Anthony Braxton Sextet at Institute of Contemporary Arts - Boston (MA) november the 5th 2005

Ezio Minetti- Caresses
minezio@yahoo.it

Anthony Braxton Sextet

Anthony Braxton	reeds
Taylor Ho Bynum	brass
Jessica Pavone	violin, viola
Jay Rozen	tuba
Carl Testa	bass
Aaron Siegel	drums

November 5, 2005
Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, MA

01. Composition n° 345
02. Composition n° 349
03. Encore

In date 02/05/09 some corrections to the info of this blog thanks to the expertise of Centrifuge. A great THANKS !

Here is another unofficial recording date from the wonderful Braxton sextet, the one with my favourite Taylor Ho Bynum and Jesssica Pavone among others.

The Braxton sextet seems to carry on the tradition of free jazz and AACM music as that of a more generous reception in Europe (and Canada) than in USA. This year we "celebrate" the 40th anniversary of this long lasting tradition that began, as well known here, with the flyin' of many afroamerican musicians, AACM members in particular, to Paris.

The Philadelphia performance has been for sure the first 2005 American date of this astonishing ensemble as it has been reviewed here [http://www.bagatellen.com/archives/frontpage/001062.html] and here [http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=7694].

The Victoriaville date is the only one officially documented [on Victo 108] and posted here [http://inconstantsol.blogspot.com/2009/04/anthony-braxton-sextet.html]. This post is decidedly from another tape source being of lesser audio quality but adding to the Victo album a little, marvellous extra: an about five minutes encore (wrongly posted twice at the end of composition 345 and as a file apart).

The november Boston date, posted here, has been the second, and last, american date of this group at least to my knowkedge. It was recorded the day after the Philadelpia concert that meet a strongly positive reception.

Down here an in-complete list of the group performances.

february 19 2007
Metastasio Jazz, Teatro Metastasio, Prato, Italy

february 17 2007
Piacenza Jazz Festival, Teatro President, Piacenza, Italy

february 14 & 15 2007
Porgy & Bess, Wien, Austria

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

November 4, 2005
Music @ International House
Philadelphia, PA

August 28, 2005
@ Sant' Anna Aressi Jazz Festival, Italy
Sardinia www.santannarresijazz.it

July 20, 2005
Molde Jazz Festival Molde, Norway

May 22, 2005
Victoriaville Festival, Canada

April 9 2005
Corunna, Spain

April 8 2005
Banlieues Bleues Festival - Paris, France

April 7 2005
Warsaw, Poland

April 6 2005

Bimhuis - Amsterdam, Netherlands

It's my aim going on little contributin' to the Anthony Braxton gigography, and to the Henry Threadgill discography. In the next times I will add to this post all the infos I will found about this group and the DCW trio (both with Taylor Ho Bynum) and post here some more Henry Threadgill unofficial (broadcast and private recordings) date.

If someone here is interested in this two projects every effort will be wellcome.

In particular about the Threadgill discography project [http://discography.backstrom.se/threadgill/] I've found till now at least more than 100 audio documented dates and tens of non documented. I've just began to listen to some date to attribute correct titling and personnel infos but it is a very hard and long work.

On the other hand the Braxton discography and gigography, marvellously mantained by Jason Guthartz and otthers, constitute in my opinion a reference project. Here You can easily find every useful link [http://www.akamu.net/braxton/discography.htm]

Last but not least I'm going to complete the 35th AACM Anniversary Festival in the next monts.

Don Pullen - Plays Monk

vinyl rip, 320 mp3, Paddewheel


Number 4 from I Forgot Clifford. I think this one scored mostly on rarity and I would not have predicted top 10. There is a curiosity factor here to see how DP would interpret some of Monk's most loved tunes. Pullen has a very solid following based on many strong discs with Mingus, Adams/Pullen 4tet and other solo discs. He is a great example of one of the defining ideals for a musician, you know it is him playing almost immediately.


Don Pullen - solo piano

1. Well You Needn't (Monk) 5:18
2. Round Midnight (Monk) 8:09
3. Monkin' Around (Pullen) 9:41
4. Trinkle Tinkle (Monk) 6:13
5. Gratitude (Pullen) 5:39
6. In Walked Bud (Monk) 5:51


NYC 1984

http://rapidshare.com/files/205056797/pmonk.rar

Cecil Taylor Live in Pisa '82

For my first "official" post on IS i've chosen this recording,
even for paying tribute to the Great Master who, few weaks
ago, has celebrated his eightieth birthday.
The music, a six parts suite, reminds closely the Basel concert
(November 16, 1981) recorded and published by Hat Hut
(particularly the 2nd CD : Garden pt. 2).
The encore is missing : end of the cassette...

