Format: Vinyl
Country: US
Released: 1988
Dennis Charles - Drums, African Hand Drum, Indian Bells, Cymbals
Sue Ann Harkey - Prepared 12 String Guitar, Percussion, Train Whistle
Sharon Gannon - Words, Vocals, Violin Echo-plex, Tibetan Bells, Indian Ankle Bells
David Life - Sarengi, African Lyre, Steel Drums
Don Cherry - Pocket Trumpet, Doussn' Gouni, Berimbau, Flutes and Whistles
A1 - Paracelsus Paradigm
A2 - Is This A Bridge Exactly?
A3 - Gajananam
B1 - Liberation From Samsara
B2 - Neti-Neti
B3 - Fading Green
Recorded on Mothers Day 1987 at Harold Dessau Studio, NYC.
Direct Metal Mastering at Europadisc NYC Hannukah 1987.
About Audio Letter:
The Past... In 1979, long before Seattle was known for Cobain and Cornell, vocalist/violinist Sharon Gannon and guitarist Sue Ann Harkey formed, as Gannon describes it, "a stream-of-consciousness experiment" which they dubbed Audio Letter. Although other musicians would drift in and out of their orbit, the duo remained a constant as their experimental nature allowed Gannon to incorporate her interests in alchemy, meditation, and Eastern philosophy into their work.
Relocating to New York in 1983, Gannon and Harkey became fixtures in the downtown experimental and world music scene, finding fellow musicians such as John Zorn, Fred Firth and Ikue More to be kindred spirits. Audio Letter's wholly improvised gigs in East Village venues like Life Cafe and 8BC attracted a growing number of fans including legendary jazz trumpeter Don Cherry, drummer Denis Charles, and artist/musician David Life. Collaborations with Cherry, Charles, and Life resulted in It Is This, It Is Not This, Audio Letter's first album, released in 1987.
The album garnered enthusiastic critical acclaim in the underground music world exemplified by future Rolling Stone critic Ann Powers who, then writing for The Rocket, described it as a "philosophical and musical stew different than any other aural communication in Seattle." However, the world had not yet awakened from the Reagan years and Audio Letter disbanded in 1988. Gannon and Harkey simply waited for the times to catch up to them
https://1fichier.com/?79dbzbnywv
ReplyDeleteUnlike Obama, Reagan made the world a safer place.
ReplyDeleteGiven the covert nature of the US government, How would you, me or anyone else know that to be definitively true?
ReplyDeleteany recording with Don Cherry on it is good by me
ReplyDeleterev.b
ReplyDeletenice to meet you over here, but what the heck are you guys talkin' about?
Obama, Reagan, the government? Sheesh - find some other blog for that.
Music Spoken Here.
Music is not produced in thin air, it also has context, dear Rev. blGhlG :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the ability to listen to this rarity, corvimax - never heard of the two women, very interesting music!
I agree, Lucky, though how Obama can figure into a 1988 LP, I'll never know...
ReplyDeleteRegardless, forgot to say thanks for this one. Always fun discovering obscurities, and anything with Cherry (whose main "context" was mysticism, not politics)is a gift.
Sue Ann Harkey (this LP was her label) remains in new/experimental music.
Sharon Gannon is involved in Yoga and Veganism.
Don lives on in them both.
You’re right Rev. blGhlG, Anon (the first?) was probably just a troll and shame on me for feeding it. I think he/she just saw the Reagan era reference towards the end of the last paragraph and felt a need to pop off. Why the focus the on politics over the gift being offered is beyond me too. My point was only to question holding such a strong opinion when can’t be sure you have all the facts. So no more po‘tics and thank you corvimax for sharing something much more lasting and rare!
ReplyDeleteHi everybody.
ReplyDeleteFirst thank Corvimax for this treasure. Listening to the third track and the end when you forgot to stop the lp for a while, I imagine that under the influence of the music you were flying over the turn table!!! It is a great share.
