Persecution you must fear
Win or lose you got to get your share
You've got your mind set on a dream
You can get it though hard it may seem now
You can get it if you really want
You can get it if you really want
You can get it if you really want
But you must try, try and try, try and try
You'll succeed at last
I know it - listen
Rome was not built in a day
Opposition will come your way
But the hotter the battle you see
Is the sweeter the victory now
You can get it if you really want
You can get it if you really want
You can get it if you really want
But you must try, try and try, try and try
You'll succeed at last
Aside from listening to an hour's worth of Live Dead music every night (dancing & singing along), I've also been adding to my collection on Discogs almost every night. I generally pull out a crate (around 120 jewel case CD's), check shelves, draws and 30 count boxes, and list them on Discogs one by one (sometimes 50 or more per night). I've listed around 9,000 CD's so far out of the 50,000 titles that I have at home. Each crate, drawer, shelf or box has a different artist or style/genre of music. I've recently listed crates of folk music, modern classical, electronic, the LA scene (Nine Winds, Crypto & pfMentum & Orenda), assorted psych from different eras... This week, I've been going through a crate of reggae and dub CD's, mostly from the 70's-90's. I've listened to discs from Lee Scratch Perry, Count Ossie, Jimmy Cliff, Rob Marley, Dub Syndicate, Max Romeo, King Tubby, Mutabaruka and Linton Kwesi Johnson. I spent a year or so in the early 1980's listening to around 100 reggae albums that I bought from a friend who was dumping his collection. I also caught Bob Marley & the Wailers, Black Uhuru, Third World and several others in concert during that period. I do still love to groove to this music, smoke some special herb, nod my head and smile while listening. I love strong harmony singing and I love that bass-led groove. Some of the more obscure reggae even has some avant moments. I listened to a version of the above song, "You Can Make It If You Really Want" by Desmond Dekker last night and it made me smile and feel better inside. Good music has a way of inspiring us to feel better about the world. It is a communal force which holds us humans together in harmony with each other. Can't wait to slip back into the great groove later tonight! - MC BruceLee at DMG
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THANKS TO ALL OF OUR DMG FAMILY/FRIENDS who donated money for our new computer! We have received around $1,600 with more coming in. Special thanks to longtime DMG friend Scott Friedlander for cleaning up our old Mac and getting rid of some of our ongoing problems. The new computer should be here in a week or two and will take a day to transfer info and apps. Thanks again, we do Love all of our old & new DMG supporters/family. - BLG at DMG
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THE DMG 35th ANNIVERSARY IN-STORE CONCERT SERIES Continues with:
Saturday, June 13th: The Gauci-Music Series Continues with:
6:30: KEN KOBAYASHI - Drums / JEFF PEARRING - Alto Sax / JEFF MILES - Guitar / EVAN CRANE - Bass
7:30: STEPHEN GAUCI - Tenor Sax - Flute / TJ BORDEN - Cello / PATRICK GOLDEN - Drums
8:30: KAELEN GHANDI - Tenor - Soprano Saxes / LUKE ROVINSKY - Guitar / CALEB DUVAL - Bass / MICHAEL LaROCCA - Drums
Tuesday, June 16th:
6:30: GARETH TURNER - Electronics - Theremin
7:30: JUANMA TRUJILLO - Guitar / HERY PAZ - Tenor Sax / KENNETH JIMENEZ - Bass / JAMES PAUL NADIEN - Drums
8:30: SETH ANDREW DAVIS - Guitar / KEVIN CHELI - Percussion - Vibes / JAMES McKAIN - Bari Sax / EVAN PALMER - Bass / MARC EDWARDS - Drums
Monday, June 22nd: Relative Pitch Series continues:
1st Set: CHUCK ROTH - Guitar / ERIN ROGERS - Sax
2nd Set: ERIN ROGERS - Sax / KATE MOHANTY - Sax
3rd Set: CHUCK ROTH / ERIN ROGERS / KATE MOHANTY
June 23rd: VISION Fest - No In-Store Gig! See below
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ARTS FOR ART - VISION FESTIVAL 30 - June 23rd - June 28th, 2026
Time to celebrate Freedom of Expression once again with the 30th annual Vision Fest, which will take place at the Abrams Arts Center from June 23rd through June 28th. This year the Vision will give a Lifetime Achievement Award to guitarist & bassist Joe Morris. Each night between 6pm and 10:30, there will be around six sets per night of Creative Music, Poets, Dancers and Visual Artists of note.
Here’s a list of highlights: five different groups led by Joe Morris, Selendis SA Johnson, Jen Shyu Fertile Bodies, Luke Stewart Silt bTrio, Ingrid Laubrock Grammy Season, Craig Taborn & Tomeka Reid, Val Jeanty & Patricia Nicholson, Alexis Marcelo & James Brandon Lewis, Marshall Allen All-Stars, Hamid Drake / William Parker Black Cherry, DoYeon Kim Qt, William Hooker Qt, Alan Braufman Qt, Dickey/Shipp/Lopez, Rothenberg/Courvoisier/Waits and Daniel Carter Black Octopus. Plus a series of films about different Vision Fest musicians.
The Abrams Arts Center is located at 466 Grand Street (at Pitt St) in NY. Closest subway stop is the F train at Delancey. I have attended every year since the Vision Fest began and I fully support what they do. The Vision features a community of Creative Artists from different disciplines who come together yearly to help us all Create a Vision for a Better Future. Kind folks from around the world find their way here so please come on down to join our Communal Family. For more info check out: https://www.abronsartscenter.org/programs/vision-fest30
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GUNTER HAMPEL - 8/08/1937 - 5/18/2026 - EUROPEAN / AMERICAN AVANT JAZZ PIONEER!
