9 grey chairs

Glimpses - INTERface w/ Marion Brown [ReEntry 003]

2012-01-01T04:52:00.000-08:00

The next INTERface release after This Time (below), and the last album from the 70's iteration of the group. (Fischer used the name again for a 1994 trio and a 1996 recording with Arthur Blythe and Wilber Morris).

Rick Kilburn and Mark Whitecage are constants from the earlier albums, as is Phillip Wilson - although here 2 other drummers also appear.

As none of the 3 sticksmen appear alongside any other on any track, I'd guess that it was a case of whoever could make the session on the day to fill the drummers chair.

And Marion Brown appears with the group as a guest.

On 'Solo', getting one track to himself for a solo alto saxophone performance which is maybe the simplest, plangent and moving moment of the record.

But the alto duet with Whitecage is also good and he plays a strong pithy solo on 'Polka'.

All the tunes seem to have pretty naff names, and this time round, I find some of Fischer's compositions -usually springboard themes for improvisation- less convincing than on the earlier records.

Fisher himself gets all roccocco-ed up once or twice soloing on piano but is mostly solid in a ruminative, quietly spoken way.

Kilburn is great, as per the earlier LPs. He appears to still be playing as well as producing - although seemingly without a website, he is easy to find info about as an active player over the years.

I'm pretty sure it's Kilburn deputising on bass for Ray Drummond in a young John Zorn's 'Sonny Clark Memorial Quartet' group recorded live for Canadian TV in the mid 80's.

The chamber music feel broadly continues throughout - it's subtle at times, but worth hearing: - there's some fine music making going on.

Whitecage plays an uncredited bass clarinet on the first track.

Glimpses

INTERface with Marion Brown

Side A

1. Polkanese

2. Foxtrot

3. P4/m3 (2 Altos)

4. Loud & Soft

Side B

1. Birthday

2. Polka

3. Solo (M. Brown)

4. Ticker Poum

John Fischer - piano

Marion Brown- alto saxophone

Mark Whitecage - saxophones & bass clarinet

Rick Kilburn - bass

Bobby Meyer - drums

Thomas Whaley - drums

Phillip Wilson - drums

ReEntry Records RE-003

Recorded 1978 / 1979

Mark Whitecage Site http://www.erjn.it/mus/whitecage.htm

John Fischer Recordings Site http://www.artmus.com/reentry/reentry1.html

This post for Lucky - who hopefully doesn't have 7 of the 8 tracks here ..

This Time - INTERface [ReEntry 002]

2011-12-13T03:31:00.000-08:00

This Time

INTERface

Side A

1. Free Blues #2

2. State of the A

3. 110th Street

4. Stops & Starts #1

Side B

1. 476

2. Foggy

3. Patates Frites (Belgian Fries)

John Fischer - piano

Mark Whitecage - saxophones

Rick Kilburn - bass

Phillip Wilson - drums

ReEntry Records 002

Recorded 1978

Back in March we posted Interface’s ‘Live at Environ’ recorded in 1977. This is the follow up album from Interface [or INTERface as John Fischer would have it], with this stripped-down quartet lineup - the most minimal of INTERface groups - consisting of just John Fischer, Mark Whitecage, Rick Kilburn and Phillip Wilson. As the founder and manager of the Environ loft performance space, Fischer had an important role, not just in his own improvising group [he is the leader and primary composer of INTERface] – but also more broadly in the ‘loft-jazz’ scene in 1970’s New York. Environ does not seem to get the modern-day press that other seminal NYC 1970s ‘loft’ venues do – like Sam Rivers’ Studio Rivbea, Rashied Ali’s Ali’s Alley, The Brook or Joe Lee Wilson’s Ladies Fort. This may be due to the lower profile of John Fischer as musician and proprietor – but Environ was a vital, and a major part of the ‘loft jazz scene’ in mid to late 70’s New York. Started by Fischer as a multi-discipline arts space, Environ presented modern dance, poetry, and was an art gallery as well. Fischer himself was, and is, a visual artist – with both painting and multimedia work. The cover of this LP is a Fischer painting. In later years, he became very involved in video, multi-media, and computer art. His bread sculptures and ‘electronic paintings’ have attracted attention and a book of Fischer’s poetry ‘Love Condition’ was published in 2010.

The first lofts to open were Studio Rivbea (Rivers lived there from 1970, and held his first major music exposition there in 1972) – and Studio We, founded by James Duboise and Juma Sultan. [See Sultan’s new Aboriginal Music Society box set on Eremite for more information and music from Studio We.

Fischer, moving in both art crowds and experimental jazz music circles, originally had his own Leonard St loft , making music with, amongst others, Perry Robinson (clarinet), Mario Pavone (bass), Jay Clayton (vocalist) and Laurence Cook (drums). Robinson hooked him up with 2 brothers that were happy to sub-lease a large part of their very capacious loft premises at 476 Broadway in Manhattan. The brothers were Chris and Danny Brubeck, sons of Dave. Perhaps not the hippest names as far as experimental arts were concerned but - already interested in establishing a music and meditation temple - they were keen to collaborate with Fischer in his performance space ideas . Fischer spent a few months renovating the 600 square metre loft and opened Environ with a first music concert in July 1975.

Environ was on the 11th floor at 476 Broadway, and reportedly offered a purposely spare even minimal performance experience. Audiences would sit on rugs or on the floor and were encouraged to focus solely on the performance. Unlike venues like Ali’s Alley or Ladies’ Fort which were licensed nightclubs and sold liquor, Environ didn’t have a bar – the cash register, calls for drinks and general buzz around the bar being seen as detrimental to the performance experience. Although cider and wine were often available all the same apparently, for refreshment of its patrons.

The fact that the very first 1975 performance was one by the great free/time drummer Andrew Cyrille gives a pretty clear indication that the new loft space was going to be programming more adventurous fare than Blue Rondo a La Loft or Take Ten.

Fischer was white, and interested in classical music and new, freer ideas of improvisational music, as well as having his own structural and process oriented concepts. This all comes out to some extent in the music of INTERface.

But Environ, the loft – was far more wide ranging in terms of the music and musicians that appeared there – particularly in its heyday, from 1976 to 1979.

Here’s a partial list of artists appearing – mostly multiple times – at Environ in this period: -

Lester Bowie, Anthony Braxton, Hamiett Bluiett, Roscoe Mitchell , Arthur Blythe, Steve Lacy, Gunter Hampel, Charles Tyler, Peter Brötzmann, Marion Brown, Malachi Favors, Leroy Jenkins, David Murray, Irene Schweizer, Joseph Jarman, Olu Dara, Peter Kowald, Henry Threadgill, Amina Claudine Myers, Andrea Centazzo, Fred Hopkins, Jeanne Lee, Phillip Wilson, Julius Hemphill, Don Moye , Oliver Lake, Air, Billy Bang, Charles "Bobo" Shaw, Chico Freeman, Steve McCall, Muhal Richard Abrams.

Muhal Richard Abrams had moved from Chicago to New York in 1976. A few AACM members, like Kalaparusha (1974) had done the same thing earlier – but by 1978, the trickle had become a flood, and a huge swathe of the AACM had transplanted to NYC.

Abrams reportedly dropped in one day to Environ and asked if he could try the piano. Liking the instrument enough to return regularly for daytime practice sessions, the word quickly spread amongst his ex-Chicago confreres and acolytes about this performance space with a relaxed but attentive focus on the performers – that also had a good piano.

The Environ piano was evidently a source of some pride – and not without it’s own biographical narrative. Practiced on by Abrams, partially broken by von Schlippenbach, and replaced entirely courtesy of D Brubeck, when Fischer mounted a “buy Environ a new piano” benefit , and Dave was prevailed upon to play a gig there to raise the required funds.

Unlike many of the ‘new jazz’ concerts, which would get wildly ranging audience numbers – from a couple of hundred to as few as 3 or 4 people turning up for artists like Joseph Bowie or Hamiett Bluiett – the Brubeck benefit gig packed them to the rafters, with people spilling out of the loft space and down onto the stairway below.

The new piano was duly purchased.

Environ was one of the ‘loft for rent’ venues – and not a ‘hiring live club’, or free performance space. This may be worth mentioning lest people get the impression that the whole loft experience was a warm fuzzy exercise in communal socialism. That being said, the aim was anything but exploitative – typically an artist or group would be asked to stump up something like the cost of 1 day’s real rental (1/30th of a months’ rent in other words) , and accept an understanding that the loft would take door receipts up to a certain value – maybe $150 or so – and then split anything over and above that between loft and artist. Easy to see that a big-crowd night could easily satisfy artists financially – and that only a small audience turning up meant that the artists were 'paying for playing'.

If anyone is interested [extremely unlikely I realise] I will add some more to this 70s loft-related stuff here. ..

This record is worth hearing – Fischer is interesting and sometimes inspired, Phillip Wilson is a spare, fleeting texturalist on this album, and Rick Kilburn a really strong player.

Mark Whitecage makes it though. He’s great here, and this is nowhere near his best work.

Consider this quote if you will

“Well, I say from now on, those who love life and those who write about music should listen to Mark Whitecage and make it their business to find out what he is doing and where he will be doing it. Then tell everyone you know or have known to listen immediately.” – William Parker, 2011

Mark Whitecage Site http://www.erjn.it/mus/whitecage.htm

John Fischer Site http://www.artmus.com/

I cannot urge you too strongly to buy some recordings from either of these musicians - Whitecage's own are all limited-press runs and Fischer's now all unavailable commercially.

Please consider ..

Fuigo from a Different Dimension - Toshinori Kondo [Bellows 001]

2011-11-13T04:21:00.004-08:00

Fuigo from a Different Dimension
Toshinori Kondo

Toshinori Kondo - trumpet, alto horn, mutes

Side A
1. Fuigo
2. Double
3. Cliff

Side B
1. Short-Ichi
2. Short-Ni
3. Alto
4. Slides Out
5. Buriki

Bellows Records 001
1979

Every time I hear Kondo in something new to me, I’m invariably enthused anew by his invention, soul, and breadth of musical compass. This year, it’s been Death is Our Eternal Friend – a 1982 collaboration with Paul Lovens and Paul Lytton – and Protocol - posted below by Sotise – that have opened the ears (once again) to Kondo’s playing. Almost every time this happens, I ask why I don’t have more records of the guy. And I muse to myself that if I hadn’t gone through that phase in the early 90’s of collecting Lee Morgan and Hank Mobley LPs, I could have been picking up cheap copies of extraordinary albums by ….well, plenty of musicians, but particularly musicians like Kondo.
As it turned out, all those Morgan and Mobley LPs turned up widely available on CD in their time, with bonus tracks aplenty, whereas with musicians like Kondo – a significant amount of recorded documents have slipped through the cracks. . .

Fuigo From A Different Dimension is a solo trumpet album.. ‘Solo trumpet’ being not 100% accurate, as Kondo too plays Alto Horn – solo, and also simultaneously, with his “solo” trumpet.
There aren’t a hell of a lot of solo trumpet albums [or solo brass instruments of any sort]. Leo Smith, Bill Dixon, Axel Dorner and Lester Bowie immediately come to my mind. Stef at freejazz-stef has made a better roundup of solo trumpet albums here

This is Kondo’s first solo record – from 1979.
It’s inventive, imaginative, creative, concise, weird, wonderful, and – for me – quite cohesive as an album, and not a set of glorified practice exercises or a hot-chops demonstration.
This time round, I’m not going to recommend the felicities of each and every track - or gesture, mood or feel.
And instead I recommend to - Just listen.

It is weird – and things are never as far apart as they seem: - I was prompted to post this by the 2 Kondo records mentioned above – yet this LP is Bellows 001, and Billy Bang’s Changing Seasons [below] was the 4th LP on the same tiny Bellows label [Bellows 004].
As far as the label goes - the first and the last.

Anyway - hope you enjoy.

For onxidlib

Henry Kaiser -Toshinori Kondo- Andrea Centazzo,Metalanguage LP- ML 102-1978

2011-10-21T19:20:00.000-07:00

An intriguing document by three Eccentric masters from the golden age where
free improvised sounds modelled on SME, were spreading World wide and becoming some sort of Lingua franca amongst adventurous souls,and disciples spreading the Gospel of Micro-Free non-conformity..

Nice Chewy listen ,even if perhaps it isnt the best work by these guys ,Henry was in the process of developing his own trademark almost orchestral,uniquely processed sound (evidenced to a degree on side b) , and fully realised on later records like the criminally out of print Aloha ,& Outside Pleasure...(here ,particularly on side one , he sounds largely in thrall to his great love of D.Bailey,and what guitarist playing free music isnt at some point?)

