Official Poster Picture for "Art & All That Jazz" 2005. "Jazz Sax Player" by Joe Holiday[http://www.stlucieartleague.com/artjazzshow2005.htm]
I am worried that sotisie's and Boromir's departure, and some of the comments on the blog which stray into areas outside the topic of the posts, will lead to its demise. It is marvelous that you have joined us Bill, and it worries me that you are wondering whether you should post some new music. Personally I'd like to see if we can keep it going through these difficult times, to carry on the work sotisie and Boromir started, and to show that an interest in exploring new musical sounds is the most important thing here.
May I propose a way ahead?
Let each of the contributors post something over the next few days to refocus attension. If we leave comments unmoderated, let each person who comments keep the discussion to the music that is being posted. If others have other things to say, we should let them stand, but we should not respond; keeping our contributions to the subject of great music. As any musician will tell you: an unresponsive audience is a pretty poor one. If we're talking about music, and others want to talk about other things, they will need to find a new venue.
Finally, if others would like to join the music posters, please do get in touch. This is a community for music lovers, everyone is welcome. I know that over the years the comments page has featured thanks to the people who made the effort to post music and explanations of why the music matters to them; but the vast amount of the comments go to praise the musicians who made it. Those who share music from their collection here attend these musican's concerts, buy their records, and promote their music to others. Most of the music that you can download through this blog is currently unavailable in commercial release. We share the music and all these experiences. We welcome your contributions to the community. When you make comments about the music, and respect others in the community, you make both stronger. Now that's worth working for, I think.
I'm writing up something on a David Murray concert of Duke Ellington music, which I'll try and get up this weekend.
I just got here, more or less and am shocked. At first I misunderstood that Sotise had died (glad to see I was wrong). I don't know you folks personally or even in the blogosphere really so I am a bit at a loss as to what to think of all this. I was getting my Maarten Altonen ready but now feel less inclined to go on with it as some key figures are leaving. I think part of the problem is certainly the anonymity of the net (sort of like being in a car, shielded from everyone you can feel untouchable hence act like an asshole). I would've hoped a common love and respect of the music had attracted a different caliber of person. Maybe I was naieve. I'm sorry to see you (two) go as I just started my own blog though I too will probably weary of it as well. I notice the same tendency- namely- hit and run. One, two comments, 80 downloads. Maybe there's just so much to download people are in a rush to grab the next free album.... makes me wonder how much they really LISTEN to the music. I am sorry to see such luminaries go. I am sorry to see such nastiness in evidence as well. As a paramedic of 20+ years I have seen the worst of people (and also the best from time to time) but I didn't expect it here. I wish all who are departing well. I hope to see your moniker in a comment section from time to time. Be well.
A special post from me this time. The most thrilling concert experience for me last year was 4 hours of John Zorn's ensembles, only broken up by short intermissions. He had brought over from New York the Dreamers, Essential Cinema and Electric Masada which as you may know are basically composed of the same people. The middle set was given to the showing of four short movies with the band providing the live soundtrack, playing in pitch darkness, only illuminated by the light from the screen.
This is a video clip, recorded by my son, using the video camera on the Nokia N958gb cell phone. Of course, the clip may not be up to professional standards, but it will give you a sense of having been there, even if it's only watched on a computer screen. It looks like I may have missed the beginning, but most of it is certainly there.
As for the movie "Rose Hobart": It was made by Joseph Cornell in 1936 and it's a montage from a longer Hollywood "exotica" movie called "East of Borneo" and consisting of scenes with the actress Rose Hobart (hence the title), largely freed of whatever context or plot there was, which gives it a somewhat strange, abtract, poetic quality.
More information here: http://archive.sensesofcinema.com/contents/cteq/01/17/hobart.html
This movie was the first of the four showed and was followed by Wallace Berman 'Aleph', Harry Smith 'Oz: the Tin Woodman's Dream' og Maya Deren 'Ritual in transfigured time'. The second, a flickery, hyper-rapid imagery set to a free jazz blow-out soundtrack by Zorn was followed by Smith and Deren, both returning to the dreamy floating visions of the first.
The band:
John Zorn - alto sax, conductor Marc Ribot - guitar Jamie Saft - keyboards Kenny Wollesen - vibraphone, drums Trevor Dunn - bass Joey Barron - drums Cyro Baptista - percussion Ikue Mori - electronics
The clip is in the mp4 format and best watched using Quick Time which can be downloaded for free from Apple.
Here’s a great concert from the Cecil Taylor Ensemble from the '93 Konfrontationen.
Cecil Taylor (piano, voice)
Charles Gayle (tenor sax)
Harri Sjöström (soprano sax)
Tristan Honsinger (cello)
Reginald Workman (bass)
Rashid Bakr (drums, percussion)
Improvisation - 1.09.43
Jazzgalerie, Festival Konfrontationen
Nickelsdorf
18th July, 1993
This is wonderful music, and seems to me to carry on the line from Sunny Murray and François Tusques that has already been covered on this blog so well by Pierre and sotise, and which has been inspirational for me. I hope you all enjoy this, and many thanks to Owombat who made the original recording.
In passing, I’d also like to say that this will be my last post on this blog. I’m very grateful to have had the opportunity to learn so much about music that I wasn’t aware of before, and I have felt a bond of sorts with sotise and the other posters and contributors, some of whom have become friends. There was no blog committee, and no rules, which was refreshing and enjoyable and I hope that my posts weren't too out of kilter with the general direction of this blog. It would have been good to have had a few more comments from those who download the music – it’s a bit odd to see downloads stretch towards the thousand mark, and to have only 8 or 9 comments – but not to worry. After all I’m also guilty of downloading with the intent of listening, only to build up a backlog that leaves me not knowing at times where to start. That’s one of my reasons for leaving – so that I can listen to less music more often and more carefully. A second reason is that I would like to spend more time on my photography.
