Before he came I felt him drawing near
As he neared I felt the ancient fear
That he had come to wound my door and jeer
And I waited in my fleeting house
"Tell me stories," I called to the Hobo
"Stories of cold," I smiled at the Hobo
"Stories of old," I knelt to the Hobo
And he stood before my fleeting house
"No," said the Hobo, "No more tales of time
Don't ask me now to wash away the grime
I can't come in 'cause it's too high a climb"
And he walked away from my fleeting house
"Then you be damned!" I screamed to the Hobo
"Leave me alone," I wept to the Hobo
"Turn into stone," I knelt to the Hobo
And he walked away from my fleeting house
***********
FIMAV 42 is back! FIMAV 42 is back! FIMAV 42 is back!
On Wednesday morning of next week, my good pal Bob N and myself will hit the road for the Victo Festival in Quebec, Canada. The Victo Fest is also referred to as FIMAV which stands for Festival International Musique Actuelle Victoriaville. FIMAV started in 1983 and I first started attending in 1987 when Fred Frith twisted my arm and told me that this fest was made for a serious listener like myself. I went up alone that first year, visiting a friend in Maine first and then finding my way across the Canadian border and into Victoriaville, a small town 45 minutes southwest of Quebec City & 2 hours from Montreal. The festival took place in October during those early years, the beginning of the Quebecois winter but later moved to the third week in May. In the early years, the festival ran five days and featured 25 sets with no sets overlapping. Most of the music was a blend of progressive rock & jazz, modern classical, electronics and other in-between-categories musics. Starting the second year, I attended the fest with my friend Len and have had upwards of 6 friends going up to Victo. The last couple of times, it's just been me and Bob driving up. Over time FIMAV has introduced me to many Quebecois, other Canadian, European, Japanese and other experimental musicians from around the world. The fest founder Michel Levasseur and myself have become good friends over the nearly 40 years. I have been back every year since 1987 except for when the pandemic closed down the fest for two years. FIMAV remains my favorite New Music Festival and the only vacation I have to do every year. A couple of years ago, festival founder/curator Mr. Levasseur decided to step down due to health concerns and another friend of mine, Scott Thomson took over. Scott is also a nice guy, a great musician and is well suited to run this legendary festival.
This year's line-up does look to be exciting and challenging. I have a small group of friends: Bob N (NYC), Paul K (MA) and Bill F (VA) who I will be hanging with, as well as some of my Canadian pals like Luc from L'Oblique Records, Mike Chamberlain and Barrie Chercover from Toronto. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the FIMAV last year was shortened to just 1 night with 2 bands and I didn't attend. Bad news. Me, Bob and my other friends are excited to be attending this year, we can hardly wait. If you've never been to FIMAV and you are a DMG Newsletter subscriber or just a serious listener, I urge you to consider going. One thing to remember is that it is not just the music which is inspiring, it is the social network of friends, musicians and other attendees which makes the experience even more worthwhile. If you see me up there (check out the DMG homepage for my pic), please come say hello as we are all part of the same family, community of serious listeners.
Here's a list of who will be playing at FIMAV below. The live performances will take place from May 14th thru May 17th and you can check out the complete schedule here: https://www.fimav.qc.ca/en/ Aside from the music performances, there are also outside Sound Art installations which are well worth checking out as well. - Who Loves You Bubbies.... me, Bruce Lee Gallanter at DMG
Here's the line-up:
[Ahmed] - Play Monk
Darius Jones Trio « Legend of e’Boi (The Hypervigilant Eye)
Amirtha Kidambi’s Elder Ones
Sakina Abdou / Toma Gouband / Marta Warelis
Josh Zubot Strings
Queen Mab - 40 Years On
Darius Jones - fLuXkit Vancouver (its suite but sacred)
Pat Thomas Solo Piano
Eric Chenaux
Rafael Toral - Guitar Concert
John Oswald - PlunderphoniCoveralls
Sarah Pagé & No Hay Banda « Voda
Yves Charuest / John Edwards / Mark Sanders
Beast (Katelyn Clark / Ben Grossman)
Friendly Rich - Les Oiseaux de Marsville
Pablo Jiménez / Adrianne Munden-Dixon
fanfare Pourpour
Two film programs: Hommage Pierre Hébert
Informal Concerts and Satellite Events
************
THE DMG 35th ANNIVERSARY IN-STORE CONCERT SERIES Continues with:
Tuesday, May 12th:
6:30: AMANDA MONACO - Guitar / RAS MOSHE - Tenor Sax & Flute
7:30: AYAKO KANDA - Voice / LUKE ROVINSKY - Guitar / JAMES PAUL NADIEN - Drums
8:30: SKETCHBOOK SERIES #17: the thing they cannot imagine is us (after Rebecca Solnit) - Featuring: ELLEN CHRISTI, BOB HOLMAN, SUSAN HWANG & DAFNA NAPHATALI - Voices - electronics / ON KA'A DAVIS - Guitar / CLAIE de BRUNNER - Bassoon / patrick brennan - Alto Sax, Composition & Conducting
Tuesday, May 19th: Bruce at Victo, No in-store this week!
Saturday, May 23rd: GauciMusic Series Featuring:
6:30: SAM NEWSOME - Soprano Sax / BRITTANY KARLSON - Bass / NICK NEUBERG - Drums
7:30: STEPHEN GAUCI - Tenor Sax - Flute / DAVID SHEA - Drums
8:30: RAS MOSHE - Tenor Sax - Flute / DAVE ROSS - Guitar / DAVE MILLER - Drums
Tuesday, May 26th: Relative Pitch Series:
3 Sets from 6:30 - 8:30 featuring:
1st Set: CHUCK ROTH - Guitar / KATE MOHANTY - Alto Sax
2nd Set: ANNA LUISA DIAZ de COSSIO - Violin / KATE MOHANTY - Alto Sax
3rd Set: CHUCK ROTH / KATE MOHANTY / ANNA LUISA DIAZ de COSSIO
*********
THIS WEEK'S SONIC TREASURES BEGIN with:
JESSE SYKES & THE SWEET HEREAFTER with PHIL WANDSCHER / MARISSA NADLER / et al - Forever, I've Been Being Born (Southern Lord 316.2; USA) Forever, I've Been Being Born is a suite of masterful, emotive songs from an open heart, dwelling in a brightness yet deep in the ethereal and melancholic, steeped in themes of magical thinking, emotional dislocation, death and transformation. In the making for ten years, the album centers around the power of Jesse's transcendent voice, which has never been more beautiful, evocative, and hauntingly intimate. Guitarist Phil Wandscher's playing masterfully frames these songs with classic and fractured tones, a duet of vulnerability and strength frequently on the edge. The album also features exquisite contributions from Marissa Nadler, who can be heard on the lead single, “Gentle Chaperone.”
