DMG Newsletter for March 30th, 2018

This Week’s Theme: Celebration of the Saxophone!
Rejoice! Evan Parker is in town this week for Two upcoming sets!
Two Duos with fellow Saxist Ned Rothenberg & a Duo with Dan Weiss!
April Fools/Easter Sunday Sax Blast here at DMG This Weekend for FREE:
Louise DE Jensen / TAMIO Shirashi / Chris PITSIOKOS JACK WRIGHT Duo!
Plus New Discs from: Kidd Jordan! Frode Gjerstad! Tony Malaby!
Ingrid laubrock! Patrick Zimmerli, Nick Mazzarella and Tubby Hayes!

Check Out These New Things from:

Mary Halvorson’s Code Girl (pre-order)! Kidd Jordan/Steve Swell/Joel Futterman/Alvin Fielder! Robert Dick & Tiffany Chang! Patrick Zimmerli / Ethan Iverson Qt! Ten from Clean Feed & Shhpuma: Frode Gjestad Trio Steve Swell! Benoit Delbecq/Mark Turner 4! Samo Salamon/Tony Malaby/Roberto Dani! Sara Serpa/Erik Friedlander/Ingrid Laubrock! The Ex!

Plus Historic/Archival Discs from Roy Haynes! Tubby Hayes Qt! Stan Tracey/Victor Feldman Compilation! Stan Kenton Classics! Snakefinger! Sonny Boy Williamson! Funkadelic! Bunny Wailer and Kenya Special!

*****************

Upcoming Sets at Downtown Music Gallery - FREE, every Sunday at 6pm

THE DMG 27TH ANNIVERSARY SERIES OF SONIC CELEBRATIONS Continue with:

Sunday, April 1st, 2018 / April Fool’s Day / Easter Sunday!
6pm: LOUISE D.E. JENSEN Birthday Celebration -
Rare Alto Sax Trio: TAMIO SIRASHI / CHRIS PITSIOKOS / LOUISE DE JENSEN
7pm: JACK WRIGHT and ZACH DARRUP - Alto Sax and Guitar

Sunday, April 8th: CP Birthday 65 Celebration Gig: The Beyond Group:
6pm: CHERYL PYLE / DANIEL CARTER / MICHAEL EATON / CLAIRE de BRUNNER -
Flute / Reeds & Trumpet / Soprano Sax / Bassoon
7pm: ANDERS NILSSON / HAMPUS OHMAN-FROLUND CHARLES WATERS -
Guitar / Drums / Alto Sax & Clarinet

Sunday, April 15th, 2018:
6pm: AARON SHRAGGE / ELI ASHER - Trumpet Duo
7pm: NICOLA HEIN / MIA ZABELKA Special Guest

Sunday, April 22nd:
6pm: NOAH BECKER and COLIN HINTON - Alto sax and Drums
7pm: SPEEDO: DAVID GROLLMAN and CORY O’BRIEN - Two Snare Drums

DMG is located at 13 Monroe St. (between Catherine & Market Sts) in a basement below a small gallery. Take the F train to East Broadway or the 6 train to Canal or the B or D to Grand, or the M-15 bus to Madison & Catherine. Come on Down, the Sunday Music Series is Always Free & the Vibes are Always Cosy

******
Two Upcoming Performances Featuring EVAN PARKER who rarely comes to NYC:

Tuesday, April 3rd at The New Stone at 8:30:
8:30pm: EVAN PARKER & DAN WEISS - Solos & Duo!

Thursday, April 5th at 8pm at Zürcher Gallery
8pm: EVAN PARKER & NED ROTHENBERG - Sax Duo!
At 33 Bleecker Street, NY, NY, just east of Lafayette
Broadway & Lafayette subway stop

***********

DMG favored guitarist & composer, MARY HALVORSON, is on the cover of Wire magazine this month (We still have a few copies left at $10 each)! Hooray! Ms. Halvorson’s long awaited, much talked about new release, ‘Code Girl’ was to be released this Friday (3/30/18). We just heard that this disc will be delayed for a week or so due to a printing problem. Hence, we are taking pre-orders now! First 25 orders will receive a cosmic dancing lesson from Grandpappy Bruce Lee, Silver Sneakers Graduate!

MARY HALVORSON With AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE / AMIRTHA KIDAMBI / MICHAEL FORMANEK / TOMAS FUJIWARA - Code Girl (Firehouse 12 04-01-027; USA) “Each of Mary Halvorson’s ‘main’ records where the ingeniously quirky composer and guitarist heads up a small ensemble represents a tweak on the group’s configuration. She does this to reveal a new facet in her original, pliable compositions; for that reason, every album is its own, standalone chapter in the still-evolving Book of Halvorson. For Code Girl (March 30 2018, Firehouse 12 Records), Halvorson uses a whole new crew apart from the one that’s always been anchored by the Ches Smith/John Hébert rhythm section. Well, not exactly new: The collective Thumbscrew trio of her, drummer Tomas Fujiwara and bassist Michael Formanek is expanded with Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpet) and Amirtha Kidambi (voice), and she’s fully in charge.
The term “code girl” came randomly out of the mouth of Halvorson’s primary mentor Anthony Braxton but it could have easily been directed at Halvorson herself and her approach to composition: a calculating, mathematical approach where the math is advanced algebra. She sets up each song to solve for x, always arriving there via a path no one could anticipate or readily decipher but the journey is worthwhile just for the exotic places it takes you. Just to pick out one example, “Possibility of Lightning” is typical of that Halvorson brand, marching, literally, to the beat that could have only come from her head.
But now, Halvorson introduces lyrics that are found in all but a couple of songs on Code Girl. Singing isn’t a new thing on Halvorson’s material, she’s done this on her collaborations with Jessica Pavone. This time though the lines are all delivered by Kidambi. Adopting an approach that’s the opposite of probably most songwriters, the lyrics were written first and the music was built around it. In the end, the words don’t alter the general thrust of Halvorson’s music but it serves to sharpen the edges of it a bit.
“My Mind I Find In Time” begins with Halvorson alone in a dreamy aside that reminds me of how her originality is only magnified when she’s all alone. However, the whole band acts as an effective extension of her fertile mind when they come on board, including even another true original of the current generation, Akinmusire. The trumpeter provides the expected contrast but when the two play as a unit as they do on “Pretty Mountain,” they find common ground in their disparate approaches. He gets an unaccompanied spotlight on “Deepest Similar” that’s all pure tone goodness and emits a voice-like moan on the short “Armory Beams.”
We also witness the duality of Halvorson’s artistry: the clearly defined shapes accentuated by flourishes of atonality in the precise dose it takes to make you sit up and pay attention. Formanek’s direct, woody upright frames the gently prancing “Off The Record,” a non-vocal selection that instead presents Halvorson playing her customary clean lines mixed with the delayed backwash eccentricities coming from delay and her unique use of an effect pedal.
Not every song is densely charted: “Storm Cloud” lumbers along with extended notes and it’s subdued to the point that for much of the song, it’s just Halvorson, Kidambi and Formanek (playing arco), sounding close to a rock ballad. “Thunderhead” lumbers forward on Formanek’s creeping bass figure as Akinmusire and Halvorson put forth thoughtful, unhurried phrases.
For most of this fare, Kidambi’s voice blends in with the band, but for “Accurate Hit,” her singing is accompanied only by Halvorson rhythm guitar stridently strumming a cyclical pattern, a song that would fit in perfectly on an indie rock album. However, it’s on the Spanish-styled melody “The Unexpected Natural Phenomenon” where the vocalist gets her most expressive and passionate (matched later on by Fujiwara’s own fervent showing).
Stretching across an hour and a half, fourteen tracks and two discs, there’s a lot here to digest but more Mary Halvorson is preferable to less. Adroitly summoning up all of her powers and the ample powers of her band, Code Girl is Mary Halvorson’s most wide-ranging effort yet.” - S. Victor Aaron, Something Else
2 CD Set $20 (This disc will not ship until next week due to a printing error)


