worked with the cream of Danish Creative musicians, he continues to find jazz elders and other musicians from around the world. For this new disc, Mr. Osgood plays with a trio featuring Portuguese saxist Jose Lencastre and Portuguese bassist Joao Hasselberg. I know of Mr. Lencastre from his many discs on the Clean Feed, Creative Sources and Phonogram labels.
Although this is a free form sax trio, the music sounds beyond those barriers. Mr. Osgood adds some odd improv vocals on the first piece, "Ancient Ancient Ground", while the rest of the trio play freely around him, moving in quick spurts or bursts of energy. On "Frequency", it sounds like Mr. Hasselberg is processing Mr. Lencastre's alto sax, and chopping up his signal at times. Although this music is free, it also sounds tightly connected. Saxist Lencastre is often playing systematically in one tonal range at a time. On "It's Coming", the trio go for it, spiraling intensely while coming back to the same refrain at times. Most pieces unfold slowly and escalate from there. Mr. Osgood speaks a poem on "This Anger is a Liar", which is a line that he repeats several times. The poem captures a feeling that anger can be falsely felt or used. Food for thought. Mr. Lencastre seems to be playing a piece at times with a recognizable pattern or theme, erupting at times and calming down a bit at other times. Since these pieces are often relatively short (6 minutes or less), they work well at exploring one theme at a time which is played, repeated and then twisted into another shape. I didn't notice this until I played this disc for a second time, listening to each piece one at a time and then considering what I heard before moving on. Strong medicine comes in small supplies at times so savor each swallow before you gulp it down whole. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14
JOHN TAYLOR with STAN SULZMANN and RUNDFUNKORCHESTER HANNOVE des NDR - Quintessence (Jazz in Britain 64 -S-CD; UK) Featuring John Taylor on piano, compositions & arrangements, Stan Sulzmann on soprano sax & flute and the Rundfunkorchester (Hannover des NDR). The late British jazz pianist John Taylor's career ran from 1971 through his passing in July of 2015 with more than 50 releases as a leader or collaborator. I recall fondly his first leader date from 1971, working with Stan Sulzmann, John Surman, Chris Laurence and Tony Levin. John Taylor had a longtime trio with Norma Winstone (his wife in the 1970's) and trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, who he has collaborated with many times during his long career. British saxist & flutist, Stan Sulzmann, from 1977 onwards with more than 25 of his own releases. Although recording together since 1977, Mr. Taylor and Mr. Sulzmann have recorded two duo efforts, one in 1986 (a year before this recording) and in 2016. THE NDR Orchester has been recording since 1987, mostly performing the music of classical composers: Stravinsky, Kurt Weill and Sofia Gubaidulina and has occasionally had jazz soloists as guests: Joe Pass, Daniel Schnyder and Alan Skidmore.