…When we started recording this album, I remember saying, “Play the songs as if the edge of a butterfly wing was brushing against your cheek in the dark while you’re holding a small child.” I wanted to connote tenderness and a state of grace in the wake of resolution—paying homage to the creeping knowledge of an emerging, menacing undertone forming in our collective psyche. In hindsight, the delay in releasing this record has been a bit of a blessing, as the lyrics seem more poignant now, transcending our own internal voices and psyches. As the world shares its collective crisis, so we too, share our songs. - Jesse Sykes
After receiving a promo in the mail from the band Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter in 2002, I was smitten by Ms. Sykes and her band: Lovely, sad, haunting, transcendent and quietly cosmic was what I heard. Ms. Sykes and her band made four records between 2002 and 2011, all wonderful. The band evolves from folk/roots/psych into a more over the top hard rockin' jam/band of sorts. I caught them live 3 times during this period and dug each concert immensely. Several members left after 'Marble Son' and Ms. Sykes left the scene to try and figure out what will be next for her. Around 2020, Ms. Sykes was asked to join The Third Mind, a great psych/jam band, led by Dave Alvin (from the Blasters) with members of Camper Van Beethoven, the Richard Thompson Band and the Other Ones. The Third Mind has recorded four full length records and an EP, since 2020 and each one is extraordinary. We generally stock all of their records in both the CD and LP formats. Jesse Sykes recently reformed her band, the Sweet Hereafter and they have a new record. I've only heard a couple of songs so far but I am overwhelmed to have them back. 15 years after their last record and they still rule! If you are an old music freak like myself, then you should get acquainted with Jesse Sykes and the Sweet After in 2026! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15
AMM with EDDIE PREVOST / KEITH ROWE / JOHN TILBURY - Phlegm (Matchless MRCD119; UK) A late-period live recording from AMM — Eddie Prévost, Keith Rowe, and John Tilbury — capturing their refined electroacoustic free improv language of near-silence, where percussion, electronics, and piano dissolve into a shared sonic field shaped by extreme restraint, microscopic detail, and a collective focus on texture, duration, and deep listening.
CD $17
JAMES BRANDON LEWIS & THE MESSTHETICS - Deface the Currency (Impulse! 239796.2; USA) The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis - Deface The Currency / The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis announce their second collaborative album, Deface The Currency, on Impulse! Records. This new album preserves the tightness and variety of their critically-acclaimed self-titled debut album, but reveals new levels of confidence and risk over seven tracks. Deface The Currency - a statement of vigor, sensitivity and spontaneity- is a result of the band playing 150 shows together in one year. More than any earlier statement by the band, Deface The Currency seamlessly melds the sounds that make up its collective DNA, from punk rock to free jazz and funk, balancing compositional precision with palpable improvisational fire.
CD $16
MYRA MELFORD / SATOKO FUJII - (Katarahi)(Rogue Art ROG -0149; France) Featuring Myra Melford and Satoko Fujii both playing pianos. Recorded live in September of 2024 at JazzFestival Leibritz in Austria. Both Myra Melford and Satoko Fujii are elder stateswomen of avant/jazz piano, with a large catalogue of recordings, assorted bands and projects. An earlier Melford / Fujii duo effort was released in 2009. The title of this album was suggested by Satoko Fujii. It’s a Japanese word meaning a heart-to-heart conversation between intimate friends (what a lovely thing to have a word for!). She chose it, “because when I play with Myra, I always feel like I am having a conversation with my close friend.” Clearly Melford feels the same way. It’s rare to hear music in which both participants are so present in the moment and where the deepest truths of the heart are revealed so openly.
Both Ms. Melford and Ms. Fujii brought songs to this session. Ms. Melford's "Interlude I" opens this disc with a lovely, laid back with a repeating phrase while the second piano adds exquisite filigree. Ms. Fujii's "Signpost" is next and it starts off quietly and sparsely. While one pianist plays slow, dark chords, the other pianist adds some striking, haunting lines on top, the drama expands throughout. "Pairs" has both pianists playing rambunctious free eruptions together for a short while. Although it is hard to tell who's who here, both women work hard at listening and adding their own cross currents. For "Kaiwa", Ms. Fujii mutes certain strings inside the piano, creating a rhythmic undertow while Melford adds her own punctuation between the lines. Ms. Fujii creates some eerie sound by staying at the high end of the piano and tapping out a series of odd bent muted notes. This piece gets more explosive and intense throughout. What I find most extraordinary here is that both of these gifted players sound as if they are joined at the hip, as if they were one being since all of this music is so well connected and expansive. Completely OUTstanding on several levels. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $16
TREVOR WATTS / BARRY GUY / RAMON LOPEZ - The First Touch (FSR 01/2026; Poland) Featuring Trevor wattsb on alto & soprano saxes, Barry Guy on contrabass and Ramon Lopez on drums. Recorded in July of 2025 at the Cultural Center in Lublin, Poland. Uk sax great, Trevor Watts and British contrabass master, Barry Guy, have been working together in several ensembles over many years: Spontaneous Music Ensemble, London Jazz Composers Orchestra and Amalgam. Mr. Watts and Mr. Guy once had an earlier trio which legendary drummer, John Stevens. Barry Guy and pianist Agusti Fenandez once had a trio with Mr. Guy and Mr; Lopez.
Trevor Watt started out in the mid-1960's playing in one of the first free/jazz groups, Spontaneous Music Ensemble and left to form Amalgam, a more rhythmic ensemble before he formed the Moire Music Group which often featured one or more African drummers. This is a fully improvised live date and it is quite extraordinary. Things begin with Trevor Watts on soprano sax, spiraling his lines quickly while both Barry Guy's bass and Raymon Lopez's drums swirl tightly together with him. The intensity level erupts to boiling point soon, with all three members of the trio pushing things further out and higher into the stratosphere. Barry Guy takes an incredible bass solo midway, tapping on the strings with his bow, popping and plucking up a storm before Watts reenters playing in a more bluesy, lyrical fashion, the vibe calming down to a more restrained section. "Emerging" starts off with explosive bass and drums erupting together before the sax enters. When Mr. Watts breaks into a circular pattern, he keeps spinning while the bass and drums spin tightly around him. On "Crossing Paths", it sounds as if Mr. Lopez is using his hands on the drums (perhaps a tabla?) while Mr. Watts plays sly soprano and Mr. Guy strums and plucks his bass with gusto. Guy's bass is featured on "Birth of the Voice", tapping his bow in between the bass strings at first, the trio often moving together in tight, connected orbits. Both Mr. Watts and Mr. Guys are seasoned improvisers and seem to match each other's daredevil excursion no matter where they go with Lopez also doing a fine job holding the trio together as a solid eruptive spirit/force. After more than 20 years of weekly in-store sets here at DMG with 3 sets per night, I've listened to quite a bit of diverse improv/free-jazz. This disc captures three improv elders at their very best! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $17
SIMON NABATOV w/ FRANK GRATKOWSKI / ANGELIKA NIESCIER / et al - Getting Personal (FSR 02/2026) CD1 features a septet with Frank Gratkowski on reeds in the frontline. CD1: Your ID Please: The suite deals with my somewhat complicated biography and identity, split and unresolved to this day. The ensemble is chosen to reflect on it - the trio of reed instruments represents the Jewish roots (often ill-fitted, „out of tune“, awkward outsiders, minority) and the string trio represents the majority (established, ruling, power). Between the two trios - piano (myself), jammed in the middle. (see the photo) . The pieces are scenes from the two disparate worlds co-existing, dealing with each other, with attempts to get closer and failures to do so, a constant tug of war. Music is the reflection on my personal memories, much more so than on common knowledge of the subjects.