KIDD JORDAN / ALVIN FIELDER / JOEL FUTTERMAN / STEVE SWELL - Masters of Improvisation - Recorded Live in New Orleans (Valed 1016; USA) Featuring Kidd Jordan on tenor sax, Steve Swell on trombone, Joel Futterman on piano and Alvin Fielder on drums. This set was recorded live the Old US Mint in New Orleans in January of 2017, just a little over a year ago. Legendary New Orleans saxist Kidd Jordan will be 83 in May of his year (2018) and will be performing in the Vision Festival on May 23rd for his yearly visit to NYC. Mr. Jordan performs at nearly every Vision Fest and has often utilized the talents of fellow Southerners pianist Joel Futterman and drummer Alvin Fielder. Both Futterman and Fielder rarely come to New York, except for the Vision Fest. They are joined here by another strong and ever-spirited player, Downtown trombone master Steve Swell. Over the past couple of decades, Mr. Swell has kept busy leading different bands and collaborating with Peter Brotzmann, Ken Vandermark, William Parker and many others.
The title of this disc, ‘Masters of Improvisation’ is most appropriate since all four members are longtime improv masters. Things start off tentatively at first but soon the quartet take off, weaving a tight yet free tapestry, with several layers of swirling waves crashing one upon one another. This Free Spirit music at its best, each musician is integral to the focused quartet untied sound. During the epic-length “Residue”, they even sound as if they are about to break into a blues or gospel like section but soon move on through some more contemplative ascending vibes. By the end of this disc and set, I felt as if I had been transported to another place, a place where giants roam, get along and combine forces to make the world a better place. OUT-standing! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $14


ROBERT DICK / TIFFANY CHANG - Raise the River (Rogue Art 080; France) Featuring Robert Dick on flute with glissando head joint and Tiffany Chang on drums & thumb piano. Early (eighties) Downtowner, Robert Dick, has been an integral part of the ever-evolving Downtown network, collaborating John Zorn, recording with New Winds, writing books (check out the essential, ‘Other Flute’) and recording more than a dozen solo, duo and trio offering throughout his long sojourn. Bay Area raised drummer Tiffany Chang, over to New York a few years ago and has been studying and collaborating with a number of New York’s finest and playing at The Stone, Jazz Gallery and Cornelia Street Cafe. More recently Ms. Chang has been studying and collaborating with musicians in Tunisia and Taiwan. I am currently waiting for a promo copy and copies to sell to turn up at the store. Review forthcoming. - BLG
CD $16


PATRICK ZIMMERLI QUARTET With ETHAN IVERSON / CHRIS TORDINI / JOHN HOLLENBECK - Clockworks (Songlines 1625; Canada) Featuring Patrick Zimmerli on sax & compositions, Ethan Iverson on piano, Chris Tordini on bass and John Hollenbeck on drums. “New York and Paris-based composer-saxophonist Patrick Zimmerli has pursued overlapping careers in jazz and classical music for over two decades. His 1992 jazz quartet project Shores Against Silence (finally released on Songlines in 2016 to critical acclaim) was inspired by his love of avant-garde modernist composers such as Babbitt, Carter, Stockhausen and Boulez. In Clockworks he draws on some of the contrapuntal techniques and concepts he developed back then to craft an hour-long suite that embodies different perceptions of time in music - as Zimmerli puts it, "to give time the kind of satisfying shape it so often lacks." His complex polyrhythmic structures and melodic variations are improvised on by his brilliant quartet (Ethan Iverson of The Bad Plus on piano, Chris Tordini on bass and John Hollenbeck on drums). Clockworks combines the considered precision and overarching formal construction typical of classical music with the flair, sound, energy and performative ethos of jazz. It is the latest product of Zimmerli's unique "third stream" path and it offers today's jazz composers much food for thought. On a more basic level Zimmerli aims to take listeners on a varied and satisfying emotional journey, one filled with optimism and uncommon beauty. Zimmerli's career as a composer of classical as well as classical/jazz hybrid music has gained him worldwide recognition. Since 2011 he has undertaken several recording projects with Nonesuch, composing or arranging music for Brad Mehldau, Joshua Redman, Luciana Souza, and others, including a concerto for Redman and strings to be released this year.”
CD $15


Ten Great New Discs from the Clean Feed and Shhpuma- Now in Stock:

FRODE GJERSTAD TRIO STEVE SWELL With JON RUNE STROM / PAAL NILSSEN-LOVE - Bop Stop (Clean Feed 470; Portugal) Personnel: Frode Gjerstad on alto sax, Steve Swell on trombone ,Jon Rune Strøm on double bass and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums & percussion. Frode Gjerstad’s name can be legendary in Norway and all the European continent, due to the fact that he was practically the only one to contrast himself, from the beginning, to the saxophone style which defined the Scandinavian approach to jazz for 40 years, the one defined by Jan Garbarek, but his trio with Jon Rune Strom and Paal Nilssen-Love is relatively new on the scene. It started in 2011 and there’s only another recording with trombonist Steve Swell as special guest, “At Constellation”, from 2015. Of course, there were some previous cumplicities between these musicians: Nilssen-Love was a member of Gjerstad’s Circulasione Totale Orchestra since 1992 and the alto saxophonist and clarinetist played with Swell in several occasions, mostly when visiting the United States. Musically, the quartet proposes a very particular kind of free improvised music with strong connections to the free jazz tradition, reinforced by the participation of the American who collaborated with the likes of Cecil Taylor, Bill Dixon and Anthony Braxton. The energy level is very high, but the delivery isn’t always on the red: lots of dynamics and sudden contrasts keep the group interactions interesting and unpredictable. Frode Gjerstad’s approach to improvisation is distinctive in itself: he’s a melodic player, even if asymetrical, and he prefers the “old school” jazz phrasing to «reed-fueled bric-a-brac», as a music critic once wrote, managing to present it as if it’s a novelty.
CD $15


BENOIT DELBECQ 4 With MARK TURNER / JOHN HEBERT / GERALD CLEAVER - Spots on Stripes (Clean Feed 463; Portugal) Featuring: Mark Turner on tenor sax, Benoît Delbecq on piano, John Hébert on double bass and Gerald Cleaver on drums. « A thoughtful chill runs through the music of Benoît Delbecq, a French pianist of investigative temperament and crystalline technique. There’s a ton of compressed energy in his playing, but he projects an unflappable calm ». These lines from the New York Times in 2010 by jazz critic Nate Chinen offer a pertinent description of Delbecq's music. Delbecq is a multi-awarded Parisian pianist and composer, a type- setter who persists in developing his ideas among which a very rhythmic approach that brings the soul of jazz to John Cage's prepared piano. Delbecq may prepare just a few strings with wood sticks then sit at the piano become a percussion-and-piano ensemble. Delbecq is curious with sound, the rhythm of prose, and mutating loops of sound fabrics. His musical thrust continues to weave some outstanding and compelling tapestries for our delight.
This new quartet assembles four musicians from New York and Paris of the highest caliber in today's contemporary jazz scene. There are winding melodies written for silversmith Mark Turner who kneads them like dow when Delbecq elegantly seems to observe them from a mirror, as well as lines for John Hébert whose rocking bass may decide to shift the whole group's harmony, the whole cooking magically with Gerald Cleaver's stellar, soulfoul and contagious drumming. The quartet plays a nomadic and rhythmic music as if they followed a map with contour lines only, letting musical gems appear and farm them on the moment on such fertile terrain.
Delbecq was born in 1966. Since the early nineties, his works have received acclaims from legendary musicians such as Mal Waldron, Steve Lacy, György Ligeti, Steve Coleman, Evan Parker, as well as from many critics and festivals around the world. He studied improvised music in Paris with free music pioneer Alan Silva. When aged 19, he joined Silva's Celestrial Communication Orchestra, while jazz giant Mal Waldron mentored him to work on his own musical ideas. Delbecq has participated in a couple of jazz workshops at the Banff Centre and studied there with Dave Holland, Steve Coleman, Muhal Richard Abrams, among others greats. He also studied composition and music analysis with Solange Ancona, a former student of Olivier Messiaen. For composing he uses his own graphic notation he came cross with when transcribing the music of the Aka pygmies from the Central African rainforest.
CD $15