European Free/Jazz pioneer, Gunter Hampel, was born in Germany and started playing jazz in the 1950’s. Mr. Hampel played jazz as a profession in the early 1960’s before moving to Amsterdam and then Paris. He was playing mostly bass clarinet, alto sax, flute and vibes. He formed a quintet in 1965 with Alex Von Schlippenbach & Manfred Schoof, two future leading lights of Euro Free Jazz. Hampel recorded an album for the legendary ESP label which was released in 1967, his group included Dutch saxist Willam Breuker (an early member of ICP & Kollektief founder). Hampel met and soon married a young jazz singer called Jeanne Lee and moved to the Bronx. The two worked with Don Cherry and Marion Brown. Hampel was one of the first avant/jazz musicians to found his own label known as Birth Records in 1969. HIs first record on Birth featured a great quintet with Jeanne Lee, Anthony Braxton, Willem Breuker, Arjen Gorter and Steve McCall (from Air). This album was reissued a year later for the Flying Dutchman label. It is an early seminal record of Europeans with avant-garde saxist Anthony Braxton (from Chicago & living in Paris around 1970). Karl Berger and Gunter Hampel were the first two European avant/jazz musicians to move to New York and became integral parts of the avant/jazz scene here, staying here for many years. Mr. Hampel used to go back and forth between NYC and Germany, raising a family with Ms. Lee. I recall several early Hampel sets with a group that included Ms. Lee, Thomas Keyserling & Perry Robinson at several loft jazz hotspots. I recall checking out Mr. Hampel live in the mid 1980’s with his big band (which included Bill Frisell, Marvin Smitty Smith & Bob Stewart). For as long as I could remember, Hampel always had his own band which was called the Galaxie Dream Band with a revolving cast of avant/jazz greats. I have long collected each and every record that Hampel has released and there are more than 100 recordings. We’d become friends over time and Hampel often came to visit our first store in the 1990’s and early aughts, playing here on occasion as well. As rent prices increased over time, Hampel moved back to Germany and began a series of bands with younger German musicians. I caught one of these bands at the Vision Fest, which included his son Ruomi (a dancer) and a fine singer, Cavana Lee Hampel (his daughter w/ Jeanne Lee). Being friends over many years, we stayed in touch through the many wandering ways of Avant or Progressive Jazz. Certainly not an easy profession to survive in. Gunter Hampel lived to be 88 and lived a long life as a Creative Avant Jazz musician. I recall Hampel playing a solo set here around 2010 and bringing his vibes on the subway. He often told great stories about his long musical journey and his set was quite extraordinary. He once told me that he played at the legendary Amougies Festival in Belgium (run by the BYG label) in 1969 with a quartet which included John McLaughlin. Their set allegedly blew the audience away. Frank Zappa, who was hired as an MC, asked Hampel after the set what type of devices his band was using. Hampel said that they were using no devices and Zappa was stunned. A toast to Gunter Hampel and his wonderful wife Jeanne Lee, two important musicians who left their mark on the international Creative Music Scene. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
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THIS WEEK'S COSMIC DISCS BEGIN WITH:
[AHMED] with PAT THOMAS / SEYMOUR WRIGHT / JOEL GRIP / ANTONIN GERBAL - Play Monk (Otoroku 047; UK) After six albums reimagining Ahmed Abdul-Malik, Pat Thomas, Joel Grip, Antonin Gerbal and Seymour Wright turn their transformative [Ahmed] project toward Thelonious Monk, atomizing his compositions across two CDs into volatile, time-bending forms where piano, bass, drums and alto saxophone fracture and reassemble melody, rhythm and space through free jazz intensity, pulse and radical collective invention. I caught [Ahmed] last month (May of 2026) at the FIMAV Fest in Quebec and their set was explosive, exhilarating, over-the-top and in-your-face! They took one song by Thelonious Monk ("Evidence") and took off like a furious fast moving train, barreling down the tracks with focused abandon. Out of some 17 sets, their set was the most intense of the four day fest of varied New Music.
Before going on to develop his own groundbreaking approach to jazz, Ahmed Abdul-Malik worked in Thelonious Monk's late 1950's quartets - appearing on seminal Monk recordings: Thelonious In Action (1958) and Misterioso (1958), and the more recently unearthed Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall (2005). Abdul-Malik and Monk share a critical engagement with time - specifically in challenging its linear trajectory and offering sites and modes of synthesis and rupture instead. In their music, fragments of time are scattered and re-arranged in the present, an idea central too to the project of أحمد [Ahmed]. Over several decades, all four members of أحمد [Ahmed] have engaged with Monk's standards in various individual and collective ways, but Play Monk, recorded in the same three-day London studio sessions as Sama'a (Audition), is the first released documentation of the group's versions of Monk's music which began with a spontaneous interpretation of 'Evidence' in Novara, Italy, 2023.
Across 2CDs, [Ahmed] atomize Monk's 'standards' - transforming each composition into a shifting quantum time artifact. The melodic, harmonic, rhythmic and spatial gestures of each piece become complex vernacular forms, creating a dialogue in time and a (red)shifting lens through which to view our material present. Into the fissures of Monk's form, [Ahmed] pour their own play - colliding and dancing with Duke Ellington, Cecil Taylor, Caribbean diasporic music, European improvisation and Jah Shaka in their pursuit of future music. "Monk's music is not played so much as grasped, condensed and catapulted through the vagaries of time," writes Fielding Hope. "Monk famously used to dance in circles. In flight from the numerical bind, [Ahmed] makes music that sounds like it could float on forever. " - Otoroku
2 CD Set $25 [In stock early next week]
GIFTS QUINTET with DAVE DOUGLAS / JAMES BRANDON LEWIS / RAFIQ BHATIA / TOMEKA REID / IAN CHANG - Transcend (Greenleaf CD-1120; USA) Inspired by Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concerts, landmark works performed between 1965 and 1973 and widely regarded as the spiritual culmination of his career, Transcend draws on a profound musical and spiritual lineage. Ellington famously reflected, “Every man prays in his own language, and there is no language that God does not understand.” Douglas draws inspiration from this ethos, by engaging with the spirit of openness, reverence, and humanity. Dave remarks in the liner notes:
“Whatever it was that Duke Ellington connected with in creating his Sacred Concerts, it burst forth with extraordinary new music. There is much scholarship on Ellington’s spiritual journey. In the music, his directness towards the holy, the sacred inside and outside the church, his humor and grace in the face of the human condition— this is the legacy of a towering figure in Black American music who knew these would be among his last works.” 'Transcend' communicates wonder, awe and connection – a reconciliation between spirit and craft, and between the individual and community.
CD $14 / 2 LP Set $25 [LP version has more material than the CD version]
ELLIOTT SHARP - Octal - Book Five (zOaR ZCD 210; USA) Featuring Elliott Sharp on a solid body 8-string Boden guitar designed by Ola Strandberg. This is the fifth solo Octal guitar release that Elliott Sharp has performed, recorded and produced since 2008 with all previous releases on the now defunct Clean Feed label. The original Octal CD's were recorded on a custom-made Koll 8-String guitar, while this new disc was recorded on a newer Boden 8-string, which provided different challenges. Earlier this week (8/8/2026), Mr. Sharp played a solo set here at DMG to promote / celebrate the release of this new disc. I put up a one minute clip on InstaGram yesterday and have watched it several times. Mr. Sharp's playing of this guitar is unique and his playing is in a class of its own. In the liner notes, Mr. Sharp told us that the tuning system for this disc is based in Just Intonation or Prime Numbers, which some folks consider to have mystical qualities. Mr. Sharp uses preparations, slides, an E-bow and spring bows on his guitar for this disc. Over the 45 years since I first heard Mr. Sharp play guitar (saxes, home-made instruments, computer & bass), he has continued to evolve stylistically on each instrument. His guitar playing seems to always be reaching for another place, tapping into a wide variety of influences or streams: rock, folk, blues, jazz, noise, modern classical, electronic and assorted ethnic tributaries. On the first piece here, "Octaline", taps his 8-string in his distinctive way, speeding up at times to an astonishing pace. On the second piece, "Theia", Sharp employs an e-bow (an electronic bow) which makes his guitar hum or resonate while Sharp shapes the drone(s) with the position of the e-bow to his pickup. Those sustained sounds pulsate, throbbing like an electronic heartbeat. "Scattering Halo" begins with a series of furiously paced tapping while also varying his patterns in quick bursts. Most of the pieces here are relatively short (under 8 minutes each), so that Sharp uses different techniques or ways to play, strike, tap and manipulate the strings of his Boden guitar. Each piece a has different mood or vibe from mysterious to eerie to hypnotic to breathtaking. What I like most about this disc is that many of the pieces are in between categories, blending ethnic, blues and jazz into a unique hybrid, creating their own non-barrier based world. This is a great place to dwell since it seems open in several ways. Hopeful possibility-wise. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14
STEVEN BERNSTEIN with SCOTT COLLEY / NASHEET WAITS / SCOTTY HARD / JEREMY GUSTIN - Resonation Trio / Ultra Resonance (The Royal Potato Family; USA) Featuring Steven Bernstein on trumpet, G trumpet, flugelhorn, EVI, compositions & production, Scott Colley on acoustic bass, Nasheet Waits on drums plus Scott Hard on various synths, Hammond organ, Moog, lap steel, feedback and rearrangements. Slide trumpet virtuoso, composer, arranger and multi-bandleader, Steve Bernstein has long juggled running several bands: Spanish Fly, Sexmob, Diaspora projects and the Millennial Territory Orchestra. In the liner notes, Mr. Bernstein mentioned being blown away by Burning Spear's 'Garvey's Ghost' album and realizing later that this album was a dub version of an earlier record called 'Marcus Garvey'. Dub versions have long been part of the reggae tradition and indicates a producer (like Lee Scratch Perry, King Tubby or Adrian Sherwood), taking a reggae song or album and adding assorted effects, cutting and splicing and getting rid of the vocals at times. Mr. Bernstein decided that he wanted to do a jazz trio album and have the results dubbed or altered by Scotty Hard or himself. This is a rarity for most jazz musicians, no matter what type of jazz they are playing.