CD2 features Angelika Niescier on alto sax with an octet. CD2: What my grandfather could tell me : This suite is based on facts and fictional imagery around the life and death of my grandfather on my mother’s side. He made a steep career in the ranks of NKWD, the evil Secrete Service of the Stalin era. I often thought about what it was like, being a part of the whole, with initial conviction of a zealot and disappointments of the devastating results. Semyon Jakowlewitch Mindal (yes, I am named in his memory) was arrested, tortured and liquidated as a part of Stalin’s Cleansings. I dedicate this piece to him and all the victims of the terror. - Simon Nabatov
2 CD set $20
LOREN CONNORS & ALESSANDRA NOVAGA - Live at Issue Project Room (Alara Music ALA 005CD; France) CD box, clamshell. "Recorded in January 2022 in Brooklyn, NY, this album traces the map of an extraordinary musical dialogue. Two guitars, two territories, a moment suspended in time. Loren Connors, an iconic figure in avant-garde blues for 50 years, and Alessandra Novaga, a unique voice in experimentation, come together here for an improvised performance that is both fragile and intense. A moment of deep listening to be shared beyond the boundaries of sound: in the communication between two artists of great sensitivity. A live event captured on record: mystery, emotion and improvisation combine to create the magic of this improvisational piece The concert was part of a season-opening evening at Issue Project Room in Brooklyn, New York, which also featured Kim Gordon alongside Loren Connors seven years after their first duo, already immortalized on record in 2022 by the same label, Alara. This duet between Connors and Novaga is like an almost whispered conversation between two guitars, opening up spaces for listening, suspension and revelation. What this record captures is not simply a concert -- it is an immersion in the solemnity of silence, the tension of almost nothingness, the delicacy of sound gestures that are sometimes as if sprinkled. On stage, Connors and Novaga's interventions are overlapped and calibrated, with each silence itself becoming material. The guitars sometimes align in a beam of micro-details: quivering harmonics, subtle glides, dissolving attacks, minimal melodic droplets almost like piano notes. Their timbres blend -- Novaga's high-pitched grains, Connors' spectral depth -- to create a soundscape of subtle density. These emotions, bordering on the infinitesimal, do not impose themselves through intensity or crescendo, but through contained tension, attentive listening, and suspended moments."
CD Box $30
SELENDIS SEBASTIAN ALEXANDER JOHNSON BIG BAND with WILL EVANS / ROCIO SANCHEZ / GIAN PEREZ / HANS-YOUNG BINTER / et al - The Vanguard Exits to End Itself in the Arriven Crowd: Live at Roulette (PERM 002; USA) Featuring Selendis (Sebastian Alexander Johnson) - conducting, Gian Perez - guitar & composition, Caylie Davis, Will Evans, James Worsey & Mac Vega on trumpets, Samantha Kochis on flutes, Chris Ferrari on clarinet, Francesca H ob alto sax, Nathan Nakadegawa-Lee on tenor sax, Rocio Sanchez on cello, Vivek Menon on violin, Hans Young-Binter on piano, Caroline Morton bass and Orchis McRae on drums. A couple of weeks ago (April of 2026), I caught Selendis at The Stone performing and conducting for two nights and was knocked out by both sets. Selendis played mostly vibes and trombone but did quite a bit of conducting. Aside from playing some strong vibes, I really dug the compositions and arrangements.
A number of the same personnel here played at the second set that I caught at The Stone. The music here was composed by guitarist Gian Perez, arranged by Matei Predescu and recorded at Roulette in Brooklyn, one of the longest running creative performance spaces, which started in the early 1980's. This version of Selendi's big band has 24 members, about half of which I know of previously. The liner notes discuss a politically motivated protest and the way things often unravel in real life. "Julian II" opens and was composed by Gian Perez and arranged by Matei Predescu. The piece starts out slowly, is laid back and stripped down. It has a savory, solemn melody which I find to be sublime, as well as a righteous, bluesy guitar solo. "Spelunk" (or cave) is next and it begins with focused yet free playing from the flute, other reeds, guitar and brass. It sounds like there are subgroups which are being directed and playing written fragments. While the guitarist (Perez?) takes a solo, different reeds or horns also interject their own phrases or lines. The music is continuous so we have to look at the timing display to see if we've moved into another piece. For, "Gay People, having a good time", the entire big band explodes freely, increasing in intensity as they evolve. The directed bits often sound like punctuation for the freer flow that is also taking place. At times it sounds as if there are several layers of free waves which are crashing over one another, erupting and then calming down a bit. On "Hammers", the music stops midway to break into some charted parts before it breaks into a tight, written section for the entire orchestra. The overall sound is warm, clean and well-balanced. Most impressive on several levels. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $10
YVONNE ROGERS - The Button Jar (Pyroclastic PR47; USA) Featuring Yvonne Rogers on solo piano and compositions. It seems that each year another great pianist moves to or emerges from the NYC network to take over the throne of great pianists. Since 2000, there have been a number of great pianists playing here regularly: Sylvie Courvoisier, Kris Davis, Angelica Sanchez, Jacob Garchik, Leo Genovese, Brian Marsella, Micah Thomas and Alexis Marchello. I just reviewed a great solo piano CD from Marta Sanchez last week and now here is a fine solo piano offering from Yvonne Rogers.
"Growing up in rural Maine, without the distraction of even a television, Rogers often found herself alone with nothing but her imagination and the natural world around her for inspiration. Now based in Brooklyn, Rogers often finds herself drawing on those early years to guide her distinctive musical approach.