Cecil Taylor, piano solo

Recorded live in Pisa, Italy, on July 24th, 1982

1. Part 1 (28:46)
2. Part 2 (15:47)
3. Part 3 (13:22)
4. Part 4 (10:58)
5. Part 5 (11:42)
6. Part 6 (06:40)

Total Time 1:27:17

Ran Blake / Jeanne Lee - Stockholm 1966

cd rip, 320 mp3, Columbia (France)

Number 2 from I Forgot Clifford. Who would have guessed that Ran would out pace Cecil Taylor, Paul Bley, Don Pullen ? A traditionalist with avant roots, he continues to present solo records with harmonic deconstructions of standards and older tunes. His discs with Braxton, Jeanne Lee and on Hatology brought him into the free zone. Many loved the Newest Sound
Around disc with this pairing. I think the reason there were so many downloads on this one was because for many bloggers this was a new discovery. I found it in France.... Enjoy and predict the next in the top ten.


Ran Blake - piano
Jeanne Lee - vocals


Ticket to Ride
Kind a sweet
Corocovado
Let's go
Ja-da
Bombastica
Lydiana
Crystal Trip
A Taste of Honey
Night and Day
I Can Tell
Take the A train
Living up to life
A Hard Day's Night
The Girl from Ipanema
Vanguard
Glaziation
You Stepped out of a dream
I can tell more
Desafinado
One note samba
Stars fell on Alabama
Just Friends
Free Standards
I'll remember April
Honeysuckle Rose

Stockholm 1966

http://rapidshare.com/files/205465843/ran.rar

Sun Ra Quartet - New Steps

cdr rip, 320 mp3, Horo

Pablo's back ! I had announced plans to shut down I Forgot Clifford which generated all kinds of comments from all planets. I was graciously invited to be able to post and administer at Inconstant Sol. I thought I would transfer my top ten downloads from Clifford to this site before closing down Clifford. This was the number one download. I believe it was because Horo has been been hard to find and everyone wants to here John Gilmore in a quartet with the Ra. There is a second cd in this series, Other Blues. I had it on a car cassette and remember preferring this one.


Sun Ra - keyboards
John Gilmore - ts
Michael Ray - tpt
Luqman Ali - drums


My Favorite Things
Moon People
Sun Steps
Exactly like you
Friend and friendship
Rome at twilight
When there is no sun
The Horo

January 1978


http://rapidshare.com/files/194099423/newstep1.rar

Even more Sam Rivers

Here's another 70s trio, perhaps the ultimate one with Dave Holland and Barry Altschul. This was recorded live at the "New Foxhole Café", Philadelphia, on April 19th, 1976 (2nd set).

Sam Rivers,tenor & soprano saxophones,piano,flute
Dave Holland,bass
Barry Altschul,drums

1. Improvisation (1:08:12)

This is another scorcher with Altschul very much to the fore in the mix. As indicated above, only one piece slightly over one hour, similar to the Foggia set posted here before. This is a format that suits Rivers very much, so no complaint this time about being cut short, due to the limitations of the album format. As on the Foggia date, he starts out on tenor, switches to soprano at the 20+ minute mark and rounds off with two briefer interludes on piano and flute after the 50+ minute mark. New to this date is the piano section which in my view is the weaker part, but others may disagree. Top interaction throughout and it is particularly facinating to hear Altschul and compare with Steve Ellington on the other date. Altschul comes off as more forceful and intense and with Holland on board, this set rocks and sizzles from beginning to end.

This gem was supplied by riccardo in our contributions section, so a tip of the hat for that one. I thought it warranted a proper post as it dovetailed nicely with the recent Rivers postings here. Readers are advised to dig in for more gems from riccardo and others.

Anthony Braxton Sextet

Anthony Braxton Sextet
Colisee Des Bois-Francs
Victoriaville, QC
May 22, 2005

Anthony Braxton, Taylor Ho Bynum, Jay Rozen, Jessica Pavone, Chris Dahlgren, Aaron Siegel

John Stevens at the Plough, Stockwell, London 1977

Following the previous John Stevens posting, here is a live set recorded at the Plough, Stockwell, London. The actual date is not entirely certain. The available info indicates it was recorded on 9 December, but it is uncertain whether it was 1977 or 1979. The pic is from the backside of another Stevens album which was recorded there in February 1978, so circumstantial evidence might point to 1977.

This is a quartet recording with the following line-up:

John Stevens Drums
Allan Holdsworth Guitar
John Taylor Piano
Jeff Clyne Bass

Two long pieces, nominally in the jazz fusion bag, but with much more fire and liveliness than what may be expected from that genre. Stevens himself is on overdrive through the entire set, overpowering the other three in the louder passages. I can't discern any specific tunes here, so the whole thing does sound like a fairly loose jam, but with some inspired playing from all concerned. Taylor is on electric piano, Clyne on acoustic bass and Holdsworth on electric guitar, of course. Listening to the entire set, it is a demonstration of the mastery of Stevens' drumming, ear very much attuned to what's going on and another proof that he was not in any way confined to the chamber intimacy of the SME.

Sound quality is fair to middle, so I've taken the liberty of scaling it down to a high-quality mp3, but not much is lost in the process, at least not to these battered ears. Seeded by "kinebee", so thanks for making this fine nugget available for the Stevens aficionadas.