This album is the first time that Mr. Bernstein, along with Scotty Hard have gotten the opportunity to make a dub record. This disc comes from two sessions, one with Steve Bernstein as the producer and another with Scotty Hard as the rearranger and/or remixer. The first half is called RealNation Trio with Bernstein on trumpets, Scott Colley on contrabass and Nasheet Waits on drums. Mr. Bernstein wanted to challenge himself on this record so instead of his main axe (slide trumpet), he plays regular trumpet, G trumpet and flugelhorn. Beginning with "Turf", Scott Colley's contrabass is stretched out with some eerie echo effects while Bernstein plays a solemn, haunting trumpet solo. On "Pettiford", Colley's bass plays a jubilant groove while Nasheet Waits drums speeds up and slows down, keeping the groove in flux while Bernstein plays an infectious solo. Mr. Bernstein's haunting trumpet is featured on each piece, each solo a gem of thoughtful expression with the rhythm section often changing the groove on each piece. The dub effects are kept to a minimum here so that the trumpet solos and rhythm team backing still ring true throughout. There is one cover song here entitled, "Sitting on Top of the World", which has been covered by Cream and the Grateful Dead in the 1960's. Bernstein's version captured the ancient, blues-drenched vibe that stretches from ancient to more modern versions of the blues.
The second half of this disc is called 'Ultra Resonance' and longtime legendary mixmaster, Scotty Hard, plays keyboards, synth & samples, as well as rearranging and remixing the recordings. "Argon" opens with the trio being altered by different echo effects. Mr. Hard adds a layer of dubby drum machine and sampled beats at the center. While the trio plays, Mr. Hard adds selective altered groove lines, as well as taking a section of a solo, adding effects and inserting it back in the mix. I've listened to quite a bit of dub records from the early 1980's onwards, especially digging the On U Sounds label. For myself, those dubby effects sound even better when the listeners are stoned on herb (marijuana). The second half of this disc is much different from the first half since Mr. Hard has taken the trio's playing, sampled parts, cut out parts and then layers a myriad of hypnotic effects which often sound mesmerizing. Aside from my nightly excursion into Live Dead gigs, my ongoing quest for all sorts of psychedelic music from different eras and the occasional dub records I still listen to, I don't listen to any other music that sounds better while being stoned. This music captures that vibe just right. Keep on nodding to the groove, just don't nod out. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15
MICHAEL MARCUS QUARTET with ROD WILLIAMS / RICKY RODRIQUEZ / ALLAN MEDNARD - Next Stop Down (ESP-Disk 5112; USA) After paying his dues with bluesmen Albert King and Bobby “Blue” Bland and jazzman Jaki Byard, Michael Marcus had his first album released in 1991, when he was 39. He’s been prolific since then, co-leading Cosmosamatics with Sonny Simmons, SaxEmble with Frank Lowe and James Carter, Blue Reality Quartet with Joe McPhee, Warren Smith, and Jay Rosen, and Duology with Ted Daniel as well as Marcus’s many albums as sole leader. Marcus had his debut on ESP with Abstractions in Lime Caverns in 2022.
As Cisco Bradley writes in his liner notes, “One of the unique features of this record is Marcus’s use of the tarogato. This woodwind instrument is better known for its roots in Hungarian music. The tarogato has a crisp, pure sound that allows for the precision and sensual beauty of these pieces that will leave the listener in a state of euphoria as Marcus ascends the mountains and glides across the vast valleys of these sonic landscapes.”
Bradley writes of the other players, “Williams, who has worked with David Murray, Cassandra Wilson, Dewey Redman, and Olu Dara in addition to making several albums of his own for Muse and elsewhere, is especially crucial in bringing to life the funky Monk concepts in these tunes. Mednard, who in recent years has established himself through associations with Guillermo Klein, Arthur Kell, Brandee Younger and others, meshes well with Rodriguez (whose credits include Alvin Batiste and Dafnis Prieto) to create tight rhythms from which these compositions and arrangements spring forth.”
CD $13
ENTROPIC HOP with ARON NAMENWIRTH / AYUMI ISHITO / KEVIN SHEA - The Quest for the Normal is the Death of the Self (ESP-Disk; USA) Featuring Aron Namenwirth on guitar, electronics & voice, Ayumi Ishito on tenor sax & electronics and Kevin Shea on drums, electronics & voice. All three members of the wacky Downtown trio have played here at DMG on numerous occasions, especially drummer Kevin Shea who usually plays here once a month. Tenor saxist Ayumi Ishito has also played here a dozen times since 2020 and often with different improv groups each time. What's different about this trio is that each member also plays electronics and also adds odd vocals to their music. The music and even the song titles here are pretty weird. Vocals are often altered with devices, sampled and manipulated. Guitarist Aron Namenwirth does a good deal of tapping on his guitar in numerous quick bursts with Kevin Shea speeding up, slowing down and adding focused spastic drum parts. There are layers of vocals at times with guitar flourishes, electronics and drums coming in and dropping out quickly. Although it is hard to hear what the voices are saying at times, they are still used most effectively. At times reminded of Negativland, sonic manipulators from the Bay area for a long period. Much of the music here is a college with swirling layers erupting and then mutating into something else. Although there are few solos yet there is a non-stop, free-wheeling onslaught of all purpose weirdness. Although I would call this disc avant/jazz, it is certainly weird enough to be found on the legendary ESP label, which passed its half century mark in 2024. Bizarre! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $13
WHAT YOU MAY CALL IT with CHRIS KELSEY / ROSE TANG / STEVE HOLTJE / CHARLES DOWNS - Da Qi (MechaBenzaiten Records MD24; USA) Featuring Chris Kelsey on soprano & tenor sax & stritch, Rose Tang on guitar & vocals, Steve Holtje on electric keyboards & trombone and Charles Downs on drums. Nearly every Tuesday night of the year, we have bands or soloists playing three sets per night, admission is free as is most of the music played here weekly. Downtown musicians, as well as musicians from all over the US and the rest of the world can be found expressing themselves in a friendly, sympathetic environment. We rarely know which sets will turn out to be memorable or even transcendent. Saxist Chris Kelsey has several discs out on the CIMP label as well as a fine Electric Miles Project. Guitarist Rose Tang has a previous disc with drummer Patrick out on ESP from 2024. Keyboardist Steve Holtje now runs the ESP-Disk label. Drummer Charles Downs was once known as Rashid Bakr, played for Other Dimensions in Music and for Jemeel Moondoc.