One image that often returns to her mind’s eye is the button jar that her artist mother kept for craft projects – a stockpile of mundane but multi-hued items that could be reimagined into endless creative permutations. “It felt like a jar of possibilities,” Rogers says. “You could use it for any number of projects, but you had to know how to properly sew the button on, so it became a balance of whimsical fun and meticulous craftsmanship.” - press blurb
“For listeners hungry for something humane yet experimental, there is a new musician offering work that strikes this delicate balance. Brooklyn based composer and pianist Yvonne Rogers’ is blending playful free improvisation and a burnished yet fearless approach to the piano. She uses subtle dissonances in rhythm and texture, combined with an elegant sense of restraint to develop fresh yet timeless pieces that speak a language all her own. - Hillary Carelli-Donnell, Free Jazz Blog
CD $15
MAX NAGL with MELISSA COLEMAN - sonchth (Rude Noises 43; Austria) Featuring Max Nagl on saxes, clarinet, melodica, sampler, toy piano, plastic guitars & little instruments with Melissa Coleman on cello. Austrian saxist, composer, multi-instrumentalist and multi-bandleader, Max Nagl, generally sends us 1 or 2 CD's every year, each one featuring a different solo or group project and practically all on his own Rude Noises label. Since Mr. Nagl plays assorted instruments and has several bands, I never know what direction he will display on each of his more than 50 releases. This disc begins with a soft sax (soprano?) being overdubbed and playing some tasty harmonies. Nagl adds subtle sounds, samples or drones underneath. The second piece, called "giacomo", features some somber cello with some exquisite instrumentation underneath: glockenspiel, theremin, strings, marimba, hard to tell. The music here is very avant and it is often charming as if being written for folks who haven't avant/jazz or progressive musics. This music is fascinating on a more restrained level. Nagl adds layers of saxes, clarinet, sampler and cello, which are warm and still inventive. I can tell that Nagl put a good deal of work into this, since he had to compose and layer several instruments with overdubs. He will often layer several parts with quaint harmonies so that nothing is too dense or too quirky. Since there are few if any solos going on here, it is thoughtful arrangements which stand out and move in unpredictable ways. This disc is similar to a recent solo disc by Eivind Opsvik, which is also quietly enchanting and in between any established categories. I believe that the cellist here is Max Nagl's wife and I believe that this disc is dedicated to his children. This makes perfect sense since it sounds like it was created for the child-like qualities that many of us still share. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $10
CATH ROBERTS & OLIE BRICE - Setpieces (Relative Pitch RPR 1270; USA) Featuring Cath Roberts on baritone & alto saxes and Olie Brice on contrabass. This disc was recorded at s10c, Lewisham Retail Park in London in January of 2025. There is a large number of open-minded musicians living in and near London which has been evolving and growing larger over the past decade. Both of these musicians play in the London Improvisers Orchestra as well as smaller groups like Alex Ward's 10 and 7. Although Cath Roberts is on more than a dozen discs, I've only a few myself. Bassist Olie Brice is on twice as many discs with musicians like Paul Dunmall, Tobias Delius, John Russell and Eddie Prevost.
This is the second disc from this duo, their first was recorded during the Pandemic in 2021, with the two musicians recording in their homes and trading tracks back and forth. For this session, the musicians recorded together in one room. At first it is hard to tell what instruments are being used since the bari sax is close mic'd although soon it is easier to hear their unique approaches. It sounds like the bari and the bass are in a similar tonal range so it is hard to tell them apart at times. The duo often take their time, stretching out, trading ideas and having a heated conversation. On "Gritstone Tors", Roberts plays more melodically, her tone is more mainstream at times. "Shadow Puppets" is actually laid back and simmering with Ms. Roberts slowing down and letting her notes simmer over Mr. Brice's similar laid back bass. One of the things that I like most about this disc is that it is not dependent on going too far out into multiphonics or extended techniques. The last piece, "Twine Tangle", has Ms. Roberts playing her bari sax with much restrain, slow burning and simmering while Mr. Brice matches the sax with solemn playfulness. This gem is for those of you/us that like their Free/Improv not too far out. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $13
MIKE KHOURY - For Hind Rajab (Relative Pitch SS052; USA) Featuring Mike Khoury on solo violin , recorded at Entropy Studio in 2025. Mike Khoury hails from the Detroit area and has worked with the Northwood Improvisers, Ben Hall, Piotr Michalowski and Will Soderberg. If those names don't sound familiar, that's because they are all on the more obscure side of things. Mr. Khoury composed four of the six pieces here with two covers: "Momenti" by Bill Dixon and "When There is No Sun" by Sun Ra. Starting with Albert Ayler adding cello to his "In Greenwich Village" LP in 1967 and Julius Hemphill featuring cellist Abdul Wadud to his 'Dogon AD" album (from 1972}, as well as adventurous violinists like Jean Luc Ponty, Sugar Cane Harris, Leroy Jenkins, Billy Bang & Jason Hwang, the violin has become more of an avant-garde instrument over the past 1/2 century. Solo violin recordings are not as rare as they used to be by this time. "Al-Quds" opens with several layers of bent note harmonies as Khoury plays a theme on his violin, pushing the barriers further outside. Bill Dixon's "Momenti" comes from a solo trumpet album called 'Odyssey'. Although Khoury plays the melody at the beginning, his playing expands, pushing and bending notes inside-out to the extremes. Khoury tends to favor notes which are being pushed past their regular (in-tune) barriers. Khoury takes the Sun Ra song, "When There is No Sun", a rather sad and bluesy ballad and plays it most poignantly. I recall June Tyson singing this song several times with the Sun Ra Arkestra and it still brings a tear to my eye. Even sadder still is the final piece, "For Hind Rajab". Hind Rajab was a five-year-old[a] Palestinian girl in the Gaza Strip who was killed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during the Gaza war, which also killed six of her family members and two paramedics coming to her rescue. This piece has a most solemn theme, it sounds deep and tortured, capturing the way we should all feel for those who have been killed in useless wars throughout human history. Although Mike Khoury's playing often blurs the lines of tonality, it is the way his playing evokes the unfortunate way that some humans treat other humans for political or consequence. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $13
ERIKM / PIERRE HENRY - Bidule 2.0 (Sonoris SNS 027CD; France) Unreleased sound objects by Pierre Henry. Reload and original composition by ErikM. Bidule 2.0 is a unique reinterpretation of Pierre Henry's little-known sound heritage combined with ErikM's original composition. The album explores previously unused raw materials, transformed through ErikM's highly digital approach, balancing fixed composition and unexpected sonic events, a singular sonic experience where historical archives and contemporary creation converge. A live performance at Présences électronique festival is included on CD version as bonus track.
"Bidule 2.0 is a composition by ErikM that revisits a selection of the unused sonic heritage of composer Pierre Henry, covering the period from 1950 to 1974, sourced from the Son/Ré studio and digitized by the BnF (Bibliothèque nationale de France). Over the decades, Pierre Henry and his team accumulated a vast collection of sonic materials from their studio research. This sound library, recorded on analog tape, is a testimony to the recording techniques of that era -- including the quality of microphones and recording media, as well as the acoustics of the recording spaces -- all of which define the sound of a time. Not wanting to create a remix from the composer's iconic sounds, I chose instead to work with selections of raw material from unused recording sessions, 168 sequences ranging from one to twenty-two minutes each. Isabelle Warnier and Bernadette Mangin provided me with sessions of prepared piano, series of electronic sounds, feedbacks, and voice recordings. Pierre Henry's analog sounds were, for the most part, processed through successive stages (up to five generations of transformation), using a custom electronic device: Idiosyncrasie 9.3, built on Max/MSP and Lemur." - ErikM
CD $18 / LP $32
SHANE PARISH - Autechre Guitar (Palilalia PAL095CD; 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 unsparseable 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."