SAMO SALAMON / TONY MALABY / ROBERTO DANI - Traveling Moving Breathing (Clean Feed 468; Portugal) Personnel: Tony Malaby on tenor & soprano sax, Samo Šalamon on guitar and Roberto Dani on drums. A former student of John Scofield, Samo Salamon was named by the magazine Guitar Player as one of 10 most interesting guitarists of the moment, with All About Jazz stating that this Slovenian is «one of the most talented and interesting to emerge on today’s jazz scene», putting him at the same level of Kurt Rosenwinkel and Ben Monder. The Penguin Jazz Guide choose his debut record “Ornethology”, from 2003, as one of the 1001 Best Albums in the history of jazz, and Salamon’s partnerships with such different musicians as David Binney, Sabir Mateen, Dominique Pifarely and Mark Helias say much about his importance on the world circuits. “Traveling Moving Breathing” is a new opus of his Bassless Trio, a project in constant change of contributors, after previous recordings with Tim Berne and Tom Rainey or with Julian Arguelles and John Hollenbeck and only the Italian drummer Roberto Dani staying from line-ups with Paul McCandless, Michel Godard, Achille Succi and others. Now the third wheel of this band’s dynamics is the American saxophonist Tony Malaby, culminating a good number of adventures together with the Eastern European who possesses «a monstrous technique and an intense desire to navigate multiple jazz related genres» (critic Glenn Astarita dixit) dating from 2004 and from the Samo Salamon Quartet. Salamon couldn’t have better company in Malaby and in Dani (him who already had the best with him) in his commitment to play a improvisationally-driven music capable to keep us on our toes from the first to the last minute.
CD $15


SARA SERPA With INGRID LAUBROCK / ERIK FRIEDLANDER - Close Up (Clean Feed 467; Portugal) Through a series of critically acclaimed releases over the past ten years, Lisbon, Portugal native, singer and composer Sara Serpa has continually defied the limitations of genre, implementing a singular instrumental approach to her vocal style. Her new album, Close Up, presents the compelling configuration of voice, saxophone and cello, exploring Serpa’s own compositions. Accompanied by a stellar new trio, Serpa finds her partners in two innovative improvisers with distinct musical personalities: saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, one of the most significant voices in contemporary jazz and improvised music, and Downtown veteran cellist Erik Friedlander.
“The configuration of voice, saxophone and cello exposes each instrument with a precise vulnerability,” says Serpa. “From within this exposure, we look for cohesion and collective sound. I write the material, but the music takes shape in the process of our rehearsals and the time we spend together, through discussion and collective experimentation.”
The result is an album that resembles a high resolution photograph, a mesmerizing play on the idea of close-ups: the compositions, the musicians and their roles within the trio, and the recording process.
“The compositions also reveal close-ups of different episodes in my life,” Serpa explains. Take the example of the poignant song “Woman,” using the French philosopher Luce Irigaray’s text. “It exposes the invisibility of motherhood. Because that experience is recent to me, the text resonated with my thoughts and feelings,” Serpa offers. “Writing this song was part of a healing process, as I dealt with the realizations of the lack of support women artists receive as mothers, and of the paradoxical loneliness one can feel in one of life’s most beautiful events.”
CD $15

MATT PIET & HIS DISORGANIZATION With JOSH BERMAN / NICK MAZZARELLA / TIM DAISY - Rummage Out (Clean Feed 465; Portugal) Personnel: Matt Piet on piano, Josh Berman on cornet, Nick Mazzarella on alto sax and Tim Daisy on drums & percussion. There are some new protagonists in the Chicago jazz scene, due to the revelation of a younger generation of musicians and the defection of some of the big names to other American regions, like Jeff Parker and Rob Mazurek. One of these Chicago exponents, gradually gaining importance, is pianist and composer Matt Piet, a former student at Boston’s Berklee College of Music. Leader of two fundamental bands in the city, Matt Piet Trio and Four Letter Words, and one of the vertices of the Rempis / Piet / Daisy triangle, he has broken into the Chicago improvised music community as a "melodic player” whose "tonefulness is thrillingly shaken by a rhythmic volatility and a fractal sense of phrasing”, according to the jazz journalist Peter Margasak, who compared his sound to Cecil Taylor in the late ‘50s and the early ‘60s. Piet’s is a welcome approach, considering that one of the members of the new band Matt Piet & His Disorganization is the saxophonist Nick Mazzarella, often described as a direct heir of the illustrious alto saxists Eric Dolphy, Ornette Coleman, Henry Threadgill and Oliver Lake, and like them driven to “embody the history of jazz while pushing it forward into new realms” (Troy Dostert). The same characteristic defines cornet player Josh Berman, a player known to combine aspects of pre-bebop jazz with avant-garde experimentation, sometimes producing a strikingly dissonant New Orleans style. In this bass-less quartet, the drummer/percussionist is Tim Daisy, one of the most versatile rhythmitists in activity today, equally at ease with the fire music of Ken Vandermark and the electro-acoustic abstract explorations of Kyle Bruckmann. Chicago jazz is very much alive, and Rummage Out is fantastic proof.
CD $15

CLEAN FEED DEBUT CD SALE!
For each purchase of the above 5 new Clean Feed CDs, you can take one of the below discs listed and get $2 off per disc. Considering that Clean Feed released nearly 70 CDs last year, their batting average is still pretty consistently solid! Please take chance with any of the below 5 Clean Feed & Shhpuma CDs. Read the blurbs below or at www.freejazzblog.org

JONAS CAMBIEN TRIO With ANDRE ROLIGHETEN / ANDREAS WILDHAGEN TORSTEIN LAVIK LARSEN - We Must, Mustn’t We (Clean Feed 464; Portugal) Personnel: André Roligheten on soprano & tenor saxes, bass clarinet, flute, Andreas Wildhagen on drums, percussion & trumpet, Jonas Cambien piano & microtonal melodica plus guest: Torstein Lavik Larsen on trumpet. The Jonas Cambien Trio reveals influences from the pioneers and greats of free music, but there’s much more going on in “We Must Mustn’t We”, beginning with Cambien’s classical-influenced piano style. A Belgian-born living in Oslo, Jonas Cambien divides his career between contemporary music, solo playing and free improvisation with groups like Simiskina and Platform - one aspect of his musical interests feeding the other. The use of extended techniques doesn’t get in the way of his preference for more conventional resources like ostinatos and counterpoint, all of which providing structural functions in both his compositions and for the improvisations of the band.
On the 12 tracks-long album, the music is balancing seamlessly between contemporary ‘avant-garde’ material, slightly weird pop melodies, and occasional free-jazz outbursts. Much of its secret lies in the inventive orchestration, like the use of prepared piano or a home-made microtonal melodica. Reed-player André Roligheten playing tenor and soprano saxophones, as well as bass clarinet and flute, and the extensive use of percussion instruments by Andreas Wildhagen, all add richness to the frequency range and texture. On two tracks, the trio is joined by trumpeter Torstein Lavik Larsen.
Nothing here is like you would expect: instead of using all the implications of a piece in an exploratory way, Cambien is more interested in finding the essence of all situations. We’re not facing some sort of minimalism or reductionism, far from it, but there’s a methodic application of subtractive procedures giving light to the most defined musical elements, whether they are subtle or explosive of nature. This approach paves the way for almost telepathic communication between Roligheten, Wildhagen and Cambien, and allows the music to emerge with affirmation and clarity in both it's most sophisticated and raw ranges of expression. This is exactly that what makes this music so mysterious and captivating.
CD $15

TURBAMULTA With JOANA SA / EDUARDO RAON / LUIS ANDRE FERREIRA / LUIS JOSE MARTINS / NUNO AROSO - Turbamulta (Clean Feed 477; Portugal) Five musicians came together to create a place where new dynamics of performance and musical creation materialize – the Turbamulta (a Portuguese word we could translate as "rowdy mob"). Each instrument, an original, individual voice magnified by new sound production techniques, existing on the border between interpreter and composer, embodies both beyond the confines of formal contemporary classical music ensembles. Musical gestures recovered by listening to improvisation sessions lead to new sessions and new gestures, remaining constantly open – be it for the purpose of a recording or a live performance. Open to new convergences, divergences, uproars and romanticisms, each musician wandering in their own thoughts until another one calls out, pulling them by the arm to come out to play, or at something else. If one can be made to feel a bit like Borges' Averróis, watching children playing in the yard while failing to understand what games they're playing at, it's because the union of this turbamulta develops forms of communication that are almost indiscernible (unlike the very well-defined "patterns of relationship" of improvised forms: reiteration, imitation and melodic transposition, or alternating between fixed and free moments), and the music they play is intense and bright, profoundly articulated, enigmatic and endlessly surprising. This communication has to do with the fact that, in short, the group brings together two new interpreters to the preexisting trio of Eduardo Raon, Joana Sá and Luís Martins (Powertrio), whose granular and glistening clouds of sound the percussionist Nuno Aroso thickens and the cellist Luís André Ferreira makes long notes and lines stand out from. The symbiotic rapport between the quintet becomes quite clear, after the introduction, in the central section of (like a mast, an arm, a head) where the first cluster of bass notes on the piano leads to short and energetic sounds, and the second one leads to fine and delicate textures. Listening more and more intently, one can sense other signs of what happens between them. That first movement leads to the sound of cow bells', which all of them play, then to Bartók pizzicatos on the guitar and the cello, to low-pitched attacks from the harp and the piano, finally rising to a series of inverted sounds – a similar mechanism appears during the metamorphosis at the center of in holes, when all the instruments become, for an elongated time, percussive. The romanticism of exagero minúsculo reoccurs on the first section of and they would stumble upon some figure, accompanied by echoes of the harp that progress until the end, in the background, as pulsating chords sounding off the guitar, at first, then the harp, and later the piano and the vibraphone. As if from the bottom of ocean, the other musicians join these distant pulses briefly, leading us to back away from the metaphor of the restless children and reminding us that music can be founded upon the spontaneous relations between mysterious beings of the abyss, whom we can admire without worrying ourselves with trying to fully understand.
CD $15