Things begin with what sounds like an ancient organ, slowly swirling tenor sax, restrained yet noisy electric guitar and skeletal drums. Ms. Tang does some odd vocalizing which fits nicely with the keyboards, sax and drums. "Reverie" begins with soft, solemn piano, drums and haunting sax. Kelsey switches to soprano with Ms. Tang's singing wordless vocals underneath. This piece has a righteous, dream-like quality which makes us feel as if we are floating together. The piano seems to be playing in slow motion here with some strong soloing from the soprano sax. Things get more dense and weirder on "Itch My Scratch", the tenor sax playing a slow burning solo with noisy keyboards or guitar or both, hard to tell. Ms. Tang's disembodied voice sounds like there are ghosts moaning together at this seance. The last piece, "Da Qi" is also the title track and it spins freely with Kelsey's soprano spinning out spiraling lines tightly with Tang's scary vocals. Mr. Holtje plays piano here, making waves as the quartet whips up a storm around him. This disc encapsulates what Free Music is about: tight yet loose, free yet focused and inspired throughout. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $12
GHAZAL FAGHIHI - Penumbra (Relative Pitch SS051; USA) Featuring Ghazal Faghihi on B-flat clarinet, historic clarinet, Shruti box, electronics and objects. This disc was recorded in Sint-Paulus Church in Ghent, Belgium in June of 2025. This is the first time I've heard of Belgium-based musician Ghazal Faghihi and this disc is part of the ongoing Relative Pitch solo sax series. Being alone in a vacant church gives the music here a deep resonance of natural reverb. Faghihi plays clarinet which is bathed in natural resonance with the eerie drone of a Shruti box drone in the distance. It sounds like the clarinet is also triggering some sizzling metal percussion, perhaps a cymbal. The sound os the clarinet is often in flux as Faghihi concentrates on certain notes or sounds, bends the notes and takes their time let certain sounds linger quietly in the air. It sounds like the clarinet is being played into a snare drums with the snares simmering and resonating. I strated to realize that it is not just the notes or sounds that Faghihib plays on clarinets but also the space between of the notes and the way they unfold in the air. A Shruti box makes drone sounds that many folks use to meditate to. Faghihi does a good job of using the Shruti box quietly. weaving in and out of his ongoing clarinet improvisations. On several levels, this is one the most successful discs on the vast and ever-growing Relative Pitch label. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $13
HI-FI LO-IQ with LUKE ROVINSKY / CALEB DUVAL / MICHAEL LaROCCA * - Bookers (F.I.M.-001; USA) Featuring Luke Rovinsky on electric guitar, Caleb Duval on contrabass and Michael LaRocca on drums. Recorded at The Record Co. in Boston in February of 2023. Last month (April of 2026), we got in a box of ten CD's from the F.I.M. label which is based in Connecticut. Since around the title of 2020 and thanks for former DMG employee & drummer, James Paul Nadien, I've become familiar with a strong underground avant/jazz scene which has been taking place in CT. Most of these Connecticut-based musicians have played here at DMG on numerous occasions. All three members of this trio have played here in the past.
Things begin with "Prop", the bowed bass erupts in the higher end of the tonal scale, before the fractured guitar enters. The music quite free, focused and often intense. Mr. Rovinsky does a good deal of rubbing his strings and twisting his lines into sprawling connected fragments. Both guitarist Rovinsky and bassist Duval are often on the verge of erupting together in large waves. Their ever-crafty drummer loves to play smaller, quirky hand held or placed-upon-the-drums percussion, spinning his fragments into quick whirlwind-like forces. Both Rovinsky's guitar and Duval's bass are playing in a similar ronal range and sound similar at times. On "Mao Nose Face", the trio finally break into a sly groove for a short bit near the end which feels like a good way to bring things together. What I like most about this disc is that the trio often take their time, improvise thoughtfully without totally abandoning occasional melodic fragments. Drummer Mike LaRocca played at DMG recently in a quartet with James McKain, Ras Moshe and Evan Palmer. That set was over-the-top. Here Mr. LaRocca does more subtle, insect-music like playing, bringing something much different from the usual Free/Jazz onslaught that we usually have here at DMG often enough. These are young masters at work and they seem not to have to push things too far out and still impress and uplift us with their tasty free craftiness. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $10
* LUKE ROVINSKY, CALEB DUVAL & MICHAEL LaROCCA (with KAELEN GHANDI) will be playing here at DMG this Saturday at 8:30 for the monthly GauciMusic Series
JAKI BYARD with BOOKER ERVIN / JOE FARRELL / RICHARD WILLIAMS / JIMMY OWENS / RON CARTER / RICHARD DAVIS / ROY HAYNES / PETE LA ROCA/ PAUL CHAMBERS / WALTER PERKINS / ALAN DAWSON / BILLY HIGGINS - The Classic 1960s Albums (Enlightenment 9256CD; EEC) This collection brings together 8 of the finest albums jazz multi-instrumentalist Jaki Byard recorded as a leader between 1960 and 1966. Born June 15, 1922, John Arthur "Jaki" Byard was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer and arranger. Mainly a pianist, he also played tenor and alto saxophones among several other instruments. He was known for his eclectic style, incorporating everything from ragtime and stride to free jazz. Mr. Byard was an important member of several of Charles Mingus and Booker Ervin's bands. His playing often involved a variety of jazz styles or genres, making him a great choice for Mingus' eclectic blending of styles.