Cheers – enjoy the music and perhaps we’ll meet again somewhere sometime.
Though soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy recorded many volumes of solo music, on only a handful did he use overdubbing and rarely to the extent of this obscure album recorded in Italy in 1986. Sponsored by the official Italian radio station, RAI, and apparently intended as the first of a series of radio broadcasts called Sounding Islands, Outings consists of two lengthy pieces very much in the inimitable Lacy style: clean, almost singsongy themes that gradually expand, fracture, and wend their way into unexpected and beautiful territory. The first piece, “Labyrinth,” dedicated to the painter Giorgio de Chirico, overdubs three saxophones at the beginning and end but is otherwise given over to a “standard” solo performance with Lacy keeping to the lower ranges of his instrument and eschewing any shrillness or abrasiveness. “Islands” opens with a sextet of overdubbed soprano saxes playing a repeating, minimalist theme in the foreground with plaintive moans in the rear (reminiscent of some work by the duo of Anthony Braxton and Richard Teitelbaum) before reverting to a duo format, here recorded with substantial room ambience. The reverberations of the soprano and the generally mournful tones provide a fine, melancholy aura. In fact, this selection features some of the calmest, almost pastoral playing that one is likely to hear from Lacy until some squeaks and multi-phonics set in during the final third of the piece. If lucky enough to find a copy, Outings is a worthwhile addition to the Lacy catalog and should be of substantial interest to the serious Lacy collector.
I must add that this recording was sponsored not only by the Italian radio station RadioUno but even, I say almost by the important ISMEZ (Institute For The Musical Development Of Southern Countries) which was, through the figure of musicologist Gianfranco Salvatore the producer of the record.
From the cover notes written by Gianfranco Salvatore he says:
“In preparing for ISMEZ, of a research project on the Mediterranean musical archetypes that also provided for the production of relevant original compositions by contemporary musicians, it was easy to think of Steve Lacy as the ideal musicians…a musician to whom one could entrust the ancient achetype of the Labyrinth. In all of Lacy’s work in fact, one can perceive something that looks like a geometry of the Arcanum: his soprano sax(“divine, perverse instrument, not yet quite determined”, as he once said to me in an interview) has always expressed a “reasoning spirituality”, a music that appears at the same time visionary like an oracle and convincing like a science”
Steve Lacy soprano sax overdubbed
Recorded in Rome 1986 april 12 and 13 and june 20.
01Labirinth 20.05
02Island 20.50
All compositions by Steve Lacy
NEXUS - OPEN MOUTH BLUES - RED Record VPA 169
In my opinion one of the most exciting records of Italian (European?) jazz in the eighties.
The first output of a neglected group, and a little known album never reissued on cd. Music so strong and yet lirycal, swingin’hard and with themes that fills in your head without givin’ up to timbrical and compositional research.
The source of this music is in Andrew Cirylle groups (Tiziano Tononi studied with Cirylle who is by his admission his musical and life teacher) and perhaps Tim Berne.
Recorded & mixed at Studio Barigozzi, Milano, 1983 June 24th and 25th Released September 1983
A1) Amanita Muscaria (P.DallaPorta) 16.20 A2) Open Mouth Blues (T.Tononi) 6.46 B3) NightRagaFalls (D.Cavallanti) 8.22 B4) Song for the Seals (T.Tononi) 11.22
I realise you're all still in mourning for the passing on of sotise, but I feel it's an appropriate time to announce my decision to cease activities on this blog. Sotise's departure has not caused my decision, but it perhaps has accelerated it a little, I have been pondering it for some time.
I don't have the same issues as sotise. Whilst I don't like the back-stabbing and innuendos that sotise mentioned, I am not so sensitive about them. It's not nearly as bad as a lifetime of infighting and jealousies at work, as I'm sure many of you will testify. Having said that JR's attack on centrifuge was most distasteful.
My issue is the common one among bloggers - a feeling of being taken for granted. The level of feedback on posts is really quite pathetic. I reckon about 95% of downloaders here are simply taking without so much as a word of thanks. The majority of people who do leave an acknowledgement are themselves contributors to this or other sites. After getting on for 2 years of this I've had enough. Music and blogging for me is not a passion, merely a pastime.
Thanks to those precious few who have commented. To the rest... well, nevermind. I wish the blog much success in the future.
Hello ,just a brief message. in the last few days i've been away enjoying a yearly festival of improvised music in a small village near to where i live. Its truly a drag to have to come back to people telling each other to fuck and piss off, on the blog that i originally started. I have decided that i no longer wish to share music with people who have so little respect for each other,i have no desire on a forum such as this to put up with jarring insults and the narcissistic self obsessed behavior that prevails endlessly out THERE in the brutal light of day.
I have no desire to create rules that my co contributors must obey, no inclination to sensor, or castigate those who have affronted me with their comments...no wish whatsoever to play god and master. Nor is my sense of self in anyway bound to the ephemera of anonymous file sharing... it IS simply easier to remove myself.
I have staked no ego on this whimsy , which was the fruit of longing for a lost distant past(the tape culture hey day) and a wish to recapture partaking of the limitless marvels afforded by shared musical journeys with friends.
i know it all sounds so Ernest and doubtlessly trite...some of you I'm certain have no idea what I'm talking about. Its been fun at times.... thanks to all who have contributed here, either with posts or comments! As of now i am hereby removing myself as a contributor to this blog.. and leaving you who visit and participate in the capable hands of those still contributing here.