CD $23
BEN RICHTER - Mymerian (Sedimental SED 074CD; USA) Deep and powerful drone compositions recorded live at Epsilon Spires Church performed on organ, accordion, contrabass and cello by Ben Richter, Mike Bullock, and Laura Cetilia. Rich and meditative, arcing past, present and future. This Sedimental release is a monumental document from avant-garde composer Ben Richter.
"This music was made possible through the kind invitation of Executive Director Jamie Mohr to a winter residency at Epsilon Spires, a non-profit performance center housed in a historic former church in Brattleboro, Vermont, with the opportunity to compose a set of works for their 1906 three-manual Estey pipe organ. Due to the frigid temperatures, the organ was sounding almost 60 cents flat from A=440Hz. In combination with Laura Cetilia and Mike Bullock's intonationally flexible A=440 low string instruments and my A=444 quarter-tone accordion, this created a unique pitch landscape and dark atmosphere from which emerged three meditations on the ripples, pulsations, and slow transformations of memory." - Ben Richter
CD $16
HISTORIC & ARCHIVAL RECORDINGS, RESTOCKS & REISSUES:
CECIL TAYLOR UNIT with SAM RIVERS / JIMMY LYONS / ANDREW CYRILLE - Fragments (Elemental Music EMMQ5990455.2; USA) The Cecil Taylor Unit's performance at Salle Pleyel in Paris on November 3, 1969, was a notable moment in avant-garde jazz. Featuring Cecil Taylor on piano, Jimmy Lyons on alto saxophone, Sam Rivers on tenor/soprano saxophone and flute, and Andrew Cyrille on drums, the concert showcased the group's intense, free jazz style. The recording was transferred from the original tape reels at INA and restored and mastered by Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab. Includes an extensive booklet with rare photographs from the show and liner notes by acclaimed jazz critic and author Phil Freeman.
2 CD Set $28
ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO - People In Sorrow (Play Loud! Productions PL 195; Germany) Finally back in print! Originally released by EMI's Pathé Marconi imprint in 1969, People in Sorrow -- a 40-minute work by the four-piece lineup of Roscoe Mitchell, Joseph Jarman, Lester Bowie, and Malachi Favors -- has long been unavailable on vinyl and CD, and then only in hard-to-find European and Japanese issues. It is arguably the finest and most ambitious of the 14 studio albums recorded by the Art Ensemble during their 23-month sojourn in France, which launched the American group internationally. People in Sorrow can be viewed as the culminating event in the Art Ensemble's inventive and revolutionary approach to collective improvisation, counterpoising clamorous free-blowing intensity with expanses of hushed conversation on the group's immense arsenal of "little instruments." Fully licensed from Warner Music, and augmented with new liner notes by veteran U.S. music journalist Chris Morris, this release marks the long-awaited return of the record that Chicago-based writer, curator, and label operator John Corbett calls "one of the most luminous albums of creative music ever made." This edition faithfully recreates the first French Pathé-Marconi pressing of People in Sorrow (1969), which originally featured black graphics on a light (white or off-white) background and red Pathé-Marconi labels, rather than the yellow cover seen on later issues. The vinyl LP (PL 195LP) includes an inlay with detailed liner notes, while the CD Digipak comes with a 12-page booklet containing the same material. The album has been newly remastered by Moritz Illner (duophonic), who also handled play Loud!'s acclaimed reissue of the Art Ensemble of Chicago's Les Stances à Sophie.
CD $19 / LP $34
BLACK ARTIST GROUP with OLIVER LAKE / BAIKIDA CARROLL / FLOYD LeFLORE / CHARLES BOBO SHAW - For Peace And Liberty: In Paris, Dec 1972 (WeWantSounds WWSCD 091CD; UK) Wewantsounds presents the release of BAG's first album since 1973, For Peace and Liberty, recorded in Paris in Dec. 1972 when the musicians had recently arrived from St Louis. BAG only released one album during their existence. This long-lost performance, recorded at Maison de l'ORTF in optimal conditions just a few months previously, was thought lost until recently unearthed from the vaults of INA (Institut National de l'Audiovisuel). Here the group unleashes an incandescent 35-minute set mixing free improvisation and spiritual jazz with funk grooves. Released in partnership with the band and INA, the album features sound remastered from the original tapes, plus a 20-page booklet featuring words by Oliver Lake, Joseph Bowie, and Baikida Carroll plus Bobo Shaw's and Floyd LeFlore's daughters as well as extensive liner notes by BAG scholar Benjamin Looker and previously unseen photos by cult French photographer Philippe Gras. The Black Artist Group (BAG) was founded in St Louis, USA, in 1968 to promote local artists from the burgeoning Black Arts movement, including musicians, playwrights, dancers and poets. The BAG quintet heard here pulled together key musicians from the larger organization, including Oliver Lake on sax, Baikida Carroll, and Floyd LeFlore on trumpet, Joseph Bowie on trombone and Charles 'Bobo' Shaw on drums. The musicians emerged from the organization to become a vital force within the late '60s free jazz revolution. Modelled on the AACM and the Art Ensemble of Chicago with whom they had close ties, this subset of BAG musicians followed in the footsteps of their Chicago colleagues, relocating to Paris in the early '70s on the recommendation of Lester Bowie, Joseph's older brother. Arriving in the French capital in Oct. 1972 the group made an instant impact on its underground music scene. In December of that year, Andre Francis, ORTF's jazz supremo invited them onto his "Jazz sur Scene" radio show, which showcased four groups live over two hours. Arriving onto the stage of the prestigious Studio 104 auditorium of the Maison de la Radio, the group delivered a jaw-dropping 35-minute set that left the audience mesmerized. Only thanks to a chance listening of another concert -- where the BAG live set was buried within -- was the recording unearthed making this historic release possible fifty years on. The release counts as an invaluable document, shedding fresh light on one of the most fascinating groups in modern jazz history.
