I heard some of you got your families
Livin' in cages, tall and cold
And some just stay there and dust away
Past the age of old
Is this true?
Please let me talk to you
I just wanna know about
The rooms behind your minds
Do I see a vacuum there
Or am I a-goin' blind?
Or is it just-a remains for vibrations
And echoes long ago?
A-things like "Love the world"
And-a "Let your fancy flow"
Is this true?
Please let me talk a-to you
Let me talk to you
I have lived here before
The days of ice
And of course this is why I'm so concerned
And I come back to find
The stars misplaced
And the smell of a world that has burned
A smell of a world
That has burned
A smell of the world
That has burned
Yeah well, maybe, um
Maybe it's just a change of climate, mm-hm
I can dig it
I can dig it, baby
I just wanna see
So where do I purchase my ticket
I'd just like to have a ringside seat
I wanna know about the new Mother Earth
I wanna hear and see everything
I wanna hear and see everything
I wanna hear and see everything
Last week I went to a marvelous set at The Stone featuring Greg Cohen on contrabass and Julian Lage on guitar. Greg Cohen, as you may know, was a founding member of John Zorn's original Masada Quartet, as well as working with Tom Waits & many other creative projects. He is an amazing bassist who works well in a wide variety of styles and situations. Oddly enough, young guitarist supreme, Julian Lage, is a current member of the New Masada Quartet whose only original member is alto saxist & composer John Zorn. Julian Lage was a child prodigy, who was playing incredibly well while still a teenager in bluegrass bands. If you've ever seen & heard the New Masada Quartet live or on their three discs, then you know that Mr. Lage is a phenomenal guitarist on several levels. Check out his duo and quartet work with Nels Cline as well. Plus word is that he recently played some gigs with Bob Dylan!?! The duo gig with Mr. Cohen and Mr. Lage was superb, melodic and immensely inventive, without the usual fireworks that Zorn pulls from members of his current quartet. The duo played several "freedom" songs & since it was right before July 4th, songs by film composers chosen by Mr. Cohen, mostly sounds with haunting melodies that both musicians added their own distinct magic/tough to. One of my favorite songs that they played was "Up from the Skies" by Jimi Hendrix Experience from 'Axis: Bold as Love'. The lyrics are above. Although Mr. Hendrix was somewhat shy about his singing and lyrics, I always dug his voice, words, guitar playing and producing. He seemed like an alien who had come to us to inspire us and lead into a different world or dimension.
Last night while searching for some discs to add to my one-stop order (at Alliance), I was looking for some current avant/jazz, progressive or Downtown discs to add to this week's newsletter. My employee, John M, suggested that I check out the Pitchfork website so I did and found a couple of things to add to my order. I signed up for the Pitchfork weekly Sunday newsletter and got the first one in my email earlier today. They have a feature which chose several albums from the past to do some lengthy reviews. I think that is a great idea to review albums that might be misunderstood and under-recognized. The only review that I read was of Jimi Hendrix Experience's debut album 'Are You Experienced' from 1967, an albums that I bought that very summer after hearing "Purple Haze" on the radio. That single and that album completely blew my 13 year old mind and I remain a Jimi Hendrix fanatic nearly 60 years later. The review from Pitchfork was written by Graysin Haver Currin and I think it is a wonderful, thoughtful and incisive review. I urge you to check it out at oitchfork.com. If you haven't already done this, you should check out some of Hendrix live playing (and interviews) on YouTube. Jimi Hendrix passed away way too young but his music and legacy, influence and music remains with us. - MC BruceLee at DMG
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THE DMG 35th ANNIVERSARY IN-STORE CONCERT SERIES Continues with:
July 14th:
6:30: NIKITA MANIN - Solo Clarinet
7:30: MATT KNOEGEL - Tenor & Soprano Sax / JON ELBAZ - Keyboard / AIDAN O'CONNELL - Bass / MICHAEL LaROCCA - Drums
8:30: JOHN DALTON - Drums / SAM CHILDS - Saxes / KRIS GRUDA - Guitar / EVAN PALMER - Bass
Saturday, July 18th, The Gauci-Music Series Continues:
6:30: JAMES McKAIN - Bari Sax / TJ BORDEN - Cello / KAELEN GHANDHI - Tenor-Soprano Sax / SANDY EWEN - Prepared Guitar
7:30: STEPHEN GAUCI - Tenor Sax - Flute / ADAM LANE - Bass / KEVIN SHEA - Drums
8:30: PATRICK GOLDEN - Drums / JIM CLOUSE - Tenor - Soprano Saxes / DAVE SEWELSON - Bari Sax
July 21st:
6:30: DAN KURFIRST - Drums / NICK LYONS, STAN ZENKOV, DANIEL CARTER - Reeds / DUSTIN CARLSON - Guitar / EVAN CRANE - Bass
7:30: MICHAEL COLEMAN - Synth - Guitar / KATIE JACOBSON - Vocals / IVAN ARTEAGA - Sax / KURT KOTHEIMER - Bass-Computer
8:30: ANDERS NILSSON / JONATHAN GOLDBERGER - Guitar Duo
*************
THIS WEEK'S MARVELOUS DISCS BEGIN WITH ANOTHER COLOSSAL GEM:
ALAN SKIDMORE'S TENOR TONIC with PAUL DUNMALL / PAUL ROGERS / TONY LEVIN - That's Our Life (Jazz in Britain 91-S-CD; UK) Featuring Alan Skidmore and Paul Dunmall on tenor saxes, Paul Rogers on contrabass and Tony Levin on drums. “Well I used to go to Tony Levin’s house in Birmingham many times to play and hang out. We played lots of duos of which Tony recorded a few. I think he played Skid some of it and I believe Skid liked my playing. Then one day Skid was at Tony’s for a weekend so I went over, and the three of us ended up playing together and it sounded great. So I think that is where Tenor Tonic started. I can't remember how the group actually formed but obviously it must have been Skid who set the group in motion. I believe I recommended Paul Rogers.” The band toured throughout 1985 and 1986 but never released an album. Jazz In Britain has compiled an album of live and studio recordings from 1985, some of which we believe were intended for an album release but which never happened.
Aside from several different quartets led by drummer Franklin Kiermyer in the 1990's, there were two colossal quartets who drew from the great legacy of the original John Coltrane Quartet with similar instrumentation (tenor sax, piano, bass & drums) and similar exploratory sound, ever-evolving on each of their releases and live concerts. The two quartets were the David S. Ware Quartet (1990-2009, NYC) and Mujician (1988-2010, England). Both quartets released around a dozen discs during their reign, each one well worth exploring. Mujician featured Keith Tippett on piano, Paul Dunmall on tenor sax, Paul Rogers on contrabass and Tony Levin on drums. Although I had the opportunity to check out the David S Ware Quartet numerous times, I only got to witness Mujician once at the FIMAV Fest in Quebec. The main difference between the two quartets was that the Ware Quartet played some written themes while all of Mujician's concerts and recordings were completely improvised. The one time I caught Mujician at Victo, they blew my mind, the same can be said for any performance by pianist supreme Keith Tippett, who has long been Manny/Lunch's and myself's favorite.