Jemeel Moondoc Quartet Jazz Now Festival Cohen Auditorium, Tufts University Medford, MA February 13, 1985
1. Nostalgia in Times Square (Charles Mingus) [15:29] 2. Double X... ? (Moondooc) [15:50] 3. unknown title (Campbell) [14:25] 4. Broadway Blues (Ornette Coleman) [12:57]
[Total time 58:41]
Jemeel Moondoc (alto sax) Roy Campbell, Jr. (trumpet) William Parker (bass) Gerard Faroux (drums)
Looking back through this blog I see no Moondoc has been posted here before. I guess his recordings are few and far between so possibly there aren't any OOP commercial recordings around. This live recording turned up on dime a while ago (thanks to seeder and taper). Heritage unknown, but sounds like a radio broadcast or soundboard recording.
For those of you who may not know much about him, here follows an article from the New York Times from a couple of years after this gig reviewing a concert by the same band, but with a different drummer:-
"MANY younger jazz musicians treat the free jazz of the 1960's as dangerously extreme music; they've settled back into the comforts of structure. But Jemeel Moondoc, an alto saxophonist in his 30's, leads a quartet that plays roiling, volatile, wide-open - and sometimes surprisingly tender - free jazz. MANY younger jazz musicians treat the free jazz of the 1960's as dangerously extreme music; they've settled back into the comforts of structure. But Jemeel Moondoc, an alto saxophonist in his 30's, leads a quartet that plays roiling, volatile, wide-open - and sometimes surprisingly tender - free jazz. The quartet played a muscular, melodic set - one continuous streak of tunes and improvisations - last Monday at the Knitting Factory, 47 East Houston Street, where it will return on Monday. Mr. Moondoc can evoke the bluesy openness of Ornette Coleman, the articulateness of Jimmy Lyons and the harsh tones of Albert Ayler. He can fire off pyrotechnics, but he doesn't just shriek and moan; he uses his technique to create long wordless narratives, shifting from a sprint into aching, ballad-like phrases or pressuring a bright melody until it cracks. His foil is Roy Campbell on trumpet, clear-toned and extroverted, who chases Mr. Moondoc through the music or goads him with upper-register trills and interjections. William Parker on bass and Rashied Bakr on drums, who have worked extensively with Cecil Taylor, are a volcanic rhythm section, rumbling and sputtering and splashing the music forward. The quartet's skill and commitment keep the music utterly contemporary.By JON PARELES Published: June 18, 1987"
Here is one of my favourite Gaslini’s recording and, in my opinion, one of the best of the ’70 no only in European jazz. Giorgio Gaslini, has been, without any doubt, one of the most important musicians in modern jazz in Italy (I think in Europe too) and the one who gave an invaluable contribution to the growth of jazz knowledge in Italy, both from a theorical and a technical point of view. He has been the first in Italy who teached jazz music in an accademical place it happened in 1972 at the Conservatorio di S. Cecilia in Rome. But It’ almost impossible to summarize here Gaslini’s story and his contribution to the growth of Italian musical culture. Piano player, composer for movies (about 40 soundtracks amongst which the Michelangelo Antonioni score for “La Notte” is undoubtedly a masterpiece), jazz and classical music composer and player, teacher, fine theorist, writer, political activist…
Excerpt from the cover notes (traslated from italian)
“Murales” is a Suite for quartet (piano, alto sax, bass and drums) in four movements. The general feeling of the suite is amongst the epical and the lirycal.
But I’m such an enemy of labels and of all the misunderstandings and outbursts to which they give rise, that I prefer let the audience, to which this music is dedicated, to think what they want.
The first three movements were performed for the first time at the “Italian Jazz New Trends Festival” organized in the Main Hall of the Milano’s State University by the Student’s Movement with a resounding outcome.in 1975 november the 30th.
The fourth movement was born a litte later for the concert-play named “Murales” on stage in Rome at the “Teatro delle Arti” (Arts’ Theater) in 1975 january the fifth.
In this last occasion the suite has been played in it’s entirety and recorded live: so it’s where come from the music here contained.
During the following three years “Murales” was played by the same original quartet in about 250 concerts all over Italy, so becoming the symbol of the whole new musical wave that was growing with the new generations. Essential, this time again, has been the contribution of my three wonderful workmate: Gianni, Bruno and Andrea.
But most important of all has been the truthful contribution of thousand of new young listeners in the whole Italy. Taking part, in these years, to the concerts the contribute to create, with us, the atmosphere, the meaning and the shape of the music of our quartet.
Giorgio Gaslini
Excerpts from Andrea Centazzo’s book: Musician Withoud Boundaries
Section II -. Music At Last
Centazzo's remarkable debut with the Quartetto Gaslini took place on the 23rd of November 1973 al the Piccolo Scala in Milan. Gaslini had chosen this concert to introduce his new concept for making music: the Total Music Concert. Gaslini explained, "Mine is a different way of conceiving music, it's more open, it takes in a whole series of experiments. It is the passing from a sectorial musical mentality to one that is completely open to the totality of possibilities available."
A chorus of approval greeted Centazzo in this first phase of his career as percussionist. "He has brought new energy and freshness to the music of the group His druniming presents remarkable characteristics, and wholly personal traits He has brought to the percussion of the quartet a variety, an opening to a new and very pertinent dimension.”
Important album recordings were added to this touring activity in Italy; Concerto della Resistenza, Concerto della Libertà and Murales were released in the space of just two years.
The '70s in Italy (and Europe, in general) were times of extreme political tension charged with subversion, terrorism and bombings. Looking back at those times, Centazzo remarks on how demagogic it was to have played that type of music in those situations, where the public, although always numerous, was present for politicalmotives rather than from any real desire to hear the music itself.
"Unfortunately the experience with Giorgio Gaslini came to a traumatic end, leaving me with a bitter taste in my mouth. This was truly a shame, since for me it was an exciting period musically and not simply because of the very essence of the music (which, in my opinion was the best that Gaslini has written in his long creative life). As is often the case, it wasn't the musical differences that divided us but personality conflicts. Effectively the age difference continually brought us to an unresolved father-son conflict, which went beyond the purely musical considerations to invade the everyday aspects of our lives. In final analysis, Giorgio wanted to recapture the classic values of jazz: the theme, melody, swing, four-four scansion; whereas I was going through a period of considerable cultural and political unease and wanted to get as far away from these things as possible. Giorgio was aiming to reconstruct the music and I, in turn, to disintegrate it."
