Stockhausen Day - 2008 Proms

Karlheinz Stockhausen - Stockhausen Day
Royal Albert Hall, London
Saturday 2nd August, 2008

BBC Prom 20
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Details from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2008/whatson/0208.shtml#prom20

One of the most influential composers of the 20th and 21st centuries, Karlheinz Stockhausen would have turned 80 this year.

Aside from the performance of Punkte ('Points') by the Gürzenich Orchestra under Markus Stenz on the actual day that would have been the composer's 80th birthday (Prom 48), this Stockhausen Day offers a fuller immersion into the work of this uniquely uncompromising creative force. This early-evening Prom contrasts a pair of Stockhausen's early works - Gruppen ('Groups'), which passes ideas between three spatially separated ensembles, and Kontakte, referring to 'contacts' between instrumental and electronic sounds - with two recent works - both of them excerpts from Klang, the large-scale sequence on which Stockhausen was working at the time of his death last December.

Disk1 (79.54)

24.36 Stockhausen Gruppen
02.54 Announcer
32.04 Stockhausen Klang, 13th hour - Cosmic Pulses (for electronics) (UK premiere)
02.45 Announcer
16.10 Stockhausen Klang, 5th hour - Harmonies for solo trumpet (world premiere) (BBC commission)
01.24 Announcer

Disk2 (79.12)

02.47 Announcer
34.58 Stockhausen Kontakte
14.07 Announcer > Stockhausen interview
24.45 Stockhausen Gruppen (repeat performance)
02.33 Announcer

Marco Blaauw trumpet
Nicolas Hodges piano
Colin Currie percussion

BBC Symphony Orchestra
David Robertson, conductor
Martyn Brabbins, conductor
Pascal Rophé, conductor

BBC Prom 21
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Details from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2008/whatson/0208.shtml#prom21

In this Late Night Prom comes Stimmung for six amplified voices - the first work of Western music to be based on the harmonics, or overtones, that make up the sound-spectrum of a single note. Stimmung is a hypnotic piece for 'six singers and six microphones' that takes on a unique
atmosphere in live performance. Among the many influences which Stockhausen acknowledged when composing the work was a month spent wandering among the ruins in Mexico.

The Theatre of Voices - as adept in music of the Middle Ages as in new music - have made
something of a speciality of Stimmung, and Hillier's long association with the piece includes his
participation as one of the singers at a Proms performance 30 years ago.

Disk3 (79.57)

05.57 Announcer
71.54 Stockhausen Stimmung
02.02 Announcer

Theatre of Voices
Paul Hillier, director

This is a follow up to the Licht post made here earlier in which there has been much interest, judging from the number of downloads. Everything I have heard from Klang so far is sublime, not least Cosmic Pulses included here, and I have some other episodes if there is continued interest. I'd like to thank Tom Phillips who made this very high quality recording (demonstrating that digital radio can often exceed FM in quality) and seeded it on dime.

Phil Minton, Freddy Studer,Christy Doran and Amin Ali- play jimi hendrix- 1993

Heres something in the spirit of the recent Aki takase and crew playing Fats Waller.
another bunch of free improvisers paying tribute with tongue firmly in cheek.
phil minton singing..i dont live today is something to hear!!


heres a an amusing and entertaining amazon fan's review
"I can understand why this album earns the hatred of those unfamiliar with the names of the musicians & who thus buy it on the strength of Hendrix's name without knowing what they're getting into. The band is an odd mixture of players from several countries & from a variety of backgrounds. The guitarist Christy Doran is a fine jazz-rock guitarist, born in Ireland but living most of his life in Switzerland. He recorded a lot of albums for Hat Art: I'm especially fond of a trio with Han Bennink & Ray Anderson which recorded _Cheer Up_ & _Azurety_, the latter album a perfect combination of delicate free improvisation, heavy rock workouts, a blues tribute & Ellingtonia. The drummer Fredy Studer is a frequent companion of Doran's, with a wide experience of rock, jazz & free-improv musics but basically a rock drummer. Keyboardist & occasional horn player Django Bates is best known for his work with the English group Loose Tubes. Electric bassist Amin Ali is the brother of Coltrane's drummer Rashied Ali; he's done brilliant work with James Blood Ulmer's Music Revelation Ensemble. Phil Minton is the oddest inclusion here: he's an English vocalist (& also a trumpeter, though he doesn't essay any playing here) whose work tends to split into two kinds. First, the rather "literary", lyrics-based work he's done with Mike Westbrook (e.g. his performance of William Blake poems on _Bright as Fire_) & Lindsay Cooper (_Oh Moscow!_) & in some of his own projects (the _Finnegans Wake_ performances on _mouthfull of ecstasy_). Secondly: free-form vocal performances which often contain as much "noise" (burps, gurgles, shouts, gargles, clicks, groans...) as pitched notes--a good example is his work on _dada da_ with Roger Turner. He is truly an astonishing vocalist--besides using throat-singing techniques, he also can distort his vocal cords in order to produce two notes at once. Still, I tend to mentally class him with Eugene Chadbourne & Han Bennink as one of those musicians who inspires a rabid cult following about some people (the Ben Watsons of this world) while to my mind his effectiveness can greatly vary depending on the musical situation. Sometimes he's just a trickster figure, verging on the annoying--on other occasions, as in _mouthfull of ecstacy_, I think he's done something truly remarkable.
OK: so what about this disc? There's a long tradition of jazz musicians paying homage to Hendrix, going back to Gil Evans & Miles Davis in the 1960s & 1970s. This tribute is not radically revisionary--the treatments are floridly psychedelic rock renditions of the tunes, though with the odd disruption (notably the bizarre, hilarious acapella Minton solo in "Manic Depression"). The treatments are fresh ("Manic Depression" kicks off with a nice new guitar riff, while "Hey Joe" is one of the album's high points in its slow, cooled-down arrangement), while not radically departing from the originals--that's to be expected, I suppose, given that the instrumention isn't too far from that of the original Experience albums, except for the keyboards. That said, the album's take on psychedelia is deliberately campy, especially in Minton's completely over-the-top renditions of the lyrics & in Bates's cheesy keyboards.

The main problem here is that the album doesn't seem to be able to make up its mind about how seriously it wants to interrogate the Hendrix canon. It would really have benefitted from more unconventional instrumentation & arrangements (cf. the fashion for Hendrix arranged for string quartet, e.g.); instead, Minton sticks out like a sore thumb because of his parodically overwrought vocals, while Christy Doran plays things absolutely straight. Too much of the album is simply self-indulgent--virtually every track is in the 7-8 minute range, rather than keeping to the pithiness of the original versions. That said, it's nice to hear Doran's take on Hendrix, & the album is at least memorably odd. It'll appeal to those with a strange sense of humour--probably more Zappa fans than Hendrix fans will like this. "

review by
N. Dorward "obsessive reviewer"

pretty sure this has appeared elsewhere in mp3's
i love this record and thought someone might like it lossless.
however if theres demand i'll rip it to mp3 too
cheers

Kahil El'Zabar with Lester Bowie and Malachi Favors at Saalfelden 1987

Regular readers of this blog may recall that we posted two albums by Kahil El'Zabar back in August, both of them released on the Sound Aspects label. They may also recall that due to an intervention by the label proprietor, the links to the files of these recordings disappeared.

Kahil El'Zabar made at least one more album for Sound Aspects called "Sacred Love" which featured Malachi Favors (who was also on the album with Billy Bang) and Lester Bowie. I do have the album, but since we're under restrictions, I'm not going to post it. The pictures appended to this post are from the back sleeve of the album, though.

Instead I propose to post something even better, a live recording from the Saalfelden jazz festival in 1987 with the same line-up. Here you'll get 20 minutes of extra music as compared to the album.

Those familiar with the other recordings will know the basic structure by now. El'Zabar starts out on earth drum, switches later to a regular drum set and finally settles in on the thumb piano. Malachi Favors stays close to El'Zabar, using the bass as a second rhythmic-percussive instrument, leaving Lester Bowie free to extrapolate on the top. The African rootedness of this set is strongly present throughout.

Two-thirds of the trio are no longer with us, but El'Zabar is still active, releasing records on the Chicago-based Delmark label. He's a long-time member of Chicago's AACM and was voted Chicagoan of the year in 2004 by the Chicago Tribune, also thereby crediting his wider work as an educator and community leader.