CD $18 [Back in stock after a few years absence]
INTERCOMMUNAL FREE DANCE MUSIC ORCHESTRA with FRANCOIS TUSQUES / JO MAKA / MICHEL MARRE / ADOLF WINKLER / GUEM / et al - Concert A Prades Le Lez Vol. 1 & 2 (Souffle Continu Records FFL 090-91CD; France) Concert at Prades-le-Lez marks the origins of the Intercommunal Free Dance Music Orchestra. In 1974, François Tusques and his companions (Michel Marre, Jo Maka, Adolf Winkler and Guem), in the spirit of Don Cherry or Chris McGregor, playfully dismantled all borders and all styles of creative music. The Intercommunal takes its audience from New Orleans to Brittany and on to North Africa, building unprecedented soundscapes around a song of revolt, a dance tune, and a burst of dissonance. This now-restored reissue of the two volumes of Concert at Prades-le-Lez, recorded on January 25 and 26, 1974 by François Tusques and his comrades, is an important event. In 1971, after recording a series of albums that would leave a lasting mark on French jazz, François Tusques founded the Intercommunal -- a grouping whose very name called for the fraternization of the various communities making up the country. Among the great records made by the Intercommunal Free Dance Music Orchestra, the two volumes of Concert at Prades-le-Lez come first. François Tusques and his companions performed on January 25 and 26, 1974 at the Moulin de Prades-le-Lez, a few kilometers from Montpellier. It was thus in the southern region of Occitanie that the first echoes of this musical vision of a borderless brotherhood were recorded. The energy is striking and it never lets up throughout these two recordings, from start to finish: jazz, blues, traditional music, minimalism, even funk. The musicians of the Intercommunal have heard a lot of great music and now delight in reinventing it by mixing it all together. "We want the song form to take its place as a weapon in the struggle against capitalist exploitation and all those who oppress us morally and materially," declared an Intercommunal leaflet, quoting Jean-Baptiste Clément, author of the lyrics to "Le Temps des cerises." The struggle was therefore serious -- but it did not prevent François Tusques and his group from waging it in a festive spirit: each piece on Concert at Prades-le-Lez sends out a call for love and fraternity. Fifty years later, the message remains as relevant as ever -- and once again, it is François Tusques who makes it heard.
2 CD Set $19
THE BLASTERS - Rare Blasts: Studio Outtakes And Movie Music 1979-1985 (Liberation Hall LIB 2120CD; EEC) "Rare Blasts: Studio Outtakes and Movie Music 1979-1985 is a curated archival collection from The Blasters, assembling fourteen rare tracks drawn from outtakes and film soundtrack recordings spanning the band's most vital early years. Originally issued as part of the sold-out 5LP box set An American Music Story, this standalone release brings together hard-to-find material from the sessions surrounding their classic albums, alongside key contributions to film soundtracks. Highlights include 'One Bad Stud' and 'Blue Shadows,' featured in Walter Hill's cult rock 'n' roll fable Streets of Fire, as well as 'Kathleen,' a track songwriter Dave Alvin has cited as one of the finest the band ever recorded. Formed in late-1970s Los Angeles by brothers Dave and Phil Alvin, The Blasters became central figures in the American roots rock revival, blending rockabilly, blues, R&B, country, and early rock 'n' roll into a high-energy, historically grounded sound. Their music drew heavily on traditional American forms while delivering a modern, electrified edge, earning them a devoted following and influence across multiple genres. Known for their tight musicianship and reverence for musical history, the band's recordings from this era helped define the broader Americana movement before the term was widely adopted. Rare Blasts offers a deeper look into that formative period, showcasing alternate takes, lesser-known songs, and soundtrack material that expand the narrative of the band's studio output. The collection highlights the breadth of their influences and the consistency of their songwriting, even in material that remained outside their primary album releases. Packaged with liner notes by Chris Morris and rare archival imagery, the album serves as both a companion piece for longtime fans and a valuable entry point into the extended world of The Blasters' early catalog."
CD $16
LP SECTION:
JANNICK TOP - Utopic Sporadic Orchestra (Soleil Zeuhl SZ 062LP; France) "In 1975, Jannick Top left Magma (before returning in 1976 for the VanderTop period and the album Üdü Wüdü) and had just composed De Futura, a piece performed live for the first time at the Nancy Jazz Festival on 17 October, with a collective of 18 musicians, including C. Vander, under the name Utopic Sporadic Orchestra. The version of 'De Futura' released here, for the first time on vinyl, is the rehearsal from 16 October 1975 (duration 23:40).The record also includes the two studio tracks released by Jannick Top on a 45 rpm single in 1975 on the Utopia label, then created by Giorgio Gomelsky in association with RCA: 'Utopia Viva' and 'Epithecanthropus Erectus II'. It should be noted that the versions released here are those from the aforementioned single, which have never been reissued since then, as the versions released in 2001 on the Utopic CD Soleil d'Ork are longer versions, previously unreleased. The disc includes an insert with a bilingual historical text (French/English) by Jean-Christophe Alluin, author of a book on Magma that has not yet been published."
LP $32
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BACK IN STOCK:
CECIL TAYLOR UNIT w/ HARRI SJOTROM / TONY OXLEY / JACKSON KRALL / OKKYUNG LEE - Words & Music (FSR 16/2025; Poland) Reviving Cecil Taylor's legendary Unit concept, this searing New Unit performance with Cecil Taylor (piano & voice), Tony Oxley (his own drum samples & electronics), Harri Sjostrom (soprano & sopranino saxes), Jackson Krall (drums) and Okkyung Lee (cello), documents the final concert of Taylor's life in a nearly eighty-minute fusion of music and spoken word, recorded live on April 23, 2016, at the Whitney Museum in New York City. I was at this set at the Whitney Museum and remember enjoying it immensely. It was located in a large gallery space with photos, artwork, album covers, poetry and other visual items by or influenced by the late, great avant piano genius, Cecil Taylor.