Kondo as usual sticks out whatever the context.. one of the most utterly distinctive brass voices of the Era or any Era ,a special PRESENCE,in whos phrasing and unique sense of time one can hear echoes of the outrageously Expressive, chimeric Miles Davis on such mid 70's masterpieces ,On the Corner, Agartha,& Panagea,

and of course Ictus boss, Centazzo is also quite a riveting ,magnetic presence as always.

a language taking shape .... nothing codified or formalised, enjoy!!

Line-up / Musicians
Electric Guitar [Gibson 355 Guitar, Acoustic 115 Amp.]- Henry Kaiser
Percussion [Premier Drum Set, Cheap Electronics, Ufip Cymbals & Gongs, Etc.], - Andrea Centazzo (tracks: B1 to B5)
Trumpet, Horn [Eb Alto] - Toshinori Kondo (tracks: A1 to A7)

Releases information
LP: Metalanguage ML 102 (US)

ps ... ive given this a light de crackle and click , the record is in a condition thats just this side of poor, servicable until the real thing in the form of a proper cd reissue comes along ... i guess, dont hold y'r breath!

New York Collage - Billy Bang's Survival Ensemble [Anima AN-1002]

2011-07-15T03:27:00.000-07:00

New York Collage

Billy Bang's Survival Ensemble

Billy Bang - violin, poetry, bells, shaker, percussion

Bilal Abdur Rahman - tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, bull-horn, percussion
Henry Warner - alto saxophone, bells, shaker, percussion
William Parker - bass
Khuwana Fuller - congas
Rashid Bakr - drums

Side A

1.Nobody Hear The Music The Same Way (Dedicated to John Coltrane) [Billy Bang]
2.For Josie Part II [Billy Bang]

Side B

3.Illustration [Poetry - B Bang, Music - Bilal A Rahman]
4.Subhanallah [B.A. Rahman]

Anima Records A.N. 1002
1978

[EDIT] - Feel free to read on for my ramblings re. this record - they still stand. In what is rather exciting news though, this HAS BEEN REISSUED ON CD, along with another HITHERTO UNRELEASED SURVIVAL ENSEMBLE RECORDING. Amazing and thrilling at the same time: - it's called Black man's Blues / New York Collage - 2CD, and LP. Label is NoBusiness, link here - http://www.nobusinessrecords.com/NBCD30-31.php

Access to original tapes was apparently involved. This is good.

Download link here for this is now pulled, and I'd urge people to consider this new reissue.

Review here [or at least a few words] , as soon as I get my copy ..

[/EDIT]

This is the first Billy Bang record. The band, the Survival Ensemble, is a sextet - it's from 1978.

The few reviews that will find of this record on the web will suggest to you that it's vaguely interesting in a historical sort of way but inessential musically - 'diverting juvenilia' in almost as many words.
That - is crap. It's a great record.

Of it's time sure - but revealing of the reality of Billy Bang's 1978 - a reality you can still smell and feel and that has grip and resonance even now - 33 years later in a world that bears little resemblance . . .

The tunes are not complex, not the section-work razor-sharp - but it grooves and it crackles throughout with a totally unpretentious honesty and urgency. Both 'outside' and 'in' - a concept that will be familiar to longtime fans of Bang's. And some of the simple arranging, is quite beautiful. It's noticeable that Billy plays with a lighter bow and touch than he came to use later on, when he developed that *deep,deep* horsehair attack.

'Illustration' is a spoken-word piece, a protest poem - engaging socially, politically, poetically - in a way that works (and still stands up) better than many more well-known famous poetic efforts of the era.
'Subhanallah' is a concise 1/4 hour of grooving tear-it-on-down that's fantastic
The Coltrane dedication is in "Nobody Hear The Music The Same Way" - I don't hear the Coltrane in the music [explicitly I mean] but I love the *song* the band makes here
'For Josie Part II' is driven through its atmospheric shapes by Rashid Bakr & Khuwana Fuller, but is a group performance of light and shade ...

Henry Warner on alto - is still active in NYC, after some time reportedly away from public musicmaking in the 80s/90s. A veteran of the NYC lofts of the 70's, he's on Bang's 'Outline #12' record (1982), as well as on William Parker's first record . Warner's webpage, with contact email is at http://www.henrypwarner.com/
Go to http://www.vibrationaltherapists.com to check out his Vibrational Therapists band.

Bilal Abdur Rahman is a mystery and a cipher. Would love to know more about him. Anyone? ... This seems likely to be the only released recording he appears on.
A tune of his called 'Know Your Enemy' was recorded by Bang a number of times on later albums. He is credited with both tunes on side 2 here. He generates a great head of steam and plenty of excitement on Subhanallah, propelling the music forward madly.

Rashid Bakr is fantastic (some places here he's hitting *really hard*)

And Parker is exceptional - with or without a bow - a mighty player.

(John) Khuwana Fuller - like Warner - also appeared on 'Outline #12' 4 years later with a different band.

A Note on The Sound
This sounds almost exactly the same as the vinyl record does in this room - no noise reduction, or signal processing other than *manual* de-clicking. Initially, I ran the recording through a sophisticated piece of auto-declicking software. The clicks and pops were largely gone, and the sound was much cleaner, but I felt that 'something' had gone from the edge of the music too. If I A/B'ed the 2 , I could *barely* tell the difference in the music - but it was there, almost imperceptible. So - I went back to the original and started de-clicking manually. My litmus test in approaching this was that if I could hear any difference whatsoever after a single click removal - even a perception of difference - then the click stayed in. If there were no detectable difference in any way in that portion of music, then the click was removed - and on to the next click. And so on. It took ages, but the result is pretty true to the original. The fact I have done no other processing, means that the general noisefloor is higher than a processed recording. The point here is that you can EQ it yourself if you want to make a 'personal listening' copy that you're comfortable with. I'm trying to make here the closest thing I can to the sound of the vinyl on my turntable - not master a CD. Admittedly, the (manual) click-removal is a concession toward listenability that a totally 'pure' approach would eschew. Closest I can get to imagining the sound of the new vinyl, store-bought, 1978 is the justification. Everything is relative of course, and in the end you're relying on my ears making all these qualitative judgments. Res ipsa loquitur.

The recording acoustic is slightly dry and boxy - the ear quickly adjusts.

Go buy some music – support musicians and keep them and their families alive. Otherwise there will be no next generation and our kids kids’ will have nothing but shit to listen to.

Buy Bang CDs – buy Henry P Warner’s CDs – buy Other Dimensions In Music CDs (W. Parker & Rashid Bakr).

If everyone just sits at home at their computers downloading the universe, then no-one is helped, no one is supported, no-one is energized, there’s no path forward.
Everyone just gets a lot of solitary pleasure true - but that’s just the same as masturbation.

So anyway - "What's the remedy for a Saturday Night Fever?"

Untitled Gift - Billy Bang [Anima 3BG9]

2011-06-03T04:52:00.000-07:00

1982 - Quartet music.

The instrumentation is violin, pocket trumpet, bass and drums. Plus some extra flute work from Don Cherry and Bang himself. The timbre of the unusual combination of instruments is absorbing - and the playing excellent.

Bang and Cherry are great.

But cop a big ear too, to Wilber Morris and Denis Charles - just LARGE talents, that couldn't be unmusical if they tried.
Who's Denis Charles? The guy on the early Cecil records who went off to be a 30 year junkie? Yeah - that guy BUT. . .
listen (for example) to Maat here. Powerful, beautiful, musical, wonderful approach It's Denis fucking Charles man! He's fantastic and [I think] a vastly under-rated player.

A really enjoyable record.

Sadly - all these 4 guys are now gone.

Billy Bang - violin, yokobue flute, congas, bells
Don Cherry - pocket trumpet, flute, bells
Wilber Morris - bass
Denis Charles - drums

Side A
Echovamp 1678 [B.Bang]
Night Sequence [O.Coleman]
The Kora Song [D.Cherry]

Side B
Maat [B.Bang]
Levitation for Santana [B.Bang]
Focus on Sanity [O.Coleman]

Anima Records Anima 3BG9
1982

Buy The Recordings of The Musicians You Respect !!

Changing Seasons - Billy Bang [Bellows 004]

2011-04-30T04:52:00.000-07:00

Gratifyingly, many of Billy Bang's recordings remain in- print and available. On Soul Note, Justin Time, Black Saint , CIMP, and a fistful of smaller labels. Even 'oddities' like the solo violin 'Commandment' on the tiny 'No More' label can be obtained with minimal searching. That so many of the records are so good, and in so many diverse settings and styles, is a testament to the musicianship of the man.

Only a few things have slipped through the cracks and remain unavailable, with little likelihood of reissue. One of them was posted here, Feb 2009 (Live at Green Space with Charles Tyler).

Here's another one.

3 of the 4 tracks were recorded in trio with William Parker and the Japanese percussionist Toshi Tsuchitori. Then, a free-jazz avant-guardist, in the following decades Tsuchitori has explored worlds of ancient instruments, releasing a number of recordings including "“The Sounds of Prehistoric Painted Cave: Playing in the Cave of Cougnac, France”. For over 30 years he has collaborated on and off with British theatre and film director Peter Brook

The other Japanese musician on this record - on the 'Playful Spring' duet is trombonist Masahiko Kono. A determined experimentalist, in 1980 he would have been on a visit from Japan, having studied and worked there with Toshinori Kondo, tenor player Mototeru Takagi and violinist Takehisa Kosugi. Unlike Kondo, he moved to the USA permanently and has played extensively with groups led by Jemeel Moondoc, William Parker and William Hooker, as well as being a frequent member of Cecil Taylor's big band.

It is likely redundant to mention William Parker in an introductory context. Suffice to say that both Parker and Bang debuted on record within a year of one another (Parker 1973, Bang 1974) and that their musical association goes back at least to this time. More than 2 decades after Changing Seasons was recorded, the two formed, with Hamid Drake, the Violin Trio, releasing the beautiful Scrapbook album on Thirsty Ear. In the interim, Parker played bass on outstanding Bang records like The Fire From Within (Soul Note, 1984), and Sextet - Live at Carlos 1 (Soul Note, 1986).

The crickets (noted in the title of Track 1) are audible on all 3 of the 'Studio Henry' tracks - giving an evocative feel of a hot New York summer. The duo with Kono was recorded 2 days after Christmas of that year - at a guess, the 'Changing Seasons' of the title comes from the disparity between the 2 sessions (seasonally speaking).

160 kbps MP3's of this have been available in blogland for quite some time. Anecdotally, membership of a stern Russian free-booty site would allow you to access MP3s at 320. Hell, bits of this album have even appeared on YouTube (accompanied by a static photo).

But these are FLACs - from a clean LP copy and very low on the pop & crackle quotient.
The sound is good.

And the music is wonderful.

Seriously, consider buying some fantastic in-print Billy Bang music - it would be a fitting respect and farewell to the man. If you don't know his String Trio of New York or Soul Note or Justin Time records - you need them ! Any of these will pay royalties on sales to his estate - he is survived by his daughters Hoshi and Chanyez, his sons Jay and Ghazal, - and his partner Maria.

here's just 24 essential billy bang recordings...

2011-04-30T02:31:00.000-07:00

2011-04-15T02:29:00.000-07:00

Billy Bang R.I.P 1947 - 2011

2011-04-12T17:51:00.000-07:00

Inventive, profound, joyful, complex, swinging, bluesy, avant guard, wonderful musician.

A huge, horrible loss.

His extensive discography is here - http://www.mindspring.com/~scala/bang.htm

So very sad today

Live at Environ 1977 - Interface [ReEntry 001]

2011-03-19T05:21:00.000-07:00

Phillip Wilson was a member of the AACM and he played in the prototypal Art Ensemble of Chicago (The Roscoe Mitchell Art Ensemble). He was a member of Paul Butterfield's Blues Band and played at Woodstock in 1969- it's one of his compositions appearing on Side 6 of the famous Woodstock Soundtrack triple album. He was a member of jazz/funk/rock group Full Moon.
Perhaps more importantly, he played and recorded with Anthony Braxton, Julius Hemphill, Frank Lowe, George Lewis, David Murray, Lester Bowie, James Carter, Oliver Lake, James Newton, The Last Poets, Bill Laswell, Hamiet Bluiett, Manu Dibango, Jaco Pastorius, John Carter & Wadada Leo Smith.
He wasn't a session musician - he was the guy these people wanted playing for them, with a beautiful poise and fluidity to his approach to the drums, and a free but funky sense of texture and dynamics, and a genuine sense of both 'fire', as well as self-control.

He was *also* the first drummer/percussionist with INTERface.
INTERface was a group led by the guy who ran the Environ loft space in New York City in the mid-late 1970's - John Fischer. Fischer, a visual artist as well as a piano player, was experimental and progressive in his approach - towards both the music he liked to play, as well as the music he programmed at Environ.
Perhaps not as widely mentioned when "the loft scene" is discussed, as Studio RivBea, Ali's Alley, Ladies Fort and others - Environ was every bit as important as the most active of these venues, in the artists it presented and fostered, and the music it gave a platform to. [Further on Environ shortly, here.]