Basic info:

KAHIL EL'ZABAR perc,voc
LESTER BOWIE tp
MALACHI FAVORS MAGHOSTUT b,perc

Saalfelden Jazz Festival, Saalfelden, Austria
Aug 28, 1987

01 part one 45:37
02 part two 14:57
03 encore 07:37

Three pieces somewhat artificially separated, but in reality one contiguous piece with an encore at the end.

Most likely recorded from radio. There is a noticeable hiss in the quieter passages.

Another Dime, no longer on the tracker, so I've no idea who recorded/upped this one, but in any case, a tip of the hat for making this available.

ADDENDUM: It has been brought to my notice that there is another posting of this set here: http://ubu-space.blogspot.com/2008/06/kahil-elzabar-lester-bowie-malachi.html. These were posted as flacs. To save server space, I'll delete the flacs from this post, but keep the mp3 file. Those wanting the flacs are advised to seek out the other posting.

Mp3 file here:

http://tinyurl.com/3ha3k4

AMM

Two concerts from AMM, at once similar and contrasting. 

The first is an FM recording from WDR of a 1994 concert in Bielefeld, from a series entitled "Mobil - Offene Form mit Variations", and features the cellist from the Arditti String Quartet;

16th May, 1994

Ravensberger Spinnerei, Bielefeld, Germany

Eddie Prevost - drums & percussion

John Tilbury -  piano, announcements

Keith Rowe - electric guitar

Rohan de Saram - cello

The music includes;

Cornelius Cardew - Solo with Accompaniment for 2 instruments ad libitum

Christian Wolff - for 1, 2 or 3 people, any sound producing means

John Cage - Variations III for arbitrary number of players and arbitrary sound originators

Howard Skempton - for strings (waves, shingle, seagulls)

Cornelius Cardew - February pieces for piano (#2)

AMM - improvisation for piano, guitar, violoncello and drums

A very good quality recording - thank you very much, Owombat, for making this available.

The second concert is AMM as a duo, from earlier this year, and was a concert recorded at Aula Magna dell'Università La Sapienza di Roma on 11th March, 2008 (and broadcast on RAI3 on 6th September). The music is similar, but the interpretation has moved on.

John Tilbury - piano 


Eddie Prevost - percussion


Cornelius Cardew; Piano Solo with Accompaniment

Cornelius Cardew; Unintended Piano Music

John Tilbury/Eddie Prevost; Improvisation AMM

Aki Takase's Fats Waller project - live in Hamburg 2008

Continuing with the bass clarinetists, the time has come to have a listen to Rudi Mahall. Actually, he's a sideman for this project, which is headed by brilliant Japanese pianist Aki Takase.

This is a delightful way to appropriate the jazz tradition, in this case Fats Waller. One might think that this group of Berlin avantguardists might not be the right people to do so, but thinking it over, there is a legacy of collective improvisation linking the early practitioners to today's free jazzers so if this project might sound odd on paper, in practice it comes off very well.

A motley crew on this one:

Nils Wogram,tb
Rudi Mahall,bcl
Aki Takase,p
Eugene Chadbourne,g,banjo,voc
Paul Lovens,dr
Fats Waller,comp

All in all, Fats' Boys (well, almost). The added outsider chap to this crew of Berlin residents is of course lovable eccentric Eugene Chadbourne who gets to do the vocals on a couple of tracks and proves that the banjo is perfectly OK in this setting.

The tunes:

1 Lookin' Good, But Feelin' Bad 5:56
2 Handful Of Keys / Announcement AT 7:39
3 Jitterbug Waltz / Hold Tight (Want Some Seafood Mama) 7:53
4 Viper's Drag 8:55
5 Medley: Ain't Misbehavin' / Way Down South Where The Blues Began (W.C.Handy,comp) / Honeysuckle Rose / Announcement AT 14:50
6 Announcement Speaker 1:08
7 Two Sleepy People (HoagyCarmichael,comp) / Lookin' Good, But Feelin' Bad 2:27

Recorded live on February-21, 008 in Hamburg, Germany, at NDR, Rolf-Liebermann-Studio,
2008. Top sound from FM radio.

The cd version received the German jazz critics' award in 2004.

Another golden Dime. It has dropped off the tracker, so I've no idea who taped/uploaded this one.

They played here two years ago, but I wasn't there. I keep wondering where my head was at at the time.

If this one catches on, we do have some more Aki Takase up our sleeve.

Fun is guaranteed for all!

Steve Swell "Slammin' The Infinite" - Live NYC 2007

September 18,2007
SLAMMIN' THE INFINITE

Steve Swell: trombone, composition
Sabir Mateen: reeds
Matthew Heyner: bass
Michael Wimberly: drums

track01 -37:40
track02 -20:34

The Living Theatre
21 Clinton Street
New York NY

Perhaps not a household name, but Steve Swell has played with many of the greats such as Braxton, Cecil Taylor, William Parker and particularly with his influencer Roswell Rudd. Veteran multi-instumentalist Sabir Mateen needs no introduction from me. Steve has played previously in his bands.

Very good quality audience recording. My thanks to taper and uploader.

The Original MEV-1968 (reissued 1996)

for tantris who posted a great live MEV show some months back.
Heres the 2nd MEV,album from 1968..theres nothing quite like this in the free improvised canon..early AMM is about the only plausible comparison.
this is magnificently raw..the sort of thing that fumblers like sonic youth..do in their spare time when they aren't making lame ass corporate rock albums.
the galling thing is that they have become famous for feedback /noise noodling..and can get highly paid gigs at noise and improv festivals.
while thoughtful and amazing records like this languish in obscurity.


Credits:
Cello [Amplified] - Jon Phetteplace (tracks: 1 to 4)
Percussion [Amplified], Vocals - Frederick Rzewski* (tracks: 1 to 4)
Synthesizer [Portable] - Allan Bryant
Trumpet, Percussion - Alvin Curran (tracks: 1 to 4)
Notes: Track 1 to 4 recorded live in London in 1968.
Tracklisting:
1 MEV* Part I (11:23)
2 MEV* Part II (5:40)
3 MEV* Part III (9:05)
4 MEV* Part IV (15:15)
5 Allan Bryant Bug Get Tgethr, Stomp N Flash Dans (11:49)
the last track is a synth solo.

not much evidence of this online ..save for a few second hand copies.


please note , our friend Volkan ..has provided rome cansrt ,from the same year check the comments.
thank you Volkan

Diamond Curtain Wall Trio (Anthony Braxton, Taylor Ho Bynum, Mary Halvorson): Tivoli, July, 2008

An excellent audience recording from this summer's European concert schedule; the music from this trio, in a set lasting just over one hour, is quite simply superb, with a sustained concentration and very effective use of electronics. (Recordings from some of the other concerts (Moscow & Besançon) were posted earlier on this blog);

14th "Along Came Jazz" Festival

Chiostro di Villa d'Este

Tivoli, Italy

2nd July, 2008

Extended improvisation (composition number not known) - 63'35"

Anthony Braxton - as, ss, sopranino, cb-cl, electronics

Taylor Ho Bynum - tp, flugelhorn, cornet

Mary Halvorson - el-g 

This comes from dime - many thanks to sdro for the recording and the interesting story that accompanies it.

Athens [GA] Creative Media Festival April 1-5, 2004 Joe Maneri & Mat Maneri duo

Joe Maneri & Mat Maneri duo

Athens Creative Music Encounter

40 Watt Club,

Athens, GA

April 4, 2004

lineage: AUD > DAT > Tascam standalone > CDR > EAC > FLAC FRONTEND > FALC

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3.

Joe Maneri - sax

Mat Maneri - viola

This is the final performance of the series. I hope you've enjoyed these posts, there's more great  stuff which I'll post when I return from touring in November.

Gus

Athens [GA] Creative Media Festival April 1-5, 2004 - School Days

School Days

Athens Creative Music Encounter

40 Watt Club,

Athens, GA

April 4, 2004

lineage: AUD > DAT > Tascam standalone > CDR > EAC > FLAC FRONTEND > FLAC

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Ken Vandermark-reeds

Jeb Bishop-trombone

Kjell Nordeson-vibes

Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten-bass

Paal Nilssen-Love-drums

Athens [GA] Creative Media Festival April 1-5, 2004 - Joe Maneri Trio

Joe Maneri Trio

Athens Creative Media Encounter,

40 Watt Club,

Athens, GA

April 3, 2004

linage: AUD > DAT > Tascam Standalone > CDR > CDR > EAC > FLAC FRONTEND > FLAC

1.