MATTIAS RISBERG - Stamps (Clean Feed 466; Portugal) Personnel: Mattias Risberg on piano & Moog Taurus. If you’re a fan of Carla Bley you already know Mattias Risberg: together with saxophonist Fredrik Ljungkvist he released the album “And Now the Queen – A Tribute to Carla Bley" (2016). Something you could expect from the keyboardist Risberg whose musical interests are deeply rooted in several music idioms, going from John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, Bill Evans, Jan Johansson and Paul Bley to J.S. Bach, Carlo Gesualdo, Igor Stravinskij and Olivier Messiaen, through the likes of John Lennon, Frank Zappa, early Genesis and Yes.
While Risberg is known for the passion he dedicates to vintage instruments like mellotron, Hammond organ, analog synthesizers, clavichord and even pipe organs, in “STAMPS” he focuses only on the piano, now and then prepared, with the sole aid of some Moog Taurus pedals. And he does it alone, in the solo format.
During the working process Risberg was reminded of his youth, how he ”created” inner rooms, guided by music, books, paintings, nature. And by his small collection of stamps. The best way to return to that youthful state of mind was to improvise, as is shown in "STAMPS", which is the result of those six weeks of spontaneous recordings without script or overdubs. Musically you recognize all the references mentioned above, crossing stylistic borders but also recovering the inspiration of other art forms, the literary one included. Yes, there’s a bit of James Joyce and Paul Klee here for you to find in the inner and outer environments of ”STAMPS”.
CD $15

MARIA DA ROCHA - Beetroot & Other Stories (Shhpuma 038; Portugal) Portuguese, violinist and violetist with parallel careers in erudite and experimental improvised music, besides dedications to fado and tango, Maria da Rocha has in “Beet Root & Other Stories” her first solo album. Successor of the duo recorded with Maria W. Horn, “Pink”, this new title presents one of several versions already established for the work-in-progress “Beet Root”, after the first approaches inspired in “Circe”, by Julio Cortázar, in which the author’s compositions, mainly graphic scores painted with china ink and collages with vegetal paper, were interleaved with others of the Baroque period of composers like Bach, Biber, Uccelini and Corelli. Along her path, da Rocha enhanced the use of analog synthesizers, the processing of both the violin and the viola with effect pedals and the resource to magnetic tapes, and that investigative work is well reflected here. A soloist in interpretations of Beethoven, Hindemith, Hoffmeister and Telemann, among others, and a member of several symphonic orchestras, her interest is more and more oriented to the violin’s possibility to «transcend itself in other musical languages besides the classical one». In the present case, she does it with a dramatization «intensively exploring the feminine universe», telling the story of a beet and a witch in an unusual way and with a distinctive personality. Highly recommendable.
CD $13

TYLER HIGGINS With PAUL STEVENS / ELLEN HIGGINS - Blue Mood (Shhpuma 039; Portugal) Known primarily as a guitarist, Tyler Higgins’ skill as a multi-instrumentalist is very much on display in “Blue Mood” – with the late night feel of the album's cinematic arrangements. This Atlanta native’s approach is an intuitive synthesis of traditional folk, blues, and jazz material through the filter of experimental techniques. Each one of these ingredients is disembodied in order to create a music with no defined name, denying the general tendency to easy labels. It is a personal style that works like film music – distinct from a clear genre the focus is instead on the mood and feel of the music. While instrumental, the music is presented in song format -- each piece a miniature that finishes when a particular mood installs itself in our imagination. It unfolds like a road movie with the varying instrumentation of lap steel, mellotron, harmonica, Paul Steven's brush drums, and Ellen Higgins' wordless vocals bringing different scenes into focus. Song titles such as “Motel TV”, “Groceries, Milk, Cigarettes”, or “Slow Night” lends the album a visual quality that perfectly resonates with the cover photo by Todd Hido. What results has a sincerity that takes the carpet out from under us instantly. Like a faded polaroid, "Blue Mood" highlights the beauty of the unpolished work.
CD $13

THE EX - 27 Passports (Ex Records 147; Netherlands) "The Ex released their previous regular studio album as a four-piece (Catch My Shoe) in 2010. While that might seem like a long stretch, their schedule since then tells you another story. The band also released a second album with Ethiopian legend Getatchew Mekuria, and another one with Brass Unbound, featuring several of their friends from the realm of free improvisation. On top of that, there were also a few 7-inches, several phenomenal birthday festivals and a lavish photo book that was published as a tribute to the late Getatchew Mekuria in 2016. But now there's new music, with the unmistakable 'Ex energy.' The three-pronged guitar approach is still as exciting as ever, with the guitars of Andy Moor, Terrie Hessels and Arnold de Boer creating tense, interlocking webs of connections and drummer Katherina Bornefeld pushing the band with dancing, hypnotic patterns. There are some remnants of their African adventures, but most of all, this is a return to the power of The Ex as a unit that effortlessly juggles noisy / disjointed guitar parts, trance-like grooves, defiant chanting and a relentless, infectious drive. Colorful and fierce at the same time, 27 Passports once again expands their horizon and enriches their sound, while remaining true to the core of their philosophy: forward in all directions!" - Guy Peters
CD $17

Historic & Archival Recordings, Reissues & Restocked Goodies:

ROY HAYNES With PHINEAS NEWBORN / BARNEY WILEN / BOOKER ERVIN / ROLAND KIRK /JIMMY GOURLEY / TOMMY FLANAGAN / RONNIE MATTHEWS / PAUL CHAMBERS / et al - The Classic Albums Collection: 1954-1964 (Enlightenment 9142; EEC) Across a career now spanning eight decades, Roy Haynes has earned a reputation as one of the finest ever jazz drummers. A master of improvisation, Haynes is renowned for his highly expressive style and quick-fire snare technique, which earned him the nickname "Snap Crackle". His adaptability to style, and skilful arrangement, led to him playing in just about every subgenre of jazz, including swing, bop, jazz fusion and avant-garde, and his name has appeared on the records of Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Sarah Vaughan, Stan Getz, Bud Powell, Oliver Nelson, McCoy Tyner and Chick Corea, among many others. His finest albums however appeared in the early part of his recording career, often when fronting his own groups. This collection brings together nine of Roy Haynes' finest works from the early part of his career, including each of his releases as bandleader up to 1964. Collated over four discs, remastered to the highest possible quality from the original recordings, this set pays homage to one of the finest jazz drummers to have ever performed, and provides a magnificent opportunity to own these rare and masterful recordings in a single volume.
4 CD Set $18

THE TUBBY HAYES QUARTET With MIKE PYNE / RON MATHEWSON / TONY LEVIN - A Little Workout (Acrobat 4396; UK) When the Tubby Hayes and his new quartet alighted on the Little Theatre in Rochester, Kent for two evenings' worth of performances during the winter/spring of 1966/67 both the leader and the band's music were in a period of transition. Drawing equal inspiration from both the recent innovations of Miles Davis and John Coltrane and the energy of his new, young and adventurous sidemen, Hayes was to turn these to-all-intents-and-purposes typical provincial club nights into definitive manifesto statements of his contemporary musical ambitions. Luckily, excerpts from both these performances were captured on tape. Occasionally bootlegged, the recordings made on these two gigs half a century ago illustrate everything the saxophonist had learned, experienced and pioneered up to that moment; from the blistering paint-off-the-walls bebop of "Walkin'", a solo to rank alongside any of John Coltrane or Sonny Rollins' extended forays from the Sixties, through to the astonishing emotional denouement of a seventeen-minute deconstruction of "Dear Johnny B." - this isn't Hayes merely on form; this is him on fire! This new Acrobat CD is the first ever release of these recordings and comes packaged with rare, hitherto unpublished photographs and a fascinating booklet note by award-winning saxophonist Simon Spillett - author of The Long Shadow of The Little Giant: The Life, Work and Legacy of Tubby Hayes.
CD $15