A number of the pieces here were recorded by John Taylor on previous recordings and were rearranged here for the duo and the NDR Orchester. Fellow British pianist Liam Noble wrote most of the liner notes here, describing the way the previous versions of these pieces have evolved for a larger ensemble. The title song, "Quintessence" is first and was recorded by the Taylor/Sulzmann Duo in the previous year. Mr. Sulzmann's soprano is especially dazzling playing the melody and then soaring above with strong support from Taylor's piano and tight, shrewd arrangements for the orchester. Taylor's piano moves from fleet to exuberant as he solos, his playing an extension of the written music for the large ensemble. "Pure and Simple" is next and it doesn't sound that simple. The higher end of the orchestra's strings and reeds sound perfect with Sulzmann's soprano sailing above. It is Mr. Taylor's expressive piano solo & Sulzmann's soprano solo which really stands out here, especially as they weave between the melodic waves of the orchestra. There is a sublime, infectious flute solo which opens "Silver", the music sounds majestic yet most elegant simultaneously. Sulzmann's soprano is featured on "Windfall" and it sounds especially effective here with a sea of strings, brass & reeds with strong interplay between the piano, soprano and the rest of the orchestra. "Autumn" is Mr. Taylor's most popular piece and it does sound glorious here with enchanting soprano and haunting waves washing underneath. Mr. Taylor's piano and Mr. Sulzmann's soprano are featured on "Potion 2", the interplay approaching some daredevil like lines with the orchestra often following them wherever they go. The last piece is called "The Longest Day", and Mr. Sulzmann takes a long, inspired soprano solo over a sea of waves, austere lower brass, seesawing strings and a rich conclusion to top things off just right. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $17
PAT THOMAS & XT with SEYMOUR WRIGHT / PAUL ABBOTT - Strata, Act (Joy Contemporary)(We Jazz 082CD; Finland) Pianist Pat Thomas, saxophonist Seymour Wright, and drummer Paul Abbott deliver a remarkable set of new music, each, re-imagining improvisation and synthetic ideas with acoustic and electronic tools. This monumental new suite Strata, Act (Joy Contemporary) released by We Jazz Records includes music recorded live in London and Zurich in summer 2023. Five tracks in total. complex, iterative whole that makes ideas live -- back into tradition/s and out, on, into an infinite future. In 2018 the trio recorded a remarkable 80-minute tribute to the late Cecil Taylor "Akisakila"/Attitudes of Preparation (Mountains, Oceans, Trees) vigorously re-visiting his 1973 Tokyo trio Akisakila recording. Re-convening five years later to celebrate that release they imagined a-new, expanding that attitude to history through connected lenses of the traditions of British electro-acoustic-mystery: from the live electronics of Tony Oxley's February Papers or Howard Riley's Synopsis, to Leviticus' Burial and Splash's Babylon, plus of course Derek Bailey's Domestic Jungle, and now up to their overlapping global-temporal experiments with, between them, Mark Fell, Anne Gills and RPBoo. Captured at London's Cafe OTO, the LP hears Thomas and XT expand their acoustic trio each with liquid (dry and wet) electronics, as real and imagined instrumentation. There are sounds of keys, sticks, reeds, pedals, (i)pads, plug-ins, body and breath and their potentials. There is also the unique energy, space and feel of OTO a sui generis ecology in which all three musicians have worked and learned since its doors opened in 2008. The 2CD takes its sub-title from the great drummer, and live electrician, Tony Oxley (also on playing with Cecil). Here the music grows across two nights (one per disc), synthetic, bionic expanding, evaporating, electric, charging through time in ways that renders "genre" indistinguishable, irrelevant and even impossible. This set is a multi-format document of some of the most adventurous, rare (and radical) creative musicians working today. Electronic-and-acoustic, real and imaginary, sounds, times, scales and proportions that extends out of and collapses into musical space in dialogue with past and future.