After hearing seminal records from Soft Machine, John McLaughlin, John Surman Trio, Brotherhood of Breath and the Keith Tippett Group in the early 1970's, I became a fanatic for Progressive British Jazz & Rock. I heard tenor saxist Alan Skidmore with Brotherhood of Breath, Soft Machine and SOS, as well as leading his own band and thought he was/is one of the best tenor saxists to emerge from the British Jazz scene in the late sixties/early seventies. I caught him with El Skid (w/ Elton Dean, Chris Laurence & Louis Moholo) in December of 1970 at the 100 Club and have each of his two dozen plus leader dates and collaborations. Both Mr. Skidmore and Mr. Dunmall are no doubt influenced by Coltrane and have worked a couple of times together in recent years. Both saxists have maintained their own sound/tone/approach and they sound especially great together! I am listening to this 2 CD set for the first time today (7/9/26) and it sounds amazing! Contrabassist Paul Rogers, who plays a custom-made 6 or 7 string bass with sympathetic strings is also under-recognized and one of the best bassist that I've heard. Check out anything he is on. The late, great drummer, Tony Levin, was the elder member of Mujician whose career stretched back the early 1960's when he was playing with Tubby Hayes. I am currently in my kitchen at home listening to this disc and being overwhelmed by the Spirit Jazz which is blasting from stereo! If you are a Free Jazz/Spirit Music Freak like me and many of the other DMG subscribers, then you need the Sonic Magic Medicine found within the music here. Inspiration, move me brightly! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
2 CD Set $25 [Limited Edition of 500]
ATTENTION KEITH TIPPETT FANS:
All 20 copies of the KEITH TIPPETT - Authorized Biography Book that we got in last week are now sold out, all pre-orders were fulfilled. We do have another 10 copies coming in 1-2 weeks, 5 of which are already spoken for. They are either sold out or almost sold from the good folks at Jazz in Britain so don't miss out if you haven't gotten your copy yet. The following CD is not supposed to arrive until early August of 2026: KEITH TIPPETT / LOUIS MOHOLO-MOHOLO with LARRY STABBINS - Duets with Keith Tippett and Louis Moholo-Moholo - And the Birds Sang (Jazz in Britain) CD.
AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE / MARY HALVORSON - Slo-mo Neon Luminate Hoverings (Nonesuch 728749; USA) Trumpeter/composer Ambrose Akinmusire and guitarist/composer Mary Halvorson's album Slo-Mo Neon Luminate Hoverings is due June 12, 2026, on Nonesuch Records. The album features four new compositions by each musician as well as one collaboration. The album track "Soundcheck" is available today and can be heard below; you can pre-order the album here. The duo, long admirers of each other's musicianship, met at Halvorson's Brooklyn apartment and began playing together periodically, going back as far as 2009. They rehearsed the music on Slo-Mo Neon Luminate Hoverings in January 2025, just before performing it at the New York City club The Stone; they recorded this album the next day at Sear Sound.
In a true meeting of great minds, shared aesthetic, and Nonesuch label mates, trumpeter/composer Ambrose Akinmusire and guitarist/composer Mary Halvorson play intently with their new Halvorson and hand-me-down Akinmusire Line 6 DL4 MkII Delay Modeler, and break the dark silence with the spectral movement of Slo-Mo Neon Luminate Hoverings.
More laid back and ambient than either of the influencers' past works—Halvorson's 2022 Nonesuch debut Amaryllis and Belladonna; Code Girl (Nonesuch, 2024); or Akinmusire's Grammy-nominated On the Tender Spot of Every Calloused Moment (Blue Note, 2020) and Origami Harvest (Blue Note, 2018) — Slo-Mo Neon Luminate Hoverings ruminates as it illuminates.
"Prelude In the Ash" sets things in motion with the trumpeter's one-man-standing-in-the-morning declamation. Halvorson drifts in with a simple circular pattern, one that grows and bends as it evolves. And though "Prelude In the Ash" may not be the kind of world-beater one might expect from this music of giants, it sets the tone. Only to have track two, "This Vivid," obliterate the set tone. Arriving with a literal scream that loops back on itself and its audience as the duo have their way with time and space and other abstract thoughts. If you think about the alternate soundtrack for an average hour in post-America, who better than Akinmusire and Halvorson to give us one?
The Morse code-ish, "Nice to meet you again for the first time," sets sail as a baleful conversation between equals ensues. With all its errant squiggles and sharp turns, "Soundcheck" hypnotizes as it unravels like an ancient mystery: clouds part, fog sets in. Halvorson's innate humor is fully focused as she adroitly sculpts her sound at will, creating a dream environment for Akinmusire to float and revel in.
Set in the diaspora at the end of the world, "Tangled Pretty" is another of those lost alternate soundtracks about a place in time. A place in the mind. A place where thought and moment happen. And what happens is a joining of hearts: Akinmusire calling to a higher realm as Halvorson paints the walls of said realm.
Featuring Akinmusire's first use of delay and his interaction with and against the evolving sound, Slo-Mo Neon Luminate Hoverings continues tidally with "Ofo," an off-the-cuff rendering of the day that was. The reflective "Blood and Sand" and the sonically cinematic title track bring the set to a soaring close. Unfortunately, that is where the joyful hypnosis ends and the exhausting day begins." - Mike Jurkovic, AllAboutJazz.com
LP $30 // CD $16 [LP's should be here on Monday next week & CDs will be in stock in 2-3 weeks]
ELIJAH SHIFFER with KEVIN SUN / DMITRY ISHENKO / COLIN HINTON / HAYOUNG LYOU - City of Birds - Volume IV: Warbler Raves and Weird Duck Time (Star Jelly 007; USA) Featuring Elijah Shiffer on alto sax & compositions, Kevin Sun on clarinet & tenor sax, Dmitry Ishenko on contrabass and Colin Hinton on drums plus guest Hayoung Lyou on piano for one track. This is fourth in a series from Downtown alto saxist and composer, Elijah Shiffer. Aside from being a solid alto saxist and diverse bandleader, Elijah Shiffer is also an ornithologist or bird expert, who studies bird behavior and bird calls, mostly from the NYC area. On each of his four volumes of discs, Mr. Shiffer chooses different varieties of birds for the calls and behavior and then composes music based on the observations.