VICTOR FELDMAN / STAN TRACEY / HARRY SOUTH / GEORGE SHEARING / DILL JONES / et al - So Much, So Quickly - British Modern Jazz Pianists 1948-63 (Acrobat 3240; UK) To those British jazzmen coming to terms with the Bebop revolution of the Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk during the late 1940s, there was one, hugely imposing barrier; harmony. The new, supersonic melodies and off-kilter rhythms were one thing but underpinning these and forming the very bedrock of the music was a very novel, very definite methodology, a new system of chordal building blocks that challenged the understanding of all but the most patient. Inevitably, it fell to the pianists - those with a map of keyboard harmony laid out before them - to try and discover just what were these new, at times mind-bogglingly complex routes towards the cutting edge. "So Much, So Quickly" charts the rise and development of British modern jazz piano during the 1940s, 50s and early 60s, charting a journey which moves from the hip stylings of the young George Shearing and Ralph Sharon through the classic Hard Bop of Terry Shannon, the wilful, unpredictable originality of Stan Tracey and onto the post-Bill Evans brilliance of Gordon Beck. Over 24 tracks, the music moves from bop to cool, from soul-jazz to free-improv and beyond, taking in the work of well-known names Dudley Moore, Victor Feldman and Harry South, together with rarities from such overlooked contributors as Damian Robinson, Stan Jones and Norman Stenfalt. Featuring a host of other famous British modern jazz icons - Ronnie Scott, Tubby Hayes, Joe Harriott, Phil Seamen et al - this release also includes an extensive booklet essay by award-winning saxophonist Simon Spillett, period photographs and three previously unissued tracks.
2 CD Set $16

STAN KENTON With LEE KONITZ/BUDDY CHILDERS/EDDIE BERT/PETE CONDOLI/MAYNARD FERGUSON/ZOOT SIMS/BILL PERKINS/SHELLY MANNE/MEL LEWIS/ et al - The Classic Albums Collection: 1948-1962 (Enlightenment 9143; EEC) A pivotal figure in the development of big band music during the 20th century, Stan Kenton's work opened up a whole new world of possibilities within the genre, dragging it up from its traditional roots into a thrilling form that had previously been unimaginable. A highly skilled pianist, arranger and composer, Kenton's style brought together jazz with elements of classical and avant-garde, producing a new sound that he dubbed "progressive jazz". Even within the ambitious nature of his most left-field music, Kenton remained a success during his entire lifetime, both commercially and critically, releasing as he did an eclectic array of classic albums across the tenure of his career, but with a notable pioneering spirit from the advent of progressive jazz in the late 1940s, through to his most challenging work in the early 1960s. Without equal in so many respects, Stan Kenton remains one of the finest jazz bandleaders of all. This collection, spanning over five hours of music across four discs, provides a taste of the most pioneering music the great man was responsible for and a fraction of his enormous body of work, albeit one that illustrates well his eclectic and challenging spirit. Providing a perfect introduction to the best of this musical genius' output, the collection additionally acts as a welcome reminder to those already familiar with Kenton's esteemed catalogue.
4 CD Set $18

SONNY BOY WILLIAMSON - The Complete Trumpet, Ace & Checker Singles 1951-62 (Acrobat 3235; UK) Blues singer and harmonica player Sonny Boy Williamson II performed originally during the 1930s and '40s as Aleck or Alex Miller, Rice Miller and Little Boy Blue before adopting the name of earlier blues artist Sonny Boy Williamson, born around the same time but who died in 1948 - during the 1940s they were both using the name. For the same of avoiding confusion, it's easier to refer to the artist who is the subject of this collection using the "Sonny Boy Williamson II" nomenclature. Like many blues performers, he came from Mississippi, but built his reputation on radio in West Memphis, Arkansas, in the late '40s, during which time he married Howlin' Wolf's sister and taught him to play harmonica. Between 1951 and 1955 he released twenty-five titles on the Trumpet and Ace labels, and when Trumpet went bankrupt in 1955, and was acquired by Chess, he continued recording for the Chess subsidiary Checker label through into the '60s, becoming one of the US bluesmen who toured Europe during the '60s blues boom and influenced many future rock performers. This great value 51-track 2-CD set comprises all his recordings released during this period on Trumpet, Ace and Checker, and includes the classic "Eyesight To The Blind" along with along with the Elmore James version of "Dust My Broom", and the R&B hits "Don't Start Me Talkin'" and "Keep It to Yourself". It encapsulates his recordings during a key period of his career, and is an excellent showcase for his distinctive style as a blues singer, songwriter and harmonica player.
2 CD Set $16

SNAKEFINGER’S VESTAL VIRGINS - Night Of Desirable Objects (Klanggallerie 258; EEC) Snakefinger surely needs not much of an introduction. Born Philip Charles Lithman in London, he moved to San Francisco in 1971. His roots lie in the British blues scene, but he soon became friends with The Residents who also gave him the name Snakefinger based on a photograph of Lithman performing, in which his finger looks like a snake about to attack his violin. In 1972 Lithman returned to England and formed the pub rock band Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers. After the lack of success of the second album, he returned to the states and work on his solo albums co-written and produced by The Residents began. Night of Desirable Objects was Snakefinger's fourth and final studio album, recorded with the Vestal Virgins and released by Ralph Records in 1987. It featured a variety of styles including jazz, folk, rock, gospel and polka, and displayed a compositional maturity. Snakefinger suffered a heart attack and died on 1 July 1987 in Linz, Austria while touring in support of the album, on the same day the album's first single was released: "There's No Justice In Life". As with all previous re-issues by us, this album will come remastered and with bonus tracks.
CD $18

KLAUS SCHULZE - Virtual Outback (Made in Germany 2MIG 042; Germany) "Re-release of the high acclaimed album Virtual Outback (originally released 2000 as part of the strictly limited and long exhausted five-CD-boxset Contemporary Works II). Virtual Outback was just one single track: the elegiac 65 minute 'The Theme: The Rhodes Elegy', one of the most favourite of many Schulze fans. The bonus track is from a filling work for the Chinese mass rally 'China Millenium' on the occasion of the turn of millennium 2000/2001. After Klaus' delivery the Chinese government said: 'NO - WAY'! First Klaus used the old Mao song, divided by cutting and transposing, and second he used an ethnic sample from Mongolia. That wasn't possible too, due to the fact that Mongolians are a minority in China. The Chinese government stated: either you respect all minorities or no one. Another pearl from the huge Schulze cosmos."
CD $22

KLAUS SCHULZE - Wahnfried: Trance Appeal (Made in Germany MIG 2052; EEC) "Re-release of Schulze's Wahnfried project where he collaborated with a lot of different artists. On Trance Appeal (originally released 1996) it was Jörg Schaaf who did the computer programming and played keyboards. Klaus Schulze sensed techno in the '90s as a quite logical progress in electronic music; it was this magic 'Techno Trance Appeal' that fascinated him. Trance Appeal was the album to come before Are You Sequenced? (also in 1996). Klaus followed his influences but stayed 100% Schulze. He created wonderful trance aesthetics, never losing the Klaus Schulze feel we love so much. The bonustrack 'Marooned' stems from a later recording session, also with Jörg Schaaf."
CD $22

ONDATROPICA - Baile Bucanero (Soundway SNDW 092; UK) Baile Bucanero is the long-awaited follow-up to Ondatrópica's 2012 self-titled album (SNDW 045CD/LP/X-CD, 2012). Ondatrópica's second record was recorded in both Bogota and the Caribbean island of Old Providence. Fueled by bushy rum, the sessions -- often including up to 35 musicians -- capture the dialogues between calypso and gaita, accordion and lapsteel, clave and mandolin, even synthesizer and a horse's jaw bone. Check lout samples at: https://www.forcedexposure.com/Catalog/ondatropica-baile-bucanero-cd/SNDW.092CD.html
CD $15