An important annotation: the Gaslini’s jazz legacy has been partially re-issued in its entirety (Integrale- Antologia Cronologica) by the Soul Note label (recently bought by Italian CAM Records). The Integrale consists in a series of double cd. At this moment the last album re-issued (Vol. 7 & 8) is “Colloquio con Malcolm X- a musical action” originally publishe on PDU.
Murales, recorded in 1976, will certainly be, perhaps in the next months, in the next double album. For this reason I’ve decided to let the links active for only two weeks. I apologize but this seemed to me the only possible way to post this amazing music. Enjoy it!
Yesterday RAI3 broadcast part of a concert that Grigori Sokolov gave in Rome in March 2004. It is so exceptional that I thought I would post it here, even if it is a bit different from the usual fare. Sonata no. 11 is read as if it is a Tolstoy novel - uniquely observed epsiodes held together by an inexorable narrative thread. The reading of no. 32 is extraordinary; never have I heard the Maestoso played with more bite and venom, and never have I heard it contrasted in the later movements with more aching pathos.
Reggie Workman Quartet Cambridge – Mass. (USA) Charlie´s Tap 1986.04.18 – April 18, 1986
Reggie Workman b, leader Joseph Jarman as Marilyn Crispell p Andrew Cyrille dr
1) 10:28 Conversation 2) 10:25 Synapsis II 3) 09:50 5432 4) 12:25 Oshoon´s Ardor 5) 06:51 Visitation 6) 08:53 One South 7) 25:27 Dear Lord/After the Rain/Wise One/ Coltrane Time 8) 03:48 Chant n.c.
This seemed a bit of a curiosity when I picked it up off dime some time ago. Workman, Crispell and Cyrille had played and recorded together on a number of previous occasions, but the quartet that Reggis led at the time comprised these three plus Oliver Lake. The inclusion of Joseph Jarman, to me anyway, seemed a little odd (though I believe he had made a recording with Crispell). Jarman's style of play, least what I've heard of him, seemed a little alien to this type of quartet. Maybe he was just standing in for Oliver Lake, I can only guess.
Much of this concert is Coltraneish. Track 6 sounds like a tune that either Eric Dolphy or Jackie Maclean recorded. I can't make my mind whether or not Jarman is entirely comfortable playing this sort of stuff. On track 4, the bells, whistles, gongs and flutes come out, which is more like the familiar AEC material on which he surpasses.
This is an audience recording. Listenable but not brilliant sound quality, with a bit of microphone rustle here and there. Also the excellent Ms Crispell soldiers on gamely with an out-of-tune piano, that bane of a pianist's life. All in all, the quality will not be enhanced by a flac version so I'll just post mp3.
Now for the icing on on Anon P's EXTREMELY RICH..and GENEROUSLY proportioned cake. A couple of albums of incredible free improvisations which are extremely eclectic and feature elements and material inspiration from all over the world, this is no slick lame ethno fusion. Nor do the 'world music' inflections feel like gimmicky super impositions ,used purely for added colour. No affectation here whatsoever, these records are qualitatively similar to the best of Don Cherry's explorations in this vein.
No question either of the abstract nature of the music here, heartfelt deeply thoughtful music at that. No mere fusion ,but rather a very personal synthesis. Most here will remember Donald Rafael Garrett as having played with John Coltrane (kulu se mama, ascension)Joseph Jarman,and Muhal Richard Abrahms among others. Kali z. fasteau Continues the legacy on her own label. here http://www.kalimuse.com/
here's an excerpted review of 'memoirs of a dream' fasteau's recent double cd release of previously unissued Sea Ensemble material.
“The vintage of the tapes is somewhat problematic to the sound quality of the performances, particularly on the second disc, but this pales in importance to the beautiful sounds that are unveiled. The first disc presents two studio pieces, both of which make use of overdubbing to allow Fasteau and Garrett to add a second layer of instruments. Garrett’s bass and balafon merge with Fasteau’s harp and piano on “Zenith” in an oscillating dance of binary rhythms. Soon the former’s corpulent strings stretch across a spiraling progression radiated from Fasteau’s ivories. Further along in the temporal continuum Fasteau’s piquant cello streaks playful brush strokes against a clattering, vaguely metallic percussive canvas. “Bamboo Groove” is more grounded than it’s companion. Rooted firmly with Garrett’s rich bass shakuhachi anchor Fasteau’s ghostly nai sails emotively above before joining with clarinet, and later voices, to create a fathomless aquatic landscape of brightly plumed harmonic cilia.
“Disc Two gathers performances from a public concert the pair gave in Turkey opening with the greeting that could fit well as the overarching mantra for this entire set, “welcome to a feast of sound and movement…non-sound and non-movement…eat heartily and chew your food.” Audiophile listeners willing to sift through the thin veil of static will find aural treasures beneath. Broken into eleven interlocking fragments, the performance covers a wide range of emotions and sonorities. Passages blend from one to the next and several of the pieces seem devoid of an appreciable beginning or end, but this kind of cyclical framework appears integral to the Sea Ensemble’s sound and esthetic. Garrett and Fasteau even touch on the cosmic influence of Sun Ra turning in an ethereal rendition of his “Calling Planet Earth” to the tune of oscillating shakuhachis. Compared to the studio offerings on the first disc these in-the-moment creations have a visceral facet to their execution that is easily intoxicating.
“With Garrett’s passing the Sea Ensemble necessarily dissolved, but Fasteau has continued her investigations into improvised music, releasing a half dozen or so recordings in the last few years (predominantly on Flying Note). This worthwhile set works as a beautiful point of ingress into her earlier work with Garrett as well as a stirring testament to the time they shared together, and will hopefully garner a wide audience.” Derek Taylor, ALLABOUTJAZZ Anon ,thanks again for these exceptional records.