"Flower Pirates" was inspired by the song or call of the Cape May Warbler. The song of this Warbler is used for the theme of this piece. The drummer plays a sort of marching beat here. I dig the great harmony which is played by the alto and tenor saxes, Kevin Sun plays a fine clarinet solo here which seems to bridge old school tone with Shiffer playing a solid alto solo, the theme has a 50's/60's sort of R&B-like flavor. "Weird Duck Time" starts with one familiar sounding theme before both saxists take inspired solos. Most heartfelt without any avant fireworks makes this a modest success. "Warbler Rave" features the songs of five different warblers in a quick succession. This sounds like a bebop song (the head) and it is played quickly with a series of fast, tart solos by both saxists. The opening line of each sax solo sounds like it could've been inspired by several different bird songs. When the rhythm team drops out, the two saxes play a series of tight written thematic fragments with drummer Colin Hinton taking a short, expressive solo near the end. "Bufflehead Shuffle" was inspired by the way a certain duck swims underwater. Once again, the central theme has a an infectious bluesy, somewhat funky sound with tasty solo from both saxes. "Laureate" (for the Black-Thoated Blue Warbler) features some sublime harmonies for both saxists and two lovely, haunting sax solos from Mr. Sun and Mr. Shiffer. After a while, I noticed that it didn't really matter which bird songs were being used for inspiration since each song here is great on its own merit. Each of the melodies or themes that Mr. Shiffer has written is/are a gem as is each of the solos from either saxist. Pianist Hayoung Lyuo also takes a strong solo on "Decoy Island", another highlight here. I like that this disc is truly a wonder of strong melodies and inspired, inventive solos without ever having to go too far out. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $12
SUN RA & HIS ARKESTRA with JUNE TYSON / JOHN GILMORE / MARSHALL ALLEN / DANNY RAY THOMPSON / DANNY DAVIS / JAMES JACSON / PAT PATRICK / CHRIS CAPERS / KWAME HADI / RONNIE BOYKINS / ROLLO RADFORD / et al - East Two plus Seven (Cosmic Myth 010; USA) The Cosmic Myth label has been releasing and reissuing mostly rare material from the Sun Ra Arkestra, who reigned supreme from around 1956 through 1993. This disc, 'East Two 7' features six previously unreleased tracks from one of Sun Ra's most productive periods, 1972-1973, plus two rare live tracks from 1984 and 1985. The title track is a rare one and it was only performed once in a Chicago studio. It is also an album side long (15 minute) work. The horns open with a sweet & sour chorus of tart harmonies with Su Ra playing an eerie electronic keyboard (synth?) quietly underneath. The under-recorded nd under-recognized Kwame Hadi takes the first long, inspired solo while Sun Ra creates strange sci-fi like electronics throughout. As Mr. Ra starts soloing midway, different saxists play those historic squealing multiphonic sounds. This piece is a dirge or sorts and reminds of slow, unfolding (funeral?) procession with a solemn, throbbing el bass part at the bottom. I dig the way this piece places us in another alternate universe. Great out/jazz bassist Ronnie Boykins is featured on "In Tomorrow's Realm", his playing is the centering factor for this piece which also features more mysterious keyboard sounds from Mr. Ra while Boykins solos throughout. "Rocket #9" was once cover by NRBQ for their debut album. This version features the Space Ethnic Vocal Chorus and the vibe is most infectious with Sun Ra's theremin-like synth adding to the otherworldly spell. Mr. Ra plays some alien-sounding free piano throughout "East Five" with those Arkestra-like bent-note sax explorations from John Gilmore, Danny Davis and James Jacson (on bassoon). If you dig those astonishing and often scary sax exhortations, then this piece is for you. "Yesterdays" is an ancient (1933) standard that Sun Ra started to play in the 1940's. The version here has Sun Ra on a Yamaha YC-30 electronic keyboard in a live setting, the vibe is somewhat solemn and haunting. "Light on a Satellite" features three flutes at the center plus several other reeds and brass playing a that truly Ra-like slightly twisted theme. "The Place of Five Points" was recorded live in 1985 and this is the only known live version. This piece is mostly solo piano and synth from Mr. Ra with the orchestra simmering in the background, the vibe unsettling yet hypnotic. "Fate in a Pleasant Mood" was the title track of a Sun Ra a Saturn album from 1965 which was reissued on Impulse! in 1974. This is a live version from 1984 recorded on tour in 1984. The piece has layers of free saxes and other freaky horns, waves of strange synth magic and hypnotic percussion. Again, the Sun Ra Arkestra creates its own sonic world that we can all visit when we get the chance. So nice to spend time in the Sun Ra Realm. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14
VINNY GOLIA / DAN CLUCAS / KEVIN CHELI / SETH ANDREW DAVIS - Orchid (Mother Brain Records ISN 001; USA) Featuring Vinny Golia on bass & A clarinets, baritone & sopranino saxes & alto flute, Dan Clucas on cornet & violin, Seth Andrew Davis on guitar & electronics and Kevin Cheli on percussion & objects. Guitarist Seth Andrew Davis hails from Kansas City, Missouri and has played here at DMG a handful of times in the past few years. Last month, June or 2026, Mr. Davis organized & played in a quintet here with Kevin Cheli on vibes & percussion plus James McKain (bari sax), Evan Palmer (bass) and Marc Edwards (drums). It was a mighty fine set and the first time I heard Kevin Cheli who excelled at vibes and odd percussion.
This disc was recorded at Ear Gallery in LA, CA in September of 2023. Mr. Davis seems to have a connection to Los Angeles as he has recorded with Jeff Kaiser and here works with Vinny Golia and Dan Clucas, two longtime experimental musicians & collaborators from L.A. Both Vinny Golia and dan Clucas can be heard on a large number of discs from the Ninewinds, pfMentum and FMR labels. This disc is well-recorded and the balance is just right. The quartet is busty at times, sparse at other times and completely focused together. Mr. Davus uses minimal effects on his guitar, keeping the quartet focused and exploring interaction. Mr. Cheli works his way through an assortment of percussion instruments: cymbals, metal, drums and vibes while Davis plays streams of notes on his guitar, sometimes fractured, sometimes linear. Davis and Cheli often sound like a restless rhythm team swirling tightly yet freely together inconstant motion. Mr. Golia switches between flutes, higher & lower saxes & clarinets, soloing or just adding a layer of interaction with Mr. Clucas's cornet or violin. When Mr. Clucas plays violin, it reminds me of Mat Maneri or Mike Khoury, two string players who like to go further out into the microtonal zone. Mr. Davis often uses reverb without overdoing it, which gives his guitar a distinctive ethereal sound. On a piece called "Bark", Golia plays bari sax while Clucas plays cornet, both quickly interweaving circular waves while the guitar and drums erupt intensely underneath pushing the energy higher and higher. This piece is FreeJazz/FireMusic at its best and eventually settles into a free yet calmer world. This disc is pretty long, nearly 78 minutes. I listened to it in section of 20-30 minutes each. I found all of the music to be consistently fascinating nonetheless. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14
DOUGLAS EWART / SETH ANDREW DAVIS / KYLE HUTCHINS / KEVIN CHELI - See You In the Past (Mother Brsin ISN-002; USA) Featuring Douglas Ewart on saxes, flutes & artwork, Kyke Hutchins on saxes, Seth Andrew Davis on guitar & electronics and Kevin Cheli on percussion & vibes. Several weeks ago in June of 2026, Seth Andrew Davis and Kevin Cheli played here in a quintet with James McKain, Evan Palmer & Marc Edwards. Saxist Kyle Hutchins also played with Seth Andrew Davis prior to this at an earlier DMG gig. This session was recorded at Studio Z in St. Paul, MN in August of 2023. Both guitarist Seth Andrew davis and percussionist Kevin Cheli uare the rhythm team (of sorts) for two new discs left to us from Mr. Davis. It sounds like they have worked together at length in the way they together. Reeds wizard and handmade flute maker, Douglas Ewart, is/was a longtime member of the AACM and I've followed his long evolving career/journey for many years. He is an elder member of the Creative Chicago Underground, turning eighty later this year.