2 CD Set $22
BACK IN STOCK:
HENRY NOW with FRED FRITH / TIM HODGKINSON / JOHN GREAVES / CHRIS CUTLER - Then Again (Dark Companion 030; Italy) When I was a freshman at college (Glassboro State) in the Spring of 1973, an old friend of mine named Bob Grohl contacted me and said that he had a present. I met Bob at record stores in Elizabeth, NJ and he was a big Anglophile and occasional DJ. He had the largest collection of obscure British & Euro rock bands, albums & singles. He gave me the first Henry Cow album 'Led End' and after several spins, I was completely blown away by that record. I felt (and still feel) that Henry Cow were the ultimate progressive rock band, blending the best influences/ideas from the Mothers of Invention (circa 'Uncle Meat'), Soft Machine, modern classical, avant jazz, art-rock, free-form improv, electronics, humor and Marxist philosophy. Their first two albums, 'Leg End' and 'Unrest' sound as fresh, alien, challenging and enchanting as they did when I first heard them more than fifty years ago. I wrote to the band while I was at college and got letters from Fred Frith, Tim Hodgkinson & Chris Cutler in the mail. My roommates & myself, all Canterbury, Zappa & prog freaks kept playing those records along with Soft Machine, Hatfield & the North, Gong, etc over & over. I spent a semester in London on an exchange program in the fall/winter of 1975/76, interviewed members of Soft Machine past & then present and hung out with Fred Frith and Chris Cutler at a bar near Virgin records. Henry Cow broke up in 1979, after making six seminal albums and Fred Frith moved to New York, where he became an important part of ever-evolving early Downtown Scene. We became good friends and it was Frith that introduced me to Eugene Chadbourne, John Zorn, Tom Cora, Henry Kaiser and many others. Thanks Fred! I stay in contact with some of the members of Henry Cow through the years. In December of 2006, John Zorn offered me & my partner Manny Maris an opportunity to curate a month at the first Stone location. I decided to choose some thirty of my favorite musicians from around the world and offered them $1,000 each for transportation fees plus hotels if they needed it. 25 of those musicians said yes! Holy sh*t, it was like a dream come true! I asked 3 members of Henry Cow, Fred Frith, Tim Hodgkinson and Chris Cutler to reunite for two/three nights and they said yes. I was not expecting a Henry Cow reunion but just three old friends reconnecting and performing free/form improv. I had all of the sets that month recorded and filmed and hoped to release several recordings, only 2 of which have been released. I was hoping to release a 4 CD set of the four sets with the 3 former Henry Cow members, but it has never been finished I am sad to say. I haven't heard the Henry Now release yet since it arrived today at the store and I am home working on reviews but I am excited nonetheless. Both formats are limited so do not hesitate to order your copy now. If you don't own all six of the Henry Cow records and consider yourself a seasoned proghead, that you best get them asap! There is also a lovely box set of 17 CD's & a DVD which contains their entire catalogue with many spectacular live recordings. It sells for around $110 but we and our distributor don't have copies in stock at present. "A rose is a rose is a rose".... - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $21 [25 sold in the 1st batch, we just got in 15 more & that’s it! / LP’s now sold out]
KEITH TIPPETT / CLAUDIO GABBIANO / ROBERTO MUSCI - Music for Labyrinths (Dark Companion DC021; Italy) Featuring Keith Tippett on grand piano, Claudio Gabbiani on acoustic & electric guitars and Roberto Musci on theremin, sampler, Vx7 synth & electronics. Recorded live in Palazzina Liberty in Milan, Italy in October of 2000. Music for Labyrinths is an open live project for soundtracks of labyrinths around the world and inside us. A labyrinth is an ancient symbol that relates to wholeness: it combines the imagery of the circle and the spiral into a meandering but purposeful path. The Labyrinth represents a journey to our own center and back again out into the world. Labyrinths have long been used as meditation and prayer tools. A labyrinth is an archetype with which we can have a direct experience,It is a metaphor for life’s journey. It is a symbol that creates a sacred space and place and takes us out of our egos to That Which Is Within. With a labyrinth there is only one choice to be made: the choice is to enter or not.” Considering that British pianist Keith Tippett has long been my (and Manny/Lunch's) favorite pianist, we've been on a long mission to find any of his recorded works, no matter how obscure or difficult they tend to be. The recent triple CD set of Mujician (Mr. Tippett, Paul Dunmall, Paul Rogers & Tony Levin) on Jazz in Britain, was like manna from heaven when we got it in stock in December of 2025. It sold out quickly and is being remanufactured this month. The Dark Companion label from Italy has been around since 2015 and obviously has great taste in releasing recordings by Keith & Julie Tippett, John Greaves (8 discs!), Michael Mantler, Markus Stockhausen and most recently by Henry (Cow) Now. Guitarist Claudio Gabbiani has recorded with Chris Cutler, Jon Rose and Roberto Musci. Electronics & sampler player Roberto Musci has more than a dozen releases with Giovanni Venosta, the Third Ear Band and others. Although it sounds like "Music for Labyrinths" is mostly improvised, the playing is focused, careful, mysterious and fascinating. While Mr. Tippett's piano is often at the center of the activity, there are layers of eerie electronics, samples and guitar which float organically through the mix. At times, it is difficult to tell who is doing what. Is that Tippett scraping the strings inside the piano? Certain samples I do recognize like the didgeridoo sample on "Labyrinths 3", yet some odd sounds flow in and out and are manipulated subtly. Overall, I found this disc to be consistently enchanting. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $21
WADADA LEO SMITH / SOREN NORBO / KRESTEN OSGOOD - Det, som ikke kan kaldes tilbage (ILK Music 358; Denmark) We don't have that many trumpet-piano-percussion trios in our archives, just a handful in the 17 years that we've been active, and actually it's a fine format, here with Wadada Leo Smith on trumpet, Søren Nørbo on piano, and Kresten Osgood on drums. The Danish pianist has only some ten albums in his own name, and is possibly less known outside of his home country. He is a professor at the Royal Academy of Music in Copenhagen. Kresten Osgood we know well from the many albums on the ILK label that he features on.