This 4-CD collection brings together the finest albums Jaki Byard recorded and released as a leader between 1960 and 1966, the period most critics and fans alike consider the great man's glory years. Providing a superb starting point for those new to this jazz master's music, and a delightful reminder for those already somewhat versed, this compilation will remain a highly sought-after item for years to come. The albums include: 'Here's Jaki' (1961), 'Hi-Fly' (1962), 'Out Front!' (1965), 'Freedom Together' (1966), 'Live! Vol. 1 (1966), 'On the Spot!' (1967),
4 CD Set $18
SOLD OUT & NOW BACK IN STOCK:
KENNY WHEELER SEXTET with RAY WARLEIGH / STAN SULZMANN / JOHN PARRICELLI / CHRIS LAURENCE / TONY LEVIN - What Was (False Walls; UK) The first release of a 1995 studio session, produced by Evan Parker. The Kenny Wheeler Sextet includes Ray Warleigh, Stan Sulzmann, John Parricelli, Chris Laurence and Tony Levin. Evan Parker instigated four recording sessions with Kenny Wheeler and members of this sextet between 1995 and 2003, with a compilation of Wheeler's compositions from these sessions issued on Dream Sequence (2003); the only sextet track on Dream Sequence, "Kind Folk", was taken from the 1995 session which is presented in full here for the first time. What Was includes compositions by Wheeler, Ray Warleigh, Stan Sulzmann, Mike Pyne and Lee Konitz. Any previously unreleased studio session from a great artist is an exciting prospect, especially an artist sadly no longer with us but one whose legacy is still being cared for and curated by many of the musicians with whom they were closest. Such is the case with this outstanding recording from Kenny Wheeler's sextet at Gateway Studio in late 1995, capturing a special period in his life with a special group of colleagues. On What Was we hear Kenny at 65 years old and still at the height of his musical powers, but with the mature finesse and refinement consistent with all his playing during the nineties and particularly on his most successful recording of all time, made just a few months after this session in February 1996, Angel Song (ECM). This period is perhaps a kind of "second chapter" in the evolution of his playing; after the fiery Wheeler of the 1970s we hear him now still full of passion and every bit as assured, but with the more reflective, glass-like quality that refined itself into his sound and self-expression around this time. In addition to that, this new release also brings together many of the people deeply connected with Kenny and his musical world throughout his entire career. It's another treasure in the important legacy of a much missed, and irreplaceable musician - From Nick Smarts sleevenotes
CD $17
CATERINA BARBIERI & BENDIK GISKE - At Source (Light Years LY 009CD; Italy) Caterina Barbieri and Bendik Giske's At Source resounds music as wellspring, that which is essential and unknowable, and yet utterly primary. It finds two acclaimed composer-musicians building a world together in self-contained collaboration between analogue synthesis and an extended approach to the saxophone that conjures its own universe of sound. It is at once intimate and cosmic, drawing on the challenges and possibilities of their artistic exchange, tearing down technique to access all the expansive possibilities of their sonic meeting point. At Source is a document of the world of sound to be conjured when two artists strive for something together, discovering the expansions and limitations of performance by bodies and machines. It is not an exercise in assimilation, but in productive exchange and creative confrontation. It does not draw on outside energies or influences, but grapples with what there is to find in their respective playing. Barbieri and Giske first met and were enthralled by one another's performances at Kunsthaus Glarus in 2019, a meeting that spurred conversations on the power of transitions as a compositional force. Giske later contributed a rework of Fantas for Fantas Variations (Editions Mego, 2021), an ambitious undertaking to rescore Barbieri's work for his saxophone and voice, a challenge Giske had started undertaking two years prior as an ongoing practice of transcription. Giske, who was on the brink of releasing his sophomore album, Cracks, then joined Barbieri's light-years tour, which functioned as an inaugural incarnation of her newborn label and platform. Through the tour, they continued to develop material live, and this release, laid down in the studio, is true to that ever-evolving process of creation, where live feedback stays essential to the vitality of this collaborative effort. The tracks are each named with two evocative words that contain the two poles of their sound. Theirs is both abstract and cosmic, in the synth as machine undermined by Barbieri's naturalistic playing, and in Giske's continuous exploration of the symbiosis between his instrument, voice, and body. These binaries, of body and machine, posed various challenges, notably in how the stepped patterns Barbieri uses were near-impossible to translate for Giske's body to perform, and other times where mathematical resolutions were needed to sync their playing.
CD $17
SIMON JOYNER - Tough Love (Grapefruit GY16 001CD; USA) "For over 30 years, Simon Joyner has been an anomaly -- a wholly independent artist focused solely on his craft. The Omaha-based singer-songwriter began releasing music in the early '90s and has walked an unbroken line ever since. Joyner's songs of quiet joy and heartache have impacted different generations of fellow artists, showing up as overt influence in acts like Bright Eyes or Kevin Morby, and as flickers of shared perspectives in the Lenkers, Oldhams, and Molinas that followed. Tough Love, Joyner's 19th studio album, continues this upward trend. While intrinsically linked to the personal grief of 2024's Coyote Butterfly, the autobiographical album Joyner made in the wake of his son's death, this new album explores the concept of tough love as a dichotomy applied to various fictional relationships including romantic, familial, and political. This balancing act comes through in vivid portrayals of everyday heartache and in the exploration of political rage and the betrayals of the American Dream. One of the marvels of Joyner's catalog is how his patterns don't repeat but transform. Knowing nods to Cohen, Dylan, and the Velvets have been part of his songwriting since the early lo-fi days, but the ways these touchstones get infused keep changing. While Joyner's ragged acoustic songs are in the spotlight, they're prodded by electric guitars and imbued with experimental tendencies. Rock songs split the difference between minimal grooves learned from Loaded-era Velvet Underground and the ecstatic rhythmic weirdness of Can. By the time listeners arrive at the penultimate track, 'Anniversary Song,' the ghost vocals and scratches of microtonal synth have blurred the lines between Joyner's folk singer heart and his avant garde spirit. All of this leads to the 20-minute title track which closes Tough Love, an eviscerating plunge into a seemingly bottomless pit of regret, survivor's guilt, and unvarnished grief. Borrowing a repetitious structure from Lou Reed's narrated suite, 'Street Hassle,' and combined with the full-side testimonial of Dylan's 'Sad-eyed Lady of the Lowlands,' Joyner narrates from the perspective of his departed son speaking to his father and laying out his every failure and brutally highlighting how none of it can be undone. Soon, though, this agony opens up into something transcendent, in both its elegant imagery and ethereal atmospherics. The final moments of the album grant permission for self-forgiveness and hopefully someday, understanding."
CD $16
JEAN-MICHEL DAVIS - Too Blue (L'Invitation Musicale Invmus 1014CD; France) Vibraphonist, percussionist, drummer, composer, and teacher, Jean-Michel Davis has cultivated a career at the crossroads of jazz, popular music, and contemporary composition for several decades. His playing, combining freedom of phrasing with a taste for diverse timbres, makes him a unique voice in the French musical landscape. Born in Paris in 1956, he studied drums with Dante Agostini, then in 1971 crossed paths with Christian Vander (Magma), with whom he furthered his studies. In 1975, he went to Berklee College of Music in Boston, where Ed Saindon introduced him to the world of jazz vibraphone. From 1980 to 1984, he lived in New York and San Francisco, immersed in the American music scene, and then studied classical percussion with Guy-Joël Cipriani of the Paris Opera at the Montreuil Conservatory. In the 1990s, he joined Les Primitifs du Futur, while simultaneously developing his own projects (Novelty Fox, Ethereal Vibes, etc.). In 2022, he founded his quintet with Frédéric Loiseau (guitar), Patrick Villanueva (piano, accordion), Raphaël Schwab (double bass), and Julien Charlet (drums), and recorded the album This n'That (Frémeaux & Associés) with them. Too Blue was built like a chorus: unexpected encounters, detours, and improvisations, captured in the moment. During the quintet's concert at the Salle du Citoyen in Lognes (Printemps du Jazz, March 18, 2023), sound engineer Simon Auffret spontaneously offered to record the performance. A few months later, he recorded them again during the concert at the Espace Michel-Simon in Noisy-le-Grand (December 7, 2023). Brought together after the fact, these two recordings constitute Jean-Michel Davis's first live album as lead. Hilary Kliros's artwork provides the key: Humpty Dumpty, broken and then reassembled, perfectly illustrates this album and how a group's repertoire takes shape before a series of concerts. The program includes two pieces by Victor Feldman, three original compositions, and a piece by pianist Patrick Villanueva: contrasting worlds, brought together without seeking artificial unity. This is the quintet's signature sound: the timbre of the vibraphone, the marimba, and the other instruments, combined with the musicians' energy, weaves the connection and gives form to this ensemble, which is both composite and coherent.