There was a request for some more Holdsworth from Fent99 in the comments section to a previous post, so here is a set recorded for BBC. Basic info:

ALLAN HOLDSWORTH, I.O.U.
" Jazz In Britain "
London, UK
October 20, 1981

6. Announcer Intro
7. White Line
8. Shallow Sea ( Excerpt )
9. Where Is One ?
10. Prayer / Drifting Into The Attack
11. Letters Of Marque
12. Announcer Closing Comments

Allan Holdsworth - Guitar
Paul Carmichael - Bass
Gary Husband - Drums & Piano

This is a more subdued set, which is not surprising considering the absence of Stevens, and a more structured one as well with a small series of Holdworth compositions. Listeners may argue what is the best set of the two. I think Holdsworth would go for the second, though I am inclined to go for the first, but that's just me. This was seeded by "dabrooks" so thanks for this little relic from the past.

More Stevens coming up later, so stay tuned ...

Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet, Vision Festival NY 10-June-2008

Baby's dress [Ezio Minetti]

Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet
--------------------------
Recorded 10th June 2008 at 13th Annual Vision Festival
Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center, New York City

Broadcasted 10th Nov 2008
----------------------------

Taylor Ho Bynum cornet

Mary Halvorson guitar

Evan O'Reilly guitar

Jessica Pavone violin and bass guitar

Matt Bauder tenor saxophone and bass clarinet

Thomas Fujiwara drums

Tracks

01 Radio Intro & Taylor Ho Bynum interview 06.49

02 JP & the Boston Suburbs Parts 1 & 2 12.31

03 Woods 20.14

04 whYeXpliCitieS 13.02

In my opinion one of the most intriguing proposal of the last years: new open composing technique, wide open ears and great interplay. This is a possible way of playin contemporary jazz with freshness and good ideas.

In the Taylor Ho Bynum website You can also find some images, a discography and other useful informations. In the website of the Firehouse12 Music Audio Bar, in Brooklin , the Ho Bynum own discographycal label, other interesting infos and a preview of an almost new and possible way of living in the music business today without givin' up to the artistical and intellectual belief.

http://taylorhobynum.com/index.htm

http://firehouse12.com/index.asp.

ENJOY THE MUSIC!

With this unofficial concert I began the association of music and visual arts; following this way the suggestions of Follyfortoseewhat whom here I greatly thanks for his kindness and enthusiastic disposability

Ray Warleigh at the BBC

It's time to do some more requests. In fact, I should actually spend more time doing requests, because it makes the whole selection process so much easier. This came from Olie who wanted a specific Ray Warleigh album which I unfortunately don't have. So, settling for the second best, here are two concerts recorded for the BBC with Ray Warleigh as a sideman.

Warleigh hasn't released much under his own name. His debut album was out in 1968, with sporadic releases throughout the 70s and then nothing up to this year's Rue Victor Massé, a duo recording with drummer Tony Marsh. The above pic is from an August 2008 concert with Marsh, courtesy of Sean Kelly at Flickr.

Most of his output has been as a sideman and the two concerts on offer here are no exceptions, the first led by Pat Smythe and the second by Alan Holdsworth.

Pat Smythe Quintet (with Allan Holdsworth)
BBC Broadcast
London 1980
presented by Peter Clayton

Pat Smythe - p
Ray Warleigh - as, fl
Allan Holdsworth - g
Chris Laurence - b
John Marshall - d

1. Letters of Marque 8.07
2. Announcer (Peter Clayton) 0.33
3. Reflection 5.56
3. Announcer 0.13
5. Out from Under 6.13
6. Announcer 0.25.
7. Steppes7.02


ALLAN HOLDSWORTH & CO.
" Jazz In Britain "
London, UK
January 8, 1980
presented by Charles Fox

1. Announcer Intro
2. The Things You See When You Haven't Got Your Gun
3. Every Little Breeze
4. Sunday
5. Announcer Closing Comments

Allan Holdsworth - Guitar
Gordon Beck - Piano
John O'Whey - Bass
Ray Warleigh - Alto & Soprano Saxophone
John Marshall - Drums

As for the line-up, a fairly well-known cast of characters with Warleigh, Holdsworth and Marshall the common denominators, regulars on the scene Pat Smythe and Gordon Beck on the piano chair and Chris Laurence and John O'Wey (less known to me) holding down the deep end.

Holdsworth has got a huge name in fusion, but on these dates, I don't sense any showoffy-ness typical of the genre, but two fine cohesive outfits where the individual contributions fit the whole. Composition duties are shared between Smythe and Holdsworth in the first set while all compositions are by Holdsworth for his own combo in the second set.

Fairly good sound on both sets, considering the time, but a bit of hiss on the second. It's always a delight to hear again the eminent jazz presenters Peter Clayton and Charles Fox, whose erudition never ceases to amaze.

I've got one Ray Warleigh as sideman in the offing, but have to do some vinyl transfer first, so stay tuned. It'll be slightly different from these two, but no less interesting for that.

As these are fairly short sets, they're both in lossless, but anyone is free to post mp3s in the comments section, should one so desire.

More Sam Rivers

Following "The Quest", here's some more Sam Rivers, partly from records, partly from unreleased concert recordings. Three sets up this time, which have one thing in common - they're all trios (as was "The Quest"). It seems that Rivers often worked in the trio format, though his older Blue Note records employed larger groups and he did also work on and off with even larger constellations.