2.

Joe MAneri - reeds

Matt Maneri - viola

Randy Peterson - drums

Athens [GA] Creative Media Festival April 1-5, 2004 - Vandermark 5

Day 3.

The Vandermark 5 was formed during the spring of 1996. Since that time it has been a major outlet for the compositional and improvisational ideas of Ken Vandermark, whose thinking has been developed through years of work with groups like the NRG Ensemble, AALY, the Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet, the Free Music Ensemble, School Days, Free Fall, and the Territory Band.

Trying to organize a small unit with the capabilities of a large ensemble, he needed and chose four exceptional musicians to join him on the project: Jeb Bishop: trombone/guitar, Kent Kessler: bass, Tim Mulvenna: drums, and Mars Williams: saxophone. During the past decade the quintet’s line-up has evolved and now, in addition to original members Vandermark and Kessler, it includes the extraordinary saxophonist Dave Rempis; Tim Daisy and his powerful work on percussion; and the cello/improvisation master Fred Lonberg-Holm.

Each of the current members has years of performance experience working with a wide variety of music. This, coupled with the range of instrumentation and stylistic potential held by the ensemble, allows Vandermark to compose material that runs the gamut of musical possibilities; he incorporates elements of jazz history, contemporary composition, funk and rock into the group’s music. Even so, the band’s focus remains on improvisation. Each piece is arranged to allow ample room for the members to interpret and reinterpret the writing; this creates an environment where they are constantly interacting and utilizing their unique ideas in a spontaneous way.

In the spirit of the great bands scattered throughout the history of jazz, the Vandermark 5 has concentrated on live performance as the means to hone its skills and develop its concepts. For several years the quintet played on a weekly basis at the Empty Bottle in Chicago. Now the ensemble has shifted their concert schedule to focus on the road, and they tour in North America and Europe on a regular basis.

Their most recent work included a trip to Europe in November of 2006 to support the release of its newest album, A Discontinuous Line. After this, the band recorded a new set of material that will be released by Atavistic in the coming year. In February of 2007 the quintet will tour in the United States and Canada, performing music developed in the year and a half since Lonberg-Holm joined the group in the summer of 2005. Despite its longevity this musical unit continues to develop, while creating new methods for the investigation of composition and improvisation. With their history together and the current possibilities at their disposal, the Vandermark 5 will clearly remain “a modern-day band for the jazz ages.”—Penguin Guide To Jazz on CD.

Athens Creative Media Encounter,

40 Watt Club,

Athens, GA

April 3, 2004

linage: AUD > DAT > Tascam Standalone > CDR > CDR > EAC > FLAC FRONTEND > FLAC

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Tim Daisy: percussion

Dave Rempis: saxophones

Kent Kessler: bass

Fred Lonberg-Holm: cello

Ken Vandermark: reeds

Athens [GA] Creative Media Festival April 1-5, 2004 - BROTZAMANN TENTET (WITH 9 MUSICIANS...!!!)

Peter Brotzmann Tentet

Athens Creative Music Encounter,

40 Watt Club,

Athens, GA

April 4, 2004

lineage:  AUD > DAT > Tascam standalone > CDR > CDR > EAC > FLAC FRONTEND > FLAC

1.

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Peter Brotzmann - reeds

Ken Vandermark - reeds

Mats Gustafsson – reeds

Jeb Bishop - trombone

Joe McPhee - cornet/sax/valve trombone

Fred Lonberg - Holm-cello

Kent Kessler - bass

Paal Nilssen-Love - drums

Michael Zerang - drums

Athens [GA] Creative Media Festival April 1-5, 2004 - Joe McPhee solo!!!

Athens Creative Media Encounter,

40 Watt Club,

Athens, GA

April 3, 2004

linage: AUD > DAT > Tascam Standalone > CDR > CDR > EAC > FLAC FRONTEND > FLAC

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Athens [GA] Creative Media Festival April 1-5, 2004

DAVE REMPIS has emerged, over the past few years, as one of the most active young players on Chicago's improvised music scene. His work with the Vandermark Five has been noted in the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Reader, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and Down Beat, as well as the Boston Globe, in which noted jazz critic Bob Blumenthal referred to him as the band's "primary firebreather." It has also given him the opportunity to perform extensively in clubs, concert halls, and festivals throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe. His own work, most intensively with Triage (with Jason Ajemian and Tim Daisy) and The Rempis Percussion Quartet (with Anton Hatwich, Tim Daisy and Frank Rosaly), has been called "ever more impressive" by Lloyd Sachs of the Sun-Times, and pushes him in directions which his work as a sideman does not approach. In addition to these two groups, Rempis plays regularly with The Territory Band, The Crisis Ensemble, The Chicago Improvisers Group, and The Thread Quintet, and has worked with Paul Lytton, Axel Dörner, Hamid Drake, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Michael Zerang, Jim Baker, Kevin Drumm, Paal Nilsson-Love, Chris Jonas, Tony Buck, and Joe Morris.

Since April 2002, Rempis has curated a weekly concert series of improvised music at 3030, a performance space situated in a former church in the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago. With over 100 concerts and two annual festivals, the series has become an essential part of the city's improvised music scene.

Triage

Athens Creative Media Encounter,

40 Watt Club,

Athens, GA

April 3, 2004

linage: AUD > DAT > Tascam Standalone > CDR > CDR > EAC > FLAC FRONTEND > FLAC

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Dave Rempis-reeds

Jason Ajemian-bass

Tim Daisy-drums

Athens [GA] Creative Media Festival April 1-5, 2004

Day 3 First concert:

Peter Brötzmann has led a number of internationally renowned, large group improvising ensembles since the late 1960s. The latest, called the "Chicago Tentet," is one of his best. First organized in that city during January of 1997, the band has toured extensively throughout North America and Europe in the last decade, and has released nine albums containing a huge variety of music. In 2007, the ensemble celebrates its ten years of work together with a tour in Europe during June, a festival performance in Molde, Norway, in July and an engagement (their only North American appearance) in Chicago, at the Museum of Contemporary Art.

The Chicago Tentet is a veritable "Who's Who" of contemporary improvised music and includes many of the most significant members from that scene's cutting edge. Since its inception, the group has had a rotating line-up and past versions of the band have included William Parker (bass), Toshinori Kondo (trumpet/electronics), Roy Campbell (trumpet), and Mike Pearson (a renowned actor, who participated in a special project integrating Brötzmann's music and the texts of Kenneth Patchen for the Chicago Humanities Festival in 2004). All of the musicians connected to the ensemble, past and present, have contributed their distinctive voices to the group, making each concert appearance of the Tentet a truly exceptional experience. For the concert schedule in 2007, the group's size will be expanded to include both Johannes Bauer and Jeb Bishop on trombone.

Though the Tentet is clearly directed by Brötzmann and guided by his aesthetics, since the band's outset he has been committed to utilizing the ideas of everyone involved. Initially, this meant allowing the other musicians to contribute their compositions; since 2005, however, the ensemble has been a total improvisation unit, foregoing scores in order to explore their music with complete spontaneity. This shift in approach has allowed the group to explore an outstanding range of material, and the Tentet employs almost every organizational strategy available to an improvising ensemble while developing their music for each concert. The scope of conception, plus the diversity in each individual's approach to playing, has helped the band to cultivate an extremely multifaceted performance style. As the Tentet improvises from moment to moment, it can explore musical intensities that move from spare introspection to raging walls of sound, using open-ended rhythms or those of a hard-hitting groove.

Since the late 1990s, the main work of the band has been done in concerts on the road. Though the economics of sustaining a large ensemble are a struggle, the Chicago Tentet has continued to find innovative ways to keep performing their music for audiences around the world. Through this ongoing effort they've been able to advance a sound and depth of communication impossible to find in any other contemporary music group, no matter what size or style. 

http://tentet.umbrellamusic.org/about.html

Peter Brotzmann Tentet

Athens Creative Music Encounter,

40 Watt Club,

Athens, GA

April 3, 2004

lineage:  AUD > DAT > Tascam standalone > CDR > CDR > EAC > FLAC FRONTEND > FLAC

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Peter Brotzmann - reeds

Ken Vandermark - reeds

Mats Gustafsson – reeds

Jeb Bishop - trombone

Joe McPhee - cornet/sax/valve trombone

Fred Lonberg - Holm-cello

Kent Kessler - bass

Paal Nilssen-Love - drums

Michael Zerang - drums

Athens [GA] Creative Media Encounter Festival April 1-5, 2004

 Over the course of the past three years, several of the world's most renowned and influential improvisational jazz musicians have found in Athens a haven for their forays into uncharted sonic territory.