Both reeds players, Doug Ewart and Kyle Hutchins sound like they are using some reverb effects on their respective instruments. When "Echoes of Tomorrow" begins, we hear layers of saxes & flutes fluttering together with a cushion of percussion and subdued el guitar underneath. The electronics and/or effects add a haze of mystery to this music. Some of the strange music sounds as if it is moving backwords. On the first long piece, the music moves slowly through a more environmental sounding landscape, a sorta dreamworld. "Future Ghosts" erupts quickly and it is closer to the Free/Jazz bursts that many of still love. This is an explosion of Free/Jazz Fire Music and it is over-the-top and in-your-face! The last piece, "Sound Seekers" is the longest and begins quietly. the quartet moving slowly, sparsely and carefully. The flutes and saxes work well together here interweaving their playing in a fascinating tapestry which is always moving. As this piece evolves, it becomes more dense ands intense. "We are the sound seekers and we search for sounds unknown" is what we hear someone (perhaps Mr. Ewart) say midway through this long piece as it calms down into a more ethereal section. The last section creates another more ritualistic sound space which is most mesmerizing as if we are entering another dimension. Ommmmmmmmmm is about all I can say, hum or drone in answer to this journey within. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14
OM with URS LEIMGRUBER / CHRISTY DORAN / BOBBY BURI / GERRY HEMINGWAY / TONY BUCK - Sudpol (Intakt Records CD 455; Switzerland) Featuring Urs Leimgruber on soprano sax, Christy Doran on electric guitar & devices, Bobby Burri on contrabass & devices, Gerry Hemingway & Tony Buck on drums & percussion. OM are/were a Swiss jazz/rock quartet who began in 1975 and featured Christy Doran on guitar, Urs Leimgruber on reeds, Bobby Burri on bass and Fredy Studer on drums. I discovered them soon after when they recorded four great jazz/rock/fusion records for the Japo (ECM offshoot) label. The original quartet broke up around 1980 and each member had a separate solo career. Guitarist Christy Doran remains one of my favorite European guitarists and has had a long career in a variety of great bands. Drummer Fredy Studer formed a great trio with Hans Koch and Martin Schutz, as well as playing with numerous Euro bands. OM got back together in 2010 and have recorded four great records for Intakt. Mr. Studer passed away in 2022 and has been replaced with two fine drummers for this disc: Gerry Hemingway (American drummer now living & teaching in Switzerland) and Tony Buck (drummer for the Necks, an Australian trio as Buck currently lives in Berlin). Over the past few days I've listened to a few of the early OM records from the mid-1970's just to hear how far they've evolved over the past 50 years. As far back as 1978 OM added extra percussionist, Dom Um Ramao, as a guest to an LP. This LP was released on Japo/ECM and it does have that 70's ECM-like sound. Using a second percussionist made sense then so...
More than a half century later, this disc blasts open with "Fast Lane" which starts off at a furious tempo and then slows to slow throb. The band is still rhythmically based with drummers creating and/or navigating the grooves. "Gamelan" starts with eerie, soft, dark drone-like sounds from a gong or cymbals and simmering soprano sax. Mr. Doran's sly, skeletal guitar enters slowly, the vibe building, ascending slowly. I've heard Urs Leimgruber play sax in a variety of contexts over the past few decades, especially on some solo sax records. Both he and Doran's guitar here lay back so that the group can create a mysterious mood with any aggressive/fusion tactics. Bassist Burri wrote a piece called "P.M-F.B.", which has a mid-tempo bass throb at the center. This piece has an old space-rock vibe with eerie soprano sax and guitar soloing tightly together. "A Frog Jumps IN/Im Unterholz bei Kyjiv" is the longest piece here and was written by Leimgruber and the late OM drummer Fredi Studer. This piece is spacious, haunting with hypnotic and it ascends slowly as if we were sailing or soaring through the air. Doran keeps a chugging riff going while Leimgruber takes a fine soprano sax. On the last piece, "Behind the Eye", the band starts to churn intensely and it sounds like a storm is about to erupt. The is a powerful piece and a great way to bring them classic gem to a great close. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $18
BACK IN STOCK:
CECIL TAYLOR UNIT with SAM RIVERS / JIMMY LYONS / ANDREW CYRILLE - Fragments - The Complete 1969 Salle Pleyel Concerts (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
MARISA ANDERSON - The Anthology of UnAmerican Folk Music (Thrill Jockey 654CD; USA) This CD comes with a 12-page color booklet with detailed track information, and extensive liner notes from Anderson. "Marisa Anderson's music transcends borders. The topography of her work interrogates the intersections of artistry and expression with form and tradition. A singular guitarist and voracious musical collaborator, Anderson crafts pieces bursting with equal parts reverence and curiosity, contouring familiar shapes into work that is wholly her own. Anderson has spent decades mining the veins of the complicated, interconnected American folk traditions she was steeped in from a young age, stretching beyond those traditions and incorporating the vocabulary and techniques of vernacular folk music from around the world into her work. Eschewing replication or revival, Anderson's music lives in conversation with tradition. The Anthology of UnAmerican Folk Music is drawn from nearly one thousand songs culled from the private record collection of the late Harry Smith. For this record, Anderson works on music from places that the United States has been in conflict with since 1970: Southeast Asia, the USSR and the Arabic and Islamic regions of the world. In Volume 1 Anderson presents her own deeply personal iterations of nine songs from the Anthology. Composed, transcribed and arranged through a process of trial and error, deep listening and research, Anderson charts a musical course from Afghanistan to Vietnam via Yemen, Cambodia and Turkmenistan. Interpretations of compositions from Pakistani qawwali and Syrian taqsim are played with Anderson's deft and practiced hands. Each piece on the album stands as a dialogue between Anderson and the original source recordings, refracted through the prism of her unique musical lens. Anderson's contribution to this dialogue ultimately invites the listener to join her in asking: 'Who are the people we've been told in our lifetimes are 'unamerican?'' What have we lost or been denied access to in the fallout from that label?" "[A] musician working out emotions physically, instinctively, with her fingers on the strings." - The New York Times
CD $16
FIRST TIME LISTINGS FOR THE GREAT BRITISH LABEL GEARBOX:
ABDULLAH IBRAHIM with CLEAVE GUYTEN, JR. / MARSHALL McDONALD / ADAM GLASSER / ANDRAE MURCHISON / ALEC DANKWORTH / NOAH JACKSON / WILL TERRILL - The Balance (Gearbox BG 1554CD; UK) Entitled The Balance, this project features Abdullah Ibrahim's long-time septet Ekaya, a line-up that he's been recording with since 1983. In this case, the album was recorded over the course of one day at London's RAK Studios last November. The lush horn lines, lilting melodies, and uplifting chord progressions are characteristic of Abdullah's own particular brand of Township Jazz. This is contrasted with various solo piano improvisations, which epitomize the nostalgic yet hopeful nature of Abdullah's musical spirit. Hence, The Balance.