The first one up is "Hues", a series of different trios recorded over a period of several years.

The basic facts:

Sam Rivers - Hues

Impulse IMPL 8007, (ASD 9302)

01 - Amber
02 - Turquoise
03 - Rose
04 - Chartreuse
05 - Mauve
06 - Indigo
07+08 - Onyx+Topaz
09 - Ivory Black
10 - Violet

Tracks 7 & 8 run into each other.

Sessions:

A. - tracks 1, 2, 3 - Recorded in performance at The Jazz Workshop, Boston, 13 Feb 1971.

Sam Rivers - tenor sax, flute
Cecil McBee - bass
Norman Connors - drums & percussion

B. - track 4 - Recorded in performance at The Jazz Workshop, Boston, 14 Feb 1971.

Sam Rivers - soprano sax
Cecil McBee - bass
Norman Connors - drums & percussion

C. - tracks 5, 6 - Recorded in performance at Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, 27 Oct 1972.

Sam Rivers - tenor sax
Richard Davis - bass
Warren Smith - drums & percussion

D. - tracks 7, 8 - Recorded in performance at Molde Jazz Festival, Norway, 3 Aug 1973.

Sam Rivers - soprano sax, flute
Avild Andersen - bass
Barry Altschul - drums & percussion

E. - tracks 9, 10 - Recorded in performance at Battel Chapel, Yale University, US, 10 Nov 1973.

Sam Rivers - soprano sax, flute
Cecil McBee - bass
Barry Altschul - drums & percussion

My basic criticism of this record is not the music itself, but the limitations of the medium. As the average piece clocks in at about 4 - 5 minutes, you don't get more than snippets and snapshots of what I presume to be much longer sessions. Rivers is a musician that needs space to stretch out, but the snips do give a flavour or perhaps different hues of his multi-instrumental talents. I guess it's Rivers on piano on track 3, though not credited as such in the info I have.

The second set, from Foggia, Italy, is a sizzler, scorcher, killer; it fries, burns, cooks for well over an hour. No info on this one, but listening to it, it sounded very much like Dave Holland, though I was less sure that the drummer was Barry Altschul. In fact, one has to wait until the brief announcements towards the end to find out that it was Steve Ellington, with whom Rivers worked in his 60s Blue Note period. Rivers is obviously having a ball, ripping into a bit of scat singing at the end; Holland is playing his fingers off and Ellington is right on the dot. Rivers switches between tenor, soprano and flute and as mentioned, a bit of vocalising. You can sense that these guys know it each other by the ultra-tight interaction throughout. It reminds me a bit of the Buschi Niebergall trio I posted a while back in its sheer intensity and telepathic communication. This set is definitely among the best of the stuff I've posted here and one to come back to again and again.

The final set is from Warsaw:

The Sam Rivers Trio

Sam Rivers
Anthony Cole
Doug Mathews

recorded 6-24-00 at
The Warsaw summer Jazz Days

Coming off the Rivers/Holland/Ellington trio, this sounds bland to these ears; having nothing of the drive and intensity of the Foggia set. Both Cole and Mathews play a multitude of instruments in addition to bass and drums, but it doesn't match the 70s/80s concerts on offer here. Anyway, that's the first impression; with repeated listenings I may hear differently.

Dig in and enjoy!

Ernest Dawkins - (2000) New Horizons with James Newton at AACM 35th Jazz Fest - [FLAC]

Logo and images copyright AACM Chicago

Collective Conscious
A Power Stronger Than Itself


by Hank Shteamer - Time Out New York / Issue 658 : May 7–13, 2008

The common wisdom in American culture is that revolutionary ideas originate on the coasts and gradually migrate inward. But in the experimental-music sphere, this notion has been under fire for at least four decades, due in no small part to the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians.

Founded in 1965 on the South Side of Chicago, the group gave African-American musicians reared on jazz standards a forum to explore their most ambitious creative fantasies via workshops, self-produced concerts and an atmosphere of familial solidarity. To call the AACM a success would be selling it short: Without the ongoing contributions of veteran members such as Anthony Braxton, Henry Threadgill and the Art Ensemble of Chicago, as well as younger representatives like Matana Roberts and Nicole Mitchell, the international jazz and avant-garde scenes would be markedly less vibrant.

The AACM, which began as the brainchild of four musicians and has grown to include more than 40, has long enthralled critics and fans. But a comprehensive chronicle has been lacking. That changes this month with the release of George E. Lewis’s A Power Stronger than Itself: The AACM and American Experimental Music. Combining musicology with cultural history and candid reminiscence, the 600-plus-page book benefits greatly from its author’s own experiences as a longtime member of the collective. A remarkable trombonist, Lewis will perform with pianist and AACM cofounder Muhal Richard Abrams and trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith at the tome’s Friday 9 release party, which also features a panel discussion moderated by critic Greg Tate.