Appropriately enough, it all started on an open-minded whim. In 2000, local musicians Julie Powell and Erik Hinds attended a concert performance in Atlanta of the Vandermark 5 featuring preeminent saxophonist and clarinettist Ken Vandermark, a new-school free jazz luminary and the 1999 recipient of the prestigious MacArthur ''Genius'' grant. 

  

''I had no idea who the Vandermark 5 were, but Erik suggested we go see the show in Atlanta,'' says Powell, a correspondent for Marquee and the Athens Banner-Herald. ''I think I had some sort of awakening that night, and the one thing I was sure of was that what Ken and his ensemble were doing was the answer I had been looking for - not so much the style of music, but the passion with which they were innovators.''    After seeing that performance in Atlanta, Powell invited Vandermark to do a residency at the University of Georgia School of Music in Athens. He brought his DKV Trio for three days of workshops and concerts which were a great success, Powell says. 

''Although Athens had not been a stop on the avant-garde circuit up to that point, the enthusiastic reception of the attendees led to a veritable who's who of free jazz players coming to Athens over the next two years,'' Powell says.  In fact, Vandermark himself returned to play the 40 Watt a year later. At that point, Powell says she met with Vandermark and the idea of a doing a larger scale festival in Athens was born. ''The discussion started with the Black Mountain residencies in which Merce Cunnigham, John Cage, Martha Graham and a ton of other artists from all disciplines gathered to create new art. The whole idea was that Americans were just copying the Europeans as far as 'high' art went,'' she explains. ''When you look at how American art changed after Black Mountain, you can really see the value of bringing all these artists together for synergy. Basically, we just thought it was time to try to do something like that again. Athens is such a creative place with so much support for new art, it really seemed like a logical place to do it.''

And so the Athens Creative Media Encounter Festival was born.

For the first time in the U.S., ACME, under the guidance of Vandermark, brings together 22 international musicians and two journalists for a week of collaboration and dialogue. Starting today, the inaugural ACME Festival will include concerts, lectures, workshops and seminars and bring its lineup of world class performers to the 40 Watt Club and ATHICA: Athens Institute for Contemporary Art.

Although the festival this year features only music and journalism, the goal in the future, Powell says, is for the festival to be multi-disciplinary with artists collaborating over a longer period of time, hence the name Athens Creative Media Encounter.   Meanwhile, through ACME, Hinds, Powell and Vandermark hope to attract not just free jazz die-hards, but anyone interested in exploring a form and approach to music that challenges preconceptions and never promises to be mainstream-palatable, but also holds infinite rewards for those willing to make the leap.

  

Sure, the obstacles to overcome might seem intimidating at first.

Josh Love.

[Athens [GA] Creative Media Encounter Festival April 1-5, 2004]

Concert Program Day 2:

Friday, April 2

  

   8 p.m. - Joe Morris solo

   9:30 p.m. - The Thing & Joe McPhee

   11 p.m. Atomic/School Days

  

Ray Russell - Rites and Rituals 1971 LP rip

When I bought this LP, thirty odd years ago, I'd never heard of Ray Russell. I bought it primarily because it featured Harry Beckett, who was, and still is, a big favourite of mine. Funnily enough, all these years later, I've still heard little of him, though apparently he is a cult figure in some quarters, and has made numerous recordings. His style on this recording is akin to that of John McLaughlin at the time, and is accompanied my some stalwarts of the British 70s jazz scene. Runswick is also a bit of an enigma to me. This is the only example of his work I've heard, but he really is excellent on both accoustic and electric bass.

I've included quite a lengthy resume of Russell's career in the rip for those people who can be bothered to read such stuff. Somewhat surprisingly, he's composed and recorded a number of TV theme tunes, including one which will be familiar to Brits - "Bergerac", the 80s detective series set in Jersey, that hotbed of crime, starring John (Barnaby) Nettles.

Details:

Ray Russell - gt
Tony Roberts - reeds
Harry Beckett - flg
Nick Evans - tb
Daryl Runswick - bass
Alan Rushton - dr

Tracks
Sarana
Rites and Rituals
Abyss
Cradle Hill

Recorded De Lane Lea Studios August 1970
Relased on CBS 64271

MP3 and Flac links in comments. Sorry no covers, no scanner at the moment.

Brotherhood of Breath in Altena Castle, Germany, 1972

There's been an encouraging spate of Chris McGregor and Brotherhood rereleases lately, some of which has been featured on this blog before. Just around the corner is a Blue Notes box set containing all of their four releases on the Ogun label. One of them has also been posted here previously.

But what's on offer here and now has not been officially released yet at any rate. It's an excerpt from a concert inside Balver Höhle in Germany in 1972.

The info given is as follows:

Call 8:44
Andromeda 9:13
Think Of Something 14:19
Track 4 4:14

Lineup:

Harry Beckett
Marc Charig
Malcolm Griffith
Nick Evans
Dudu Pukwana
Mike Osborne
Gary Windo

The first three pieces are announced as such by the radio presenter, but "Call" sounds uncannily like "Ismite is Might" off the Willisau album and features most likely Nick Evans on the trombone. The second piece is "Mra" leading into "Andromeda". The third piece is "Do It" leading into "Think of Something", the latter featuring Mike Osborne on alto, Gary Windo on tenor and either Mark Charig or Harry Beckett on trumpet. The last piece is quite clearly "The Serpent's Kindly Eye", also on the Willisau album (which was the first ever release on the Ogun label).

The sound's fair on the first three, but a bit grimy on the last, though. The band is at its ramshackle best as ever. Some may find the BoB cacophonous at times, but to these ears it's beautiful cacophony.

Mp3 and flac versions in the comments section. Another golden dime.

Stockhausen - Licht-Collage

 The German radio station SWR2 had a long association with Stockhausen, and broadcast over several years extracts from his enormous opera cycle - Licht - which has an opera for each day of the week. On 22nd August, it would have been the 80th birthday of Karlheinz Stockhausen, who died last year, and SWR2 broadcast a sequence of extracts from each opera, interspersed with commentary from Stockhausen himself in interviews with Reinhard Ermen. So, in the space of about 3 1/2 hours, a condensed version of this enormous cycle could be heard, including some of the more well-known episodes, such as Welt-Parlament and Helikopter-Quartett.

The commentary is in German, but is conversational and easy to follow, starting with an explanation of how the idea for the cycle came to Stockhausen in a temple in Kyoto after he had completed Sirius. Many of the ideas and themes which make up the mythology of Licht receive extended commentary. Moreover, I think you can get a sense of how Stockhausen began this with an idea rooted in a compositional framework he controlled, how a surrounding mythology emerged and entered his dreams and very being, his struggle with and acceptance of that and a final sense of weariness, relief and transcendence.

The picture above is Max Ernst's Birth of a Galaxy, which seems appropriate for something on this scale.

Brötzmann/Portal/Bennink in Paris 1977

Continuing with the bass clarinet theme (after the previous posting of Michel Pilz), here are two in one go.

In particular, Michel Portal has made the bass clarinet his primary instrument, but here he picks up the sax and a bandoneon as well. Peter Brötzmann is mostly known for his tenor work, but here he switches to bass clarinet and a bunch of other instruments. And even Han Bennink dabbles on the clarinet in between hammering the kit and the bass drum.

So, all in all, about 40 minutes of anarchical merriment, recorded in a Paris studio in 1977, and broadcast on radio, though details are scanty. The announcer butts in at about the thirty minute mark to tell what's going on, but no titles to the piece.

Brötzmann and Bennink are mates of 40 years standing, but the presence of Portal adds another dimension to this set. I leave it to the listener to figure out who is who, but I find Portal adds a melodic touch to the fierceness of Brötzmann, but Portal can be as screechy as the other guys when the fancy takes him.