"Getting the balance just right has always been Ibrahim's great strength, drawing from a source but keeping it fresh." -- Julian Cowley, The Wire. "A modern master -- his graceful playing leans on equal measures of force and restraint, of dense clusters and open space. Mr. Ibrahim's music is dotted by satisfying, sometimes stunning, passages of repose." -- Larry Blumenfeld, Wall Street Journal
CD $17
DWIGHT TRIBLE with KAMASI WASHINGTON / MARK DE CLIVE-LOWE / MAIA / MIGUEL ATWOOD-FERGUSON JOHN B. WILLIAMS / DERF REKLAW - Mothership (Gearbox 1552; UK) Dwight Trible is a rarity. Few singing careers involve performing with the legendary likes of Pharaoh Sanders, Kenny Garrett, and Charles Lloyd, whilst also producing and innovating music with today's hippest artists, ranging from J Dilla to Kamasi Washington. Mothership is thus a true masterpiece. Trible's voice, unrivaled in its passion and depth, is set against a background of spiritual riffs brought about by LA's top jazz musicians, with Kamasi on saxophone no less. As arguably the world's greatest living jazz vocalist, Dwight Trible is a legend in waiting -- and it's time he was heard.
CD $17
SARATHY KORWAR - My East Is Your West (Japanese Edition)(Gearbox 1549 CDOBI; UK)
GEARBOX (UK) Off the back of Sarathy Korwar's much lauded Day To Day album comes the live album My East Is Your West -- a performance that takes the fusion of Indian classical music with the jazz tradition further than it's ever been before. Recorded live at London's Church Of Sound, the album is a homage to the great musicians of the '60s and '70s spiritual jazz movement, covering the likes of Alice Coltrane, Pharaoh Sanders, and Joe Henderson. Korwar plays alongside the UPAJ Collective, a group of highly-versatile musicians who share Sarathy's passion for jazz and Indian music and who have together managed to rebalance the cross-cultural relationship between "Western" and "Eastern" music. With every record Sarathy releases his music becomes more exploratory and insightful, delving into his personal influences, which also inspire much of the music in the jazz scene that surrounds him. At a time where UK jazz is being heralded for its progression, innovation and far-reaching appeal to people from varying backgrounds, My East Is Your West is an essential record that explores cultural and musical diversity in way that will continue to be relevant for years to come.
2 CD Set $23
REISSUES, RESTOCKS & OTHER HISTORIC RECORDINGS:
FRANK LOWE / BILLY BANG QUARTET with ED SCHULLER / ABBY RADER- One For Jazz (No More Records 011CD; USA) Last copies, reduced price of this 2001 release. Frank Lowe and Billy Bang pay tribute to the late Denis "Jazz" Charles with studio date One For Jazz. The three musicians worked together extensively in their '70s group The Jazz Doctors. Bang and Lowe pay tribute to their old friend by playing some serious music. Nobody plays like Bang or Lowe; they need the heavy rhythm section of Ed Schuller on bass and Abby Rader on drums to balance them out. People are still talking about their debut at the Vision Festival in NY.
CD Sale $10
FRANK LOWE QUINTET with JACK WALRATH / BERTHA HOPE / STEVE NEIL / RALPH PETERSON - Soul Folks (No More Records 010CD; USA) Last copies, reduced price of this 2001 release. Soul Folks is a live date from 1998, a celebration of Frank Lowe's lyrical side. The group explodes with raw beauty and emotion. There is a sweet soul that enraptures you upon listening as the music swings -- hard. Featuring Bertha Hope (piano), Jack Walrath (trumpet), Steve Neil (bass) and Ralph Peterson (drums).
CD Sale $10
LP SECTION:
BYARD LANCASTER with FRANCOIS TUSQUES / FRANCOIS NYOMBO / ERIC DENFERT / FRANK RAHOLISON / JOSEPH TRAINDI / SYLVAIN MARC / STEVE McCALL - Funny Funky Rib Crib (Souffle Continu Records FFL 097LP; France) Carefully remastered and restored by Gilles Laujol. Graphic design by Stefan Thanneur. Comes in heavyweight 180gr LP. 425gm brown board outer sleeve with four-page portfolio. At the beginning of the 1960s, at the Berklee College of Music, Byard Lancaster met some feisty friends: Sonny Sharrock, Dave Burrell and Ted Daniel. It is easy to see why he rapidly became involved in free jazz. Once he was settled in New York, he appeared on Sunny Murray Quintet, recorded under the leadership of the drum crazy colleague of Albert Ayler. In 1968, the saxophonist and flutist recorded his first album under his own name: It's Not Up To Us. The following year he came to Paris in the wake of Sunny Murray. He would come back to France in 1971 (again with Murray) and in 1973 (without Murray for a change). This is when he met Jef Gilson, the pianist and producer who encouraged him to record under his own name again. On Palm Records (Gilson's label), he would release four albums: Us, Mother Africa, Exactement, and Funny Funky Rib Crib. Funny Funky Rib Crib is an unforgettable recording (made up of several sessions dating from the middle of 1974) of creative jazz overwhelmed by funk and soul. If Lancaster had already made successful albums in the same genre -- notably New Horizons, under the name Sounds Of Liberation which he co-led with Khan Jamal -- this one is an homage to James Brown and Sammy Davis, enjoying the company of a host of guests including François Tusques (electric piano), Clint Jackson III (trumpet), François Nyombo (guitar), and Joseph Traindl (trombone). Funny Funky Rib Crib's cover is a three-quarter profile portrait of the saxophonist (who can also be heard on flute, piano and even vocals), however, on the record, it is the whole group, inspired and frenetic, that tests the melodies of "Just Test," "Dogtown," or "Rib Crib" -- the two versions of which display leader Lancaster's art of nuance. On both sides of the album, the group also moves into a calmer groove, infused by blues and soul, "Work And Pray" and "Loving Kindness" are meditative tracks where listeners can lay back and relax before asking for more.