Lewis’s close proximity to his subjects, some of the most formidably brilliant American artists of the past half century, was certainly a boon to the project. Yet as the 55-year-old author made clear during a recent conversation at his office at Columbia University (where he heads the Center for Jazz Studies), even being an AACM member didn’t open every door. “I hadn’t really met some of the first generation of the AACM,” he notes, soon laughing. “I’m sure people called Muhal and said, ‘Who is this guy? He says he knows you.’ ”

Fortunately for Lewis, the group was diligent in documenting its early activities. In addition to conducting more than 60 interviews for the project, the author drew on tapes from the AACM’s early meetings, which helped keep his narrative grounded. “The original members seemed much more interested in changing their particular situation,” Lewis notes of the recordings. “They weren’t saying, [Adopts nerdy tone] ‘We have to change everything about jazz.’ ”

Whatever the AACM’s effect on jazz at large, it has had an indisputable life-changing influence on its members. Countless testimonies in the book cite Abrams as a guru who helped awaken future masters, such as the Art Ensemble’s Roscoe Mitchell, to their creative powers. “I don’t subscribe to the mentorship idea,” the 77-year-old Abrams counters, during a meeting at a midtown sandwich shop. “Although quite a few of the people were younger and less experienced than myself, I think [the relationships] were more or less collaborations.”

Lewis offers a compelling portrayal of this crucial give-and-take between members, but perhaps even more important is his extensive unpacking of the collective’s critical reception. The book shrewdly examines instances when players such as Abrams and Braxton were denounced in the press for exploring electronics, extended composition and other areas that were deemed unacceptable for black artists, and goes on to situate the AACM in the larger 20th-century avant-garde canon alongside figures like John Cage. “I’m looking at the music landscape and seeing a lot of people running around experimenting in a very conscious way,” Lewis states. “But when I read the literature, I only see certain people being talked about. So you have to go in there and say, ‘Let’s put some new actors onstage.’ ”

Critical myopia wasn’t the only adversity the AACM faced. Lewis candidly documents various internal struggles, including controversy over the admission of white members and friction between the organization’s hometown contingent and those who decamped for New York in the ’70s. “I think I was able to convince people that it was better to let as much of it hang out as they were comfortable with,” Lewis says, and Abrams concurs. “We’re human, so it’s best that [the book] look human,” he states, smiling. “We’ve stayed strong because sometimes we agree not to agree. But we never lose the idea of staying together in order to produce the music.”

More than 40 years on, that idea remains prominent in the minds of the AACM’s architects, as Lewis recently learned firsthand at the book’s Chicago release party. “People had tears in their eyes, holding it,” he recalls. “I didn’t realize how long [the original members] had been waiting for tangible evidence that their obsession somehow bore fruit.”

Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians:
35th Anniversary Festival
Museum of Contemporary Art
Chicago, IL
4/27-30/00

____________________________________
Thursday April 27

New Horizons Ensemble with James Newton

Ernest Dawkins, leader and saxophones, clarinet, flutes, percussion
Harrison Bankhead, contrabass
Stephen Berry, trombone
Yosef Ben Israel, bass
Ameen Muhammad, trumpet, percussion
James Newton, flutes
Jeffrey Parker, guitar
Avreeayl Ra, drums, percussion

Unidentified titles no cutting total timing 56:21

Stefano Maltese - (1999) Open Letter To Mingus - MJCD 1122

Stefano Maltese

Biography by Francesco Martinelli

Since the '70s, Sicilian composer and multi-instrumentalist Stefano Maltese has worked in a variety of situations ranging from solo to large ensembles including strings and unusual instruments like harmonica and glockenspiel. He has actively explored the interaction between writing and improvising, and followed his own personal path inspired by music, literature, and other arts, independently arriving at results similar to those reached by musicians of other post-jazz environments, such as Chicago's AACM Amsterdam's ICP Orchestra. Similar to John Tchicai or Roscoe Mitchell, Maltese is very much his own man, and his aesthetics stem from jazz as much as from the rich artistic and philosophical heritage of his beloved Sicily

In 1987, Maltese set up the first orchestra that grouped avant-garde musicians from different areas of Italy, a forerunner to the Italian Instabile Orchestra. In 1990, he created the Open Sound Ensemble to which he invited musicians from different areas of the worl (Living Alive, Leo 2000), and in 1993, organized the As Sikilli Ensemble (the Sicilian in Arabic) to play his own articulated suites (Seven Tracks For Tomorrow, Dischi della Quercia 1997). His impressive CDs in duo with Marilyn Crispell on Black Saint (Red And Blue) focus on open improvisations, as does the ad hoc quartet with Evan parker, Keith Tippet adn Antonio Moncada (Double Mirrro, Splasc(h) 1996). He regularly collaborates with excellent vocalist Gioconda Cilion, a major song stylist and improviser (Sounds Of My Soul Dischi della Quercia 1995) and performs solo (Good Morning Midnight Splasc(h) 1998). In his town of Syracuse, he promotes the Labirinti Sonori Jazz Festival.

Stefano Maltese Open Music Orchestra
Alberto Mandarini (tp, flug), Lauro Rossi, Sebi Tramontana (tb), Stefano Maltese (as, cb, arr), Eugenio Colombo (ss, as, fl, bfl), Carlo Actis Dato (bs, bcl), Umberto Petrin (p), Giovanni Maier (b), Antonio Moncada (dr), Gioconda Cilio (vcl)

Recorded in rome 1999, october 26 and 27 in Sala B Radio Rai.