Basic info:

BRÖTZMANN / PORTAL / BENNINK
16-Jun 1977
unknown, Paris, France
source/lineage: FM


Peter Brötzmann: bassclarinet, clarinet, tenorsax, altosax, mouthpiece

Michel Portal: bassclarinet, clarinet, altosax, "double clarinet", contrabassclarinet, bandoneon, voice

Han Bennink: small drum set, "soft trumpet", clarinet, viola, xylophone, whistle, piano, various percussion, etc.

1. untitled improvisation 30:09
2. untitled improvisation 10:16 (at start with voice over by radio host)

Another Dime download ...

There'll be more bass clarinetists coming up shortly ...

John Zorn, "Big" John Patton - Live Austria 1988

Looking back through the blog, I see that no Zorn recordings have been posted, which is surprising considering all the Masada and Bladerunner stuff that was upped at Church #9. I can't say that I like his more esoteric stuff, but this concert really swings.

Details:-

Special OlympiansSaalfelden Jazz Festival
Saalfelden, Austria
August 28, 1988
01 Unknown
02 Unknown
03 Unknown
04 Unknown

John Zorn - alto
John Patton - organ
James 'Blood' Ulmer - guitar
Bobby Previte - drums

Patton seems an unlikely partner for Zorn, being a veteran of numerous 60s and 70s Blue Note albums in the company of people like Grant Green. Ulmer was a member of Patton's trio in the 60s so maybe that's where the introduction to Zorn came about. However it happened it certainly was a worthwhile combination. Nothing too wild or adventurous about this, but it sure hits the right spot

Links in comments. Many thanks to moretoonz for seeding. Lineage uncertain, but excellent sound quality.

Maarten Altena octet with Dagmar Krause (new movements in jazz, netherlands radio transcription lp BOX 87.073/076) disc 4

hey ,having some problems with volume 3 of this set so heres the final volume..possibly the most adventurous grouping in the set.
though Dagmar's vocals wont thrill everyone , ( me im an old Henry Cow/ art bears fan).

enjoy!!!

info- personnel

new movements in jazz
radio netherlands transcription service lp87.073/076
disc 4

Program 4
Maarten Altena Octet
Special guest Dagmar Krause (vocals)

George Lewis trombone
Wolter Wierbos trombone
Paul Termos altosaxophone
Peter van Bergen tenorsaxophone
Maartje ten Hoom violin
Guus Janssen piano
Maarten Altena double-bass/leader/composer
Michael Vatcher drums

Side A 23’02”
Schor (Husky) 8’22
Improvisation 7’45
Goody two-shoes 6’03

Side B 26’51
Improvisation and
Points Congealing 8’22
Haai (shark) 4’05
The Feathers and
Klaroen (Clarion) 9’13
Uncle Jimmy’s 4’05

All compositions by Maarten Altena
Recorded on September 27th 1985 at the Meervaart
In Amsterdam

Circle - Gathering

Recorded in the studio in NYC 17th March 1971. 

Chick Corea, piano, flute, percussion

Anthony Braxton, alto, flute, sopranino, clarinet, contrabass-clarinet, percussion

Dave Holland, bass, cello, guitar, percussion

Barry Altschul, drums, kalimba, percussion.  

The second of two Circle releases which were inexplicably issued only in Japan, initially on vinyl and later on CD.  As before, if anyone can throw some light on why this music was never issued in Europe or the US, the information would be very welcome.  This rip is taken from the original Japanese vinyl, CBS Sony SOPL 20-XJ.  

The performance is a single two-sided composition credited to Corea alone, and if any listener can sense a line drawn between one man's composition and four men's improvisation, he's a better man than I.    The piece opens with much of the heat and intensity associated with the free jazz of 1971, with Altschul especially taking few prisoners, before the quartet veers off into extended flute and percussion workouts, a certain amount of navel-gazing and a question-mark of an ending.   Perhaps Corea's own words, from the liner notes, best sum the piece up:  "Our music is a focal point, constantly created anew, with each playing. … It is our opinion that creativity will play an important role (maybe the important role) in lifting our consciousness about ourselves and others. …  When we are alive in the fullest sense of the word, we are creating".  

Enjoy.  
 

glmlr 

Circle - Live in German Concert

Recorded in Germany, 28^th November 1970, location not specified.

(The record is indeed grammatically mis-titled, as above).  

Chick Corea, piano

Anthony Braxton, alto, flute, sopranino, percussion

Dave Holland, bass, cello

Barry Altschul, drums, percussion.  

The first of two Circle releases which were inexplicably issued only in Japan, initially on vinyl and much later on CD.   Why this music was never issued in Europe or the US is a mystery to me.  Can anyone throw some light on this?   This rip is taken from the original Japanese vinyl, CBS Sony SOPL 19-XJ.  

By early September 1970, Corea and Holland had both left Miles' adventurously electric band, and quickly settled into acoustic free jazz territory.   After a brief studio fling which  month which produced "The Sun" LP (with Liebman, Grossman, DeJohnette and others),  they cemented themselves with Braxton and Altschul, and Circle became the focus of their joint activities over the following 9 months.  This concert features two side-long Circle staples:  Dave Holland's "Toy Room - Q&A" and the standard "There is No Greater Love".  Both pieces will be familiar to Circle fans but, as ever, these interpretations are intriguingly different. Classic Circle trademarks are all here in good form:  Corea's propulsive piano, Braxton's Chicago-inflected blues, Holland's melodic hold on the roots and Altschul's meticulously tuned percussion.   And there's a little "fly in the ointment" - on side B behind Braxton's alto solo, either Corea or Holland double up with him on …  flute?  oboe?  musette?    A teaser for your ears.  

Enjoy. 
 
 

glmlr 

TTT featuring A.R. Penck "Aspects of the NY.NY.NY. Situation" (no info) FLAC & MP3-320

After a little interruption, here's the follow up to the Penck series. Double album this time. As usual, info via Rick Lopez's discography :

TTT featuring A.R. Penck: Aspects of the NY.NY.NY. Situation

A 0032 (2LP)

Date ? / Venue ?

Aspects of the NY.NY.NY. Situation
1. 1 [:]
2. 2 [:]
3. 3 [:]
4. 4 [:]
5. 5 [:]

Frank Wright (sax)
Butch Morris (cornet)
Frank Wollny (guitar-1,2,3; bass-4)
Heinz Wollny (bass-1,2,3; guitar-4,5)
A.R. Penck (piano-1,2,3,4; flute-4; drums-5)
Dennis (sic) "King" Charles (drums-1,3; percussion-2,3,5)
Coen Aalberts (drums-2,3; percussion-1,4,5)


P.

Kahil El' Zabar Ritual Trio: Another Kind Of Groove

Kahil El' Zabar Ritual Trio: Another Kind Of Groove
Sound Aspects CD016

Recorded May 26th 1986 in Germany.

Billy Bang (violin, bells)
Malachi Favors (bass, percussion)
Kahil El'Zabar (drums, earth drum, bass bamboo flute, berimbau, sanza, ankle bells)

Here's a share from drhotte that he (?) posted in the comments of my last El' Zabar posting. I wouldn't want you to miss this one. No essay this time; but enjoy the music.

Kahil El'Zabar with David Murray Golden Sea

Kahil El'Zabar with David Murray Golden Sea

Sound Aspects Records 027
Recorded January 28,1989 in Chicago

Kahil El'Zabar (traps, earth d, ashiko d, mbira, sanza, ankle bells, vc)
David Murray (ts, bcl)

1. Golden Sea (Kahil El'Zabar) 10:50
2. Dreams (Kahil El'Zabar) 5:55
3. Sunrise Serenade (Kahil El'Zabar) 7:55
4. Sweet Meat (Kahil El'Zabar) 7:40
5. All Blues (Miles Davis) 10:10
6. Song For A New South Africa (David Murray) 4:45

Kahil El'Zabar and David Murray seem to bring out something special in each other. They've been consistent collaborators: El'zabar has been in a couple of Murray's quartets (including the excellent, but hard to find, People's Choice) and a couple of Octets; while Murray's been on four duo albums under El'zabar's name. All the duo recordings are worth owning, but this (for me) is the strongest. It's also sadly the hardest to get hold of; and I'm not sure it even got a CD release.