LP $30
BYARD LANCASTER with KENO SPELLER - Exactement (Souffle Continu Records FFL 096LP; France) Carefully remastered and restored by Gilles Laujol. Graphic design by Stefan Thanneur. Heavyweight 180gr double LP. 425gm brown board gatefold outer sleeve with four-page portfolio. At the beginning of the 1960s, at the Berklee College of Music, Byard Lancaster met some feisty friends: Sonny Sharrock, Dave Burrell and Ted Daniel. It is easy to see why he rapidly became involved in free jazz. Once he was settled in New York, he appeared on Sunny Murray Quintet, recorded under the leadership of the drum crazy colleague of Albert Ayler. In 1968, the saxophonist and flutist recorded his first album under his own name: It's Not Up To Us. The following year he came to Paris in the wake of Sunny Murray. He would come back to France in 1971 (again with Murray) and in 1973 (without Murray for a change). This is when he met Jef Gilson, the pianist and producer who encouraged him to record under his own name again. On Palm Records (Gilson's label), he would release four albums: Us, Mother Africa, Exactement and Funny Funky Rib Crib. The recording of Exactement required two sessions in the studio: February 1st and May 18th 1974 -- in between the two dates, Lancaster recorded, alongside Clint Jackson, the excellent "Mother Africa." Two names appear on the cover of Exactement: Lancaster (Byard) and Speller (Keno). Byard Lancaster wanted to be precise, moving regularly from one instrument to another: first on piano, which was the first instrument he learned. On "Sweet Evil Miss Kisianga," his inspiration is first and foremost Coltrane (even if leaning more towards Alice than John), this announces the storm to follow. It is Lancaster's horn-playing which really stands out: on alto (the sound of which is transformed by an octavoice on one track, "Dr. Oliver W. Lancaster") or soprano saxophones, as well as on flute or bass clarinet, the musician walks a tightrope making the most of all the risks he takes. Using the full register of his instruments, he has fun with the possibilities. Then, Lancaster invokes or evokes Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy and even Prokofiev, before going into a danse alongside Keno Speller on percussion. Above all, he has a unique sound. Byard Lancaster, on whatever instrument he plays and by continually seeking, always ends up hitting the right note -- ends up by playing exactement the note he had to play.
2 LP Set $42
EMBRYO - Opal (Bonfire Records 029LP; Italy) A cornerstone in European experimental and popular modern composition. Formed around the core of jazz vibraphonist Christian Burchard and drummer Dieter Serfas, the group started his career in Munich in 1969. More than 300 musicians have passed through their ranks, from their colleagues in Amon Duül II (Lother Meid, Chris Karrer, Jimmy Jackson), Xhol (Hansi Fischer), Between (Roberto Detree, Peter Hamel) to renowned jazzmen (Charlie Mariano, Mal Waldron) and countless musicians from around the world (Yoruba Dun Dun Orchester, Okay Temiz & Oriental Wind, Karnataka College Of Percussion, Mahmoud Gania, Xizhi Nie), making Embryo an ever-changing but always interesting collective of musicians. This is where it all began. Originally released by Ohr in 1970, Embryo's legendary debut was an inventive piece of progressive jazz-rock spiced-up with free moves and soaked in a late '60s psychedelic atmosphere. Miles Davis was right, Embryo was more than a unique experience. While talking with Charlie Mariano (the saxophone player was one of the most impressive collaborators of the band) one day he stated: "Embryo -- they are these crazy creative musicians playing really weird stuff." When you get the blessing from the prince of darkness itself, nothing can go wrong, so here's the story. Opal was the beginning of all things to come, the record was released in 1970 and licensed by pioneering early Berlin rock/jazz/experimental music label Ohr. It was quite a shock!
LP $32
EMBRYO - Embryo's Rache (Bonfire Records 030LP; Italy) The second album by Christian Burchard and alumni was released in 1971 on the prestigious United Artists imprint, only a year after their debut. A significant progression and the first venture in the realm of the ethnic/world-rock fusion that would come to be their trademark. The gang from Munich flew over a series of packed jams showing their authentic passion for the Middle East. Combining a series of progressive numbers, still miles away from their British counterpart, the band opened up for a series of transcendental and wicked numbers, pushing the boundaries of the '70s counterculture. While it was some eastern-blues rapture or a post-Coltrane collage in the vein of the classy melody of A Love Supreme, the band built this foundation while facing an ancient future. That was the beginning of a whole era where freedom was the keyword.
LP $32
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THE BRIDGE SESSIONS LABEL SALE:
The Bridge Sessions label has been around for a decade and has released 20 titles so far. The label features collaborations with French or Paris-based musicians with creative musicians from the current Chicago scene. The label had no US distribution until recently so that most of the early titles are sold out. The more recent titles do have some US distribution at this time. We just got in 1 or 2 copies of most of their current catalogue, the early titles are no longer available. Please check this list to see if you need or want any of the titles listed below.You can check out some of my reviews of these items in our database. Each disc is $1 lower than what we usually sell these for.