Pithecantropus Erectus
Pow Wow Mingus
Peggy's Blue Skylight
The Blue Meets The Moon
Celia
The Wings Of The Night
Duke Ellington's Sound Of Love
Love Call
Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting
A Stormy Night
Eclipse
Things We Said

Astonishing italian new jazz "all star" ensemble assembled in 1999 to celebrate Charles Mingus' 20 years after his death. In this deep tribute the predominant feeling is respect and a great knowledge of Charles Mingus compositional and arranging skills. In this concert, later published as enclosed to the italian jazz magazin "Musica Jazz", we find a selection of 9 among the best italian musicians in a program of six Mingus compositions alternated with 6 original Maltese compositions inspired to those ones. Even if this is an important and very fine record, perhaps is not the most rapresentative of Stefano Maltese's originality; but it's an OOP and a very rare album to find even in Italy.
My aim here is mostly that of pointing to the attention of a highly qualified group a name perhaps not so largely known despite the amazingly beauty of his music.

A Link to Stefano Maltese recording company website: http://www.labirintisonori.it/english/stefano/frame_stefano.htm

Don Cherry - Scandinavian Radio Sessions 1965-1971

Responding to another request, from blogger chum Sotise, this is a set of three separate radio broadcasts, featuring Don Cherry with a large band, in a smaller setting and finally with a smaller jazz group.

The first set, from 1971, has a large group setting with Cherry playing with Danish musicians. Listening to it, the Eastern influence is quite noticeable, whether it is from Indonesian gamelan or Indian classical vocal and instrumental traditions, but still mixed in with the Western jazz heritage. It is somewhat reminiscent of similar experiments with John Tchicai and Cadentia Nova Danica, George Russell and the Jazz Composers Orchestra Association taking place at the time.

Don Cherry & Opportunity
Danish Radio Studios, Copenhagen 1971-05-21

1. Ying Yang
2. The Whole World Catalogue
3. The Celestial Reflection

Don Cherry: cornet, piano, vocals, shells, percussion
Erik Tenzier, Lars Taageby & Niels Riskjaer: trumpets
Erling Kroner & Kjeld Ipsen: trombones
Michael Hove: alto sax
Knud Bjørnøe, Jesper Nihau & Jesper Thilo: tenor saxes
Flemming Madsen: baritone sax
Torben Munch: guitar
Kasper Winding, Bent Clausen & Claus Nordby: drums
Bo Stief: bass
Thomas Clausen: keyboards
Palle Mikkelborg: conductor

The second set is a collaboration with Terry Riley, well-known for exploring minimalistic, drone-based sound suites, again very often with a strong Eastern influence, and Riley has continued to work with Indian musicians up to the present date, including the concert I attended a couple of years ago. This music was made around the time of the "Rainbow in Curved Air" lp and on the lp as well as here Riley switches between soprano sax and organ, one side for each. Cherry and the group stays close to the pulse of the pieces, resulting in a very intimate, low-key set. Special! According to the info file, Cherry and Riley had met in Sweden a few days earlier, and Riley invited Cherry along for this session. Apart from a short rehearsal the night before it was the first time they played together. The session took place in complete darkness, the musicians seated in a circle on the studio floor

Terry Riley with Don Cherry
Studio session for "Tambourinen", Copenhagen, September 1970

4. untitled I
5. untitled II
6. untitled III

Terry Riley: soprano sax on I & III, organ on II
Don Cherry: pocket trumpet, wood drum on II
Knud Bjørnøe: flute on I & II, drum on III
Jesper Zeuthen: soprano sax on I, tenor sax & tambourine on II, wooden flute on III
Poul Ehlers: bass on I & II, cello on III

The final set, a fairly straight bop date, was recorded in Stockholm back in 1965. Mostly with visiting musicians, this is a lively set of fairly short tunes, providing a counterpoint to the introspection of the former set. Listening to all three sets jointly, you do get a sense that that Cherry was slowly moving away from the jazz idiom towards exploring contacts with non-western musical traditions. That tendency was to continue with Codona which made several albums for ECM and into the 80s.

Don Cherry Quartet
Studio Session, Stockholm, September 1965

7. Elephantasy
8. O.C.
9. The Salad Of The Bad Young Man

Don Cherry: cornet
Brian Trentham: trombone
Cameron Brown: bass
Al Heath: drums
Kwame Ajucu (or Ojukwu): alto sax on Elephantasy

Sam Rivers - The Quest

Responding to a request from Frank Wells, this is Sam Rivers - The Quest, a record out on the Red Record label in Italy and on the Pausa label in the US (both covers above), released in 1976. This is a trio recording with Dave Holland on bass and Barry Altschul on drums and percussion, old Braxton alumni, as it were, and here teaming up with Rivers. Recorded on 12-13 March 1976 in Milano, Italy. This is a mp3 download, ripped from vinyl, so no flacs for this one.