El'Zabar and Murray share an interest in Afro-centric music and pan-African culture, and this is apparent in much of the music here. The very title of Murray's 'Song For A New South Africa' is an index of this. However, the orientation is surprisingly best achieved on their interpretation of Miles Davis' 'All Blues'. Murray is at his plaintive best on Bass Clarinet, while El'Zabar plays the Mbira or Sanza (which the LP lists as separate instruments, but which I've always understood them to be two names for the same Shona 'thumb piano' instrument). The track reaches its peak with Murray playing and El'Zabar singing. This is, perhaps, my favorite piece of Murray Bass Clarinet 'ballad' playing. He seems to take a perverse pleasure in playing a bass instrument beyond its usual highest frequencies, and draws upon the textures of gospel playing to create a sound I find deeply affecting. A haunting and beautifully realised cultural and musical fusion. 'Sunrise Serenade' features El'Zabar alone on Mbira/Sanza with ankle bells and a wordless vocal and rhythmic chants. It's one of the best tracks on the LP for me, though regular visitors to this blog may find it a step too far beyond jazz sensibilities.

Each track has a distinctive texture, achieved most often by El'Zabar's use of different percussion instruments (Murray has never made major changes to playing style across his whole career, let alone an LP). 'Dreams' features a hand drum (I'm guessing it's the Ashiko drum) and a more meditative and gentler start for Murray on tenor before his characteristic gospel-rich style kicks in. I'm also speculating when I say this sounds like a total improvisation from Murray; a notion backed up by the fact that none of the pieces credited to El'Zabar have strong melodies (a Murray characteristic). I think the balance (on this track and the whole LP) works very well overall, though, giving a sax and percussion duo album a lot of variety. For Sweet Meat El'Zabar plays conventional jazz traps with lots of cymbal ride and rhythmic work on the tuned drums while Murray's ecstatic tenor runs build in intensity. This is possibly the most conventional duo piece, but executed with panache. 'Song For A New South Africa' features a poly-rhythmic hand drum and ankle bells textual bed, and a fairly straight-forward rendering of the strong melody riff by Murray. They clearly liked this number because the duo repeated the piece on record three years later on A Sanctuary Within, and thirteen years later on Love Outside Of Dreams with very similar, if slightly more complex renderings.

1989 was a classic year for Murray, and his work made available in that twelve moths is remarkably wide. Albums released in that year included a James Brown-tribute funk project (Cold Sweat), a challenging piano-sax duo with Dave Burrell (Daybreak), an attempt at the jazz mainstream through the Columbia-released Ming's Samba, four other jazz quartet albums under different group names and for different labels (I Want To Talk About You, Last Of The Hipmen, Lucky Four, The Fo'tet), and a WSQ collection of soul covers (Rhythm & Blues). This one fits in the eclectic moment comfortably. I hope you enjoy it.

Baikida Carroll The Spoken Word

Baikida Carroll The Spoken Word

Hat Hut M/N 1979
Hat Hut Records, Switzerland

Baikida Carroll Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Prepared Trumpet

Recorded Live at Mapenzi in Berkeley, CA
April 22,1977 & April 1, 1978.

Recorded by Cynthia Kanstein and Daryl Suzukawa

The Spoken Word I (Carroll) 17:05
The Spoken Word II (Carroll) 14:30
Third Image (Carroll) 15:15
Rites And Rituals (Carroll) 11:50
Double Rainbow Forest (Carroll) 10:25

Baikida Carroll’s made important contributions to some truly great recordings, and yet his own material seems to get far less a profile than it should. He was part of the Dogon A.D. band under Julius Hemphill’s leadership, part of David Murray’s big band Live on At Sweet Basil, and part of the Black Artists Group on In Paris, Aries, he’s on John Carter's Castles of Ghana, Oliver Lake's NTU, Muhal Richard Abrams' Blues Forever.

Given how readily he seems to work with others it’s quite a surprise to find how inventive he is out on his own. Here’s a double LP’s worth of some interesting and stimulating music, where he uses volume (and lack of it), messed-up instruments and even some strong playing to truly talk through his horn. Thanks again to Dale for passing this on to me.

Charles Tyler at WKCR

This is a fairly brief set of Charles Tyler tunes recorded at the WKCR Studios, NY, NY, arguably the best jazz radio station anywhere.

Four tracks in all - total time 39:23

Track 1 recorded 12-8-74
Charles Tyler Alto Sax
Earl Cross Trumpet
Ken Hudson Bass
Steve Reid Drums

Tracks 2,3 recorded 3-14-77
Charles Tyler Baritone Sax, Alto Sax,Voice
Phillip Wilson Drums Voice

Track 4 interview at time of rebroadcast in 1983

The first track features the key players of Earl Cross and Steve Reid which in July of the same year recorded the wonderful "Voyage from Jericho" with Ronnie Boykins stepping in on bass and with Arthur Blythe making a guest appearance on a couple of tracks. Reid was also on next year's "Live in Europe", both rereleased on the Bleu Regard label out of France, but becoming very scarce these days, I believe. Both are very good, but the Jericho is essential. Also look out for the extensive "Saga of the Outlaws" on the Nessa label.

The second and third tracks are playful, improvisational duos (theatrics and dramatics) with Philip Wilson (who also made a very fine duo record with Lester Bowie at about this time, briefly mentioned in the interview snippet at the end of this collection).

Tyler would often alternate between alto and baritone. Personally I prefer his alto sax, which better brings out the sweet melancholy of his tone, but the gruffness of the baritone does not hide it completely.

This is another Dime download/seed, but, oddly enough, no takers, so I'm hoping for a little more responsiveness here. Tyler deserves it.

Miroslav Vitous Quartet - Live Hamburg 1980

Details:

MIROSLAV VITOUS QUARTET
Live at 'Onkel Pö' in Hamburg, Germany, 1980-01-31

LINEUP

Miroslav Vitous -b

John Surman -sax,bcl

Kenny Kirkland -p

Jon Christensen -d

TRACKS

01. SILVER LAKE 12.24

02. WHEN FACE GETS PALE 9.34

03. REVISED EDITION 15.48

04. MOUNTAIN IN THE CLOUDS 14.10
Total Time: 51.57 min

Vitous of course is perhaps most noted as being a founder member of Weather Report, so was in the vanguard of early fusion. He also played in the excellent trio with Chick Corea and Roy Haynes, and more lately with Jan Garbarek.

I don't know whether this quartet played together often, but on this recording they really get it together. The first track is reminiscent of WR, Surman even sounding remarkably like Wayne Shorter. The third track starts off with a ferocious soprano solo from Surman, and turns into one of the numbers from an early album of his, I don't recall which one.

I'd never heard of Kenny Kirkland, but apparently he played with Wynton and Branford Marsalis among others and featured on Vitous's ECM recordings. He had a drugs problem and died at an early age in 1998.

This is a very good quality FM broadcast. Thanks to ricola for seeding. Links in comments.

BUSCHI NIEBERGALL TRIO feat. MICHEL PILZ "MOERS 1978"

This one was somehow prompted by a discussion in the comment section of an earlier posting where one commentator professed his admiration for the work of Michel Pilz.

So when the opptunity came to download this concert from Dime, naturally I had to take it to find out. My inclination had been in the direction of people like Michel Portal and Rudi Mahall (and we shall have both in upcoming posts), but Pilz is certainly a worthwhile addition to the premier league. I find him distinctly different - more linear, flowing if these words make any sense - not unlike Brötzmann.

Listening to this 30-minute piece, I find Mr. Pilz overshadowed by Mr. Niebergall who has a physical attack which reminds me of the great South Africans Harry Miller and Johnny Mbizo Dyani. You get the feeling that once he's through, the whole damn thing can be sold off as scrapwood.

Niebergall was in the forefront of the first generation of German free jazzers, having played with virtually anybody on the scene, including Brötzmann himself.

This particular line-up with Pilz and Uwe Schmitt on drums appears only to be documented on a 1978 release "Celeste" on the Trion label. There's one to hunt for!

Niebergall ceased making records round about 1980 and reportedly lived in recluse in Frankfurt a.M. until his death in 1990.

A short radio intro and then "Tilip", recorded at the Moers New Jazz Festival on 15 may 1978.

What's on offer here is 30 minutes plus of dynamite. Dig in!


Michel Pilz, bass clarinet
Buschi Niebergall, bass
Uwe Schmitt, drums

1. speaker/broadcast 0:25
2. Tilip (Michel Pilz) 33:30

Recorded at New Jazz Festival, Moers on May 15, 1978.