As the composer, Nørbo is the driving force behind the music, setting the scene and the context for Smith and Osgood to improvise on, often with sketchy and implicit structures and harmonies, and letting the creative and listening skills of the musicians do the rest. The music is quiet, intimate and subdued, notwithstanding the occasional jubilant horn or dynamic drumming. The performance was recorded in Nørbo's living room, already more than ten years ago. Your guess is as good as mine why it took so long for this album to be released.
The title means "that which cannot be recalled", signifying the unique oppurtinity to have one man writing compositions in one evening, and then performing it in one go. It's not a boundary-breaking album, in the sense that there is not much risk-taking or sonic explorations, yet its gentle nature and the quality of the playing make this worth a listen. - Stef Gijssels, FreeJazzBlog.org
CD Sale $14
ALBERT AYLER QUINTET with DONALD AYLER / MICHEL SAMSON / BILL FOLWELL / BEAVER HARRIS — Copenhagen, Bordeaux 1966 & Newport 1967 Live First Release (ALAY Thingamagig 2501; Switzerland) Previously unreleased recordings from the Albert Ayler Quintet — captured in Copenhagen and Bordeaux during the 1966 Newport in Europe tour and at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1967 — present Ayler with Donald Ayler, Michel Samson, Bill Folwell, and Beaver Harris/Milford Graves in fiercely expressive performances, newly restored and mastered from rediscovered tapes.
CD $17
LP SECTION:
Experimental vocalist, former DMG employee and all around good spirit, Charmaine Lee, recently started her own label, Kou Records. There first four LP's have recently been released and she left us with copies of each one... Most impressive on all counts, artwork and sonic qualities!Each LP is limited to 700 copies each. I don't have the time to review the last 2 titles but will do so next week. - BLG at DMG
EYVIND KANG - Riparian (KOU Records KR 001; USA) Featuring Eivind Kang on viola d'amore. Of the many Tzadik musicians and composers that the label has introduced us to over the past three decades, string wizard, Eyvind Kang, soars high above. Aside from being a great violin and violist, Mr. Kang has a unique way of searching out and tapping into other "Spirit Force" musicians. Mr. Kang has long worked with an eclectic bunch of collaborators: Bill Frisell, Robin Holcomb, Wayne Horvitz, Secret Chiefs 3 and Sun City Girls and Master Musicians of Bu...! Kang has also released more than 20 solo and duo efforts, each one of these is a gem to be savored.