Only four pieces on this record:

1. Expectation
2. Vision
3. Judgement
4. Hope

Rivers shifts from soprano to flute to piano and tenor on the four tracks. He does a splendid job on both soprano and tenor saxes, fills in a lot of colour atmospherics on flute, though perhaps less of a chance to really shine here. I'm less sure about his piano playing. To me, it comes off a bit stiff and contrived and doesn't really gel with the two other guys, but that's just my opinion. It'll be interesting to know if others hear differently. Holland and Altschul are superb throughout. In my view, the first and the last tracks are the definite ones.

I've got some more Rivers in the archives, "Hues" from 1975, one live concert in Foggia, Italy, 1980 (no further info on who's playing - LYM - any idea?), and one live concert from Warsaw in 2000. Let me know if there's an interest in any or all of these - and I'll post them.

Dave Burrell and David Murray Daybreak

Dave Burrell and David Murray Daybreak
Gazell GJCD 4002

1. Daybreak (Dave Burrell) 12:03
2. Sketch #1 (David Murray) 9:49
3. Blue Hour (Dave Burrell) 13:45
4. Qasbah Rendezvous (Dave Burrell) 8:21

Recorded March 30th 1989 at Morning Star Studio, Springhouse, PA, USA
Produced by Sam Charters

Dave Burrell (p)
David Murray (ts, bcl)

I always think that Dave And David are an unlikely pairing. Burrell’s piano playing is angular and spiky, and he likes abstraction and high-end trills; while Murray’s sax and clarinet style is full-throttle gospel-soaked emotion with a strong attachment to melody. But they are both rooted in the tradition of black jazz. This record features a great collection of duets, and reveals a long-term partnership in which they developed a love for each other’s playing, and a distinctive approach to the music which allows each personality to prosper in the company of the other.

They actually recorded over 14 LPs together, including the other duo performances on Brother to Brother, Windward Passages, and In Concert, and the classic DIW quartet recordings Spirituals, Deep River, Lovers, and Ballads. I think they play notably differently together, than when compared with their performances apart. I think they play notably differently together, than when compared with their performances apart.

I think this is something to do with that respect and interest in the jazz tradition. While this record is far from the sorts of investigation of earlier styles of jazz that both musicians had explored, it is deeply rooted in the emotional practices of those traditions. Murray’s sax seems to soar above Burrell’s piano, to reach ecstatic heights. Once you know that Burrell has a fascination with the music of Jelly Roll Morton and James P. Johnson, and the early influences of blues and gospel on jazz you can hear it in his playing, and you can start to understand why he makes such a satisfactory foil for Murray’s gospel-free-swing style. Burrell’s a much more expansive player than Murray, and as Murray takes the emotive line it allows Burrell to be more acerbic.

It’s Dave Burrell’s composing skills that dominate here, and he produces some lovely themes for the recording date which ebb and flow in the performances. Murray seems much more at home once the playing settles into some form of organisation, but he’s more than happy to match the piano player’s complex lines in duals like the one that opens 'Blue Hour'.

This album features Murray’s most ‘out’ playing of the 1980s, and it is interesting to note that he recorded this at the same time as Ming’s Samba for Columbia, and while he was releasing music for Bob Thiele’s Red Barron; all of the latter tended to the mainstream of the ‘jazz revival’ of the late 80s and early 90s. The production credits go to Sam Charters, who discogs.com suggests is jazz and blues historian Samuel B. Charters. This is probably correct because (if my memory serves me correctly) in the 1990s Gazell, while originally a Scandinavian label, was owned by Sonet (which was previously owned by Charters).

26-30 august 2000, 35th AACM Festival in Chicago - Leroy Jenkins Ensemble

AACM 35TH Anniversary Celebration
(Jimmy Jones in Jazz Now, September 2000)
The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) held their 35th Anniversary Celebration at the Museum of contemporary Arts in Chicago, April 26 - 30, 2000. These celebrations (or festivals) have been held every five years since the AACM was formed and I [Mr Jimmy Jones] was fortunate enough to attend the ones in 1985, 1990 and 1995.

The AACM was formed in 1965 when a group of young African American musicians including Muhal Richard Abrams, Steve McCall, Malachi Favors Maghostut, Kelan Phil Cohran, Fred Anderson, Joseph Jarman and Roscoe Mitchell met because they were dissatisfied with conditions for African American Musicians and the way their music was handled. The group established goals to cultivate young musicians and to create music of a high artistic level, to encourage sources of employment for worthy creative musicians, to set examples of high moral standards for musicians to uphold the tradition of elevated cultured musicians handed down from the past, and to stimulate spiritual growth in creative artists through participation in programs, concerts and recitals. The motto for the AACM is "Great Black Music Ancient to the Future." Among the best known AACM musicians are Muhal Richard Abrams, Anthony Braxton, Lester Bowie, Henry Threadgill, Chico Freeman and Jack DeJohnette.

I missed the first day of the celebration which began at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday with a round table discussion about the AACM. This was followed by performances of students of the AACM School of Music.

The schedule for each of the other four days of the celebration were similar with two different masters of ceremony and two different groups performing each day. Between sets, awards were presented to three deserving individuals such as monster musician Muhal Richard Abrams, Von Freeman and Jodie Christian and surviving relatives of the late Steve McCall, Fred Hopkins and Lester Bowie. In addition, the well prepared program listed sites for jams for Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Thursday concert was hosted by saxophonist Joseph Jarman and Jazz writer Neil Tesser. The concert began with a brief "Opening Drum Call" featuring seven percussionists performing on all types of instruments.