KENYA SPECIAL - Volume Two, Selected East African Recordings from the 1970s & '80s (Soundway SNDW 084; UK) Kenya Special (SNDW 046; 2013) was one of Soundway's most popular releases and is considered a milestone in East African compilations. In Kenya Special: Volume Two, the featured songs bend the rules, break away from existing genres, and sometimes experiment with foreign music trends. Features: The Lulus Band, Bahari Boys, Kamaru Celina Band, Orchestre Conga Internationale, The Rift Valley Brothers, L'Orchestre Central International, Orchestre Les Mangelepa, The Eagles Lupopo 77, Peter J.Tsotsi & T.A. Lupopo, Orchestre Simba Wanyika, Sammy Katana, African Vibration, Mac & Party, Kilwa Jazz, and Awengele. Check out samples at: https://www.forcedexposure.com/Catalog/va-kenya-special-volume-two-selected-east-african-recordings-from-th-cd/SNDW.084CD.html
CD $15

FLAMINGODS - Majesty (Soundway 085; UK) Majesty is the follow-up to the Flamingodss critically-acclaimed 2014 sophomore album Hyperborea. With Majesty the five-piece have taken their sound in a new direction with a rich and multi-layered album brimming with diverse influences that reflect their multi-cultural backgrounds. The shimmering ten-track album crosses blissful psychedelia with a rich spectrum of the band's sonic inspirations.
CD $15
**************
LP Section:

FUNKADELIC - Free Your Mind... And Your Ass Will Follow (Starburst Blue Vinyl)(4 Men with Beards 1722; USA) "Funkadelic's second LP, originally released in 1970, is another straight up masterpiece from the stoniest, strangest funk and R&B group of all-time. Opening with the 10 minute title track complete with a shredding keyboard solo from Bernie Worrell and, of course, the six-stringed insanity of Eddie Hazel. One of George Clinton's finest sets of songs and another essential part of the Parliament-Funkadelic catalog reissued on blue starburst vinyl in a deluxe gatefold jacket."
LP $30

BUNNY WAILER - Blackheart Man (4 Men with Beards 701; USA) "Blackheart Man is the solo debut album by Bunny Wailer originally released in 1976. This Roots Reggae classic is one of the finest albums of the era and showed that Bunny was a visionary singer/songwriter as he embarked on his solo career. The 10 songs of Blackheart Man are brimming with spirituality and protest, wonderful performances, and a more laid back, meditative style than his former band mates Peter Tosh and Bob Marley. Bunny is backed by a who's who of Reggae musicians of the time including Carlton 'Carly' Barrett, Aston 'Family Man' Barrett, Robbie Shakespeare, Peter Tosh, Earl 'Chinna' Smith, Tommy McCook, Tyrone Downie and Bob Marley. In a gatefold sleeve with lyrics and on red, green and yellow swirl vinyl. Record stampers produced by Record Technology, Inc. Camarillo California, USA."
LP $26

OREN AMBARCHI - Grapes From The Estate (Black Truffle 036; Australia) Black Truffle make Oren Ambarchi's Grapes From The Estate available once more on vinyl. Originally released on CD on Touch in 2004 (TO 061CD) and reissued on Southern Lord as a limited double-LP in 2006 during Ambarchi's tenure as a member of Sunn O))), Grapes From The Estate was a landmark release for Ambarchi, seeing him expand his sonic palette beyond the clipped, bass-heavy electric guitar tones he was known for at that point. Incorporating subtle layers of strings, keyboards, percussion over a bedrock of his signature guitar tones, in retrospect this album can be seen as the beginning of a broadening and evolution in Ambarchi's work that would lead to his acclaimed, densely layered epics for Editions Mego, Quixotism (EMEGO 202CD/LP, 2014) and Hubris (EMEGO 227CD/LP, 2016). Beginning with the shuddering pure tones of opener "Corkscrew", which looks back to previous guitar-only releases such as Suspension (TO 033.18CD, 2001), the album's next two pieces show a progressive broadening of the instrumental palette and a corresponding move away from textural abstraction and sustained tones towards more traditional notions of musicality. This reached its high point on the album's third piece, the fifteen-minute long "Remedios The Beauty", where guitars, both acoustic and electric, strings, piano, and bells build from a murmur to an interlocking web of repeating melodic patterns over gently swinging brushed snare and cymbals. The epic closer, "Stars Aligned, Webs Spun", returns you to a space populated only by the electric guitar, but unlike everything Ambarchi had produced up until this point in his career, the piece has a liquid, psychedelic edge that looks forward to the shimmering harmonics of his more recent work. As Brendan Walls wrote at the time of the original release, this is "another outpouring of personal, intimate and enduring music from Oren Ambarchi". Original artwork and design by Jon Wozencroft. Redesigned by Stephen O'Malley. Remastered and cut by Rashad Becker at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin. Gatefold sleeve.
2 LP set $32

CHARLIE MORROW - Toot! Too (Recital 041; USA) Recital present the first vinyl LP by composer/event-maker Charlie Morrow. Toot! Too culls performance recordings from 1970 to 2014. It focuses on his "Wave Music" series, which are compositions based around swarms of like-instruments; i.e. sixty clarinets, conch choruses, and army of drums and bugle horns, etc. The 1978 piece, "100 Musicians With Lights", was performed at dusk in Central Park. One hundred players (brass, reeds, percussion) congregate and march in spiral formations, playing their instrument with penlights attached to them. The piece dissipates and ends as each player marches through the park to their respective homes. The sound is fascinating; a tape recording made by an audience member swirling and dancing through the performance. Charlie is an organizer: one of instruments, with the pieces that landed on this LP and dozens more; one of events, through decades of public solstice celebrations across the world; one of publications, including New Wilderness Audiographics and EAR Magazine; and, one of friendships as Charlie has kindly introduced me to many fascinating players in this quirky game of ours. He views networking as an art form, always connecting friends with other friends, building a larger web for everyone to dance throughout. Label owner Sean McCann on the release: "In working on this LP over the past years, Charlie Morrow and I have become close. It has been a joy to have him in my life. At the age of 73, he is determined and creative and as positive as ever. Each time we speak, new projects arise -- like a mysterious soup boiling up fresh aromas. One of my favorite memories with Charlie was us staying up 'til the wee small hours of the morning drinking a bottle of sweet potato shochu, me listening to him tell funny and poignant remembrances. I am happy to share these lovely recordings, just a pinky toe in his artistic footprint, but wow, such a gorgeous toe!" Includes 20-page, 8.5x11" color booklet with scores, writings, and photographs; Includes download coupon; Edition of 500.
LP $24

ODION IRUOJE - Down To Earth (Soundway 086; UK) The only self-titled LP released by Nigeria's number-one producer of the 1970s and early '80s, "Sound President" Odion Iruoje. Originally produced on his own label Odion Ltd and released in 1983, this over-looked and obscure LP was originally only ever distributed in small numbers back in the early 1980s. Iruoje is credited as being the man who signed Fela Kuti to EMI Nigeria and produced all of Fela's revolutionary early material from 1970-73. He also signed and produced most of the great body of Nigerian material on the EMI label including BLO, Mono-Mono, Tunji Oyelana (who adds vocals on this LP), Ofege, Geraldo Pino, Sonny Okosuns, and many more. Part disco, part Nigerian rap, Afro-funk, and Juju, it's a unique and at times eccentric blend of Nigerian music that certainly deserves another look after all these years.
LP $28

********

DMG Bi-Weekly Sale List, Rarities and Otherwise:

LOUIE BELOGENIS / TONY MALABY / TREVOR DUNN / RYAN SAWYER / TWICE TOLD TALES - Twice Told Tales (DIW 944; Japan) None of these pieces are longer than 8 minutes, so that nothing goes on for too long, this keeps things engaging throughout. All saxes have rich and expressive near-vocal-like tones, as if they are speaking in tongues, directly to our hearts and souls. All four musicians remain well connected and shift organically through different densities as this gift from the gods unfolds. Another exquisite offering from four of downtown's best.- BLG/DMG
CD $15