For this album, Eyvind Kang plays a viola d'amore. The viola d'amore is a 6- or 7-stringed musical instrument with additional sympathetic strings, which was used especially often in the baroque period. It is rarely used nowadays. This is Eyvind Kang's first ever solo instrumental release. The viola d'amore is an acoustic instrument and it is recorded here close mic'd, warm, clean and subtly captured. This is high quality vinyl and the only sound we hear is the instrument itself. The music is sparse at first as Kang takes his time with soft, subtle sounds. Sitting in my kitchen listening to this album, I am impressed by the warmth and clarity of this recording. Kang sounds like he is playing those slightly bent notes from an Indian raga halfway through "Riparian A", which takes up Side 1. Kang eventually begins to play what sounds like a fragment of a melody from an ancient folk song which slowly morphs into a solemn, haunting conclusion. "Riparian B" fills Side 2, and picks up where Side 1 leaves off. Kang takes his time, playing and slightly bending notes one at a time, carefully. Mr. Kang strums and plucks the strings softly in between bowed fragments of sad melodies. Kang sounds like he is playing mandolin at times as he plays a somber yet quick, shaky notes in a stream. I find this music to be most enchanting, quaint, subtle and a fine blend of different cultures and histories. It embraces several opposites yet remains a sublime and savory gem. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
LP $25
CHARMAINE LEE with NED ROTHENBERG / RANDALL DUNN - Tulpa (KOU Records KR002; USA) Featuring Charmaine Lee on voice & electronics, Ned Rothenberg on bass clarinet (1 track) and Randall Dunn - sound & synth design. I first met Charmaine Lee right before the pandemic and have heard her live on a few dates, twice with Ikue Mori's ensemble. Ms. Lee worked with Frank Meadows and myself during the pandemic, weekly for a year, helping us to survive those difficult times. We've been friends ever since. I watched her do a solo set at Roulette on line and was most impressed. She has recorded with Joe Morris, Nate Wooley, Joanna Mattrey, gabby fluke-mogul and others. She seems to take her time with each of her ten releases, giving us a chance to savor each one. 'Tulpa' is mostly a solo effort with just early Downtowner Ned Rothenberg on one track. This disc was produced by Randall Dunn, ace producer for Sunn O))), Secret Chiefs 3, Jesse Sykes and Earth. Mr. Dunn is a sonic wizard in the studio.
"Loading Zone" opens with layers of strange sounds, underwater sounding sonics, weird whispered vocals, tapping on the mic sorta sounds, subtle electronic sounds sliced and diced. In the distance, it sounds like Ms. Lee is trying to get in fragments of words. The electronics keep shifting, faster, slower, more or less jagged, quiet, eerie, haunting, hypnotic, almost scary at times. Occasional samples (like a drum machine) pop up as do segments of feedback, static and other odd sounds hard to identify. Things change quickly here as the samples are sped up and altered. On "Overlevered", Charmaine's voice keeps shifting through different effects, strange yet quite fascinating. Side B begins with "Water Margin". There are lower end, drone-like sounds which are hovering like a group of ghosts slowly dancing together. The music slowly becomes more dense as other elements or fragments emerge or submerge. At times, it feels like I am being submerged in a vat of dense liquid, my ears are a bit stuffed up so that my hearing has been muted. On "Moebius", it sounds like it is sped up, higher end sounds (samples) which are trying to break through the dense air surrounding us. I find this piece/music to me consistently mesmerizing, taking us on a journey inside our minds. The last piece is ""Noh Age" and it sounds like disorienting layers of feedback. Original Downtown reeds wiz Ned Rothenberg plays bass clarinet which sounds more harrowing than usual as his deep end tone is bathed in dark drone-like undertones. I found this piece to be a bit disorienting yet it feels right to conclude this album of mind-altering sounds with something deeper and darker. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
LP $25
CHLOE KIM - Ratsnake (KOU Records KR003; USA) Raised in Korea and now based in Sydney, Kim has gained international recognition for her fearless and melodic approach to the drum set. In 2023 she performed 100 hours of solo drumming across 10 days, a “Herculean” feat hailed by The Guardian.
On Ratsnake, Kim makes a bold entry into the canon of solo drumming records. Pairing unflinching improvisation with exacting control, she explores rhythm, texture, and form with striking clarity. The album’s title references a dream her mother had before her birth, invoking the ratsnake—a Korean symbol of strength, resilience, and rare fortune.