THE SEA ENSEMBLE (DONALD RAFAEL GARRETT & ZUSAAN FASTEAU GARRETT) - AFTER NATURE Red Record, VPA 130, 1977side 1: 1. INFINITY 13.25 Garrett - bass, voice Fasteau - cello, voice 2. EVLENMEK 4.20 Garrett - sol clarinet Fasteau - ramazan, divul side 2: 3. OH YEAH 6.56 Garrett - bass, ney, voice, flute Fasteau - sheng, voice, casabash, sansa 4. FEZA'S SONG 5.55 Fasteau - sol clarinet Garrett - bass flute, voice Milan, 22/7/77
THE SEA ENSEMBLE - MANZARARed Record, VPA 122, 1977 side 1: 1. ABIDA'S DANCE 6.55 2. OUGADOUGOU 5.45 3. AKAGUNDUZ 2.50 side 2: 4. BINALI 7.00 5. YOLAN 7.45 Don Rafael Garrett & Zusaan Fasteau Garrett - voices, clarinets, piano, contrabass, cello, shakuhachi, ney, sansa, sheng, tambour, cumbus, percussion & more Milano 22.2.77
Yet another wonderful Contribution from Anonymous P... Again there seems to be little info about this lp anywhere on line..For those who aren't familiar with hampel's oeuvre, i suggest a visit to his own comprehensive website. http://www.gunterhampelmusic.de/
GUNTER HAMPEL - (BALLET) SYMPHONY NO. 5 & 6 Birth, 003, 1971 side 1: BALLET - SYMPHONY NO.5 NYC, Jan 1970 Jeanne Lee - voc Maxine Gregg - cello Jack Gregg - b Bob Moses - d GH - fl, vib, perc
side 2: SYMPHONY NO. 6 Den Haag, May 1971 Michel Waisfisz - putney synth GH - ss, vib, ocarina
see also http://www.bagatellen.com/?p=2029
Glmlr says "For the record, and perhaps for those who weren't then born, but also perhaps for Americans too, it's worth taking a moment just to step back and ponder the extraordinary length, breadth, height, depth and width of Gunter Hampel's remarkable contribution to improvised music. Some of his earliest moments were, in my opinion, his finest. His early bands, 1964/65, had some then-unknown sidemen named merely Manfred Schoof, Alexander von Schlippenbach, Buschi Niebergall, and Pierre Courbois. He was one of the original members of the Globe Unity Orchestra, and an early collaborator of Willem Breuker. His 1968 band included an unheard-of guitar player named John McLaughlin. His marriage to vocalist Jeanne Lee brought in a black-American consciousness to his music. His extensive Birth label did much to document not only his own path and direction, mostly on vibes and bass-clarinet, but that of a vast number of ad-hoc collaborators from both continents. In short, this fellow is a walking encyclopaedia of one corner of free-jazz and free improvisation. May the gods bless him."
Pullen was an artist who must have slipped under my radar until quite recently. I'd heard him on one or two Mingus records, but not on anything else. He started out as an avant gardist in the 60s, playing with the likes of Guisseppi Logan and Milford Graves, but must have cleaned up his act to occupy the piano spot in the Charles Mingus band for much of the 70s. On Mingus's death, he formed a great quartet with fellow Mingus sidesmen, reedsman George Adams and drumme Dannie Richmond, along with bassist Cameron Brown (formerly with Archie Shepp). This quartet endured for much of the 80s and produced some fine recordings.
This concert, an FM recording (thanks go to blackforest for seeding) predates the formation of the Adams quartet, and is the same line-up that produced the album Warriors in 1978.
Details:
Don Pullen Quartet Grenoble (France) Maison de la Culture - Grande Salle 19780322 - March 03, 1978
Don Pullen p Chico Freeman ts, ss, fl Fred Hopkins b Bobby Battle dr
Much criticism has been levelled at Pullen, suggesting he was a poor man's Cecil Taylor. Well he can pound the ivories as well as the next man, as passages of this recording show, but I think he is much more than that. Freeman is superb on this. He doesn't appear until about two-thirds the way through the first track (perhaps he was held up in the traffic). He plays freer than on anything else I've heard by him.
If anyone is interested in a solo Don Pullen recording, "Five To Go" is still available on fredito's now defunkt blog at http://huppeshyalites.blogspot.com/2007/05/don-pullen-five-to-go.html. Quite rare I think, and well worth a listen.
Here's a recording of the Anthony Braxton Quartet at the Civic Theatre in Leeds from their 'Forces in Motion' tour in November 1985. Three of the concerts from that tour are available on CDs from Leo Records, but each is quite different, and this is no exception.
The first half is by far the strongest, with extended improvisation that really catches fire. The quartet is outstanding, producing extraordinary music. Reeds, bass and drums shine, but the key player, to my mind, is Marilyn Crispell, who holds the entire set together. The second half fails to sustain this - perhaps it is from fatigue, or a poor venue, but there is an aimless introductory improvisation which is barely rescued in the latter stages by Braxton and Crispell. There is a good write up of this concert in Graham Lock's 'Forces in Motion' book, and it's from this that I've taken the set list.
The sound is adequate, but no better than that, so this is offered in mp3 only. Thanks to the original taper and seeder. If there are unreleased recordings of the other concerts from this tour, I'd be very interested in hearing them.