This is the first release on Fischer's ReEntry Records, although not the first album by INTERface or by Fischer [more later].
INTERface here was John Fischer (piano), Mark Whitecage (alto saxophone), Perry Robinson (clarinet), Charles Tyler (baritone saxophone), Rick Kilburn (bass), and Phillip Wilson (drums).
There's somewhat of a fractured chamber-jazz feeling here, in that there's a sense of stripping down to spare sonorities, rather than a full tilt energy-fest approach.
The 'vocal-sounds duet' of Poum #3 may strike some as terribly dated (it does to me) - the piano-clarinet duet of February may not 'burn hard enough' for lovers of skronk - but listen to the chromatic theme of A Day in May, or the quirky crab-like theme of Flies. Tyler's soloing and Wilson's drumming on Quartet are a beautiful loose-limbed joy.
Whitecage and Robinson are strong players and Rick Kilburn has a good feel and formidable chops. Fischer shows a classical influence - even including some left-hand 'Classical quotation' in February - he both supports and pushes his group with a fine musical sense.
Contrary to the 'flybill' on the cover, this was recorded in July, not in January, of 1977.

Please consider buying INTERface releases that are still in print - direct from the artist
http://www.artmus.com/reentry/reentry1.html

It appears some vinyl is still available, as well as the (inexpensive) CD releases (Fischer playing with Arthur Blythe, Wilber Morris, Theo Jorgensmann & more..) .

Hope you enjoy.

Please leave a comment - if you like it, if you don't like it - 'whatever'! .. .

John Fischer - Piano & Voice
Mark Whitecage - Alto Saxophone & Flute
Perry Robinson - Clarinet
Charles Tyler - Baritone Saxophone
Rick Kilburn - Bass
Phillip Wilson - Drums & Percussion

Side 1
1.Quartet
2. A Day in May
3. Atlantis

Side 2
1. February
2. Solo Poum #3
3. Flies
4. Tolls

Recorded at Environ, 476 Broadway, NYC - July 1977

This post - for the memory of Phillip Wilson.

Live at Moers Festival - Phillip Wilson Quartet [Moers 01062]

2011-02-21T06:50:00.000-08:00

I have been playing a lot of Frank Lowe lately.

This LP has been on the stack next to turntable, as Frank's on this.

Some great mentions, recognition & posting of the music of the fantastic drummer Phillip Wilson recently at inconstantsol , brought the 2 into co-junction

I think I normally write too much - and bore people - so this time just a few words about this performance: -

'Wish I was there' . . .

Phillip Wilson -Drums, Percussion
Frank Lowe -Tenor Saxophone
Olu Dara -Trumpet
Fred Williams -Bass

Side 1
1. Broadway Rhumba
2. Cha Cha
3. This Is For You

Side 2
1. F & L
2. It's A Party

Recorded live Moers Festival - 15th May 1978.

Live in Athens - John Tchicai [Praxis CM101]

2011-02-04T02:49:00.000-08:00

Live in Athens -John Tchicai-

Solo Saxophone

Side 1
1. Saluting Praxis
2. Freeing Up The Second
3. Song of The Islands

Side 2
1. That One For Whom?
2. Frobenius Stomp
3. Elephants Never Forget

John Tchicai - Alto Saxophone and vocal

Recorded live at the 'Praxis Jazz '80' festival Alambra Theatre, Athens Greece.
Produced by Kostas Yiannoulopoulos
Praxis Records CM101

The veteran inside/outside Afro-Danish saxophone player John Tchicai - here from a live solo gig at Athens' 'Praxis Festival' in 1980. Just about a decade and a half after appearing on Coltrane's 'Ascension', and closer to 20 years after his work with The New York Contemporary Five and the New York Art Quartet [with Roswell Rudd, Don Cherry, Archie Shepp, Reggie Workman, Milford Graves et al.]

July 1964 saw Tchicai appearing with Albert Ayler's trio of the time (Gary Peacock, Sunny Murray), as well as Cherry and Rudd on the seminal 'New York Eye and Ear Control' on ESP.
In 1969 he played on John Lennon's 'Life With The Lions'.
The year after Live in Athens was taped , he featured on record with Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath ('Yes Please' 1981). He has played with Cecil Taylor, Charles Gayle, Johnny Dyani, Instant Composers Pool, Willem Breuker, Wadada Leo Smith - and a hell of a lot of other musicians, both live and on records.
Born in 1936, he is still active and playing today - recently, in a Parisian Albert Ayler tribute gig - http://www.paristransatlantic.com/magazine/monthly2010/12dec_text.html#5. As Dan Warbuton notes, Tchicai was the only person to take the stage that night that had actually played with Ayler.
Here, Tchicai is playful, relaxed and happy to communicate & interact with his audience .
At times, he vamps on repeated riffs, bringing to mind a big-band guy playing section-work, or a single part of an imagined saxophone quartet. Bursting out from repeated riffs and themes into skirls and drifts of flurried improvisation, and then back 'inside' for melodic ostinatos. With a 'groovy crowd chant-along section' on Side 2 !
The Praxis label was the child of Kostas Yiannoulopoulos and over a dozen titles came out under the imprint between 1980 and 1985. It's not to be confused with the hardcore techno label of the same name. (I can assure younger readers that hardcore techno did not exist in 1980).
Possibly most familiar titles on the label may be the 'Sun Ra Live at Praxis' releases, and possibly the excellent Cecil Taylor solo double album (simply entitled 'Praxis') that has been posted at inconstant sol ( http://inconstantsol.blogspot.com/2007/07/cecil-taylor-praxis-rec1968-solo-flac.html )
Some Praxis-label material has ended up on Leo ['Golden Years of New Jazz'] , after the suggestion that Yiannoulopoulos did not have the rights to release it - such as the Art Ensemble's 'Among The People ' - later on CD as "Live in Milano'.
That the label was very closely affiliated with the festival of the same name seems clear. Any, more fulsome information about the Praxis Festival, gratefully appreciated from anyone that knows.
Despite the fact that Discogs.com says this doesn't exist, this was in fact the first LP on the Praxis label.
Old hands will know that this record has circulated in rough MP3 form (only 160kps) on the net, and, for all I know, perhaps in a more attractive format as well.
Here are some FLACs - and also some MP3s [320kbps] from my pretty clean vinyl. There's a bit of 'topiness' and 'edge' to a couple of the louder passages that are pretty much "limitations of the source material". I'm considering doing some scientific experimentation in re-ripping this with radically different turntable settings to try a 'softening approach'. If it all works out beautifully, I'll post the links here too.
This might not be, in the end, a "Hall of Fame album" that will live, deathless, through the ages. Kind of Blue and A Love Supreme are already that, and the smell of formaldehyde they give off is overpoweringly deadening. Ashley Kahn is never going to write a book called "Live in Athens - The Making of J.Tchicai's Grecian Masterpiece". And a good thing too - he's a shit writer.
But this is real, this is fun, this is a little complex as well as a little simple .
Like all live albums worth their salt, it makes you feel like you were there.

Check out John Tchicai's website, and buy something of his if you can - so much is good !
http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~jomnamo/rub_tchicai/page_bio.html
In writing this, I've only just stumbled across the Taso label which Tchicai is on - interesting looking recordings with Karl Berger and Albert Mangelsdorff [amongst others].
Jazzloft has a good little range of Tchicai - including the classic 1975 live-in-Willisau recording with Irene Schweizer, Buschi Niebergall & Makaya Ntshoko that is Willi The Pig. (The Pig is Great..)

NB: For those wondering, the 'Kalispera!' that John shouts, is not Greek for "The Benificent Creator Blesses Our Vibrational Gathering" or somesuch - it simply means 'Good Evening'. Further Greek translation (of Side 2 dialogue) welcome. I know [some time ago] we had at least ONE Athenian-based fellow-traveller looking in here. Of course I realise that everybody fell asleep and drifted off to other places long ago. Heh ...

'Fatha or FireMusic?' May, 1966

2011-02-01T06:01:00.000-08:00

William Pijper & Henk Badings -Orchestral wks- phillips lp-A o2242l-1962

2010-11-16T18:48:00.000-08:00

A glimpse at 2 relatively little known Mid 20th century Dutch composers
William Pijper, & Henk Badings
Phillips -lp o2242.1.l- 1962?

Side -A- W.Pijper
1-Piano Concerto-1927, H.Henkemanns -pno, The Concertgebouw O- Eduard van Beinum
Badings is now much better Known for his later Music , especially the Electronic music which was exclusive to his later period.

2- Six Symphonic Epigrams- Concertgebouw O. Van Beinum.

3-Six Adagios- 1940, the Hague Philharmonic O, Eduard Flipse

Side-B-H.Badings-

1- Concerto for 2 violins and Orchestra- 1954, Herman Krebbers and Theo Orlof- violins, The Hague Philharmonic O, Willem Van Oterloo.

Pijpers Language appears the more conservative , and his music is largely tonal.
the liners refer to "a creeping bi-tonality" in his music by 1920....

lovely music , and there's not a whole lot out there by either composer, i cant imagine this ever being reissued, the phillips Modern Music series from the late 50's through to the mid 60's , was a great showcase for composers who these days seem out of favour and outmoded.
there was another Badings disc in the series, and a few contemporaneous ones by dallopicolla , Krenek , and Janarch , which i wouldn't mind hearing...
Do any visitors have any , at all?

Dmitri Shostakovich-the 2 piano Sonatas-Victoria Postnikova (Melodia, lp-C10 1785 0042)

2010-10-22T16:53:00.000-07:00

A Dynamic , rather Splashy reading of some seriously brooding Music,in the first Sonata at times Postnikova,sounds as though she's Lazar Berman playing liszt,or some other llate 19th C ,romantic composer.

A Rather ,non Canonical performance perhaps ( maybe why this particular lp hasnt been reissued , at least not to my knowledge) , but Visceral ... i love it .

there is an Available CD version of Postnikova ,playing the preludes and fugues ,which i havent yet heard ... this is the only recording of hers that i own.

Melodia lp C10 1785 0042
Dmitri Shostakovich
1-Sonata #1 op12- 1926
2-Sonata in B Minor op 61-1942
Viktoria Postnikova -piano

ENJOY!

PS. Given that i seem to be back at I.Sol posting ,more improvised,& jazz orientated musics.
from now on I 'll probably stick to Short posts of 20th C Classical Music.
I'm also posting these and Others Here on SFRP
A great forum which anyone seriously interested in such musics ought to investigate.

Frank Martin-6 monologs for Everyman 1943-Fragments from the opera de Sturm, (DC, LPM 1871-1964)

2010-10-22T16:35:00.000-07:00

a truly Magical performance of Frank Martin conducting his own, music

The 1st piece is based on a text by Hugo von Hofmannstals -6 monologues for everyman , a cautionary moral tale , about the death and life of a rich man.
these pieces are so richly orchesatrated ... there are serial elements , but overall its much more Berg and Mahler than Webern , distinctive though too.
And Dietrich Fischer Dieskau's Baritone voice , is a marvel!!

this actual pressing is from 1964 !!46 years old ... and not in perfect condition by any means ,so i had to do a little de click here ...
still a bit of crackle , The music is so captivating one ceases to notice.

The 6 Monologs in this version , was the first F.Martin i ever heard .. on a distant late night Sydney Radio station,, a thousand Kilometres from the source.
An odd period in my life , i was living Alone in a run down Caravan on the Edge of a Banana plantation , working 6 days a week as a plantation Labourer.

A- 6 Monologues for everyman-(1943)
8- Fragments from the opera the Tempest....

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra- Frank Martin conductor
Dietrich Fischer Dieskau-baritone

DG-LPM 18-871- 1964

More ,Frank Martin !!!!!

2010-10-09T19:45:00.000-07:00

CE 31065 S - 1972
Martin: Harpsichord Concerto (JACCOTTET);
Ballade for Trombone (ROSIN)
; Ballade for Piano (S. BENDA). Lausanne CO
Frank Martin- conductor

a very nice listen!

downsampled from 48hz-24 bit
a little bit of declicking

PS- more Out of print Frank Martin.. on 6the horizon , Including The magnificent, 6 monologues for Everyman, featuring Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau , with F.M conducting!

Alexander Schlippenbach- payan 1972- (enja-lp, 2012)

2010-09-21T02:13:00.000-07:00

To my Knowledge , this still hasn't been reissued.
a Wonderful album!!
Everything but the kitchen sink , from the baroque, to Boogie by way of a tab of "miss yellow sunshine"

downsampled from 48hz-24 bit
A 1 Fuge Für Tante Lilli 2:02
A 2 Yarrak 3:46
A 3 Pumpkin 2:32
A 4 Prelude To A Magic Afternoon Of Miss Yellow Sunshine 5:17
A 5 Niminy - Piminy 5:20
A 6 Payan 6:33
B 1 Lazy June 5:39
B 2 Aimless 3:20
B 3 Good Night, George 1:35
B 4 Kinds Of Weirdness 10:00

Notes
Recorded at Studio 70 in Munich on the 4th of February 1972
A.Schlippenbach- solo piano

Frank Martin- Basf lp-25-21638-1 eight etudes for Piano, string trio, ect 1974

2010-09-20T19:38:00.000-07:00

Something different , moving away from Free Jazz and improv , occasionally is a great thing.