CD $17
MEIKO KAJI - Otoko Onna Kokoro No Aika (1974)(WeWantSounds WWSCD 116CD; UK) Wewantsounds continues its extensive reissue program of Meiko Kaji's early discography, originally released by Teichiku Records in Japan between 1972 and 1974. The Quentin Tarantino muse -- famous for her starring roles in Lady Snowblood and Stray Cat Rock -- was also a gifted singer. Otoko Onna Kokoro No Aika is another collection of superb cinematic songs featuring Kaji's signature mix of Japanese pop and groove, backed by lush, atmospheric orchestrations. This includes her rendition of "Tokyo Nagare Mono," the theme song for Seijun Suzuki's cult 1966 film Tokyo Drifter. This reissue features the original artwork, an OBI strip, and a four-page insert with new liner notes by Hashim Kotaro Bharoocha, who interviewed Meiko Kaji for the occasion. Japanese actress Meiko Kaji has become a worldwide cult icon, partly thanks to Quentin Tarantino, who heavily based his Kill Bill films on the 1973 revenge classic Lady Snowblood. While her previous albums often featured a few key theme songs from her films, Otoko Onna Kokoro No Aika is a classy offering of Showa kayōkyoku (pop) and enka, the "Japanese blues." Kaji approached the record with an actress's sensibility, treating each cover as a dramatic role. The tracklist is anchored by two highlights: the funk-infused arrangement of "Ginza No Cho" (Ginza Butterfly) and Kaji's iconic rendition of "Tokyo Nagare Mono" (Tokyo Drifter). While the latter was famously the theme for Seijun Suzuki's 1966 cult yakuza film of the same name, Kaji's version brings a modern, 1970s feel to the melody. Throughout the record, traditional themes are infused with contemporary grooves, blending lush orchestrations with funky basslines to create a hypnotic, cinematic atmosphere that is uniquely her own. Reissued in its full glory for the first time and remastered by Teichiku in Tokyo, Otoko Onna Kokoro No Aika is a welcome new addition to the Wewantsounds Meiko Kaji reissue campaign, which is sure to please all of her fans worldwide.
CD $19
GABRIELLA SMART - Parasymbiosis (Room40 RM 4252CD; Australia) A note from Gabriella: "Parasymbiosis -- the ability of two separate organisms to exist closely together. I have long pondered the concept of connectedness in relation to life's existence. The Dalai Lama teaches that destruction of one's neighbor equates to destruction of oneself. In contrast, modern Western culture has placed the individual at the epicenter of existence -- to the detriment of non-humans and humans alike. Ecological Memory influences present or future responses of a community; it is this shared memory that enables organisms, objects and the environment to connect to each other, and to the other. What happens when a community or ecological system loses this memory, this connection? The systems begin to break down; intergenerational memory evolves in rapid short steps, culture and connection becomes unrecognizable. Time speeds up. Yet with the naked eye, the universe reflects slow time. Its very distance provides a sense of stasis. Understanding the night sky could very well be the vastness of time we have forgotten through our ecological memory, our loss of the visible difference between the likes of night and day; non-referenceable and dictated by intangible rhythms that exist beyond the cyclic elements of nature. Through Parasymbiosis I imagined sounds of the inherent connection between the earth and the universe. Contemporary society has rendered invisible the heritage of the night sky and what it teaches us. The wonder and awe it inspires, in its pure, unadulterated form untouched by light pollution and modern satellite activity, has always informed non-human and human life cycles and human culture. In modern times, only 40% of human beings can still see the Milky Way. We have forgotten that the dark sky and the earth reflect each other -- they are, as a metaphor, parasymbiotic. The Electric Cristal (EC) features strongly in Parasymbiosis. It is a microtonal, electro-acoustic instrument that has captured my imagination through its deep and fragile resonance created by touching glass rods encased in aluminum. Ceated by Dylan Crismani (AUS) in 2019, the EC conjures vast soundscapes. Electronics exploit the volatile vibrations and random frequencies that the instrument generates."
CD $18
BOOK DEPARTMENT:
MARYANNE AMACHER - Intelligent Life (Blank Forms 9781953691231; USA) Paperback. 490 pages. "The most comprehensive compilation of the sound artist's working documents for her unrealized media-opera tour de force. Written in the early 1980s by American sound art pioneer Maryanne Amacher (1938-2009), Intelligent Life follows the employees of Supreme Connections LLC, a music entertainment corporation navigating a future in which artificial intelligence generates music faster than composers can. Anticipating an industry-wide downturn, Supreme Connections president Aplisa Kandel seeks advanced technologies that will revolutionize the act of listening, narrating to the audience as she does so. Though the untimely deaths of the opera's would-be patrons prevented Amacher from realizing the work in its intended forms -- a serialized radio broadcast and television simulcast -- she continued designing 'treatments' for the opera for much of her career. This publication makes the most complete presentation of these working documents -- including episodic scripts, notes on the use of LaserDisc and an illustrated storyboard for the pilot -- available to the public for the first time, and evinces Amacher's prescient ideas about perception, listening and composition."
BOOK $58
RICHIE UNTERBERGER // VELVET UNDERGROUND - Do What You Fear Most: The History of the Velvet Underground (Omnibus Press 9781913172992; USA) Hardback. 816 pages. "No band has reshaped the possibilities of popular music like The Velvet Underground. Formed in New York in 1965, the Velvets emerged from the nexus of art, fashion, politics, music and counterculture. Although widespread popularity and acclaim evaded them during their four-album lifespan, their enduring, cross-generational appeal meant the Velvets could count iconic contemporaries like Leonard Cohen, David Bowie, and Jimi Hendrix as fans, alongside future legends such as Roxy Music, the Pretenders and Sonic Youth. Do What You Fear Most chronicles how an unlikely group of upstarts came to define the musical zeitgeist. In a sprawling and engrossing narrative, Richie Unterberger follows the group from their disparate origins to their ascendancy as Andy Warhol's Factory house band in New York City. It explores the creative alchemy between the core trio of Lou Reed, John Cale, and Nico, the shocking exits and ever-changing lineups, as well as the wider New York cultural scene of the period. Rigorously researched and packed with previously undocumented insights, this book features many first-hand interviews with the group's associates, as well as material newly unearthed from the Lou Reed Archive and the Andy Warhol Archive, alongside never-before-seen images and ephemera."