Anthony Braxton Quartet Civic Theatre Leeds, England November 24, 1985
Set 1: Composition 122 (+ 108A), Composition 69N, Composition 69Q, Piano solo from Piano Piece 1, Composition 69M Part 1a - 46.15 Part 1b - 6.09
Set 2: Composition 69H, Bass solo from Composition 96, Composition 69(O), Composition 116 Part 2 - 41.05
Anthony Braxton (cl, fl, as, Cm-sx, sss) Marilyn Crispell (p) Mark Dresser (b) Gerry Hemingway (d)
Reading the comments about Konitz in the Murray post I thought this might be quite timely. These two guys have played in duo and quartet formats on countless occasions over the last 40 years, and it's good to see the partnership still going strong as both of them are now turned 80. The setlist contains tunes they've played many times before, but still manage to give a fresh and original twist to them.
Lee Konitz (as), Martial Solal (p). "Alte Oper", Frankfurt/Main (Germany), September 5, 2008. 1 The Song Is You 2 What Is This Thing Called Love 3 Body And Soul 4 Solar 5 Stella By Starlight 6 Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise
This has been recorded from a digital broadcast (thanks to "hamhen") at 256kbps and is posted in MP2 format.
One of the surprises of my early experiences in the Blogosphere ..was finding a rip of this particular album which i'd had on tape for many years... that rip at 256 by Nonwave.. who has shared many rare gems in the last couple of years, is still available at Nothing is v2..and elsewhere.
Im pleased to be able to present a lossless rip , which i made recently on a portable zoom -box (recorded at 44100 HZ 16 BIT WAV then converted to FLAC) Straight from Iain's amplifier into the device. tracking using this method requires precision in real time, something elusive on the day ..Swedish vodka.. and incessant music jabber doesn't do much for ones powers of concentration. All turned out fine in the end...the music's all here..in good sound.
I've been in love with this record ever since first hearing 20 years ago(the very same pressing) a pity that it's relegated to the status of a obscure rarity, since it really is one of The masterpieces produced in Paris during Murray's early ex patriot life there..a period hailed as the Golden Age by fanatics of the Genre.
I prefer it to the better known BYG records,for a start its a better balanced recording, no filler here 'angels and devils' and 'hilarious paris' are among the great anthems in the genre... the version of Richard Rodgers 'this nearly was mine' is a riotous melee that teeters on the brink of chaos.. more 'tasteful'despite its almost over powering emotive load than any smug self knowing formulaic rendition...a great tune.done thorough justice!
The great Alan Silva plays Violin exclusively here..alternating spectral whimsy and frenzied dervish like prayer's.. he is magnificent, they all are . It's a trans formative experience... to the skeptics who may feel im' tugging myself a bit hard...impossible to exaggerate the impact this record has had on me personnaly check it out in all its sonic glory... clicks and all.
Its unbelievable that one of the finest records of the late 60's remains unreissued to this day scandalous too that so much early Murray languishes on the unused dusty record shelves of collectors .
personnel Francois Tusques-p Ronnie Beer-as Beb Guerin-b Bernard Vitet-tp Sunny Murray-dr Hart LeRoy Bibbs-poem Kenneth Terroade-ts Alan Silva-violin Becky Friend-fl
UPDATE 7/01/09 GOOD NEWS ANONYMOUS -ERMITE SAYS... "my label eremite records has re-issued BIG CHIEF on vinyl, a lovely reproduction of the original l/p pressed on RTI-180 audiophile vinyl. the re-issue was done with sunny murray's full participation & blessing. look for it soon on ebay, eremite.com, etc. meanwhile it would be cool if you guys removed these files? best '09 regards, eremite records, CC: sunny murray"
THE REISSUE ABOVE CAN BE ODERED DIRECTLY THROUGH THE LABEL HERE http://www.eremite.com/discography/mte51.html
Another contribution from an Anonymous friend, i havent been able to find a cover image of this one, which seems to be one of the few earlier Birth albums that has not been reissued...although there is evidence that one online seller on Ebay has cdr's for sale.
A search here confirms it's unavailability http://www.gunterhampelmusic.de/birth_records/birth037.html
Perhaps Hampel has chosen not to reissue this on the grounds that the original recording is so flat and one dimensional. none the less the music is quite exceptional, a largely free improvised set ..its all more or less one free floating piece. Great to hear Anthony Braxton on contra bass clarinet especially this vintage and setting... spine chilling stuff. There is an ethereal quality to this wonderfully spacious set ..that could perhaps (heresy of heresie's) have used the slightly reverby ,crisp production values of a Manfred Eicher.
THANKS again anonymous for the opportunity to hear this unique combination of individuals in such a free wheeling setting. ripped from vinyl at 320kbs
anon says... ANTHONY BRAXTON / GUNTER HAMPEL / JEANNE LEE - FAMILIE Concert In Paris, Theatre du Moffetard, April 1st, 1972 Birth LP, 008 GH - b cl, fl, vib, ss JL - voc AB - as, fl, cl, cb cl, ss (ripped direct from LP - the muffled sound quality is unfortunately due to the lo-fi sound of the original recording)
Some one emailed me months ago asking if i had any unofficial material by Motian's trio with Bill Frisell and Joe Lovano.. i don't.
Paul Motian ,one of the great modern jazz drummers was perhaps as instrumental in emancipating the drums from the rigid role Of mere time keeping, and developing the concept of free time as Sunny Murray and Andrew Cyrille.. you hear freedoms on The Bill Evans village vanguard records from 1961 that were unparallelled in their day,a fact that's due more to the fluid and spontaneous role of the rhythm section than to anything Evan's plays. This concert feature my favourite Motian group of all time..they only made one album 'Dance' for ECM, one of the enduring classics of the late 70's. There's so little Charles Brackeen on record.. that one wonders how some one with such prodigious gifts has been so neglected by the 'industry',Brackeen is prominently featured on both tenor and soprano saxes. Masterful bassist David Izenzon, stretches out like you've never heard him....at least not on record.
this is a beautifully detailed recording in superb sound... many thanks to the Tapers Seeders Traders..whom ever they be. Paul Motian Trio Bremen Postaula 19770913
Charles Brackeen ts, ss David Izenzon b Paul Motian dr
1) 10:40 Asia 2) 11:16 Prelude 3) 07:55 Lullaby 4) 10:13 Yala 5) 08:55 Abacus 6) 10:52 Waltz Song 7) 11:42 Victoria 8) 12:15 Dance 9) 02:03 Calypso
Here's a further contribution from anonymous who brought us 'presenting Burton Greene '..many thanks . There is unfortunately a lack of information about this online, and since it is unfamiliar I'm loathe to review it in any way. What i can say though is that Barbara Donald was one of the the most original trumpet voices of her generation, her individual tone to my ears had much more in common with say a Fats Navarro than any of the more renown 'new thing trumpeter's'..