SONIC COMMUNION With DOUGLAS EWART / JEAN-LUC CAPPOZZO / JOELLE LEANDRE / BERNARD SANTACRUZ / MICHAEL ZERANG - Sonic Communion (The Bridge Sessions 01; France)
CD Sale $15
EVE RISSER / SYLVAINE HELARY / FREDRICK LONBERG-HOLM / MIKE REED - The Sync (The Bridge Sessions 02; France)
CD Sale $15
ROB MAZUREK / MWATA BOWDEN / DOUGLAS EWART [SHORE TO SHORE] - Four Views of a Three Sided Garden (The Bridge Sessions 03; USA)
CD Sale $15
KHARI B. / MAGIC MALIK / GUILLAUME ORTI / JEB BISHOP / FREDERIC BBRIET / TYSHAWN SOREY - Vent Fort (The Bridge Sessions 04; France)
CD Sale $15
MARQUIS HILL / JEFF PARKER / JOACHIM FOLRENT / DENIS FOURNIER - Escape lane (The Bridge Sessions 05; France)
CD Sale $15
FRED JACKSON JR. / STEPHANE PAYEN / EDWARD PERRAUD / FRANK ROSALY - TWINS (The Bridge Sessions 06; France)
CD Sale $15
MANKWE M N NDOSI / MIKE LADD / SYLVIAN KASSAP / DANA HALL - Epiphany (The Bridge Sessions 07; France)
CD Sale $15
LARRY OCHS / MARS WILLIAMS / JULIEN DESPREZ / MATHIEU SOURISSEAU / SAMUEL SILVENT - Stroboscope (The Bridge Sessions 09; France)
CD Sale $15
TOMEKA REID / KATHERINE YOUNG / BENOIT DELBECQ / CLAUDIA SOLAL - Antichamber Music (The Bridge Sessions 10; France)
CD Sale $15
KEEFE JACKSON / DAVE REMPIS / CHRISTINE WODRASCKA / DIDIER LASSERRE / PETER ORINS - Sangliers (The Bridge Sessions 11; France)
CD Sale $15
JEAN-LUC GUIONNET / PIERRE-ANTOINE BADAROUX / JIM BAKER / JASON ROEBKE - Forget to Find (The Bridge Sessions TBS 12; France)
CD Sale $15
DIDIER PETIT / EDWARD PERRAUD / JOSH BERMAN / JASON STEIN - The Way Through (The Bridge Sessions TBS 13; France)
CD Sale $15
ROB FRYE / JAYVE MONTGOMERY / SIMON SIEGER / OLIVIA SCEMAMA / DAN BITNEY - Crying Out Loud (The Bridge Sessions 14; France)
CD Sale $15
MARVIN TATE / GERRIT HATCHER / ERWAN KERAVEC / GASPAR CLAUS / LIA KOHL - Temple of Enthusiasm (The Bridge Sessions 15; France)
CD Sale $15
BEN LAMAR GAY / SAM PLUTA / SOPHIE AGNEL / PASCAL NIGGENKEMPER - Pang! (The Bridge Sessions 16; France)
CD Sale $15
JAIMIE BRANCH / ISAIAH COLLIER / GILLES CORONADO / TIM DAISY - Stembells (The Bridge Sessions TBS 17; France)
CD 16.00 AVAILABLE
COREY WILKES / QUENTIN BIARDEAU / JUSTIN DILLARD / ETIENNE ZIEMIAK - Cancel Rescue Mission (The Bridge Sessions TBS 18; France)
CD Sale $15
MORPHOSE with JOZEF DUMOULIN / DAMON LOCKS / MACIE STEWART / MORGANE CARNET / FANNY LASFARGUES - Before You Have Understood (The Bridge Sessions TBS 19; France)
CD Sale $15L
A FEW BRIDGE SESSIONS CD's with reviews added:
SONIC COMMUNION With DOUGLAS EWART / JEAN-LUC CAPPOZZO / JOELLE LEANDRE / BERNARD SANTACRUZ / MICHAEL ZERANG - Sonic Communion (The Bridge Sessions 01; France) Sonic Communion is Jean-Luc Cappozzo on trumpet & flugelhorn, Douglas Ewart on woodwinds & objects, Joelle Leandre & Bernard Santacruz on double basses and Michael Zerang on drums. This disc appeared in my promo box last week and I was pleased to see this unusual international line-up. Most of the members of this quintet come from much different backgrounds so I would imagine this is the first time this particular line-up toured in France together over two weeks in October of 2013. No doubt you recognize the names of flute master Doug Ewart and drum great Michael Zerang, both from Chicago. Both bassists are from France although you probably are familiar with Ms. Leandre who is one of the best and most prolific bassists from Europe. I know very little about Mr. Santacruz aside from his work with Frank Lowe, Dennis Charles and Charles Tyler. Trumpet man, Jean-Luc Cappozzo, I have become more familiar with over the past few years, working with Herb Robertson, Louis Sclavis and Umberto Petrin. Douglas Ewart is know for designing and making his own flutes but also plays other reeds. He starts off this disc playing soprano sax, the quintet soaring with him high and wide. Both bassists sound particularly great together, bowing and plucking up a storm together with Zerang propulsive drums also kicking up a fury. Both the soprano and trumpet soar together tightly and powerfully on top. This disc seas recorded by Jean-Marc Foussat, who has long worked with Ms. Leandre and always does a great job. This is not an over-the-top crazed free session but much more organic and even subdued at times with several trios or duos interacting. As a big fan of spirit music, there is something quite uplifting about this date that feels so good to me. Dive in and sail away with Sonic Communion. We got this disc from a young man who works for this label in France. When we sell out of the dozen copies we got, more will be delivered during the Vision Fest in July of 2015. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD Sale $15
MARVIN TATE / GERRIT HATCHER / ERWAN KERAVEC / GASPAR CLAUS / LIA KOHL - Temple of Enthusiasm (The Bridge Sessions 15; France) Featuring Marvin Tate - vocals & poetry, Gerrit Hatcher - tenor sax, Erwan Keravec - bagpipes, Gaspar Claus (also on electronics) & Lia Kohl - cellos. One of the great things about the recent Vision Fest (6/13-18/2023) was checking three different black male vocalists, each of whom was extraordinary at what they were doing: Dwight Tribble (with the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble), Kayo (with cellist Nioka Workman, Reggie's daughter) and Marvin Tate (with Mike Reed's Separatist Party). I hadn't heard of Chicago-based vocalist/spoken wordist Marvin Tate before that set, but it turns out that Mr. Tate has a half dozen records which draw from hip hop, funk, punk and rock influences. Chicago saxist Gerrit Hatcher I know from his work with Julian Kirshner and Patrick Shirioshi. French bagpipes player, Erwan Keravec has worked with Mats Gustafsson, Hamid Drake & Jean-Luc Cappozzo. Both cellists Lia Kohl from Chicago and Gaspar Claus from France, have interesting resumes playing mostly with musicians whose names I don't recognize. This disc was recorded live on a French tour in February of 2020. The instrumentation here is certainly unique: tenor sax, bagpipes, two cellos and vocals. It starts off with cello(s) and sax, quietly at first with the unsettling drone of a bagpipe soon entering the picture. "It's after the end of the world" are the first words we hear from Marvin Tate, a line I remember from an old Sun Ra album from the 1970's. Both cellos have in intense, pounding presence with Mr. Tate's impassioned voice also is stirring our emotions. Mr. Tate seems to be speaking about "Soul Power",the precariousness of happiness, his words are kept to a minimum. It sounds as if the cellists are banging on the body of their cellos at times as well as interweaving with bagpipes and/or tenor sax. Sometimes, it sounds as if Mr. Tate is reading a proclamation about something that we might need to think about. The sound of the bagpipes and churning cellos is a powerful one. While I was reviewing this disc, I was also checking out the ongoing Fake Prez nightmare which is broadcast nonstop through the Daily KOS and MSNBC. The disorienting vibe which seems to affect us all is also at the center of the storm that this disc also provides. This is most certainly Uneasy Listening. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD Sale $15