Regarding the political question and the possibility to talk about it here, some people have to remember that all the comments are approved before they appears, so if one comment is here it means that it have been approved. I often see comments of people who say "talk about politic elsewhere", the result is that elsewhere become more and more nowhere and we are living in a more and more sleepy consciousness world. Regarding the fact that Don Cherry was more mystic than politic, I can say that it is not so simple, I had the luck to meet some Swedish musicians who played with him like Bengt Berger or Christer Bothen and we had some long conversations about Cherry's way of life and music conception, the mystical search of Cherry was his answer to some questions that were completely political. it is as if one consider that the cosmic world of Sun Ra was just a fantasy, the other world of Sun Ra was a suggestion to change the real world, like was the mystic world of Don Cherry.
Nod y, I like -and support- your words
ReplyDeleteBoth about the talk about politics (everything is so interconnected, how to separate music and politic or philosophy or whatever?) and the fact that even the mystical approach has the purpose of a better world.
Hi Corvimax
ReplyDeletethanks a lot for the support and again for this post that I'm listening for the second time, incredible album, out of time out of styles. As a yoga practicer I can say that an individual mystical or spiritual research is always in relation with a global vision of the world. The financials rules that are actually the model of government are not only dangerous because of what they create, but the first thing we have to admit is the fact that this vision is empty of philosophy and spirituality. I hope that most of the music lovers that comes here are aware of what can come and do their best to change the things.
Gentlepeople,
ReplyDeleteafter reviewing the sidebars in this blog, I see that political discussion is certainly not verboten. Well and good, and my apologies to reacting to the ignorant comment of another anonymous Obama hater. But on the other hand, I would not feel it necessary to go to some right wing political site and suggest Cherry’s and Pharoah’s spiritual/ One World music is bringing America down! – “damn lefty hippies!” What would be the point beyond spouting off goofy beliefs in the wrong place?
My friend, I too have been a practicing yoga for about ten years and would shy away from any statement such as “mystical or spiritual research is 'always' in relation with a global vision of the world”. The word “always” is never a safe bet in promoting one’s personal beliefs. There is no always amongst yogis, musicians or used-car salesmen. That's a very broad brush-stroke (and would make life extremely dull).
I’ll bow out of this interesting chat now and watch it proceed as I listen to Al Foster’s “Love, Peace and Jazz” … I don’t think it ties in with any presidents.
Namaste.
Rev.blGhlG, I never said or suggested ANY of those things. How many terrorist attacks or attempts since the July 1 comment?
ReplyDeleteDon't you have a name, Anonymous?!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous (whoever, whichever)
ReplyDeleteDid you notice other people in addition to yourself were involved in this discussion? If you actually read any of the comments, you'd notice I was addressing several commentators, most of whom understood this but you.
Pick a name and we can answer you personally.
(And as I recall, the most devastating terrorist attack ever happened under a previous president's "watch".)
I think anon's already gotten more attention than is warranted......
ReplyDeleteThe events of yesterday prove my point again. The events to come will further prove my point. The worst incident happened under Bush 2, right after the carefree, head in the sand days of Clinton. And no he didn't balance the budget. He vetoed the bill only to be overridden. And Bush 2 led us into a war without any planning. This ain't about left wing-right wing, it's about the TRUTH!
ReplyDeleteI would like to offer you the Free Form forum on this blog fur further discussions not connected (directly) to the music:
ReplyDeletehttp://inconstantsol.blogspot.de/2011/01/free-form.html
Hi everybody
ReplyDeleteMy english is too bad too understand totally the topic of the conversation but Onx is right, how many people have talked about the record and the time that Corvimax have spent to make it available. Personally as a fan of Don Cherry I absolutely didn't know this record in direct relation with Cherry's spirit, so it is a real invaluable gift to have discovered this record.
I think anon's already gotten more attention than is warranted......
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for this fascinating record, from a lefty hippie.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful.Many thanks.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this. Does anyone by chance have the remix of this album at all?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.silent-watcher.net/billlaswell/discography/a/netineti.html
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBIG THX!...
ReplyDeleteernst thanks i get confused where i am on the internet sometimes.
ReplyDeleteand it had been a week since i checked the treasure of sound here.
every don cherry is a blessing thank u
roberth
Never heard of this one. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteRemoved the link. It's available for 5 bucks at bandcamp.
ReplyDeletehttps://sueannharkey.bandcamp.com/album/it-is-this-it-is-not-this-neti-neti
And for ten more a sealed copy of the LP is included.