Lately i've been Ripping some of my records , and burning cds , with a wiew to maybe taking them down to the local charity thrift store.

they take up a lot of room.. so i think i'll give someone else the opportunity to enjoy them!
i may as well share a few here too!

Frank Martin -b-1990 - d-1974, is a somewhat neglected composer these days , but i like his music a great deal.
A short bio, by no means extensive herehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Martin_(composer)

1- trio for pno, violin and cello- 1925 ( this piece isn't a favourite , i guess its rooted in folk music , and in a similar style to say vaughn williams)
2- eight etudes for piano 1948- ( free atonality . a bit of serial organization )
3-trio for violin, viola and cello- 1936.... ( the album cracker!!!)

featured performers

Werner Genuit- piano
+ the new york string trio
Paul Doktor-va
Charles Castleman-v
Jennifer Langham- vc

enjoy!!!

the Frank Martin Society website

BTW-downsampled from 48hz -24 bit to ----16-bit burnable wav- then converted to Flacs, not because my turntable is especially super fuckin' hi fi,just simply to obtain the best possible sound quality i can achieve.
in most cases i wont do more than eq and raise volume levels , and perhaps a little very light De crackle ,if any ... no compression though ... ok

THIS PARTICULAR LP IS IN GOOD NICK...although the first piece which doesn't thrill me (but must have been overplayed by the previous owner) is fairly crackly!

Bill Dixon-Intents and Purposes-1966-from ( Fr-RCA-lp fxl1 7331)FLAC

2010-09-14T18:46:00.000-07:00

After some fiddling around with screw drivers for a few days , it seems i've finally managed to correct my turntable speed issues....

Bill Dixon, died on june 16th of this year, so iv'e decided to post this classic which to my knowledge has not been reissued since the late 70's .

a beautiful introduction to the great man's work if you happen to be exploring it for the first time .
i guess this lp can be considered the first fruits of his early maturity .
Whatever it is , the Terms "Free & Jazz " don't seem entirely relevant or accurately descriptive.
No point even trying to analyze it, I'm a firm believer in the mysterious power of music over the subconscious .

As much as i enjoy this record , you may have to look elsewhere in the great cycle of his recorded oeuvre to find his best work.
I recommend Nov 1981, as a first choice , and the Two Vade Mecum cd's on Soul Note with Barry Guy ,William Parker , and Tony Oxley... they can all be found
HERE

one of the Oddities related to these sessions is the presence of Jimmy Cheatham , a trombonist better known for his work as a Dixieland revivalist , and mainstream player who made a string of amusing albums on the concord label with his wife Jeannie
(both he and his wife also collaborated with Beaver Harris in the 70's on the great record "from rag time to no time")

A1 Metamorphosis 1962-66 13:20
Bass - Jimmy Garrison , Reggie Workman
Cello - Catherine Norris
Drums - Robert Frank Pozar*
English Horn - George Marge
Leader, Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Written-By - Bill Dixon
Percussion - Marc Levin
Saxophone [Alto] - Robin Kenyatta
Saxophone [Alto], Clarinet [Bass] - Byard Lancaster
Trombone [Bass] - Jimmy Cheatham
A2 Nightfall Pieces I 3:47
Flute - George Marge
Leader, Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Written-By - Bill Dixon
B1 Voices 12:08
Bass - Jimmy Garrison
Cello - Catherine Norris
Clarinet [Bass] - Byard Lancaster
Drums - Robert Frank Pozar*
Leader, Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Written-By - Bill Dixon
B2 Nightfall Pieces II 2:25
Leader, Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Written-By - Bill Dixon

I wont be posting mp3's of this , given that the album has been floating around in that form.
feel free to convert and post them here , or to re-upload the flacs anywhere you like, including other filehosts .. if you do that share your links here too!

a few technical points i recorded this straight into my Zoom H4 , digital recorder , going from the Nad Amplifier straight to the machine... at 24 bit 48hz which i then Down sampled to , 16 bit- 44khz wav .

the record is in great condition , other than a 40 second passage on the first track which features a quite obnoxious repeated crackle.
no Compression was used , or de crackling , the only thing i did was raise the level about 2 decibels and separate the tracks.

cheers
enjoy , and buy some B Dixon..if you can.

Le Cabaret de la Dernière Chance - François Tusques [Disques Vandémiaire VD33126]

2010-01-24T01:46:00.000-08:00

Another facet revealed of the interests and abilities of the wonderful French pianist and bandleader François Tusques. Le Cabaret de la Dernière Chance from 1982 - purely solo piano throughout.
And traditional 'jazz' playing at that.
As evidenced by the earlier Tusques record on this blog as well as the "L'intercommunal Free Dance Music Orchestra" albums - there were plenty more strings to Tusques' bow than just free-jazz abstractionism.

That his 'free-jazz abstractionism' is vital listening is beyond doubt - if you *don't have* 'Free Jazz' (1965) 'Intercommunal Music' (1971), and 'Le Nouveaux Jazz' (1967) - go get them now from http://inconstantsol.blogspot.com (still thanks to Pierre & Boromir for those venerable posts ).

This is much more straightforward - but throughout guided by a strong sense of feeling and identity.
A couple of live tracks, and music sounding quixotic, contemplative, virtuosic, muscular, tender, satirical, folksy, and even boppish. (The thoughtful 'down-tempo' version of Mingus' 'Fables of Faubus' here, I really like.)

This post is courtesy of Pierre, who has supplied the whole kit and caboodle here. Many thanks -and a tip of the hat - to him. :-)

In a different space and time, it would be François Tusques, not George Winston, who made a million from a tune like 'Echos de Bretagne'. . .

X75 Volume 1 - Henry Threadgill [Arista / Novus AN3013]

2010-01-11T05:36:00.000-08:00

Largely composed, and very very Threadgill. Those that have heard his music might not be surprised to hear the 'heavy on the basses', 'heavy on the flutes' sonorities going on here. This doesn't 'get right up and swing' - not is it a free jazz workout.

Maybe it's not a jazz record. But with Joseph Jarman, Douglas Ewart, Amina Claudine Myers, Fred Hopkins, Rufus Reid - hmm...

Got pentatonic folk music, contrapuntal flute and bass charts, wordless wonderful vocals from Amina Claudine Myers. Got soul, got straight 4/4 against swing-time, got naive-on-purpose saxophone soloing. Very damn nearly got Amazing Grace - plus, -later on - a bass section working some section work with the 4th member of the bass choir soloing above. Then the flute-section...

Got Fe Fi Fo Fum - the last track and a quietly extraordinary piece of music.

There was a 'Volume 2' recorded, but never released.
Forthcoming though - is this Threadgill box from Mosaic http://www.mosaicrecords.com/genres.asp?dept=50 - which will include this LP posted here as well as the unreleased "X75 Volume 2".
And the 3 Arista Air Lp's, and the 3 Novus records under his own name - 'You Know the Number', 'Rag, Bush and All', and 'Easily Slip Into Another World'. These are great records. This box also promises to contain the 3 Columbia Threadgill albums from the 90's, 'Carry The Day', 'Makin’ A Move' and 'Where’s Your Cup'.

Download this lp here and listen if you don't have it. If you dig it, there's a real and present chance you need this music in this box-set. In fact, you definitely do.

I do not plan to buy it on the day it's released - I've never liked to seem too eager.

I'll be waiting until the next day.

Threadgill is a great creative musician - listen to this (or anything else of his you can find). His latest - 'This Brings Us To..' was released in 2009 and should be widely available.Threadgill enthusiasts (and vinyl rarity collectors) may want to save up their lawnmowing money for a copy of the vinyl-only 'Pop Start The Tape, Stop'. No it's not listed by allmusic.com - but that really doesn't mean it dont exist. ( http://www.hardedge.tv/menu.html ).
Quite different to this one here, with lots of beautiful hubkaphone playing - HT's own instrument consisting of a range of tuned vehicle hubcaps.

X75 isn't particularly rare, and has been blogged as mp3s before. It has been out of print though for a long while now - and perhaps makes a nice 'taster' for the forthcoming Threadgill box set...For those that haven't heard X75 Volume 1 - hope you enjoy.

Phase One - Art Ensemble Of Chicago [America 30AM 6116]

2009-12-24T01:26:00.000-08:00

Art Ensemble - 1971, France. Available for a short while in Universal France's 'Free America' CD series - all titles of which are now discontinued unfortunately. This one here is ripped from the original 'America' LP, not the CD reissue. Two side-long compositions/improvisations.

There should be *more* steer-horn in modern improvising..

Phase One

Art Ensemble of Chicage

Lester Bowie
Roscoe Mitchell
Joseph Jarman
Malachi Favors
Don Moye

Side A
1. Ohnedaruth (Jarman)

Side B
2. Lebert Aaly (Bowie/Mitchell/Jarman/Favors) [Dedication to Albert Ayler]

Inner Song - Alan Silva [Center of The World CW005]

2009-12-23T17:16:00.000-08:00

I like Alan Silva for all sorts of wholly inappropriate reasons - for having switched instruments mid career, for his great sherpa hats, for his extraordinarily diverse volume of work, for having put out his own *hand crafted* box sets, for making the synth sound good in an improv context, for his snaggle-toothed smile, and for having the sheer balls to put together a mental record like Lunar Surface as a debut in 1969.
The triple LP Seasons (1970) that followed it was monstrously good - without in any way recusing insanity - and the spirit of exploration of both the times, and the man's own path.
By the time he released this record under his own name in 1974 - the 4th, after the above mentioned 2 on BYG and Skillfulness on ESP - he had performed and recorded with Cecil Taylor, Albert Ayler, Sun Ra, Archie Shepp, Sunny Murray and Bill Dixon.
The pioneering two-bass work with Henry Grimes on Taylor's Conquistador! and Unit Structures records was already nearly a decade old.
On this, there's a whole panoply of textures and techniques. If you're not immediately taken with the opening track of the record , stay with it for a bit: - the free arco playing of Untimeliness is compelling.
Throughout, Silva plays with a free-swinging passion and commitment and with a really solid intonation - even offering up some groove-rock motifs for a passage on Side 2
The cover credits him with 'voice' - this is pretty much limited to singing along with his own bass lines and a bit of vocal expostulation. Those fearing an 'art-song extravaganza' may rest assured - not on this one..
Uncredited on the sleeve, is the piano that appears on the opening track, and a splash of organ (presaging things to come in later years!) on the last tune - an impressionistic wash of spectral soundforms. Over a swirling pedal-point, all seems to build up to a 'hot cello solo', with a voice-chant and long sustained tones thrown in.
Load up VLC player, switch on 'Goom' visualisation, switch to Full Screen, play Inner Song: - blow your damn mind !. . .

There was a rip of this at the defunct Church Number Nine blog - where all good things did once reside. This is a fresh rip from vinyl to FLACs. Unlike at least 2 of the other Center of The World records, this was not reissued by Fractal on CD. Nor does it appear at the 'Center of The World' "label blog" ( sunrecordsfreejazz.blogspot.com )

For those unfamiliar with the label, Center of The World was a label set up by Silva, with fellow bandmembers Frank Wright, Bobby Few and Muhammad Ali. A 'kitchen-table' type endeavour to propagate the music of the group and its members, they released only 5 titles - this being the final one. Later, with the aid of Frenchman Sébastien Bernard, Sun Records was founded, with participation of the same musicians. Sun was more of a 'proper label' - although still tiny with limited distribution - and went on to release some 2 dozen-odd titles.

This is Center of The World CW005.

Side 1
East Side Snaps
Untimeliness
Kedo, Kedo

Side 2
Danse of the 21st Century
Inner Song

September 1974, Paris.

Center of the World Site: http://www.center-of-the-world.de/

Long-standing, but still great-reading Silva interview with Paris Transatlantic: http://www.paristransatlantic.com/magazine/interviews/silva.html

The 2 COTW CDs avail on Fractal: http://www.fractal-records.com/04catalogue/catal_1.htm

Alan Silva Discography: http://www.mindspring.com/~scala/silva.htm

Extant Silva Releases: http://www.jazzloft.com/m-30447-Alan-Silva.aspx

Steve Lacy- Yuji Takahashi-Takehisa Kosugi- Distant Voices- 1976, (Nippon Columbia,YX-7085-N lp)

2009-12-20T20:48:00.000-08:00

Here as promised to Unshaped among others is a rip of Distant voices.. courtesy of Wightdj.. who sent it to me months ago, sorry its taken so long to post.
the rip is from a fairly scuffed copy , but after spending hours cleaning it spectrally over the last few weeks , i think it now sounds fine... if not completely unblemished , its still crackly though the larger "objects" have been removed.

apparently a cd version was released in Japan some 10 years ago ( long since gone) containing extra tracks from the same sessions but without lacy , i'd love to hear those if anyone cares to share the cd..., there are also rumours of a concert by these three , with Masahiko Togashi added on percussion from the same year... another one for the wish list anyone have it?