BOB BROOKMEYER With THAD JONES/JIMMY ROWLES/GEORGE MRAZ/MEL LEWIS - Back Again (Gazell 1015; USA) This session was valve trombonist Bob Brookmeyer's first jazz date in 13 years after a period writing for the studios and then away from music altogether. Brookmeyer, who is featured in a quintet with cornetist Thad Jones, pianist Jimmy Rowles, bassist George Mraz and drummer Mel Lewis, proves to still be in prime form playing in an unchanged style. Other than the leader's uptempo blues "In a Rotten Mood" and a Latin piece ("Carib"), the quintet sticks to veteran standards. Highlights include "Sweet and Lovely," "Caravan" and "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To." - Scott Yanow
CD $6

DAVE BURRELL - The Jelly Roll Joys (Gazell 4003; USA) The Jelly Roll Joys is highly recommended both as a wonderful recital and as one of the most rewarding albums by a musician deserving far greater renown." - Brian Olewnick, AMG
CD $6

DAVE BURRELL & DAVID MURRAY - Brother to Brother (Gazell 4006; USA) This duet set by pianist Dave Burrell and David Murray (heard on tenor and bass clarinet) is mostly quite relaxed, surprisingly melodic in spots, and explorative but in subtle ways. Burrell's style both looks backward toward stride (and on "New Orleans Blues" to Jelly Roll Morton) and toward the future in its freedom. Murray is mostly fairly mellow, avoiding the extreme upper register much of the time and focusing on his warm tone. There is a fair amount of variety in tempos even while the mutually respectful mood prevails. An excellent effort! - Scott Yanow
CD $6

DAVID MURRAY With JAMES BLOOD ULMER/FRED HOPKINS/SUNNY MURRAY - David Murray: Recording NYC 1986 (DIW 802; Japan)
CD $15

MUSIC REVELATION ENSEMBLE [JAMES BLOOD ULMER/CALVIN JONES/CORNELL ROCHESTER] PHAROAH SANDERS/JOHN ZORN - Cross Fire (DIW 927; Japan)
CD $15

PARIS REUNION BAND [WOODY SHAW/DIZZY REECE/SLIDE HAMPTON/JOHNNY GRIFFIN/NATHAN DAVIS/KENNY DREW/JIMMY WOODE/BILLY BROOKS] - French Cooking (Gazell 1002; USA) Jazz journalist Mike Hennessey was responsible for putting together the Paris Reunion Band, a group of jazz all-stars who spent at least part of their careers based in Paris.Though the personnel changed somewhat after this initial recording, the Paris Reunion Band would continue to work off and on until 1989. Their debut album, French Cooking, was a studio date recorded in the summer of 1985, around the time of their first European tour. The band includes saxophonists Johnny Griffin and Nathan Davis, trumpeters Woody Shaw and Dizzy Reece, trombonist Slide Hampton, pianist Kenny Drew, bassist Jimmy Woode, and drummer Billy Brooks. Most of the musicians made names for themselves while living in their U.S. homeland (except for Reece, a Jamaica native). Nathan Davis is probably the least familiar name in the front line, because he spent a long period in Paris (1962-1969) following his discharge from the U.S. Army, and eventually returned to his homeland to become a jazz educator. He is a triple threat on tenor and soprano saxes as well as flute. Each member of the brass and reed sections contributed a cooking original to the date, while the solos and ensemble work are consistently inspired. "The idea was to revisit the excitement and atmosphere of the '60s Jazz scene in Paris, and instead this band of veterans, ex-pats and budding Europeans recreated that scene in the moment, with all the heat and grandeur you'd wish for. Honest, you can't make this stuff up - Johnny Griffin, Woody Shaw, Slide Hampton and Kenny Drew show the young 'uns how it's done." - Keith McCarthy
CD $6

DAVE VAN RONK With HARRY ALLEN / JOHN PIZZARELLI / KEITH INGRAM / EARL MAY /CHRISTINE INGRAM - Hummin’ to Myself: Sings An American Songbook (Gazell 2004; USA) Featuring Dave Van Ronk on vocals, John Pizzarelli on guitar, Harry Allen on tenor sax, Keith Ingram on piano & arrangements, Earl May on bass and Christine Lavin on backup vocals. Dave Van Ronk's long career stretches back to fifties and has encompassed jazz, blues, folk and even rock songs. He was the godfather of downtown folk scene of the early sixties and one of the first people to befriend and help out Dylan when he first moved to NY. Van Ronk was never a prolific songwriter himself but was well known for covering a wide range of songs from different genres. For this record, which came out in 1990, Mr. Van Ronk covered mostly older jazz standards, using a fine jazz quintet to back him. This is one of the most relaxed and rather charming discs that I've heard from Van Ronk. Some of the more well-known covers include "Sweet Georgia Brown", "Making Whoopie" and "It Ain't Necessarily So". Sublime is a word I thought I would never use to describe a disc by Dave Van Ronk but this is the case here. - BLG
CD $6

ERIC VON SCHMIDT - Baby, Let Me Lay it On You (Gazell 2013; USA) Eric Von Schmidt, guitar and vocals with Chance Browne, guitar; Samuel Charters, tambourine and jug; and Paul Geremia, slide guitar. Moving to Cambridge, Mass in 1957, he was at the center of the 'coffee house scene' both as painter and performer. Von Schmidt shared his large repertory of traditional music, passing them along to new performers who were developing a more modern version of folk music. He influenced Tom Rush, with whom he revived and arranged the traditional song "Wasn't That a Mighty Storm?" about the 1900 hurricane that destroyed Galveston, Texas. When he met Dylan, the two traded harmonica licks, drank red wine and played croquet. Dylan eagerly absorbed von Schmidt's voluminous knowledge of music, including folk, country and the blues. "I sang [Dylan] a bunch of songs, and, with that spongelike mind of his, he remembered almost all of them when he got back to New York," von Schmidt said in The Boston Globe. This 1995 album is the last record he ever recorded, and the only one he made in the last thirty years of his life, focusing instead on his career as a painter from 1977 onwards. An extraordinary last stand - it must be heard! "To me, this sounds like the real thing. Von Schmidt was part of the Cambridge folk scene way back when and still sounds wonderful on this disc from 1995. Schmidt wrote most of the songs on this disc except for a few by Rev. Gary Davis, Dave Van Ronk and Leadbelly. Eric is backed by a small band of outlaws with harmony vocals, harmonica, cello, slide guitar and hand percussion. I dig Eric's liner notes which tell stories about each song. But most of all I dig all sixteen songs that he has chosen to do. An epic folk record anf they don't get much better than this." - BLG
CD $6

JAMES BLOOD ULMER With DAVID MURRAY/OLIVER LAKE/OLU DARA/AMIN ALI/RONALD SHANNON JACKSON/CALVIN WESTON - Are You Glad To Be In America? (DIW 400; Japan)
CD $15

DAVID S WARE QUARTET With MATTHEW SHIPP/WILLIAM PARKER/WHIT DICKEY - Oblations and Blessings (Silkheart 145; EEC)
CD $20 (last 10 copies)

DAVID S WARE QUARTET With MATTHEW SHIPP/WILLIAM PARKER/WHIT DICKEY - Third Ear Recitation (DIW 870; Japan)
CD $15

OTOMO YOSHIHIDE'S NEW JAZZ QUINTET [ONJQ] - Tails Out (DIW 946; Japan) Tails Out is another stunning release from Otomo Yoshihide's New Jazz Quintet, and further integrates his love of fiery jazz and the Onkyo scene, which "puts much more importance on sound texture than on musical structure" (according to good folks at www.japanimprov.com). The album starts with a wonderful reading of Charlie Haden's "Song for Che”… Highly recommended! - Sean Westergaard, AMG
CD $25 (last 5 copies)

********* *********
* Super Rare Performance by PATTY WATERS!

Legendary ESP Vocalist/Priestess of the Avant-Garde

The Patty Waters Quartet Featuring Burton Greene, Mario Pavone & Barry Altschul

Will Play Next Thursday, April 5th, 2018 at 8pm

At the First Unitarian Congregational Society
119-121 Pierepont St, Brooklyn, NY 11201

* A pair of free tickets will be given to the first person who responds
to this, the DMG newsletter and asks politely

*****************
Bruce Lee Gallanter’s Recommended Gig List for March & April of 2018:

THE STONE RESIDENCIES - THERESA WONG - MAR 27–MAR 31 at The New Stone

3/30 Friday
8:30 pm - FLOATING LANTERNS — a poem by Mercedes Roffé; Mercedes Roffé (poetry, voice) Adria Otte (electronics) Bergrún Snæbjörnsdóttir (horn) Rachel Devorah (horn) Theresa Wong (cello, voice, composition)