Athens Creative Media Encounter Festival brings jazz greats to Athens – First Day Third Concert

11 p.m. - Ad hoc group organized by Joe Morris

Joe Morris Ad Hoc Group

Athens Creative Media Encounter,

40 Watt Club,

Athens, GA

April 1, 2004

source: AUD > DAT > Tascam Stand Alone > CDR > EAC > FLAC

1.

2.

3.

Joe Morris-g

Fredrik Ljungkvist-cl

Ken Vandermark-cl

Joe McPhee-pkt tp/ss

Jeb Bishop-tb

Fred Lonberg-Holm-cello

Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten-b

Michael Zerang-perc

Athens Creative Media Encounter Festival brings jazz greats to Athens - First Day Second Concert

Peter Brotzmann & Nasheet Waits

Athens Creative Media Encounter,

40 Watt Club,

Athens, GA

April 1, 2004

source: AUD > DAT > Tascam Stand Alone > CDR > EAC > FLAC

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Peter Brotzmann-reeds

Nasheet Waits-drums

I will post Flac and MP3   shortly.

Circle - Quartet Pieces Nos. 1, 2 & 3

Following on from the recent Hamburg Concert, and with special thanks to Boromir for posting the interim Bergamo piece, we continue with Circle.

"Quartet Pieces Nos. 1, 2 & 3".
Recorded in the studio - New York - 21st August 1970.

Chick Corea, piano, prepared piano, vibes, percussion, bass-marimba
Anthony Braxton, alto, sopranino, clarinet, contrabass-clarinet, percussion, voice
Dave Holland, bass, cello, acoustic guitar, percussion
Barry Altschul, drums, percussion, bass-marimba, vibes.

These three fascinating pieces are the earliest example of Circle's other side, their work in a lifeless studio, with no engrossed audience to offer inspiration, challenge or acceptance. All three pieces were issued only on a Blue Note 2LP set called "Circulus", under Corea's name, and have never appeared on CD, to my knowledge. This rip is taken from the original vinyl, with apologies for the occasional surface noise. The music is also the first recorded evidence of Braxton playing with what was until then Corea's trio.

In the opening minute or so, the musical aesthetic promptly reveals itself to be far closer to developments (in 1970) in European-style free improvisation and contemporary classical music, rather than the conventional notions of jazz. All three pieces are open improvisations, stark, spiky, a tad austere, with a disorienting use of space, unnerving deviations, terse twists and turns. A volcanic highlight appears on Piece No. 2 at the 5 minute mark, where Corea suddenly hits upon a single note, wrings the life out of it in seconds and sends the entire band careering off in a wholly unexpected (by them) direction. All the musicians use a wider-than-usual range of instruments, e.g. Holland on acoustic guitar, Corea on vibes and Braxton's vocal contribution at end of Piece No. 2 will surely raise an eyebrow or two.

The musical results show thrilling interplay, rich in detail, and no lack of careful listening among the players. What is more extraordinary is that just three days before these recordings were made, Corea and Holland, both on electric instruments, played an explosive set with Miles at Tanglewood on 18th August and followed it up a few days later with Miles' Isle of Wight Festival appearance on 29th August in front of a mere half-million people. In between the two, they tossed us these three acoustic gems.

glmlr

Athens [GA] Creative Media Encounter Festival April 1-5, 2004

During the next few weeks I will be posting this entire festival in chronological order.

Josh Love wrote:

 Over the course of the past three years, several of the world's most renowned and influential improvisational jazz musicians have found in Athens a haven for their forays into uncharted sonic territory.

Appropriately enough, it all started on an open-minded whim. In 2000, local musicians Julie Powell and Erik Hinds attended a concert performance in Atlanta of the Vandermark 5 featuring preeminent saxophonist and clarinettist Ken Vandermark, a new-school free jazz luminary and the 1999 recipient of the prestigious MacArthur ''Genius'' grant. 

  

''I had no idea who the Vandermark 5 were, but Erik suggested we go see the show in Atlanta,'' says Powell, a correspondent for Marquee and the Athens Banner-Herald. ''I think I had some sort of awakening that night, and the one thing I was sure of was that what Ken and his ensemble were doing was the answer I had been looking for - not so much the style of music, but the passion with which they were innovators.''    After seeing that performance in Atlanta, Powell invited Vandermark to do a residency at the University of Georgia School of Music in Athens. He brought his DKV Trio for three days of workshops and concerts which were a great success, Powell says. 

''Although Athens had not been a stop on the avant-garde circuit up to that point, the enthusiastic reception of the attendees led to a veritable who's who of free jazz players coming to Athens over the next two years,'' Powell says.  In fact, Vandermark himself returned to play the 40 Watt a year later. At that point, Powell says she met with Vandermark and the idea of a doing a larger scale festival in Athens was born. ''The discussion started with the Black Mountain residencies in which Merce Cunnigham, John Cage, Martha Graham and a ton of other artists from all disciplines gathered to create new art. The whole idea was that Americans were just copying the Europeans as far as 'high' art went,'' she explains. ''When you look at how American art changed after Black Mountain, you can really see the value of bringing all these artists together for synergy. Basically, we just thought it was time to try to do something like that again. Athens is such a creative place with so much support for new art, it really seemed like a logical place to do it.''

And so the Athens Creative Media Encounter Festival was born.

For the first time in the U.S., ACME, under the guidance of Vandermark, brings together 22 international musicians and two journalists for a week of collaboration and dialogue. Starting today, the inaugural ACME Festival will include concerts, lectures, workshops and seminars and bring its lineup of world class performers to the 40 Watt Club and ATHICA: Athens Institute for Contemporary Art.

Although the festival this year features only music and journalism, the goal in the future, Powell says, is for the festival to be multi-disciplinary with artists collaborating over a longer period of time, hence the name Athens Creative Media Encounter.   Meanwhile, through ACME, Hinds, Powell and Vandermark hope to attract not just free jazz die-hards, but anyone interested in exploring a form and approach to music that challenges preconceptions and never promises to be mainstream-palatable, but also holds infinite rewards for those willing to make the leap.

  

Sure, the obstacles to overcome might seem intimidating at first.

Concert Program 2004

Thursday, April 1

   

   8 p.m. - Atomic

   9:30 p.m. - Peter Brötzmann/Nasheet Waits duo

   11 p.m. - Ad hoc group organized by Joe Morris

   

Friday, April 2

  

   8 p.m. - Joe Morris solo

   9:30 p.m. - The Thing & Joe McPhee

   11 p.m. Atomic/School Days

  

Saturday, April 3

  

   3 p.m. - Free Fall

   4:30 p.m. - Triage

   6 p.m. - Joe McPhee solo

   9 p.m. - Vandermark 5

   10:30 p.m. - Joe Maneri trio

  

  

Sunday, April 4

  

   3 p.m. - School Days

   4:30 p.m. - Joe Maneri/Mat Maneri duo

   6 p.m. - Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet

  

    

Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Thursday, April 1, 2004. 

More pictures and some news (please read !)

As the last pictures post seemed to please a lot of you, here are a few 1970's covers from the French magazine Jazz Hot. Particularly nice pic of Braxton playing chess !
Credit is as follow : Lacy : Gérard Noël /Coleman & Braxton : Latapie-Trombert / Dixon : Latapie / Rivers & Holland : Alex Dutilh.

The news :
I've been working on an online database to store scanned material related to the kind of music we share here, and it is nearly operational (should be working in a few days). For the moment there is something like 70-80 articles - mostly interviews, not available elsewhere on the net - stored in it but that number could grow quickly if things go well, that is to say if people want to participate and upload their own material. In order to avoid legal problems linked to copyright issues the database will be private but anyone interested is welcome, whether you have things to share or not. To stay informed, please send an email to the address in the comments and I will answer with a detailed text on how to make things work and a password.

If things go well, this database could become a great tool for all of us making researches on free music so let's hope it will !

Pierre


PS : if one of our dear readers is a drummer and has 30 minutes to lose, I need your help so please get in touch :).