This will no doubt not be high priority for those who prefer Lacy's more overtly jazz orientated records.... all three tracks are Free improvisations.
i am a fan of Lacy in free mode , and this is a very fine example!

Both.. Kosugi , and Takahashi are composers in their own right and still alive as far as i know.
Kosugi having been a member of the pioneering free improv cum space rock band Taj mahal travellers.
Takahashi is known to me mainly as an interpreter of Claude debussy's piano music as well as the key piano repertoire of Messiaen Xenakis, Barraque, and Boulez.

DISTANT VOICES:
1/ Distant Voices (TK, SL, YT) 20:39
2/ Flying Off (TK, SL, YT) 10:15
3/ Midsummer Blues (TK, SL, YT) 7:18

Recorded at Nippon Columbia Studio No. 1, Tokyo, June 24, 1975

Steve Lacy: soprano, percussion; Yuji Takahashi: piano, celesta, vibraphone,
percussion; Takehisa Kosugi: violin, flute, voice, percussion.

1976 - Columbia (Japan), YX-7085-N (LP)

appreciation and respect to Wightdj for sharing this!!

enjoy !

BTW
All the Taj mahal travellers stuff is i think back in print ....
august 1974, is amazing .. if a little dated perhaps by the pervasive use of echoplex and other effects, very much worth hearing though ... and not dissimilar to what some of the more exploratory Krautrock bands were doing.. without all the Riffing !

i'd also very much recommend Yuji takahashis xenakis disc on denon.. for those with open ears, it too is apparently still in print..
heres the info
http://www.discogs.com/Yuji-Takahashi-Plays-Xenakis-Evryali-Herma-Messiaen-Quatre-%C3%89tudes-De-Rythme/release/1699763

Peter Kuhn: "Livin' Right" (Big City Records-lpk 225) 1979 , FLAC etc...

2009-12-18T19:37:00.000-08:00

Here's Something ive been meaning to post for sometime, its from longtime blogging aquaintance arcturus.
another wonderful glimpse of Early Kondo ( amongst other things)..from the late 70's on the largely unknown big city ..label

Clarinetist and Engineer Peter Kuhn, made only 3 albums as a leader to my knowledge..
the only one thats been in print even sporadically since its release being , the wonderful, 'The Kill'( SOULNOTE 121043,1981)

This being of similar quality... and with the bonus of an expanded front line! , also features William parker , and Dennis Charles ....

Great stuff from a vintage period for all concerned .

Cyberhugz to arcturus for sharing this.. a real treat.

all i've done is raised the db level slightly .. equalized both channels and split the files , using magix.

-------------------------------------

78.12.19 • Peter Kuhn: Living Right
Big City Records LPK 225 (LP) 1979

December 19, 1978 / WKCR-FM Radio, Columbia University, New York City
1. Red Tape [12:04]
2. Long Gone [3:25]
3. Monteca [6:18]
4. Chi [3:30]
5. Axistential [18:00]

Peter Kuhn (B-flat bass clarinet, bass clarinet / Compositions)
Toshinori Kondo (trumpet, alto horn / left speaker)
Arthur Williams (trumpet / right speaker)
William Parker (bass, bells)
Denis Charles (drums)

{Primary Source: LPK 225}

Joe Maneri- R.I.P-1927-2009

2009-09-18T21:17:00.001-07:00

photo by....C. Neil Scott
http://en.wikipedia.org
/wiki/File:Joe_Maneri.jpg

What About? - Andrew Cyrille [BYG - Actuel 16]

2009-09-17T04:00:00.000-07:00

The great Andrew Cyrille's solo drums & percussion record from 1969 on BYG/Actuel.

Despite his 'youth' (he was 30) - he plays beautifully here. Strong, but without hitting hard. Subtle and quiet ideas on 'From Whence I Came', incorporating exhaled breath and vocal sounds. 'Rims and Things', suggestive in its title of it's range of sound-sources and textures. The 2 pieces opening each side are more orthodox trap kit workouts - but each with a strong sense of the progression of rhythmic and melodic ideas, and an unfailing sense of control. 'Pioneering' has Cyrille getting out some 'little instruments' - playing whistle, slide-whistle and finger cymbals in counterpoint to snare & toms. This is the only overdubbed track I think - the moving of the slide whistle plunger whilst holding the press roll would seem to preclude any other explanation on a solo recording. (I stand to be corrected by any dextrous drummers out there though..)

Cyrille has since appeared on dozens and dozens of recordings, almost all of which are inevitably enlived by his playing presence. Well over a dozen recordings have come out under his own leadership as well, since this first one came out in 1970. He was probably paid about 27 dollars for this record, and has not seen a penny since.

He has a web presence at http://www.geocities.com/amelodie1/index.html .

I'd urge buying something if you can. Not just because it's 'worthy' and indicates respect - but because it will sound GOOD !

Although this was issued - like almost all BYG/Actuel material - on an English Affinity LP, it has never been on CD to my knowledge.

Side 1

What About?

From Whence I Came

Side 2

Rhythmical Space

Rims and Things

Pioneering

Andrew Cyrille - drums & percussion, whistles

Rec. August 11, 1969

Now, give the drummer some !

Instant Composers Pool -Groupcomposing ( ICP -LP 006) 1970, upgrade FLAC & 320kbs

2009-08-29T16:15:00.000-07:00

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Here's another Terrific upgrade by Boromir on the 220 rip he initially posted at Inconstant sol ... stone cold classic of early European free improv.

Some say the music has become, formulaic & predictable, now that its been practically institutionalized, and become a universal urban folk music.

This is an example of the music at its most Anarchic , no Erstwhile.. contrived highly formalised ambient noise scapes here.

This music flirts with total chaos... erupting into ferocious melees that assault the senses .. a musical punch up is how a friend described certain passages, but then again he isn't a fan ... preferring the generic digital electro acoustic sheen that graces most of our eras most celebrated free improvised cd's.
Which are now it seems as equally necessary as accoutrement's of urbane middlebrow sophistication as Ikea furniture,and minimalist decor.

Its common knowledge that the master tapes of all the early Icp records have been lost , with only existing vinyl as proof that this vitally important, enriching late 20Th c music ever existed.
Reissues are unlikely to be forth coming anytime soon.

Peter Brotzmann: tenor sax
Paul Rutherford: trombone
Han Bennink: percussion
Misha Mengelberg: piano
Evan Parker: tenor and soprano sax
Peter Bennink: alto sax, bagpipes
Derek Bailey: guitar
Recorded: 15/5/1970 Rotterdam

Again , i haven't made any attempts to separate tracks...Boromirs lp is in pretty good nick ,so only a light application of magix, was called upon to remove the more obvious crackle.

Link to the original post

ICP website

more OOP ICP ALBUMS...

Tony Oxley- Ichnos 1971(RCA Victor (GB) SF 8215)FLAC & 320

2009-08-29T16:13:00.001-07:00

Here , is a fresh rip ( this was blogged as mp's... 256 i think..18 months ago or so) of Tony Oxley's Masterpiece of electro acoustic improv..'Ichnos'.

Still Relevant , it hasn't dated one jot.... the third of Oxley's great trilogy for major labels, the preceding records being 'the baptised traveller' and 'Four Compositions for sextet... both still available on one CD to my knowledge.. and highly recommended.

Ichnos features more(than previously) of Oxley's , subtle creative use of contact microphones and feedback.

once again its difficult to separate out the tracks , and best listened to as one sequence.
this is the same line up as 4 compositions, with Barry Guy replacing Jeff Clyne.

Evan Parker, tenor saxophone
Paul Rutherford, trombone
Kenny Wheeler, trumpet/fluegelhorn
Derek Bailey, guitar
Barry Guy, db
Tony Oxley, drums.

click on the back cover for the album notes...
again I've used magix declicking ( LIGHT)
THANKS TO BOROMIR FOR THE RIP AND SCANS!

Tony Oxley at European Free Improv pages
http://www.efi.group.shef.ac.uk/

see the post of Incus 8 below for some recommendations of in print material ...
to Which i might also add .....
three albums by Howard Riley's Great trio of the 70's... which can be found.. here

Bobby Naughton-vibraphonist & composer extraordinaire

2009-08-24T17:01:00.000-07:00

NATURE'S CONSORT---OTIC 1001 LP (1969)
UNDERSTANDING---OTIC 1003/JAPO 60006 LP (1971)
GREEN STREET -1973
THE HAUNT--OTIC 1005 LP (1976)
NAUXTAGRAM ---OTIC 1009 LP (1979)
SOLO VIBRAPHONE --- OTIC 1011 LP (July 3, 1979)
ZOAR--OTIC 2001 CD (2002)

UN ASHAMED ADVERTISING PURE & SIMPLE

Evolution Ensemble Unity- Concrete voices( EEU LP 01) 1976 -Kondo ,Takagi, Yoshida

2009-08-23T18:44:00.000-07:00

Here's another rare Gem from Pierre , who has kindly offered to share this... rarity aside, most importantly this is Great Music..

Anyone not having had the opportunity to discover Toshinori Kondo , or who has only heard the very dissapointing pop jazz and fusion collaborations with Bill Laswell , can be assured that this is the real deal comparable to a great many wonderful independent releases from Europe ,and the States in the 'Golden Era' of the late 70's.

How to describe this varying record is another matter ... ecstatic yes ... thoughtful and replete with moments of sensitive interplay ... as well!
this touches a number of bases .. from familiar tunes such as Monks Brilliant Corners , and Lacy's Bone , both of which are accorded excitingly rag-tag rambunctious performances.... to all out Free improv.

Free music in the late seventies was still in an exploratory phase , and other than the requisite virtues and intensity's a lot of it was imbued with an unselfconscious humour , which to me seems largely lacking or strained in today's scene..
Certainly that element is present here in healthy doses.. it particularly infuses the aforementioned covers..

The meatiest track quite apart from its length for me at any rate is 'concrete voices' an interactive suite of freely developed motifs and variations thereof.
which brings to mind , a flayed mutant version of the nascent 'free jazz' classic 'out of nowhere' by Don Ellis( CANDID 1961)... also, one hears the spirit of Mingus at Antibes, and many touches of Pre Bop idioms, something that American bands, such as AIR and almost every other group of note were exploring at the time.

A beautiful record , undeservedly languishing as a grotesquely over priced 'collectors item' on auction sites.
S

HERE'S AN ALTERNATE(SOMEWHAT HISTRIONIC,& HYPERBOLIC) REVIEW.. FROM Tiliqua Records in Japan, who were selling this lp for $250.00 US Dollars

"EVOLUTION ENSEMBLE UNITY: “Concrete Voices” (EEU Records/ ALMRecords – EEU-001/ AL-3003) (Record: Near Mint/ Jacket: Near Mint/ 4-pagedBooklet: Near Mint). Hideously scarce Japanese private press free jazzmonster released in 1976 in collaboration with the legendary ALM KojimaRecords. The line-up for this legendary combo consisted out of sax howlingmonster Takagi Mototeru, trumpet and alto horn blower Toshinori Kondo andskin mangler/ bass mugger Mori Yoshida. The A-side of this disc was recordedlive in concert at the live house Kalavinka on November 2nd, 1976, therewere the B-side was conceived live at Space Out on September 24, 1976. AidaAquirax describes in his liner notes the EEU ensemble as the spear headersof the Japanese New Jazz Scene, the successors of the old school free jazzstages. And it makes sense especially when one realizes that a gutter-liketake on jazz academics gets entangled with a fire breathing freeimprovisation blowout, merging high art and low guts splendidly into onewrenching ball of well balanced but fierce improvisational interplay. TheEEU first got together on July 1975 and the sonic voyage they envision onthis – their sole - LP blends the aforementioned aesthetic by combiningoriginal blow outs with original takes on structural compositions by SteveLacey and Thelonius Monk (side a), only to fully blossom and pull open allregisters on the side long “Concrete Voices” track which can be seen as thetotal epic that maps out the wide range of free-fall interplay theperformance horizon of the EEU can accumulate. It merges a reductionistaesthetic to an impressionistic improvisation that follows no predeterminedharmony. Mototeru Takagi again shines through all of this, and for mepersonally he again proofs he was the hottest free jazz saxophone howler ofthe archipelago, the hardest gut-wrenching blower the Far East has everencountered. Toshinori Kondo also shines brightly with uncanny potential andadventurous moves, making this disc one of the unsung cornerstones ofimprovised music in Japan. Only a shame that almost no-one has ever heard ofthis beauty, partly due to its scarcity and extremely small pressednumbers….so time to get your collective headz out of yer asses and face themusic. This is the shit! Price: 250 Dollars"

Kondos my space page.....here
more good stuff-here
and here AND HERE

Tony Oxley -incus 8 1971-75, re-up FLAC& lame 320kbs

2009-08-20T16:50:00.000-07:00

One of my first ever uploads to Inconstant Sol, a favourite record and still out of print ... the original post

"Tony Oxley, percussion, amplified percussion; Barry Guy, bass; Dave Holdsworth, trumpet; Evan Parker, soprano saxophone; Howard Riley, piano; Paul Rutherford, trombone; Derek Bailey, guitar.
Never before or again (10.40), M-W-M (06.30), EIROC II (05.30), East of Sheffield (06.20), South east of Sheffield (07.40), P.P.1 (08.30).