3/31 Saturday
8:30 pm - THERESA’S BIRTHDAY BASH - John McCowen (b-flat clarinet, contrabass clarinet, treble recorder) Theresa Wong (cello, voice) special guest from China—Lao Dan (sax, bamboo instruments)

THE STONE RESIDENCIES - DAN WEISS - APR 3–7

4/3 Tuesday
8:30 pm - DAN WEISS and EVAN PARKER—SOLOS and DUO
Dan Weiss (drums, percussion) Evan Parker (sax)

4/4 Wednesday
8:30 pm - DUO with friends - Dan Weiss (drums, percussion) Craig Taborn (piano, keyboards)

4/5 Thursday
8:30 pm - “Fourth Floor” with Miguel Zenon
Dan Weiss (drums, percussion) Matt Mitchell (piano) Miguel Zenon (sax)

4/6 Friday
8:30 pm - Dan Weiss Trio - Dan Weiss (drums, percussion) Jacob Sacks (piano) Thomas Morgan (bass)

4/7 Saturday
8:30 pm - Dan Weiss & Miles Okazaki Duo
Dan Weiss (drums, percussion) Miles Okazaki (guitar)

THE (NEW) STONE is located in The New School
Glass Box Theatre - 55 west 13th street - near 6th ave
All Sets at The New Stone start at 8:30pm Tickets: $20
There are no refreshments or merchandise at The Stone.
Only music. All ages are welcome.
Cash Only at the door. There is no phone.
There is no food or beverage served or allowed
just a serious listening environment.
The Stone is booked purely on a curatorial basis

*********

The CORNELIA STREET CAFE - 212-989-9319
29 Cornelia St in the heart of the West Greenwich Village, NYC

Friday Mar 30
6:00PM ANNIE CHEN QUARTET - Annie Chen, voice, composition; Marius Duboule, guitar; Mat Muntz, bass; Deric Dickens, drums
8:35PM JASON RIGBY'S DETROIT-CLEVELAND TRIO - Jason Rigby, tenor sax; Cameron Brown, bass; Gerald Cleaver, drums

Saturday Mar 31
6:00PM AN EVENING OF BAD TIMES WITH BAD TIES: BEAT POETRY - Garland Wells, poet; Jacob Moran, producer; Billy Reed, bass; Jason Chrisman, sax, winds
8:35PM MATT ARONOFF QUARTET - Jason Rigby, tenor sax; Fabian Almazan, piano; Matt Aronoff, bass; Henry Cole, drums

Sunday Apr 01
8:01PM DJANGO AT CORNELIA STREET: SARA L'ABRIOLA TRIO - Sara L'Abriola, guitar; Roy Williams, guitar; Sammy Weissberg, bass

Sun April 2nd:
8:30PM AMRAM & CO - David Amram, piano, french horn, flutes, composition & surprises; Kevin Twigg, drums, glockenspiel; Rene Hart, bass; Elliot Peper, bongos
Tuesday Apr 03
8:00PM VOXECSTATIC: MIA JAZZ ENSEMBLE - Mia, voice; Matt King, piano; Anton Denner, sax; Ratzo Harris, bass; Paul Meyers, guitar; Tim Horner, drums

Wednesday, April 4th:
8:00PM GEMINIANI/SCHMIEDEL/ROSATO/RUECKERT - Francesco Geminiani, tenor sax; Manuel Schmiedel, piano; Rick Rosato, bass; Jochen Rueckert, drums
9:30PM MATT MARANTZ QUARTET - Matt Marantz, tenor sax; Sam Harris, piano; Rick Rosato, bass; Jochen Rueckert, drums

Thursday Apr 05
8:00PM MARTA SANCHEZ QUINTET - Alex Lore, alto sax; Jerome Sabbagh, tenor sax; Simon Wilson, bass; Daniel Dor, drums; Marta Sanchez, piano
9:30PM PERRY SMITH QUINTET, CD RELEASE: NEW ANGEL - Perry Smith, guitar; Jason Rigby, tenor sax; Jarrett Cherner, piano; Matt Aronoff, bass; Allan Mednard, drums

Friday Apr 06
6:00PM ALBERT MARQUES TRIO - Albert Marques, piano; Manel Fortià, double bass; Ari Hoenig, drums

Saturday Apr 07
8:35PM ARI HOENIG TRIO - Nitai Hershkovits, piano; Or Bareket, bass; Ari Hoenig, drums

Sunday Apr 08
6:00PM TAMUZ NISSIM & GEORGE NAZOS - Tamuz Nissim, vocals, piano; George Nazos, guitar
8:00PM ISRAELI JAZZ SPOTLIGHT: SIVAN ARBEL QUARTET - Sivan Arbel, voice; Nick Hetko, piano; Sam Weber, bass; Evan Hyde, drums
9:30PM ISRAELI JAZZ SPOTLIGHT: EDEN BAREKET TRIO - Eden Bareket, baritone sax; Or Bareket, bass; Felix Lecaros, drums

**********

I-Beam Presents:

Friday, March 30th 8:00 PM
Louise D.E. Jensen / Tom Blancarte / Carol Liebowitz / John Wagner
Louise D.E. Jensen - alto saxophone
Tom Blancarte - bass
Carol Liebowitz - piano
John Wagner - drums

Saturday, March 31st 8:30 PM
Novoa / Attias Duo Arturo Garcia’s FENIX
8:30-9:15 Novoa / Attias Duo
Michaël Attias, alto sax
Eva Novoa, piano & Chinese gongs
9:30-10:15 Arturo Garcia’s FENIX: The music of Santa Sangre.
Arturo García, conductor/percussion
Hery Paz, woodwinds
Ali Bello, violin
Liz Taub, violin
Leonor Falcon, viola
Stephanie Jaimes, cello
Patricia Brennan, vibraphone
Juanma Trujillo, electric guitar
Brian Tate, acoustic bass
Daniel Vargas, percussion

Thursday, April 12th 8:30 PM
Matteo Liberatore Mara Rosenbloom / Emilie Lesbros Slideshow Junky
Matteo Liberatore, solo guitar
Mara Rosenbloom / Emilie Lesbros duo
Mara Rosenbloom, piano
Emilie Lesbros, voice
Slideshow Junky
Eli Wallace, piano/concept/compositions
Angela Morris, tenor sax
Ben Cohen, tenor sax
Deric Dickens, drums
Aram Shelton and Friends

Saturday, April 14th 8:30 PM $15 Suggested Donation
1 set
Aram Shelton (sax)
Harald Berg (drums).
2 set
Aram Shelton (sax)
Harald Berg (drums)
Jaimie Branch (trumpet)
Michael Coleman (keyboards)

I-Beam is located at 168 7th Street in Brooklyn, NY 11215 - Directions: SUBWAY: Take the F or R trains to 4th Ave & 9th Street. Walk down 4th ave to 7th street. Make a left on 7th and walk past 3rd ave. We are located on the ground floor, the grey doors to the right of the stairs of #168.

********

Shapeshifter Lab Presents:

Mar 29: Jes Wittig:
The Bone Mother
Choreographed by: Jes Wittig
Dancers: Alexis Murphy, Mariah Davis, Alex Bittner

Mar 30:
7pm: Michael Whalen
8:15p - David Acevedo
David Acevedo's Eyehear
David Acevedo - Trumpet
Joseph Freund - Guitar
Sean Kim - Keyboards
Conner Duke - Electric Bass
Daniel Mesko - Drums
$10

Shapeshifter is located at
18 Whitwell Place in Brooklyn, NY
R train to Union stop

*********

The Bushwick Improvised Music Series Continues:

Monday April 2nd
7pm Joe Ravo - guitar
Ed Keller -  guitar
Reggie Sylvester - drums
8pm Stephen Gauci - tenor saxophone
Sandy Ewen - guitar/electronics
Kevin Shea - drums
9pm Guillermo Gregorio - clarinet
Omar Tamez - guitar
Joe Fonda - bass
9:30pm Dierk Peters - vibraphone
Nick Dunston - bass
Stephen Boegehold - drums
10:30pm Juanma Trujillo - guitar
Hery Paz - tenor saxophone
Andrew Schiller - bass
Robin Baytas - drums
11:15pm John Loggia - drums
Eric Plaks - piano

Downstairs @ Bushwick Public House
1288 Myrtle Avenue, Bushwick
(Across the street from M train Central Ave stop)
bushwickpublichouse.com