Produced by Randall Dunn, Ratsnake reveals the full spectrum of Kim’s dynamic touch and melodic phrasing. It is a record of power, nuance, and vision—announcing a singular new voice in contemporary percussion.
LP $25
JESSIKA KENNEY - Uranian Void (KOU Records KR004; USA) Uranian Void is the new solo album from vocalist, composer, and lyricist Jessika Kenney out on Kou Records. Known for her singular approach to voice and expansive collaborations (A24's Midsommar, Alvin Lucier, Eyvind Kang, Melati Suryodarmo), Kenney here turns inward, shaping sound as memory and vibration.
Blurring sine waves, hydrophone recordings, ghazal, solo instruments, and voice, the album is a meditation on resonance—where shimmer and shadow are equally alive. Produced by Randall Dunn, Uranian Void magnifies the fragile edges of perception, revealing music that bends light, sways time, and slips between walls.
An immersive and delicate work, Uranian Void invites listeners into liminal spaces where echoes of memory resound like invisible dancers, alive in reverberation itself.
LP $25
JOSHUA ABRAMS - Music For Pulse Meridian Foliation (Drag City DC 953LP; USA) "Joshua Abrams' Music for Pulse Meridian Foliation is the aural manifestation of an art installation described as 'an in-between space and access point to a pulsating experience that connects body and land.' Like the action of a slow-spiraling coil, the music information here revolves in dappling light, an evolution drawn slowly, magnetically forward, resonating there and back again. Deep-reaching in elemental movement, it leaves traces and echoes in the air -- and in our ears, as our own experience evolves. Joshua originally created this music as a four-channel installation to accompany Lisa Alvarado's Pulse Meridian Foliation exhibition at REDCAT in downtown Los Angeles. Written for two violas (both played by James Sanders), harmonium (Lisa), and electronics (Joshua), it was designed to play on a loop throughout the gallery's open hours between April 1 and August 20, 2023. When playing with Natural Information Society, Joshua's writing is directed toward the form of the music as uniquely occupied by the group. Here, he wrote in strict dialogue with the exhibit, responding with choices in composition, performance and production on Music for Pulse Meridian Foliation. A key interpretation of the exhibition is voiced by Josh in the hand-off of information between the two violas as they weave together from oppositional points across the sound stage. In mixing the original surround sound down to two channels, Joshua worked toward the small details from left to right, placing former residents of triangulated speaker planes in a congenial spot on our present stereo azimuth -- realizing, in the careful growth of this auricular border ecosystem, an essential aspect of the Pulse Meridian Foliation exhibit. In her exhibit, Lisa Alvarado inhabits the process of foliation, in which extreme environmental pressures upon rocks evoke a new crystallization and a changed minerality. For Alvarado personally, this is a matrix through which she can consider time and changes, specifically the politics of change, and dialogues that multiply over distinct chapters of history. On Music for Pulse Meridian Foliation, she asks, 'How does memory transform and live within the body?' and, in collaboration with Joshua Abrams, a transformation is enacted."
LP $28
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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 - 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 RESIDENCIES / TOMEKA REID / APR 1-4
4/1 Wednesday
8:30 pm - The Hemphill Stringtet with Ursula Oppens - Curtis Stewart (violin) Sam Bardfeld (violin) Stephanie Griffin (viola) Tomeka Reid (cello) Ursula Oppens (piano)
4/2 Thursday
8:30 pm - TRIO - Tomeka Reid (cello) James Brandon Lewis (sax) Pheeroan Aklaff (drums)
4/3 Friday
8:30 pm - TRIO: Tomeka Reid (cello) Ikue Mori (electronics) Nava Dunkelman (percussion)
4/4 Saturday
8:30 pm - TRIO - Tomeka Reid (cello) Yvonne Rogers (piano) Lesley Mok (drums)
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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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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