Sun Ra - Manchester 1982

SUN RA ARKESTRA

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC, MANCHESTER, ENGLAND

29-7-82

DISC ONE:         (65.19)

1st set

1.   UNTITLED IMPROV >  (kora,perc)

2.   UNTITLED IMPROV >  (perc)

3.   PLEIADES >

4.   UNTITLED IMPROV  (eb,EVI,perc)

5.   ALONG CAME RA >

6.   THE LIVING MYTH

7.   DISCIPLINE 27 >

      UNTITLED IMPROV

8.   RA TO THE RESCUE #1 >

9.   RA TO THE RESCUE #2 >

10. UNTITLED IMPROV    (perc, ens)

11. 1984

12. UNIDENTIFIED TITLE   (p)

13. FATE IN APLEASANT MOOD

14. UNIDENTIFIEDE TITLE

DISC TWO:         (69.19)

1.   THEY PLAN TO LEAVE  (JG, SR voc)

2.   I COULD HAVE ENJOYED MYSELF ON THIS PLANET

3.   HAPPY AS THE DAY IS LONG

4.   SPACE IS THE PLACE >

      WE TRAVEL THE SPACEWAYS

2nd set

5.   UNTITLED IMPROV

6.   STRANGE WORLD / BLACK MYTH

7.   DISCIPLINE 27-11 >

      SEA OF IMMORTALITY >

      RIGHT ROAD, WRONG DIRECTION >

8.   THE LAST DAYS >

9.   CRAZY AS A DAISY

10. PRELUDE TO KISS

11. LIGHTS ON A SATELLITE

12. BIG JOHN'S SPECIAL

DISC THREE:        (46.34)

1.   WATUSI

2.   UNIDENTIFIED TITLE  (p)

3.   YEAH MAN !

4.   SLEEPING BEAUTY

5.   MOONSHIP JOURNEY

      (inc.  FIRST STOP MARS / SECOND STOP JUPITER /ON JUPITER

               JOURNEY TO SATURN / PLUTO TOO )

encore.....

6.   THEY'LL COME BACK >

      I HAVE MANY NAMES

CASS > DAT > CDR

AUD MASTER SONY TCS 330 > DAT > CDR > EAC > CDwave > CDR

( recorded and transfered  Simon Shepherd / retracked and titled Chris Hilling )

cover art - Christopher Eddy

SUN RA -  p, syn, voc / RONNIE BROWN -  tp / LONGINEU PARSONS -  tp

TYRONE HILL -  tb / MARSHALL ALLEN -  as, fl, ob, EVI / JOHN GILMORE -  ts, cl, timb, EVI

ELOE OMOE -  as, bcl, fl, EVI / JAMES JACSON - bsn, ob, Inf-d 

DANNY RAY THOMPSON - bars, as, fl, EVI /  ROLLO RADFORD - stand up eb 

CLIFFORD JARVIS - d / TOMMY 'BUGS' HUNTER - d / SAMARAI CELESTIAL - d

JUNE TYSON - voc / GREG PRATT - dance / CARLA WASHINGTON - dance

==========================

3 CDs, the links to the first includes scans and text.

Flac an MP3s to follow. Please no comments until I've posted the RS links.  I'm off to Europe, will post more SunRa in  September.

Thanks and enjoy. 

Gus

Sun Ra and his Intergalactic Arkestra - Binghamton, NY

Sun Ra and his Intergalactic Arkestra

April 26, 1991

Binghamton, NY 

Source: Soundboard 

Disc 1: 

01. introduction 0:17

02. untitled improvisation 3:53 >

03. Somebody Else's Idea 6:38

04. East Of The Sun [1 sec. distortion] 3:50

05. Prelude To A Kiss 4:56

06. Blue Lou 6:18

07. Retrospect 9:35

08. Early Autumn 7:40

[tape flip]

09. Friendly Galaxy [9 sec. dropout] 8:52

10. Love In Outer Space 7:40

11. Nameless One #2 11:39

Total time: 71:16

Disc 2:

01. Sunset On The Nile [some mic shorting in & out] 9:49

02. "Thank You" 1:11

Encore:

[abrupt start]

03. They'll Come Back [5 sec. dropout] 6:60

04. "Thank You Thank You" 1:51

Total time: 19:50

[some mic/amp "buzzing" in several spots throughout the recording]

Alternate tracking suggestion:

Put tracks 1-8 on disc 1 and the remaining tracks on disc 2.

Then the original tape side 1 would be on disc 1 and tape side 2 would be on disc 2.

MC - Mike Newmark (WHRW)

personnel:

Sun Ra - piano, synthesizer

Ahmed Abdullah - trumpet, vocals

Jothan Callins - trumpet, flugelhorn

Chris Capers - flugelhorn

Marshall Allen - alto sax, flute, piccolo

Noel Scott - alto sax, percussion

John Gilmore - tenor sax, clarinet, timbales, vocals

James Jacson - bassoon, percussion

John Ore - bass

Buster Smith - drums

poss. Clifford Barbaro - drums

Lorimil Machado - berimbau, percussion

Elson Nascimento - percussion

June Tyson - vocals [rlc, with help from Abdullah; note also personnel on Friendly Galaxy.] 

song notes: 

untitled improvisation (prob. Adams, tp; Ra, syn)

Somebody Else's Idea (Ra) (Tyson, voc; Allen, fl; Ra, p; Tyson and ensemble, voc; Ra, syn; Capers, flg)

East of the Sun (Bowman) (Ra, p; Gilmore, voc; prob. Adams, tp; Ra, p)

Prelude to a Kiss (Ellington-Mercer) (Ra, p; Allen, as; Ra, p)

Blue Lou (Sampson) (Scott, as; Abdullah, tp; Gilmore, ts)

Retrospect (Ra) (Ra, p, syn; Capers, flg; Ra, p; Ore, b)

Early Autumn (Herman-Mercer-Burns) (Ra, p; Callins, flg -- doing Hobart Dotson-like lead in a modification of the 1961 arrangement; Gilmore, ts; Ra, p)

Friendly Galaxy (Ra) (Abdullah, tp; Allen, fl; Gilmore, cl; Ra, p)

Love in Outer Space (Ra) (Ra, p; Gilmore, Tyson, and ensemble, voc; Allen, fl; Ra, p; Tyson and ens. voc.)

Nameless One #2 (Ra) (Abdullah, tp; Scott, as; Callins, tp; Ore, b)

Sunset on the Nile (Ra) (Allen, fl; Capers, flg; Tyson and ensemble, voc.; poss. Hill, voc; marching through the audience) 

They'll Come Back (Ra) (Tyson and ens. voc.) 

Sun Ra Santa Cruz 1987

Kuumbwa Jazz Center, Santa Cruz, California. 5/10/87. Broadcast over KUSP-FM. 93 min. Not the complete show. Excellent sound. (Rebroadcast on WKCR Sun Ra memorial show, 6/8/93)

1st set:
unidentified improvisation (incl. Patrick, as; Wilson, ts; Allen or Gilmore, EVI)
unidentified improvisation (Ra, p; Davis, as)
East of the Sun (Bowman) (Gilmore, voc; Ra, p and syn)
[It's Only a] Paper Moon (Rose-Harburg-Arlen) (Jenkins, voc; several verses added by Jenkins)
Frisco Fog (Carr-Roberts)
unidentified title (Jenkins, falsetto wordless voc)
Queer Notions (Hawkins) (Ra, p; Gilmore, ts)
Beautiful Love (Young-Coots-Gillespie-Van Alstyne) (Ra, voc; Gilmore, ts)
Inside the Blues (Ra) (Ra, p)
Slumming on Park Avenue (Berlin) (Jacson and ens voc; Raand ens, voc)
When You See Danger / Now's the Time (Parker) / Straight No Chaser (Monk) (Jenkins, scat voc; prob. Thompson, bs)
We Travel the Spaceways (Ra) (Ra and ens voc; the original tune; marching)
Outer Spaceways Incorporated / Space Is the Place (Ra) (Ra, declamation; more marching; not the original tunes)

The Arkestra: Ra-p, syn, voc; Eddie Gale-tp; Marshall Allen-as, ob, fl, EVI, perc; Pat Patrick-as; Danny Davis-as; John Gilmore-ts, EVI, perc, voc; Ronald Wilson-ts; Eloe Omoe-as, bcl, contra-alto cl; James Jacson-bsn, Ancient Egyptian Infinity Drum, voc; prob. Danny Thompson-bs; unidentified-b; Buster Smith-d; unidentified-cga, perc; Art Jenkins-voc. (rlc)

An exceptional concert -- one of the few times Art Jenkins' bebop scatting was captured on tape. Eddie Gale confirms his presence on this tape.

Flac and MP3 forthcoming. No scans.