Donald sadly made only 2(to my knowledge) lp's under her own name..i have heard neither ,so thanks anon for the opportunity. Most of us know her work largely through a sequence of Sonny Simmons lp's(whom she married in the mid 60's)beginning with 1966's 'staying on the watch'. They remained friends after separating and continued their association performing together frequently in the late 80's and early nineties. any one interested in more biographical info ,regarding Donald... can find a page devoted to her on Sonny Simmons website..here
http://www.sonnysimmons.org/donald.html
BARBARA DONALD & UNITY - THE PAST AND TOMORROWS Cadence LP, CJR 1017, 1983
side 1 1. THE PAST AND TOMORROWS 3.45 2. LOVE FOR ERIC 5.45 3. PANNONICA 3.37 4. LET IT RIDE 4.57
side 2 5. BOP-A-LOT 8.43 6. CHILDREN OF THE NILE 9.58 7. CHARLES TOO 4.16
Barbara Donald - tpt Carter Jefferson - ts Gary Hammon - ts Peggy Stern - p Mike Bissio - b Irvin Lovilette - d
april 16 & 17, 1982, Northwest Recordings, Seattle
Howard Riley, one of the great pioneers of the European 'free' scene, probably deserves to be better known than he is. A virtuoso pianist he started playing at a very young age first appearing on record with Barry Guy in the late 60's..and continuing the association well into the present. Beginning in 1971 with 'flight'Riley ,Guy and drummer Tony Oxley created one of the most imaginative sequences of lp's in the genre, for Me personally among the most rewarding music ever, records i can listen to with endless fascination and a complete and utter lack of listener fatigue.
Riley is also known for his associations with the London Jazz Composers Orchestra, SME , Keith Tippett, Lol Coxhill,Trevor Watts , John Stevens and Jaki Byard(feathers with Jaki 1981). Riley sometimes operates within a relatively straight jazz framework, among the great ones in that vein is 'wishing on the moon' made with one of his regular projects,'feathers' featuring Mario Castronari and Tony Marsh.
This solo performance is in Riley's own words "one extended continually evolving piano solo improvisation in which my only starting points were 4 very short musical shapes that were capable of being interrelated during the course of the improvisation."
Recorded at Riverside Studios England 9th of July 1976 enjoy!!
A christmas present from anonymous ..left in the comments to the previous post. Dan Warburton-It's about time Presenting Burton Greene was reissued!
Burton Greene-Yes, it's enjoyed much more creative life in the cut-out bins than it ever did on the shelves! You know, that was the first time a Moog was used on a jazz record. I first met Robert Moog in 1963 at an electronics show in New York where he was running around saying "does anybody want to try my instrument?" I went up and introduced myself: "I'm a piano player, I can use that.." He said, "I can't offer you any money, but my wife is a great cook and if you feel like coming up to Ithaca, you're welcome to stay." Well, man, I hadn't eaten in a month so I said, "Erm, yeah I think I have a little free time at the moment..!" (laughs) and I went up to Ithaca and had a ball. And after that I was the synthesizer expert..! I tried to work a deal with Norman Seaman to do a solo Moog concert - that was even announced on my first quartet record - but he was losing money and it didn't happen. Anyway, John Hammond at Columbia had heard about that. "You're the cat who plays the synthesizer. Burton, you've got to add the synthesizer to that record." The record was already done, but he said, "we'll pay you to work on the synthesizer." The magic word. Five hours at $100 an hour. Normally I don't drink, but I remember that day when I went to the studio to get that extra $500 out of Hammond, I drank a quarter bottle of Scotch. I rolled in the studio like Napoleon (laughs). There were wall-to-wall Moogs in the studio and five assistant Walter Sears engineers each getting $80 an hour to help me create. They said: "What will it be sir?" I said, "I'd like a Sine Generator 17 to start with, please. 17B." "OK, sir, yes.." (imitates the noises of a Moog) I said, "Hmm it's a little thin.." They said "what about a BX.." I didn't know sine from sawtooth! Hammond was like, "that's my boy!" We ended up with all this weird shit and had to find a place to put it. I said to [drummer] Shelly [Rusten]: "There's a little part of your solo there that we can.. enhance." He said "don't you put that shit on top of my solo, man!" (laughs)
Günter Sommer and three old friends, or the Synopsis group who were central to an important development of the German Democratic Republic scene in the 70s. Here a decade later on what I percieve to be a mostly unknown French release on the Nato label, I was extremely lucky to find a copy in 2008 on the internet.
A snippet about the group from Heffley "...Such changes lay in the group's decision to use traditional German materials (mostly Medieval and folk) and aesthetics (lyrical, melodic, from the Romantic period) as the springboard, along the lines of Ornette Coleman's melodies, into free improvisation. They did this without the Western sense of sarcasm or irony, more with respect and affection. Unlike the West Germans, for them it was a reassertion, not a denial, of local identity beyond that imposed by the Russian occupiers, and of European roots that matched the African roots unearthed by their heroes from America."
I highly recommend it.