BOOK $45
LP Section:
THIS HEAT - This Heat (Superior Viaduct SV 219LP; USA) "There's an irony inherent in the term 'postpunk.' Many of the groups that define the genre (think Pere Ubu or Cabaret Voltaire) existed for several years before punk. But these outfits had little hope of finding an audience until punk stirred up an appetite for the extreme, while also spawning a new breed of independent labels that could support challenging music. This Heat is a prime example. Formed in early 1976 by drummer Charles Hayward, guitarist Charles Bullen and 'non-musician' Gareth Williams, the group were initially unaware of what was brewing elsewhere in London, yet they were driven by similar impulses: to make noise expressive of the era's turbulence. Instead of punk's crude reduction of rock 'n' roll, This Heat took their bearings from expansive inspirations: free jazz, Captain Beefheart, musique concrète, and reggae's disorienting dub techniques. Vital to their evolution was Cold Storage, a disused meat fridge in Brixton where the band rehearsed. Produced by This Heat with David Cunningham and Anthony Moore, their 1979 debut was collaged out of cassette tapes and recordings made during ultra-cheap graveyard shifts at The Workhouse. The jump-cuts in sound quality were deliberately designed to make the album more unsettled and jarring. The first two principles of This Heat's mission statement -- 'All possible processes. All channels open.' -- could have been co-signed by many pre-punk experimentalists. It's the third part -- '24 hour alert.' -- that makes This Heat archetypally post-punk, crystallizing the 'totally-wired' mood of paranoid vigilance they shared with peers like Scritti Politti and The Pop Group. Soft power -- the mind-control of television and advertising -- was an obsession; several tracks take their titles from the gogglebox ('Testcard,' 'Horizontal Hold'). But hard power -- in particular, geopolitical dominance -- is also addressed in tracks like 'The Fall of Saigon.' Perhaps the most startling piece here is '24 Track Loop.' Breakbeat-like drums are processed using the Eventide Harmonizer, a machine famously used on Bowie's Low. The song's creaky textures and pitch-shifted beats anticipate '90s jungle, but the entire album is a controlled explosion of ideas. Nearly fifty years on, This Heat's debut is something the world has still not completely caught up with." - Simon Reynolds
LP $30
HADLEY CALIMAN with LUIS GASCA / BAYETE TODD COCHRAN / WOODY SONSHIP THEUS / VICTOR PANTOJA - Iapetus (WeWantSounds WWSLP 123LP; UK) First-ever vinyl reissue of Hadley Caliman's 1971 modal/spiritual jazz cult classic, Iapetus. Composed and arranged by Bayeté Todd Cochran, featuring remastered audio, original gatefold artwork with unissued session photos and new liner notes written by Todd Cochran. Wewantsounds continues its reissue program of Bob Shad's cult jazz label, Mainstream Records, with Hadley Caliman's superb 1972 album, Iapetus. Recorded in LA and featuring a heavyweight lineup of West Coast players including Todd Cochran, Woody "Sonship" Theus, Luis Gasca, and Victor Pantoja, the majority of the album was composed by Todd Cochran (aka Bayeté) soon after he had composed Bobby Hutcherson's Blue Note classic, Head On. A true hidden treasure, it is reissued here on vinyl for the first time since 1971, featuring its original gatefold artwork with rare first-generation photos. This edition comes with newly remastered audio and a two-page insert with exclusive liner notes by Todd Cochran, reflecting on Hadley Caliman and the making of the album. Tenor saxophonist and flutist Hadley Caliman was a key figure in the West Coast late '60s underground scene, whose versatile style made him a first-call collaborator across genres. A fixture of the San Francisco music scene, Caliman's rich tone and musical creativity saw him crossing over into the city's lively jazz and psychedelic rock circles, contributing to recordings by Gerald Wilson, Mongo Santamaria, Santana, and the Grateful Dead. By 1971, he had established himself as a prominent member of this creative community, which led to his signing with Bob Shad's Mainstream Records. Following his 1971 self-titled debut, Caliman returned to the studio later that year to record Iapetus. The session featured a heavyweight lineup of fellow West Coast fixtures, including trumpeter Luis Gasca, bassist James Leary, and a powerhouse percussion section of Woody "Sonship" Theus, Victor Pantoja, and Hungria Garcia. The album's sophisticated modal structures were captured by pianist and composer Todd Cochran.
LP $35
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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 is NOW LOCATED AT THE NEW SCHOOL, Here is upcoming schedule:
THE STONE RESIDENCIES / ANTHONY COLEMAN / JUNE 10-13
6/10 Wednesday
8:30 pm: DUO - Anthony Coleman (piano) Satoshi Takeishi (drums)
6/11 Thursday
8:30 pm: Trio - Yoona Kim (ajaeng) Tom Rainey (drums) Anthony Coleman (piano)
6/12 Friday
8:30 pm: Chamber Music featuring the Studio 265 Ensemble - Milana Zivanovic (Serbian flute) Vasiliy Bolgov (violin) Eden MacAdam-Somer (viola) Elias Shane (harp) David Harewood (piano) David Leon (alto sax) Steven Long (piano, electric organ) Nick Neuburg (drums, percussion) Tanya Kalmanovitch (viola) Ted Reichman (accordion) Anthony Coleman (piano); The Worms Are in Their Brains (2019) / Flaubert/Sofa/Sentence (2012) / Unbelievable Ponašanje (2016) / Cross Currents 1982 (2018)
6/13 Saturday
8:30 pm: MUSIC FROM SOUNDING BOARD - Anthony Coleman (piano)
CD RELEASE CONCERT FOR SOUNDING BOARD!
THE STONE RESIDENCIES / SIMON HANES / JUNE 17-20 / JUNE 24-27
Simon Hanes 35th Birthday Celebration!!!!
6/17 Wednesday
8:30 pm - QUARTET: Anthony Coleman (piano) Mat Maneri (viola) Billy Martin (percussion, drums) Simon Hanes (bass, baritone guitar)
6/18 Thursday
8:30 pm - MUSIC FOR DUOS: Simon Hanes (electric bass) Jorge Roeder (upright bass) Rahul Carlberg (keyboards) Elias Stemeseder (keyboards)
New music for two basses, and for two keyboards
CLOSED FOR JUNETEENTH - THE NEW SCHOOL WILL BE CLOSED
6/20 Saturday
8:30 pm- THE NEW CALIFORNIANS: Simon Hanes (bass, baritone guitar) Fred Frith (guitar) Ches Smith (drums) Nora Stanley (alto sax)
6/24 Wednesday
8:30 pm - TSONS OF TSUNAMI LARGE ENSEMBLE: Simon Hanes (baritone guitar) Anna Abondolo (upright bass) Jesse Heasly (electric bass) Jon Starks (drums) Nora Stanley (alto sax) Rahul Carlberg (keyboards) Billy Martin (percussion) Anna Fortuna (vibraphone, malletkat, marimba) Pauline Roberts (vibraphone, aux perc, voice) Adam Turay (electric guitar); World premiere of new music for Simon's newest stellar ensemble!