Track 1 (Parker/Holdsworth/Rutherford/Riley/Guy/Oxley) recorded 1972; track 2 (solo Oxley) recorded 1975; track 3 (Bailey/Parker/Rutherford/Oxley) recorded 1971; track 4 (solo Oxley) recorded 1971; track 5 (solo Oxley) recorded 1973; track 6 (solo Oxley) recorded 1975."

Extensive info about Oxley,a pioneer of both 'free drumming' and contemporary electro acoustic music here

A great You-Tube ,video of Oxley & Derek Bailey can be found here

Support living artists, by purchasing recent releases ....

a few Recommendations..( personal favourites of mine ,would include)
T.Oxley& the celebration Orchestra -featuring Bill Dixon-Soul Note-121284-2-1994
T O& Cecil Taylor-Leaf Palm Hand- FMP,CD 06 1989
Bill Dixon-Vade mecum 1&2- 1994, Soul Note121208-2& 121211-2
Derek Bailey& Tony Oxley- Soho Suites- Incus cd 29/30

NB- For me each side of Incus 08- works well as a suite , indeed its difficult aurally to judge where tracks begin and end so ..Ive left each Side intact without track separation ...that works well for me.
Hopefully more percussion Orientated rips soon...
ENJOY!!

Rashied Ali-1935-2009- RIP

2009-08-20T16:48:00.001-07:00

Bobby Few-coming thru, 1977 (seb lp 01) Flac

2009-08-14T21:27:00.000-07:00

A beautifully eccentric, and fairly rare solo record by the great Bobby Few, an underrated pianist , who moved to Paris in the late 60's after working and recording with the Likes of Booker Ervin...

Few is best known as the pianist in the 70'S collective centre of the world quartet,fronted by Frank wright , who were as it happens also pioneers,recording
releasing and distributing their own records , first on centre of the world ,and then the sun label.

Sadly distribution was fairly limited ,at the time those two great labels existed , and re-issue has not been forth coming for most of these glorious records .
and.. they remain extravagantly expensive collectors items.

Few was also in Steve Lacy's marvellous sextet ..for about a decade.

This is an oddly fragmented, record .. with Few singing on the first piece ,girls girls girls .
The lyrics might almost be a beach boys parody.

This whole album , for me
brings to mind anothner great eccentric , be-bop era veteran , Jimmy Rowles( also a great pianist) with a penchant for almost flippant irony , delivered in an unhurried laid back style.

Many thanks to our music buddy and benefactor Pierre for sharing this

with us.... a test pressing no less!!

an after-thought- one of my very favourite Few performances is on 'the flame' a

phenomenal Lacy trio record on 'soul note 'from 1983.... check that out if you have an opportunity!

ENJOY!!

more info on Few....
here

Shots - Steve Lacy [Musica MUS3024]

2009-07-25T18:41:00.000-07:00

Steve Lacy in the late Seventies (see Stamps, below) brought this to mind. Quite a different sort of record to Stamps, it's a duet with Japanese percussionist Masa Kwate. A very stripped down, even 'art-naive' feel to proceedings, counterbalanced somewhat by Lacy's knotty asceticism. Irene Aebi is featured (voice & violin) on one track only - The Kiss - which bizarrely puts to music the 'brass-plaque- in- the- English- garden' homilies of early 20thC religious hymn-writer/poet Dorothy Gurney.

Roundel on the front cover shows a 1980 award from L´Académie du Jazz.

Record was released in 1979.

But *recorded* earlier still, in a Paris studio , in 1977.

Cover art is by Brion Gysin.

There are large scans of front & rear covers included.

It may have been blogged before - I don't know.

If you don't have it - here it is.

Shots

- Steve Lacy -

1. Moms

2. Pops

3. The Kiss

4. Tots

5. The Ladder

6. Fruits

7. Coots

8. The Wire

Steve Lacy - soprano saxophone

Masa Kwate - traditional japanese percussion

Irene Aebi - violin & vocal on 3. only

Rec. October 15th, 1977

Fringe Benefit casette-044 1982, FLAC

2009-07-25T15:52:00.000-07:00

One more, for the time being....

Fringe Benefit Cassette 44, 1982
'Shorts 'six solo improvs ..
side 1
1- J.Rose -V
2-Michael Tinney-e guitar
3-Rick Rue- sax, metal pipes, producer

side 2-
4-John Gilles -tapes
5- Jo Truman-vox
6- Jim Denley- flute

mp3's

A couple of Cassettes on Jon Roses, Fringe benefit label (frb-028&033) FLAC

2009-07-24T19:25:00.000-07:00

Jon rose , is a virtuoso violinist who as a late teenager moved to Australia from britain , i know him mainly as a free improvisor ...though he has been involved in performing lots of different genres of music , often deliberately de contextualizing them for satirical purposes.

i guess he is an archtypal post modernist whatever that is....

From the late 70's through to the mid 80's he had one of the very few independant operations specialising in free improv and experimental music in Australia( both vinyl and casettes).
he used to sell them at gigs.
These days he has a fairly prestigeous reputation here ... a result of wisely having moved back to europe in 1986, and performing with the likes of Derek Bailey, Fred Frith, Evan Parker and so on......
Luckily for us , he has since moved back and is performing regularly.

HERES A LINK TO HIS WEBSITE

Both of these tapes have never been reissued , in those days cassettes for the purposes of cheap mass production were once dubbed at high speed, often resulting in very high level peaks .

Ive made no attempt at mastering or removing hiss.

Fringe Benefit Casette ,28 John Rose and Roger Turner- trouble in the Woodwork 9-12-80
one long improv in 2 parts.
J.Rose – Violin
Roger Turner Percussion

Fringe Benefit Casette-33'Luton is the centre of the universe'- recorded in Luton , UK- 1980
John Rose- violin
John Russel- guitar
Steve Beresford- various instruments, toys ect( side 1 only)
Tony Wren -DB , (side 2 only)

If anyone needs a recommendation of some of Roses current work ... id plump for
Artery 2004

A Stunning disc , one of the finest projects Rose has ever been involved with.

anyone wanting mp3's of these two tapes will find them
here

Steve Lacy- Stamps, (1979 hat Hut double lp k/l)

2009-07-24T05:52:00.000-07:00

Here's a very favourite Lacy lp ,from what i consider to be his peak period,the Late 70's...this and Capers are probably among his most accomplished viscerally raw albums of the time.
Perhaps its no coincidence that both were recorded in concert ,and poorly engineered that was pretty much standard practice ,at Hat Hut in its infancy.

This record Cooks Hard and relentlessly , featuring Irene Aebi's voice on only one track, a Great version of 'Existence' one of Lacy's finer confections... i have to say i have gradually become a fan of her slightly off kilter and sometimes downright out of tune singing... this is one of her finer performances. richly delivered..with warmth and passion.

Every track is a winner, a fine synthesis of Lacy's then current interests , the perfect blend of his Whole tone dominated monk inflected tunes ,and total all out Free improvisation...

INTENSE!!!

the original production on this record ... was nothing to write home about , fairly monochromatic at times , my guess is that's why it hasn't been reissued to date.

my LP bought in an op shop for a few bucks ,was fairly pervasively crackly NOT TO MENTION THE HAIRLINE SCRATCHES!!! , with one small skip on the first track ...MOST OF THESE PROBLEMS APPEAR FIXED....

I've used Magix, to refresh the rip that includINGGG, removing some of the applausSSSSSe.. ALL THE MUSIC IS INTACT AND TO MY EARS..SOUNDING GOOD.

HOPE YOU
ENJOY!!

LACY-STAMPS
1/ Existence
2/ Ire
3/ The Dumps
4/ Stamps/ duckles
5/ Wickets
6/The Blinks

(1,2,3) recorded at the Willisau Jazz Festival, August 27, 1977
(4,5,6,7) recorded at "Jazz Au Totem", Paris, February 22, 1978

Steve Lacy: soprano; Steve Potts: alto, soprano; Irene Aebi: cello, violin,
bells, vocals; Kent Carter: bass; Oliver Johnson: drums.

1979 - Hat Hut Records (Switzerland), K/L (2xLP)

NB..
this goes out to David, who sent me Distant Voices(1976 - Columbia (Japan), YX-7085-N (LP))
David you never got back to me with your Lacy wish list!!

Francois Tusques-'le piano prepare' (Chant Du Monde LP LDX74483)FLAC

2009-07-18T23:34:00.000-07:00

Here's a little Gem ,of a curio from Pierre an old Blogging buddy.
Its a fascinating demonstration record of sorts , of the possibilities of prepared piano ,as played by Tusques , some of it is a little on the light cheesy side, the first track seems to be a pastiche of a couple of different pieces by Granados.

..And it certainly bears little resemblance to his work of 10, years earlier with such Stalwarts of the nascent French free jazz scene as Barney Wilen , Beb Guerin, Bernard Vitet, Michel Portal and Francois jeanneau, - or later as virtually the house pianist for BYG...
His classic early records',' Free Jazz' -1965, Intercommunal Music'1971, and 'Le Nouveaux Jazz' mouloudji -1967 are all still up for perusal at 'inconstant sol'

It is none the less an enjoyable listen, texturally varied rather beautiful , and not with out distinctively 'free' passages, something for collectors to cherish since its long out of print and quite rare.

MERCI ,PIERRE!!
this is a superb rip , and the stitched cover scans are IMPEC!

Roswell Rudd- (america ,LP 6114 1969) REC 1965, FLAC

2009-06-17T01:19:00.000-07:00

Here's another old favourite ... promised to S..months ago ...sorry for the delay.
for all intents , in all but name this is the 3rd 'lost' New York art quartet album ...

Legend has it this was put out without Rudd's initial permission ..I'm not too clear on the substantive facts regarding its genesis...but hell....
.......What a stunning album, it's ...everything you'd expect from the front line ...+ Louis Moholo... I have no idea who Fin Von Eyben is , or what he went on to do .. but his playing here is a real surprise ... in the same ball park as Lewis Worrell or Reggie Workman (the NYAQ's other recorded bassists).

This is ripped from my crackly 40 year old vinyl ..there are no major glitches ,just low level crackle through out.

This briefly resurfaced a few years ago on verve's Universel limited ed series ... which i think included the previously un released 'lost track'... ive never seen that CD , whatever the case its gone .... sold out at source (as they all are)
if anyone has the pristine CD- please post it Here preferably , anywhere really! ..... 'd love to hear it!

Roswell Rudd
America 6114- F
rec Hilversum, The Netherlands 11/2/65
Roswell Rudd-tb; John Tchicai-as; Finn Von Eyben-b; Louis Moholo-d
Respects (Roswell Rudd) 10:31
Old Stuff (Roswell Rudd) 8:55
Jabulani (John Tchicai) 4:55
Sweet Smells (Roswell Rudd) 10:13
Pannonica (Thelonious Monk) 3:10

DOESN'T APPEAR ON THE LP
Rosmosis (Roswell Rudd) unissued

Dewey Redman -'Tariq' 1969 , FLAC

2009-06-17T00:09:00.000-07:00

thanks to Kinabalu.....for the reminder of this albums existence and for generating the impulse to actually listen to it.

No self respecting jazz fan should be without this, it is one of the gems of the late 60's and the BYG.... label.more specifically.

Ive always enjoyed Redman's playing ...and this surely features one of the hottest rhythm sections (convened ad hoc for this occasion only)...EVER!!
Often referred to as a careful and conservative radical , even a cursory listen to Tariq reveals otherwise....

Redman simply tears through half the tracks here (check out tariq itself ..a tour de force which begins fast enough ... and soon shifts into double time with Redman gradually contorting/transforming the melody, accentuating the trance with growls and non pitched effects... ... OVER EVER FASTER WINDING BREAK NECK RHYTHMS)

on half the tracks Redman showcases his double reed Musette an instrument very similar to the Indian shanai( and just as difficult to play!!)on which he also occasionally performed , though seldom with the passion and forceful sweep as on this record.