CD $17
IVO PERELMAN / NATE WOOLEY / MATT MORAN / MARK HELIAS / TOM RAINEY - Modicum (FSR 15/2025; Poland) Featuring Ivo Perelman on tenor sax, Nate Wooley on trumpet, Matt Moran on vibes, Mark Helias on contrabass and Tom Rainey on drums. Recorded at Park West Studios in May of 2024. Brazilian-born, Brooklyn-based saxist Ivo Perelman has been recording weekly sessions at Park West Studios for many years and has a wealth of strong, inspired free/improv discs under his belt. The studio is run by producer/engineer Jim Clouse, who always does a fine job of capturing this music in its full glory. Mr. Clouse is also a gifted tenor & soprano saxist and both he and Ivo have played here at DMG on occasion and blown the audiences away. Mr. Perelman has chosen an all-star cast with the ever resourceful/ diverse trumpeter Nate Wooley, vibesman Matt Moran and the well-respected elder rhythm team of Mark Helias and Tom Rainey. Matt Moran has recorded with Nate Wooley (for 'Battle Trances 4) and with Perelman (in the Seven Skies Orchestra in 2024). Mark Helias and Tom Rainey have worked together for many years with Tony Malaby, Ellery Eskelin and Simon Nabatov, as well as collaborating with Perelman on several occasions in the past. From the gitgo, the music here is carefully recorded, softly nuanced at first, with both Perelman's sax and Wooley's trumpet slowly stretching out their notes or sounds. The vibes, bass and drums also are engaged and work together organically, trading lines and accentuating certain shared focal points. Mr. Helias and Mr. Rainey often sound like one combined force, pushing their collective spirit higher and higher as they go. Different groupings emerge, each one expanding and contracting as the pieces evolve. Towards the end of the first long piece a trio emerges of vibes, bass & drums, creating their own sound/connection. Each member of the quintet gets a chance to stretch out, solo and interact on different levels. If you listen closely, you will hear the way the different combinations keep having several dialogues going on simultaneously. There is a particularly harrowing section during "Part 3" where the horns, vibes , bowed bass and drums create a series of eerie drones together. The sax and trumpet slowly bend their notes together creating a unique siren-like sound, similar to the way spirits are said to sing. Instead of having a piano here to play chords and comp, the vibes often provide a similar function, playing chords and/or hitting those shimmering drones. Distinguished master drummer Tom Rainey is often at the center of most of what unfolds here, spinning his own rhythmic web and holding things together. Although the names of this disc and song titles are called "A Modicum of the Blues", there aren't any normal blues licks but there is a similar dark yet hypnotic vibe which flows throughout most of this fine disc. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $17
CHARLES GAYLE & SZILARD MEZEI QUARTET - Oils (FSR 24/2024; Poland) Featuring Charles Gayle on tenor & alto saxes & piano, Szilard Mezei on viola, Ervin Malina & Erno Hock on contrabasses and Istvan Csik on drums. This set was recorded live at 15th Annual Jazz Fest of Improvised Music in Serbia in September of 2009. Since the passing of tenor sax free/jazz giant Charles Gayle in September of 2023, there have been just a couple of posthumous releases. Although based in NYC for a long period of his life, the beloved saxist Charles Gayle did tour in England and the rest of Europe on several occasions, recording with British, Belgian and Hungarian/Serbian musicians. For this concert, Mr. Gayle collaborated with violist/multi-bandleader Szilard Mezei and his two bass quartet. Being a big fan of Mr. Mezei, I recognize the names of the other players here from the dozens of discs that Mr. Mezei has been released on several labels. Mezei knew this concert was going to be special so he prepared his quartet with music for Mr. Gayle to work with. Mr. Gayle had asked for a bottle of olive oil to be given to him when he arrived for some reason. Mr. Mezei decided to name each of the six pieces after the requested oil. The music here is most extraordinary and Mr. Gayle fits perfectly. Both bassists here are strong players and sound wonderful together exchanging lines with great flourishes. The music here sounds like a suite with each section exploring a different soundscape or vibe. Mr. Gayle switches to piano on “Oilometer”, which is a tribute to Thelonious Monk. Piano was Mr. Gayle’s first instrument and he play some solo piano concerts in NYC. He plays here is a quirky, Monk-like fashion with Mr. Mezei interweaving some feisty viola lines. Mr. Mezei is a gifted composer who does well writing for his varied sized groups (from duos to an orchestra), composing complex passage with room for free improv as well. Drummer Istvan Csik opens “Two Oilways” with a short yet spirited drums solo before the rest of the group joins him, with Mr. Gayle on searing alto sax and the other players zigzagging different lines together, bussing like bees around a great hive of energy. What’s great about this disc is that it is a marvel to hear the late Charles Gayle playing with other musicians who respect what he does, support and interact with him on several levels. Wow! A true treasure for all of us Free Jazz Freaks worldwide! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $17
MARILYN CRISPELL & HARVEY SORGEN - Forest (FSR 22/2024; Poland) This year, one of the greatest pianists of improvised music, Marilyn Crispell became the winner of the famous NEA Jazz Masters 2025 award, thus joining the ranks of such jazz wizards as, among others. in Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, Sonny Rollins, Cecil Taylor, Dizzy Gillespie, Sun Ra, Gil Evans, Sarah Vaughan, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, Muhal Richard Abrams and Anthony Braxton, with whom, by the way, Marilyn spent several years in his second great quartet. As all of us intrigued by jazz music probably know, the NEA Jazz masters laurel is a great honor and a momentous gesture by the American state to the achievements of artists. We are all the more pleased to rush to announce that Marilyn Crispell's latest album has been released with us. It is a studio session realized in November 2023 at Utopia Studios Bearsville in Woodstock together with the excellent drummer Harvey Sorgen. The album is part of an impressive series of duo sessions recorded in recent decades in the company of such artists as Gerry Hemingway, Hamid Drake, Tyshawn Sorey, Tim Berne, Gary Peacock, Louis Moholo, Tim Berne, Eddie Prevost, among others.
CD $17
ANGELS 11 - Tell Them (FSR 17/2025; Poland) Personnel: Martin Kuchen on tenor & soprano saxes & compositions, Eirik Hegdal on bari & alto saxes, Susana Santos Silva & Magnus Broo on trumpets, Josefin Runsteen on amplified violin, Alex Zethson on Fender Rhodes & Juno 106, Mattias Stahl on vibes & soprano sax, John Berthling on contrabass and Kjell Nordeson, Konrad Agnas & Michaela Antalova on drums. Since 2008, the Scandinavian all-star collective ensemble, Angles, have produced a dozen recordings, mostly for the Clean Feed label. Although their personnel changes somewhat from record to record, Angles are one of the best Spirit Jazz bands to emerge from the Clean Feed mountain of great releases. Original members include Martin Kuchen (from Exploding Customer), Magnus Broo (Atomic & IPA), Mattias Stahl, John Berthling (Fire! Orchestra) and Kjell Nordeson (AALY & Firehouse). The other names that I know previously are Alex Zethson (Trondheim Jazz Orchestra) and Susana Santos Silva (Fred Frith collaborator). Angles have always had that deep reaching into your soul Spirit Jazz sound. The disc begins with the title tune, "Tell Them It's The Sound of Freedom", slow moving, sly and sensuous. Johan Berthling plays this hypnotic bass-led groove, over and over while the horns & vibes all simmering together playing an infectious prayer-like theme. The sound of this 11-piece mid-sized ensemble is somewhere between the Sun Ra Arkestra and the Brotherhood of Breath with what sounds like an infectious, spiritual undertow. "A Night in Schwamistan" has another passion-filled repeating groove/riff which is played by all of the horns. That repeating groove reminds me of a Fela Kuti-like funk fest (of perhaps Zion80-like) churning riff/line. Keyboardist Zethson switches between a Fender Rhodes and farfisa-like sound from his Juno synth. I dig the layers of interlocking horns but it is a slamming vibes-led rhythm team that really makes me want to get up and dance along. Like most of the 15 minute Fela songs/jams, it is that infectious greasy groove that makes us want to join in and groove along to it. "Young Blood Transfusions" has another somewhat familiar sounding repeating (percussion-led) riff which keeps churning throughout and features an inspired solo from the violin. The mid-section is freer and has some fire-breathing solos from the trumpet & sax(es). I love the way the entire ensemble swaggers together both loose and tight at the same time. Like each of the previous Angles discs, this one has an ancient vibe which feels like sonic medicine for our current tough times. Dig in deep! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $17