6/25 Thursday
8:30 pm - A full performance of L'HISTOIRE DU SOLDAT: Carina Yee (violin) Jesse Heasly (bass) Matt Bent (drums, percussion) Jake Baldwin (trumpet) Kathryn Vetter (clarinet) Colin Babcock (trombone) Sara Schoenbeck (bassoon) Simon Hanes (conductor) John Hanes (narrator) Anthony Coleman (devil) Anna Abondolo (soldier)
6/26 Friday
8:30 pm - GARGANTUA: Isa Crespo Pardo (voice) Priya Carlberg (voice) Jolee Gordon (voice) Anna Abondolo (electric bass) Jesse Heasly (electric bass) Wes Nelson (electric bass) Kevin Newton (french horn) Noah Fotis (french horn) Blair Hamrick (french horn) Jen Baker (trombone) Jacob Garchik (trombone) Colin Babcock (trombone) Matt Bent (drums) Jon Starks (drums) Kevin Murray (drums) Simon Hanes (conductor)
6/27 Saturday
8:30 pm - SOLO: Simon Hanes (baritone guitar)
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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Join Guitar Great / Author / Alt Guitar Fest Organizer Joel Harrison
At the Brooklyn Guitar Festival - June 12-13, 2026
Mr. Harrison is excited to be part of this year's Brooklyn Guitar Festival, taking place June 12-13 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. He will be performing with The Stardust Reunion Band on Saturday, June 13 at 2:00 PM at the Arlo Williamsburg. This project has become one of my favorite musical adventures, bringing together an incredible group of musicians for a joyful blend of soul, groove, improvisation, and collective spirit.
The festival has assembled an extraordinary lineup of guitarists across jazz, rock, blues, Americana, and experimental music, including John Scofield, Bill Frisell, Mike Stern, Vernon Reid, Al Di Meola, Greg Koch, Jackie Venson, Alex Skolnick, Eric Gales, Adam Rogers, and many more.
Friday, June 12 @ Warsaw
7:00 PM – Jackie Venson
8:00 PM – Adam Rogers DICE with Nate Smith & Fima Ephron
9:00 PM – John Scofield Trio
10:15 PM – Music of Jeff Beck featuring Vernon Reid, Alex Skolnick, Eric Gales, Greg Koch, and others
Saturday, June 13 @ Arlo Williamsburg
12:00 PM – Andy McKee
1:00 PM – Greg Koch & Ally Venable
2:00 PM – Joel Harrison & The Stardust Reunion Band
3:00 PM – Alex Skolnick
4:00 PM – Mike Stern Group
5:00 PM – Bill Frisell Trio
6:10 PM – Music of John Scofield
7:45 PM – Vernon Reid
9:00 PM – Al Di Meola
More information and tickets:
www.bklynguitarfest.com
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THIS COMES FROM MY GOOD FRIENDS AT THE BURNT SUGAR ARKESTRA:
Saturday, June 20th
Maker Park Radio presents The Future Roots Festival
with ESG / Burnt Sugar The Arkestra Chamber w Living Colour’s Vernon Reid / Sunny War / DJ Nabihah Iqbal
Maker Park Radio
450 Front Street
Staten Island N.Y. 10304
7PM - 11PM
All Ages / Free to the People
Burnt Sugar The Arkestra Chamber (Maker Park Radio Edition) featuring: Vernon Reid - guitar/conduction / Shelley Nicole - vocals / Miss Olithea - vocals / Bruce Mack - vocals/synthesizer/conduction / JS Williams - trumpet / V. Jeffrey Smith - soprano & tenor sax/electronics / “Moist” Paula Henderson - bari sax / Dave “Smoota” Smith - trombone / Keyanna Hutchinson - electric guitar / Ben Tyree - electric guitar / LaFrae Sci - trap drums/electronic drums/conduction / Jared Michael Nickerson - electric bubble bass
Saturday, July 18th
J. Dilla’s Donuts reimagined by Burnt Sugar The Arkestra Chamber
with Special Detroit Guests Jessica CARE Moore, DONAVAN GLOVER,
Monica “mbtheLightLIGHT” Blaire, Jon Dixon & Duminie Desporres.
Concert of Colors 2026
Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA)
North Lawn Stage
5200 Woodward Avenue
Detroit Michigan 48202
6:30PM
All Ages
Free to the People
Presented in loving acknowledgement of Ismael “Ish” Ahmed & Margaret King-Ahmed
Burnt Sugar The Arkestra Chamber (J Dilla Donuts Re-Imagined Edition) Featuring: Jessica CARE Moore - mc/spoken word / LaFrae Sci - trap drums/electronic drums/conduction / Miss Olithea - vocals / electronics / Monica “mBtheLIGHT” Blaire - vocals/electronics / Bruce Mack - vocals/synthesizer/conduction / DONAVAN GLOVER - turntables/electronics / JS Williams - trumpet / V. Jeffrey Smith - soprano & tenor sax/electronics / Duminie Deporres - electric guitar / Jonathan Dixon - keyboards/electronics / Leon Gruenbaum - keyboards/samchillian/talk box / Jared Michael Nickerson - electric bubble bass
Thursday, July 30th / Friday, July 31st / Saturday, August 1st
Burnt Sugar The Arkestra Chamber “Caramelizes” The Summer of LoveConcert of Joe Henderson Lab
SF Jazz Center
201 Franklin Street
San Francisco CA 94102
415-788-7353
All Ages
Two Shows @ Night @ 7PM & 8:30PM - $39.00
Burnt Sugar The Arkestra Chamber / sfjazz.org
Burnt Sugar The Arkestra Chamber (SF Jazz Summer of Love Edition) - Featuring: Shelley Nicole - vocals/conduction / Bruce Mack - vocals/synthesizer/conduction / Miss Olithea - vocals/electronics / JS Williams - trumpet / V. Jeffrey Smith - soprano & tenor sax/electronics / Ben Tyree - electric guitar / Leon Gruenbaum - keyboards/samchillian/talk box / LaFrae Sci - trap drums/electronic drums/conduction / Jared Michael Nickerson - electric bubble bass
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The 3rd Annual Brooklyn Free Spirit Festival
Returns to I-beam Brooklyn on Saturday July 11 & Sunday July 12.
Produced by Siren Xypher Collective, with support from Alan Feller and Creative Music Studio, this year features workshops by Zeena Parkins, Kyoko Kitamura & Rachel Bernsen; a special listening session & live interview with Cooper-Moore; evening performances by Selendis S.A. Johnson, Hans Young-Binter, Josh Matthews, Janice Lowe, Olithea Anglin, Yohann Potico, Melissa Almaguer, Zeena Parkins, Nate Wooley, Ryan Sawyer, Jamal R. Moore, and Warren Crudup III. Tickets are $20/day which includes all daytime/evening events, light snacks and beverages to facilitate conversation.
Full schedule and details: https://kyokokitamura.com/brooklyn-free-spirit-festival/
I-beam info and tickets Day 1 https://www.ibeambrooklyn.com/home/2026/7/11/brooklyn-free-spirit-festival-day-1
I-beam info and tickets Day 2 https://www.ibeambrooklyn.com/home/2026/7/12/brooklyn-free-spirit-festival-day-2
The Brooklyn Free Spirit Festival convenes improvised music creatives and audiences to promote freedom of expression, inventiveness and social-bonding as an antidote to the oppression of all life forms. The Siren Xypher Collective is Mara Rosenbloom, Melanie Dyer, Kyoko Kitamura.