As often with Redman's best records there is a lyrical dream like free improv..... this one's a corker ( related and un related vibrations ,the closer... featuring Favors only extended solo one of his distinctive free arco variations.....affair's..mmmmmmm)

Great as Redman is ...IT IS the rhythm section's inventive,propulsive.. Drive .. which for me makes this so EXHILARATING!

Behind all the theatrics and make up , Favors was one of the most innovative inventive bassists ever.
a pity all three are long gone ... just when the world most needs its wizened shamen & master Griot's

the record is in good nick ... though it has to be said that AFFINITY pressings were always inferior tending to sound somewhat dull( they were after all little more than bootlegs!!!!!).. not to mention pressing faults etc

ENJOY!!

BTW/ A BRIEF NOTE ON FILE FORMAT.... It's starting to seem ludicrous to post in both FLAC, and Lame format's .... particularly when Flac is so prevalent in file sharing terms... most people ought to have the required codecs to convert to lame ,

in any case as i see it we are providing raw material wart's and all ..which can be imported into sound forge, audacity , wave lab and any number of d-clicking program's ... or converted at will

Africanasia - Arthur Jones / Claude Delcloo [BYG-Actuel 6]

2009-06-15T07:02:00.000-07:00

The*other* Arthur Jones LP on BYG - Africanasia.
Co-billed with Claude Delcloo. And - as noted in comments to Scorpio - quite different as a record in character
It's very much the drummer's album, but Arthur has 2 sections to twist and soar. His solo on side 2 allows some cable to unwind rather beautifully ..

The flute trio of Joseph Jarman, Roscoe Mitchell & Kenneth Terroade are pervasive as 'a section' in their recurrent capitulation of the theme [which in its simplicity will stick in your head if you haven't heard this before] , but don't seem to fully capitalise on their [one] chance for a flute collective dialogue that's allowed them.
Mal Favors is wonderful - not playing bass - but 'log drums'.
Whilst it's exciting to see the name of the much under-recorded Clifford Thornton here - on congas, not either of 'his instruments' [trombone & trumpet] - it has to be said that he doesn't add a huge amount to proceedings here, other than some textural colour.

Claude Delcloo was so much a ubiquitous presence throughout the BYG Actuel catalogue that it'd be easy to assume they had trouble keeping him off drumming on the Sunny Murray albums or Andrew Cyrille's solo percussion record.

Editor of 'Le Jazz' component of the Actuel magazine that [partly] gave these records their imprint name, BYG/Actuel seems to have been Delcloo's brief golden summer as a player. He went on to produce French pop, soul, jazz (etc) until at least the late 70's. After then, I know not..
Some European visitors here may be able to shed more light on M. Delcloo?

And *anybody* know more of Arthur Jones than the shadow of a sketch of his life and career that we have ?

Anecdotally, Delcloo is still alive and living in Northern France, whilst Arthur Jones died in 1998 in New York. Don't go copy n pasting that onto other blogs etc etc folks - it may - or may not - be accurate.

As per Scorpio previously, this is my rip - and to FLAC.
The otherwise quite fine 192MP3s at 'Nothing Is..' have some needle skips which can grate...
This has one sonic artifact at approx 9.47 on Side 1.
That aside, it's a perfectly good 40 year old crappy old BYG LP pressing.
Cover scans included.

Africanasia
- Arthur Jones, Claude Delcloo -

1. Africanasia Part 1
2. Africanasia Pert 2

Arthur Jones - alto
Kenneth Terroade - flute
Roscoe Mitchell - flute
Joseph Jarman - flute
Clifford Thornton - conga drums
Malachi Favors - log drums
Earl Freeman - gong, bells, percussion
Claude Delcloo - drums

Rec August 22, 1969

Scorpio - Arthur Jones [BYG-Actuel 50]

2009-06-08T06:56:00.000-07:00

Mid-1969 and a whole bunch of 'new music' free American musicians are in France.
The Art Ensemble of Chicago, Archie Shepp, Anthony Braxton, Leroy Jenkins, Alan Silva, Grachan Moncur, Don Cherry, Jimmy Lyons, Burton Greene, Andrew Cyrille, Sunny Murray, Steve McCall ....
The turbulent events of May 68 are fresh in the consciousness of young people in France - arguably, all over Europe.
A trumpet player called Jacques Coursil comes over to Paris with another guy - an alto player - whose name is Arthur Jones.

This is Arthur's record.

A personal rip - not the badly distorted 192kbps MP3s that you may know from 'around the place'...

Life Is A Killer - The Dial-A-Poem-Poets [Giorno Poetry Systems GPS027]

2009-04-20T19:51:00.000-07:00

David Murray! Bern Nix! Steve McCall! Jamaaladeen Tacuma! Arthur Russell!
Wait though...
This one is *very much* about the word, and much less about the note.
If you download it just for the music, you'll probably be disappointed.
The poetry presented is wildly divergent in style, which is a good thing on a record like this.
For my money, there are 5 pieces here that 'work' in some way - that have something to say [at least], if not a genuine poetic sense.
5 pieces, I'd consider to be a pretty good average from a 9 track compilation record.
Your view could well diverge wildly.

Side 1

John Giorno
Everyone Says What They Do Is Right
John Giorno = vocal
Keyboards & Guitars - Pat Irwin
Drums - David Van Tieghem
Music - Gregory Schifrin
NYC Sept, 1982

William S Burroughs
The Mummy Piece
William S Burroughs - vocal
San Francisco Sept, 1981

Amiri Baraka
Wailers
Amiri Baraka - vocal
Saxophone - David Murray
Drums - Steve McCall
Toronto Dec, 1981

Jim Carroll
Just Visiting (from The Book of Nods)
Toronto Dec, 1981

Side 2

Jayne Cortez
I See Chano Pozo
Jayne Cortez - vocal
Drums - Denardo Coleman
Bass - Jamaaladeen Tacuma
Guitar - Bern Nix
Toronto Dec, 1981

Ned Sublette
Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly
Ned Sublette - vocal (sung)
Bass - Jeffrey Glenn
Synth - Peter Gordon
Guitar - Tim Schellenbaum
Drums - Arthur Russell
NYC June, 1982

Brion Gyson
Junk
Brion Gyson - vocal
Ramuntcho Matta,
Yahn Leker,
Frederique - musicians
Paris Aug, 1982

Rose Lesniak
She's So
Rose Lesniak - vocal (sung)
Karen Cutler - vocal
NYC Feb, 1982

Four Horsemen
The Dreams Remain
b.p. Nichol,
Steve McCaffery,
Paul Dutton,
Rafael Barreto-Rivera - vocals
Toronto Dec, 1981

Left to right on the back cover are John Giorno, Jim Carroll, Amiri Baraka and Jayne Cortez.

The album was released in 1982

Everything is Broken...

2009-04-08T18:05:00.000-07:00

Of the contributors to this blog, at the present time, one has a broken computer.
The other, a broken turntable.
Both items are currently being examined by the 'best men in their field'.
...Or failing that, their owners.
We trust the current intermission will be a very short one and that the usual sluggardly posting rate will resume in the next few days.
Thanks!
serviceton

Ezra Pound Reads His Cantos [Peerless PRCS116]

2009-03-31T05:53:00.000-07:00

Ezra Pound.
Not a musician as such..
But, a poet.
And an (ex) fascist
And an (ex) anti-semite
And a certified US Gvt-approved lunatic
Oh dear.
This can't be good...

I realise (almost) no-one is interested in this - ... but nevertheless....
The LP was recorded in 1967 and released in the very early 70's
The reader - Pound himself - is ancient, beautifully mannered in delivery, and somewhat repetitive in his cadence.

Side 1
1. Canto III
2. Canto XVI
3. Canto XLIX
4. Canto LXXXI - First Reading

Side 2
1. Canto LXXXI - second reading - one hour later
2. Canto XCII
3. Canto CVI
4. Canto CXV

Traffic - Noah Howard [Frame RF2005]

2009-03-13T18:16:00.000-07:00

Side A
Lovers
Traffic One
Red Star

Side B
Never Be The Same Again
Donkey Dance
Two Lovers' Hill
Traffic Two

Noah Howard - alto saxophone
Bobby Few - piano
Joe Maka - soprano saxophone
Clint Jackson - trumpet

Recorded Paris, June 10 1980
Released 1983

There are some good things on here...

If you've not heard of Noah Howard, well.. there are better places to start with his music - his 2 ESP discs (http://espdisk.com/official/artists/NoahHoward.html), Live at the Village Vanguard, The Black Ark (http://www.boweavilrecordings.com/Weavil_24.html) - also noahhoward.com/discography.html has a summary of issues - many available, some not.
In any case, Howard is a great player and composer who should be much better known than he is.

I can only tell what "seems to be going on here" in regards this LP - I hope there's someone that might know more definitively how it came to be, and might be kind enough to fill in the gaps.

Bobby Few was (and IS!) a well known AfroAmercian expat in Paris. - and has appeared on stacks of records .Howard and Few were part of the famous Frank Wright quartet (with Wright and drummer Muhammad Ali) that played all around Europe, made some records (Uhuru Na Umoja, Church Number Nine) etc..

Soprano player Joe Maka was from Guinea in Africa. Nathan Davis -himself for a while, a Parisian/US expat - has talked about Maka as an acolyte, studying at the Sorbonne - also playing with Manu Dibango in an 'African style'. Maka seems to have played with many and varied musicians - including at least one other occasion with Bobby Few on record - on 1979's Jom Futa. By the time 'Traffic' was released, Maka was dead (1981).

Clint Jackson is an American expat trumpet player and a professional practicing musician as far as I can tell (http://www.2souls.net/bios.php)

Frame Records I know next to nothing about: - I don't think they spent much though, at either the layout/design agency, or the pressing plant. The cover - well you can judge for yourself.
The pressing is OK but not great and my copy is 'as new'. It's not awful either (don't be put off!) - you would just expect better from a 'brand new record'.

The rather abrupt 'cut-offs' at the end of some of the tunes will sound as if the ripper has hit the Stop button a fraction too early. But no,they're right there on the vinyl I promise you.
At a guess I'd say that the last and second-last tracks have had their titles reversed the last but one track sounds like a logical - and absorbing - follow on from 'Traffic 1' from the first side. Whilst the last track virtually paints a picture of a couple in love atop a hill somewhere..
The vocal on 'Never Be The Same Again' sounds a bit like something the band were kidding around on after they got back from lunch, just for fun. Meant for the album? Who knows, maybe it was. Howard's 'Lovers' and 'Red Star' are revisited here - for me though the 'meat in the sandwich' though is the tune called Traffic One, along with its confrere on Side 2 (accepting my switched titles theory).

Anyway enough twittering - if you know and love Howard's music, you already know you want this.
If NOT (yet), well you're welcome of course to grab this anyway. Give it a listen, see what you think, leave a Comment with 'what you think'..

But also have a look at http://noahhoward.com . Buy something! The guy is a living working musician, has paid a hell of a lot of dues and has somehow stayed alive practising creativity for more than 40 years.
Which is no small feat in this world.

Respect to him.

Under The Sun - Human Arts Ensemble [Arista/Freedom AL1022]

2009-03-11T16:15:00.000-07:00

The second of the two records released by the Human Arts Ensemble on their own 'Universal Justice' label, and later re-issued on Arista/Freedom.
The first, 'Whispers of Dharma' is more trippy and 'eastern meditative' sounding, whilst 'Under The Sun' - while not forgoing these elements - is more of a 'groove' record.
Most importantly, it has free-jazz harmonica on it (a disturbing new theme in my posts - free-jazz harmonica...)
It also has Marty Ehrlich's first appearance on record (rarely mentioned).
Carol Marshall, James Marshall's then-wife, contributes wordless ululating 'cosmic' scat singing that may bring to mind for some the "space whisper" of Gilli Smyth in early Gong.
'Star guests' (see back cover) are Lester Bowie and Oliver Lake.
But really, it's an ensemble piece: - 2 big side-long groove-based compositions with simple themes to launch and recapitulate the action
I always wondered about the "Featuring C Bobo Shaw" that has plastered the cover of not only this, but many a Human Arts Ensemble release. Was Shaw such an egoist that he insisted on a "marquee listing" - or was it expected by the record company that "Featuring C Bobo Shaw!" was a serious drawing-card for the kids of America? ("Say Mom - THIS is the one I wanna spend my pocket money on - it's got C Bobo Shaw on it!!"..)
The "Featuring C. Bobo Shaw" on the front of this record is actually a sticker - the thought of drafting up an order to the sticker-manufacturers and then having someone on the pressing plant actually stick them on (thousands and thousands of them) - sort of blows my mind. I think it's fair to say, nothing like it would happen nowdays.
Of course, no major record company would put out a record like this nowdays either.