Ernst Ludwig Petrowsky, alto saxophone, clarinet and flute
Conrad Bauer, trombone
Ulrich Gumpert, piano
Günter Sommer, percussion
A1. Nelly Et Sylvain 7:17
A2. Daniel Und Seine Volvo 9:19
A3. Makoko Aperçoit Monsieur Léon 4:44
B1. Toute Pour Raoul 9:16
B2. Jiair Und J.E. 8:34
B3. Isabel Records Boxes 4:42
Recorded May 3 & 4, 1984 at Théâtre Dunois, Paris.
All music by Günter Sommer except B1 which is by the group.
Here's the great Leroy Jenkins solo concert from 1977, again courtesy of Iain. who says 'this is a very beautiful concert..I'm happy to be able to share it'
Jenkins here weaves a dense tissue of free improvisation interpolated with rustic folk forms,quotes from hymns and the blues.. cascading ripples of plangent scrapping creaky euphoria. it features a very simple, lyrical rendition of Billy Strayhorn's lush life..one of the best an awe inspiring concert from the late under recorded and appreciated master, long overdue for a carefully remastered reissue. enjoy!!
recorded at Washington square church N.Y.C, on January 11 1977 tracks side a) 1. Improvisation 2. Why am i here 3. Opus side b) 4. Lush life 5. Keep on trucking brother 6. Nobody knows the trouble i've seen
Here's the first of a series of posts ripped from the collection of my old friend Iain,someone with whom Ive shared many journeys of musical discovery over the years..who also happens to be a self confessed lurker, he states that after having downloaded so many rarities over the past year ..he'd like to give a little back and share some of his own. English improvising saxophonist Lol Coxhill is a much loved favourite..
Lol coxhill , one of Europe's greatest jazz men/free improvisers is probably unjustly remembered more by progressive rock fans ,for his association with the so called canterbury scene,and the likes of Kevin Ayres, delivery and the Damned ,and for his bit part in Derek Jarman's film Caravaggio, than for being one of the greatest free improvisers alive. Coxhill started out in the late forties playing bebop and Afro Cuban jazz, he was a contemporary of and frequent guest with the likes of Tubby Hayes and Joe Harriott. He was also around in the mid 60's when the first signs of a completely free music scene first emerged in Britain..and he has performed and recorded with most of those pioneers ...SME, The Brotherhood of Breath,Company, Evan Parker,Paul Rutherford , Eddie Prevost and so on ..in seemingly endless permutations. He has also recorded dozens of solo soprano saxophone sessions..and they are among the wonders of 20th century music. Abstract expressionist painter william Dekooning's description of himself as a 'slipping glimpser'is what most immediately comes to my mind in describing Coxhill's solo improvisations...slippery they are often oddly loping in much the same way as say one of the more wayward improvisations of a Lee Konitz, or a Sonny Rollins. theres a great deal of Sly humour present and Coxhill rarely resorts to histrionic cliches, his improvisations are quite kaleidoscopic in breadth, as a melodic improvisor he's simply peerless.. melodies spiraling out and unfurling seemingly effortlessly until its almost hallucinatory in intensity! not to mention the 'pastelate intervals'
No idea about the provenance of this record..it has all the hall marks of being a bootleg, but could just as easily have been released by Coxhill himself. no track titles, no clearly labeled a or b sides..this isn't even mentioned in the discography under Coxhill's name on the European improvised music site. links in mp3 and flac in the comments
enjoy!! more Coxhill to follow in the next few weeks! heres a link to Lol Coxhills Website 'a life in music' http://www.lolcoxhill.com
This is for the people requesting it at the 'nine sisters' blog... many thanks to them for the gems they've shared. The 2nd part of a magnificent concert recorded at the 'peace church' Washington square N.Y.C. on may 19 1970. the recording was supervised by Ornette Coleman, not released though until some 6 years later.
for me this(and vol 1) is a significant milestone in being the most fully realised document of what Braxton ,Jenkins and Smith were on about at this early stage of their careers. much better recorded than the earlier lp's recorded in Paris for Byg, this concert is one of the gems of the AACM collective discography. so its a real surprise that this hasn't been reissued more widely, and that it remains so little heard.
beautiful ... hope you enjoy it... see the comments for both lame and flac links, I'll be posting the flacs only ,for volume 1 later tonight. mp3's for volume 1 are at 'nine sisters' linked on the front page.
CCC vol 2 side A- Muhal part 1 side b- Muhal part 2
Leroy Jenkins-violin, viola little instruments Anthony Braxton-reeds, percussion Leo Smith-tpt ,fl hrn, french hrn, perc Muhal Richard Abrahms-pno, cello , clarinet Richard Davis-db Steve Macall-dr
I can find virtually no information about this concert on the net. I must assume that the details I have are correct:-
Frank Wright/Andrew Cyrille Duo
Soundscape, New York
December 09, 1981
Set 1 1. 19:49 2. 25:40 3. 13:07
Set 2 1. 22:28 2. 12:33 3. 13:39
Lineup:
Frank Wright - reeds
Andrew Cyrille - drums
The seeder in dime (my thanks to him) stated that he had got it in trade, so it's been doing the rounds for some years.
I can find no recorded evidence that Wright played with Cyrille on other occasions. All I can say is that it is definitely Frank Wright accompanied by an excellent drummer, who isn't Muhammed Ali, Wright's more common partner, and probably is Cyrille. If there are any experts out there, perhaps they can confirm this.
The tracks are all improvisational pieces and are not tunes I've heard Wright play on his recordings. I also have the 2nd set, but frankly it would be an over-indulgence to post 2 hours of duo playing. If anyone particularly would like the other, then I could post it sometime in the future.
Sound quality is really quite good, perhaps too good for an audience recording of the time, so I've included flac as well as mp3 versions.
Official Poster Picture for "Art & All That Jazz" 2005. "Jazz Sax Player" by Joe Holiday [http://www.stlucieartleague.com/artjazzshow2005.htm]
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