SYLVIE COURVOISIER / JEROME DEUPREE / LESTER ST. LOUIS / JOE MORRIS - Canyon (FSR 13/2025; Poland) Featuring Sylvie Courvoisier on piano, Lester St. Louis on cello, Joe Morris on contrabass and Jerome Deupree on drums. This 2 CD set was recorded at Firehouse 12 studios in November of 2023. The session was produced by Boston-based drummer Jerome Deupree and Joe Morris, longtime collaborator for Matt Shipp, Ivo Perelman and many others, switching between his guitar and bass duties at different sessions. The two guests here are the ever-adventurous pianist Sylvie Courvoisier and local cellist Lester St. Louis. You should recognize the name Lester St. Louis from his time with the late trumpet hero Jaimie Branch and more recently playing bass with Amirtha Kidambi's Elder Ones. I only know of drummer Jerome Deupree from his six recordings with Joe Morris. The music here is superbly recorded and balanced just right. On the long opening piece, "Isala", both the cello and bass create a low-end dialogue and the drums and piano also create a similar, percussive/melodic terrain. I listened to this disc on headphones since I wanted to hear each nuance of sound. This piece builds and escalates slowly and becomes more intense as it evolves. Ms. Courvoisier's playing is often intense and explosive at times. There is a section on "Turnback" where the morse code-like drums and high-end percussive piano combine forces, trading tight, quirky lines as the simmering turns to boiling point. There is quite a bit of criss-crossing pollination and eruptive interplay going on here. Ms. Courvoisier takes a long majestic solo later in "Turnback" with the cello interweaving his own circular lines. Although rare for me, as soon as the first disc was over, I inserted Disc 2 quickly since I was in the middle of an ongoing story and wanted to hear "Part Two" or perhaps the second set. The combination of plucked and bowed strings (from the cello, bass & inside the piano) and percussion (of drums and inside-the-piano manipulation) is rich and well-explored. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
2 CD Set $20
IVO PERELMAN / RAY ANDERSON - 12 Stages of Spiritual Alchemy (FSR 22/2025; Poland) Featuring Ivo Perelman on tenor sax and Ray Anderson on trombone. Both of these fine musicians are elder members of the ongoing Downtown Scene, now more than four decades old. I've had my eye on Ray Anderson ever since his first recording with the trio of Mark Helias and Gerry Hemingway was released in 1979. Mr. Anderson is one of the most diverse trombonists around having worked with Anthony Braxton, Wadada Leo Smith, David Murray and Henry Threadgill. Brazilian-born tenor saxist Ivo Perelman's first leader date was in 1989 and has have more than 100 releases since then, often recording weekly at Park West Studios in Brooklyn, where this duo was recorded in December of 2022. There are a dozen pieces on this disc, most are rather short and all are under 10 minutes at length. Mr. Ivo records dozens of duos, trios and quartet dates with assorted improvisers from the Downtown network and elsewhere. Although they come from different backgrounds, Mr. Anderson and Mr. Perelman share an adventurous, exploratory improvised spirit. Things begin quietly, tentatively at first as the two are getting to know one another and start trading ideas or lines. Both musicians sound like well-seasoned jazz players with a wealth of ideas flowing. The duo move through a march groove, swinging at times, playing odd harmonies and pushing things into the free zone as well. Ray Anderson has always had a humorous, playful side to his playing which seems to bring out a similar vibe from Mr. Perelman. I hear fragments of familiar melodies along with other more exploratory improvising going on here. There are some truly silly moments here as well as quirky back and forth activity or dialogue. It is rare to hear Mr. Perelman quoting a standard or familiar melody but there seems to be quite a bit of this from both musicians here. This is indeed a particularly strong, spirited and diverse duo. I would love to check out this duo live, perhaps even at DMG. Stranger things have happened here, no doubt. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $17
LAST DREAM OF THE MORNING with JOHN BUTCHER / JOHN EDWARDS / MARK SANDERS / LAST DREAM OF THE MORNING - Sharp Illusion (FSR 24/2025; Poland) Featuring John Butcher on tenor & soprano saxes, John Edwards on contrabass and Mark Sanders on drums. After Evan Parker, Paul Dunmall and Alan Skidmore, John Butcher is my next favorite British tenor sax player. I've long dug whatever I've heard from Mr. Butcher as he remains a deeply focused, experimental saxist who has his own sounds and like to perform in places that most players wouldn't think of performing. For this disc, Mr. Butcher has chosen two other giants of British free/jazz: bassist John Edwards and drummer Mark Sanders. This trio had an earlier record out on Relative Pitch from 2017, nearly a decade ago. This session was recorded live at the Cultural Center in Lublin, Poland in July of 2024. Considering how much I dig each of these three musicians, I wasn't too surprised at how strong, inventive and spirited this date is. There is a good deal of subtle, nuance going on here: quiet, ever-inventive, free music, organic and flowing just right. Due to some extended techniques, there are a number of sounds which are rather mysterious and not easy to figure out who is playing what, hence it keeps us guessing who is playing which sound. It sounds obvious that these three musicians have been working together for a long while since they play as one focused unit throughout, listening closely and interacting on several levels. There are sections when I was not sure what exactly is going on yet the music/outcome is still fascinating to hear. It is more about transforming our reality to perceptions with sounds that are in between being somewhat familiar and being alien at the same time. Another treasure of high end improv at its very best! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $17
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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 / JOHN KING / MAY 6-9
5/6 Wednesday
8:30 pm: Palestine Is Everywhere - Amir ElSaffar (trumpet, electronics) Leyya Mona Tawil (voice, electronics) John King (guitar, electronics)
5/7 Thursday
8:30 pm: antifa4 - Chris Cochrane (electric guitar) Hans Tammen (electric guitar) John King (electric guitar) Lesley Mok (drums)
5/8 Friday
8:30 pm - TRIO: Michael Wimberly (drums) John King (guitar) Ras Moshe (tenor sax)
5/9 Saturday
8:30 pm - “landlesscapes” - monodramas: Gelsey Bell (voice) John King (voice, electronics)
5/12 Tuesday
8:30 pm - Danger Room: River Sadowsky (bass) Tanzanite Chen (guitar) Hudson Brubaker (guitar) Angelo Limentani (drums) Aaron Mead (woodwinds) - STUDENT CONCERT SERIES—ADMISSION FREE!
THE STONE RESIDENCIES / MATT HOLLENBERG / MAY 13-16
5/13 Wednesday
8:30 pm: SOLO Matt Hollenberg (solo stereo electric guitar with effects)
5/14 Thursday
8:30 pm; Independent Flotation Device- Tim Berne (sax) Rick Parker (electronics, trombone) Matt Hollenberg (electric guitars, bulbul tarang) Patrick Golden (drums)
5/15 Friday
8:30 pm: QUARTET - Matt Hollenberg (guitar) Jim Clouse (sax) Dave Sewelson (baritone sax and harmonica with fx) Patrick Golden (drums)
5/16 Saturday
8:30 pm: Shardik performs Cruelty Bacchanal - Matt Hollenberg (guitars, compositions) Sana Nagano (electric 6-string violin with effects) Nick Jost (bass) Danny Sher (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