The much more austere (NON stickered, but pleasingly purple) 'Univeral Justice' issue can be seen here - http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=918460 The one pictured is from the Second Pressing run of 1000 copies. The first run (of 500) on Universal Justice presumably having sold out.
I've never seen a copy of either in the flesh, although the later Arista/Freedom version was cut-out and sold cheap by the truckload.
So this is not a rare record, although it is an enjoyable one.
MP3s have been posted at various places in the past (Nothing Is, Inconstant Sol...) - but this is FLACs - from clean vinyl. If anyone really wants an MP3 upgrade, then yell out - otherwise I'll leave it just FLAC.
Founding member James Marshall continues to lead an ensemble under the Human Arts Ensemble name based out of Tucson Arizona.

A last side-note: - From the LP jacket -
"A Lover's Desire: - A free music symphony based on an Afganistan folk melody 'Lover's Desire' (Folkways FE4361) transcribed from Radio Kabul. "

This same release is STILL available on Folkways (now Smithsonian Folkways), and can be seen here http://www.folkways.si.edu/albumdetails.aspx?itemid=794

I like that...

Lol Coxhill-frog dance ( impetus lp 1986) Flac and Lame

2009-03-10T21:26:00.000-07:00

More out of print Lol, this is the soundtrack to a documentary film about coxhill which aired on channel 4 ,in the U K in 1987 ..made over 5 years the film (which i have not seen) is made up of interviews and performance footage ..
for full personnel details click on the gate fold image...

some highlights are a lengthy duet with pianist Steven Miller ,
a solo recorded in an empty swimming pool , a duet with a bagpiper.. and a set with "the Recedents' a trio comprised of Lol .. Mike Cooper And percussionist Roger Turner...
THIS SET MOSTLY CONSISTS OF ENTIRELY FREE IMPROVS... its fucking great!!!!can anyone post the video??
ENJOY!!!

Fresh - Frank Lowe [Freedom FLP41015]

2009-03-09T06:04:00.000-07:00

The wonderful Frank Lowe.
In this instance on the Freedom label.
I'm not sure how this record is 'assessed by the critics' - I took a while to find it, then loved it as soon as I heard it.
It's sort of all over the place in a sloppy-sharp kind of way. As a 'unified artifact' I suppose it doesn't really hang together as an album - but damn all that - in the end it works gloriously. It contains 2 of my favourite Monk covers (none of your a-one-atwo-athree-afour polite jazz quartet zooming through Little Rootie Tootie at the Budokan Hall here..)
Lester Bowie crackles and slaps on the opening track, Lowe himself is hypnotic on 'Fresh', 'Play Some Blues' is WAY more than the 12 or 16 bar 'stroll over changes' that one might expect from the title. If the last track's an oddity, well what the hell - great groove -though if anyone knows anything about The Memphis Four, please do tell - they sound like a soul groove band recorded in what is perhaps a rehearsal studio...
This was re-issued on CD on Black Lion, but even that has gone out-of-print. Having heard the CD and the LP, I prefer the vinyl. And thus I'd recommend the FLACs. Any which way, hope someone digs this.

Sam Rivers-'vision' AKA the Quest( Red records 1976)FLAC

2009-03-02T16:23:00.000-08:00

Archie Shepp and 'Philly' Joe Jones-(America lp 6102)1969--FLAC and LAME

2009-03-01T03:24:00.000-08:00

This is a minor classic from Shepp's fertile Parisian sojourn, 1969 it seems was a great year for Shepp and the many other mainstays of the nascent "2Nd wave".
I happen to like this one alot ..though many apparently dont....EXAMPLE

"This intriguing LP does not live up to its potential. Three generations of jazz men were involved in this 1969 project, with veteran drummer Philly Joe Jones and the great avant-garde tenor Archie Shepp meeting up with two of the top "new jazz" players (altoist Anthony Braxton and violinist Leroy Jenkins). Unfortunately, both of the sidelong pieces have recitations, the performances are overly long, and there is quite a bit of rambling. This is a lesser effort that has been long out-of-print." ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

The mysterious Julio Finn who is now a blues historian , and the better known Chicago 'Beau'..Author ,publisher... poet who still performs regularly.recorded 3 albums with Shepp , as well as the classic 'certain blacks'by the AEOC all within the span of six months in 69....
Shepp was by then clearly indicating a return to his blues and pre-bop roots.. hard boppers Hank Mobley ,Art Taylor ..and on this Philly Joe Jones were all playing in his bands along with Braxton, Jarman ,Jenkins ,Mitchell and Bowie who were then virtually unknown.

This is the only one of Shepp's collaborations with Finn and Beau ..which remains unreissued.. the pieces as with the album black gypsy(reissued by Verve universal in 2004-5)are both credited to Finn and Beau.

this has been around on several blogs as mp3's.. here is both a lossless and 320kbs rip from a friend's vinyl (thanks..again.. Eeyan)

enjoy!!
info on Chicago Beau
http://greatblackmusicproject.org/en/registry/chicago-beau

Lol Coxhill-Fleas in custard ,1975(caroline c1515 lp)Flac and....

2009-02-24T19:12:00.000-08:00

This is one of the records Coxhill recorded for the Virgin subsidiary Carloline label in the mid 70's .
Back in its day virgin was quite an exploratory independent label ..the rough trade of it's day... one would have a hard time releasing a patchwork oddity like this now ,it simply doesn't fit into any specific category... most improv labels and fans would no doubt baulk at the cheesy effects deployed throughout.
Coxhill's a master (still) at employing kitch and cheese imaginatively and subversively..playing around with cliche ,and disappointing serious minded listener's expectations is all part of the game.

its certainly one of his most eccentric records.. side one consists of a duet with little known guitarist G.F fitzgerald.
side 2 is a collage of excerpted assortments of what sounds like lol answering questions of passers by on the street while busking..bits of between set banter at gigs ..jokes and overdubbed solo saxophone pieces ..the solo tracks utilise ring modulation and other synthesised effects.
Coxhill discusses having worked in a glue factory in the early 60's "throwing horses hooves in a bone crushing machine"

flac and 320 lame ... ENJOY!

Karl Berger-with silence( enja lp 2022 1972)FLAC and LAME

2009-02-23T14:24:00.000-08:00

Here's a great ..still unreissued album by K.Berger someone who along with Manfred Schoof ..Peter Broetzmann, Wilhelm Breuker and so on was one of the pioneers of 'free' music in europe in the mid 60's.
Most people probably now know him more as an arranger on pop albums by the likes of Jeff Buckley and Natalie Merchant.. his bread and butter so to speak .
a few jazz fans remember too that he played on some of Don Cherry's classic album's the magnificent 'Eternal Rhythm' from 1968 being the 1st that comes to mind.
He has since appeared in many contexts from free to imaginative mainstream jazz and ethno/fusions.

As a pedagogue he co founded the influential creative music studio with his wife Ingrid and Ornette Coleman.
its a pity that so many of his own earlier releases are either out of print ,or very difficult to obtain.

I like this one a great deal ..its a tough ..fairly free . hard cooking record for the most part , and features possibly the most abstract version of Igrid Berger's 'the smile' as always with this vintage the Coleman-esque melodic and rhythmic influence's are palpable.
Some may be familiar with Adelhard Roidinger through his appearance with Braxton and Oxley on the classic seven compositions for trio 1989(hat).. he deserves kudos's for his performance here, demonstrating an astonishing level of invention throughout..
I dont know much about the schizm that occured among the co founders of Enja a decade ago... but its clear that so many distinctive early gems are being overlooked.

recorded in Munich june 1972
CLICK ON THE BACK COVER TO ENLARGE IT AND READ ..THE INFO
enjoy!!!and if possible buy some of K.Berger's current in print records.

Lol Coxhill-the Bald Soprano companion (1989 tak tak casette001)flac and lame

2009-02-22T21:57:00.000-08:00

This was released in 1989 as a tape only accompanying the book of the same name by British Anarchist writer/poet /magazine publisher-editor Jeff Nutall, the book apparently being a fictionalised biography of Coxhill.
Nutall is best known (by me ) as the author of 'Bomb Culture'his 1968 account of the early situationist counter cultural movement in the UK.
That's the only book of Nutall's i have ever perused.. i know nothing about the bald soprano.
perhaps some of you may know more about Nutall and his work, and specifically more about the book this was meant to accompany.

" The music on this cassette was chosen specifically in relation to Jeff Nuttalls book 'the Bald Soprano' I know that certain of Jeff's admirers will pick up copies without knowing anything about my work.
Though i would not normally release them for any other purpose..the Tango , near Ska romantic jazz and voice tracks show something in relation to the book, whilst certain of the freely improvised sections there are references to certain musical areas i sometimes play within in the company of other musicians"
Lol Coxhill- from the tape insert

Basically Coxhill is improvising inventively through 2 hours of music.. even some of the 'Stock'soundtrack pieces included are never anything other than his usual uncompromising best.

Brotherhood of Breath- Procession (live in toulouse 1978-ogun)FLAC AND LAME

2009-02-21T15:20:00.000-08:00

Here's a forgotten gem of a record , an exhilarating shambolic concert from toulouse in 78... its everything you'd expect and more.. highlight for me a very loose, free wheelin' version of sonja ..which threatens to unravel at every bar but never does.

Its a wonderful band this time round with the likes of Evan Parker (whom ive always particularly enjoyed playing with these guys)Mike Osbourne ..potent as always , Charig , Beckett ...OTHER THAN THE CENTRAL comitee COMPRISED OF THE USUAL SUSPECTS... (read BLUE NOTES).

One can't even concieve of pomp- Meister Malfatti playing on this kind of material these days... a pity ..because he is so hot here!!

This may not be up to par interms of todays live recording standards( its at about the level of a good contemporary bootleg)..but what an electrifying performance.
still out of circulation(never been reissued to cd) ..perhaps it's murkiness has something to do with that.

AGAIN Ripped from I'S lp.. using a zoom hd digital device
turn table-zoom hd-4100 kbts wav- flac

CLICK ON THE IMAGES TO ENLARGE AND VIEW DETAILS

Clifford Thornton-communications network 1972(Third World records)FLAC)

2009-02-03T16:51:00.000-08:00

Here's a something that whilst worthy of a listen is perhaps not the best place to start with this particular artist, it's uneven but nonetheless has a few great moments.
Side 2 ,which is basically an accompaniment to Jayne Cortez's poetry conveys a fairly pervasive impression that this is indeed one of Thornton's weaker efforts.
that impression being reinforced largely by the fact of the low budget/ very poor engineering... in all honesty it has to be said that this is flabby in comparison to most of the relatively few other Thornton albums... it'seasy to hear why it hasnt been reissued.

Side one meanders a bit, though the recording quality is fine...and it does afford a glimpse of the great Karnatic master violinist L Shankar playing with Thornton and crew.
thanks to Iain ..whose vinyl i ripped

BTW/those wanting mp3's of this can find 160kbs links (still active) at 'Nothing is'
http://ajbenjamin2beta.blogspot.com/2008/12/clifford-thornton-communications.html

Third World 12272 (LP)
1. Communications Network, Part 1 (Clifford Thornton) [11:55]
2. Communications Network, Part 2 (Clifford Thornton) [5:38]
3. Festivals and Funerals (Clifford Thornton) [24:50]

Clifford Thornton (cor; el-p on #1-2)
Jerome Cooper (d, perc) on #1-2
Lakshminarayana Shankar (vln) on #1-2
Sirone (b) on #1-2
Jayne Cortez (voc) on #3
Nathan Davis (ss) on #3
Jay Hoggard (vib) on #3
Andy Gonzalez (b) on #3
Vincent George (perc, cga) on #3
Jerry Gonzalez (perc, cga) on #3
Nicky Marrero (perc, tim) on #3
1972 – January 22 (#1-2)
ABC Stage City
New York, NY (USA)
1972 – April 17 (#3)
Festival of African-American Music
New York, NY (USA)

FLAC link in comments

Live at Green Space - Billy Bang & Charles Tyler [Anima LP 2BT-78]

2009-02-02T22:39:00.000-08:00

A friend calls this album 'quixotic' . I like the record, but I know what he means.
It's low-key, Tyler plays mouth harp, not saxophone on 2 tunes. Yes, the last track is *that* Alouette (" Alouette, gentille Alouette...")
If you're in the middle of revisiting your Frank Wright collection, or off on a Kaoru Abe kick, then this record is going to sound decidedly 'down-tempo' to put it mildly...
Not for everyone then, but for lovers of Bang's music, and Tyler's at least.
Oh, and lovers of harmonica playing.
On the Hohner, Tyler has better chops than Leroy Jenkins...

1. Alabama African
2. Closer To The Flowers
3. Viobari
4. Legend of The Lawmen
5. Aloutte

Billy Bang - Violin, Mbira, Bells
Charles Tyler - Alto Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Harmonica, Bells
ANIMA 2BT-78
1982
Rec March, 1981

Suave Epiphany

2009-02-01T05:18:00.001-08:00