BEN LAMAR GAY / SAM PLUTA / SOPHIE AGNEL / PASCAL NIGGENKEMPER - Pang! (The Bridge Sessions 16; France) Featuring Ben Lamar Gay on cornet, electronics, percussion & vocal, Sam Pluta on live electronics, Sophie Agnel on piano and Pascal Niggenkemper on contrabass. The ever-evolving Chicago Creative Music Scene continues to survive and thrive thanks to a healthy scene of elder jazz figures as well as a new generation of creative musicians coming up. There seems to be a handful of newer trumpeters and cornetists over the past decade to be reckoned with: First there were: Rob Mazurek, Josh Berman & Corey Wilkes and followed by Jaimie Branch, Marquis Hill and Ben Lamar Gay. This is certainly an eclectic quartet with each member from a different scene or background. Live electronics master, Sam Pluta, has worked with Peter Evans, Evan Parker and the Wet Ink Ensemble. French experimental pianist Sophie Agnel recently toured in a trio with Michael Vatcher & Joke Lenz, as well as working with Daunik Lazro and Satoko Fujii's Kaze. German/French bassist, Pascal Niggenkemper, lived in Brooklyn for a while before moving back to Europe. Niggenkemper has several great discs on the Clean Feed label, as well as a superfine trio with Joachim Badenhorst & Ingrid Schmoliner. I caught cornetist Ben Lamar Gay the Vision Fest last week (6/15/23) with Mike Reed's Separatist Party and was most impressed with his playing. This disc was recorded live at four dates in France during July of 2021. Besides cornet, Ben Lamar Gay also sings using texts from e.e. cummings, Bill Callahan (from Smog?), Zora Neale Hurston (noted author & filmmaker) & others. This disc starts off with sounds like subtle percussion, electronics, piano and somber dreamy vocals. The title of this piece is "PANG of Conscience", the other three pieces are also called "PANG of Emotion, Satisfaction and the Unthinking". I like the blend of the eerie electronics, percussive inside the piano improv, soft throbbing acoustic bass, occasional solemn vocals and low-key yet intense cornet exhilarations. The electronics here are often used quietly and selectively, like adding subtle sonic seasoning to a suspense-filled story or scene. I like the way each of the four pieces creates a mysterious vibe without ever being too dense. Although the text comes from 5 sources, there is actually very minimal vocals here. I do get the feeling that this quartet must've bonded on tour since the four pieces come from four nights, the overall sound is consistent and fascinating throughout. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD Sale $15
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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 the upcoming schedule:
THE STONE RESIDENCIES / EYVIND KANG / JULY 8-11
7/8 Wednesday: 8:30 pm - Riparian - Eyvind Kang (viola d'amore)
7/9 Thursday
8:30 pm - Bageshri - Eyvind Kang (viola d'amore, viola) Mir Naqibul Islam (tabla)
7/10 Friday
8:30 pm: Gringsing - Kier GoGwilt (violin) Josh Henderson (violin) Carrie Frey (viola) Eyvind Kang (viola) Irene Han (cello)
7/11 Saturday
8:30 pm: DUO - Eyvind Kang (viola d'amore, viola) Utsav Lal (piano)
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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BROOKLYN FREE SPIRIT FESTIVAL - July 11th & 12th, 2026
July 11th & 12th at IBEAM BROOKLYN
168 7th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215
$20 Admission / day | cash or Venmo
Daily Admission includes access to all daytime and evening events!
Light food and drinks provided (free) to facilitate conversation.
Saturday, July 11
5:00pm KYOKO KITAMURA & RACHEL BERNSEN WORKSHOP
Sound-Movement Improvisation Practice: Enhancing Multi-Sensory Awareness
Open to all, including musicians, dancers, interdisciplinary practitioners, educators, anyone interested in exploring communication through shared perception. Just bring your body and breath. Acoustic instruments welcome but not required.
Veteran artist-educators Rachel Bernsen and Kyoko Kitamura will take the group through accessible movement explorations integrating sound and movement, drawing on their extensive interdisciplinary work together, as well as their rich experience working with artists such as Anthony Braxton, Yvonne Rainer, Matthew Barney, and Audra Wolowiec. The workshop uses Bernsen’s Toward the Unknown framework and Kitamura’s extensive research into structured improvisation, resulting in a unique three-dimensional, embodied improvisatory performance practice which fosters a deep awareness of multi-sensory perception. This workshop will lead the participants through the process, culminating in a short, participatory performance piece.
7:30pm Selendis S.A. Johnson / Hans Young-Binter / Josh Matthews
Selendis S.A. Johnson vibraphone/ Hans Young-Binter piano/ Josh Matthews drums
8:30pm Janice Lowe’s Museoetry
Janice Lowe piano, voice, composition/ Olithea Anglin voice & electronics / Yohann Potico bass guitar/ Melissa Almaguer tap dance percussion
Janice Lowe Museoetry
Edmonia/WildFire, A SoundVerse Cycle
Poems by Tyehimba Jess, Janice Lowe, Composer
Edmonia Lewis was a Reconstruction-era Afro-Mississaugan sculptor who willed herself to Rome to practice her craft. This song cycle and improvisation are inspired by the sculptor’s dialogue with earth-hewn materials, their textural beauty and the complexity of shaping freedom from a hostile political landscape.
Sunday, July 12
3:00pm ZEENA PARKINS WORKSHOP
Filling the Hearspace: Never to Sound Again the Same
Experience multi-valent modes of listening through improvisation and expanded musical entanglements: following energetic pathways, tuning our engagements, collective knowing, collaboration and generosity (Open to musical improvisers with some previous experience)
5:00pm Listening Session & In-Person Interview: COOPER-MOORE
90-minutes of immersion into the iconic composer, pianist, instrument builder, storyteller Cooper-Moore’s multi-decade body of work, including rarely heard recordings from Cooper-Moore’s personal archive, and an in-person conversation moderated by pianist/composer/improviser Mara Rosenbloom
7:30pm Zeena Parkins / Nate Wooley / Ryan Sawyer
Zeena Parkins Electric Harp Objects / Nate Wooley Trumpet Objects/ Ryan Sawyer Drums
8:30pm Interstellar Duo
Jamal R. Moore Woodwinds, Electronics, Percussion / Warren Crudup III Drums
Produced by the Siren Xypher Collective with support from Alan Feller & Creative Music Studio
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THIS COMES FROM MY GOOD FRIENDS AT THE BURNT SUGAR ARKESTRA:
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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ZURCHER GALLERY Presentation:
Thursday, September 24th at 8:30 PM
Density 2036: part xi Album Release
Terry Riley’s The Holy Liftoff (2024)
Realization by Samuel Clay Birmaher
Performed by Claire Chase (flutes) and JACK Quartet
At the Zürcher Gallery
33 Bleecker Street
New York, NY 10012