Leroy Jenkins led a ten piece group in the first of the two Thursday sets.

The group performed two Leroy Jenkins compositions and one David Boykin composition..

Thursday April 27, 8 pm

1 Opening drum call

Willel Afi-fi, African drums
Ajaramu, trap drums
Dushun Mosley, African drums
Ameen Muhammad, Libation
Avreaayl Ra, trap drums
Chad Taylor, trap drums
Benjamin C. Ford Ward, African drums

2-6 Leroy Jenkins Ensemble

Leroy Jenkins	violin,
David Boykin	reeds,
Niki Mitchell	flute
Jeffrey Parker	guitar
Taalib-Din Ziyad	vocals
Glenda Fairella Baker	vocals
Kenneth Green	keyboards
Ann E. Ward	piano
Rollo Radford	bass
Chad Taylor	drums

Leroy Jenkins (1932-2007) - An Appreciation
By Carman Moore, Published in March 5, 2007


Leroy Jenkins, pioneering violinist and composer, died in Manhattan on Saturday, February 24th from complications related to lung cancer. He was 74 years old. Prized equally in the avant-garde jazz community as in that of the new-music world, Jenkins was a leader in the post-World War II generation of musicians who worked the cracks between worlds. Whether it was as a violinist on a jazz scene that had precious few violinists or as an African-American composer in a classical music scene exhibiting few but growing numbers of black composers, Leroy's gift and passion for music made him seem to simply dive in and make himself at home. Thin and taut as a steel e string, and just as expressive and resilient, Jenkins seemed to clearly be composing as he improvised, while his composing seemed as naturally poured forth as inspired moments of improvisation.
Trained classically from childhood in his native Chicago, Jenkins' way with improvised jazz solos was unique. At times the listener might perceive Brahms or Tchaikovsky virtuosity in the middle of some wild otherwise clearly blues-based passage—one that might be as well a personal shout of triumph, joy, or anguish from a man's very soul. Just as he pushed the limits of jazz Leroy also pushed the limits of classical music. His was a unique American gift to the world of music.
I first met Leroy through an introduction in the mid '80s by the American symphonist Alvin Singleton. I had been trying to assemble the Skymusic Ensemble for several years, as an inter-stylistic chamber group that could make music that would be by turns read and improvised—listenable but always dangerous and unpredictable—Downtown crossed with Uptown. Sam Rivers on soprano saxophone, Gordon Gottlieb on percussion, Marianna Rosett on acoustic piano, Kitty Hay on flute, and Eric Johnson and Kenneth Bichel on synthesizers were the already brilliant members, but we needed a bit more edge. Alvin suggested Leroy. Violin? Edge? When I met him he seemed too gentle, though like our other members he also seemed a pleasure to be around. The rest is history. Leroy's wild and powerful sound and improvised choices took the Ensemble over the top.
And was he funny! On New Years Eve 1989 in Venice, on our way to play my score to Alvin Ailey's Goddess of the Waters, which was commissioned for the Ballet Company of La Scala, Skymusicians and any English speakers within earshot were treated non-stop to Gordon and Leroy laying down barrage after barrage of enough quips and foolishness to make Martin and Lewis and Abbot and Costello seem like Dick Cheney on tranquilizers. Sometime around sunset they both sailed off drunk in a gondola still yacking it up.
Just last year I found myself both in terror of things technical and in desperate need to stop scribbling parts with a pencil and grow up. Leroy put my mind at ease. "I'm using Sibelius," proudly announced this man not noted for a love of things left-brained. Hearing that, I was buoyed, gave it a try with occasional frantic calls for help to Leroy in Brooklyn, and now swear by the user-friendly software. Of course, the main factor here was Leroy's generosity of heart and belief in other people's right to life's wonders. Both hands-on and by example he was the best of teachers, and I was his student in many ways.
Leroy Jenkins was born on March 11, 1932 and grew up on the tough South Side of Chicago. One can only imagine what it must have been like for a small, frail, highly-intelligent black kid walking those streets with a violin. Maybe folks left him alone fearing he was packing, Capone-style. Actually as a sub-teen Leroy was already making a name for himself as a prodigy. With Professor O.W. Frederick at Ebenezer Baptist Church the young Jenkins not only learned the violin, but also the music of such pioneering black classical composers as Will Marion Cook and William Grant Still. From the legendary Walter Dyett at Chicago's Du Sable High School he took lessons in such woodwinds as bassoon, alto saxophone, and clarinet, although violin remained his passion. After graduating from Florida A & M University Jenkins taught school in Mobile, Alabama then returned to his beloved Chicago where in 1964 he joined the legendary Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (the A.A.C.M.), a "free-jazz" group influenced by the work of Cecil Taylor and Ornette Coleman. He subsequently formed the Creative Construction Company with Leo Smith, Anthony Braxton, and Steve McCall and toured Europe, moving to New York in 1970 to form the critically-acclaimed Revolutionary Ensemble with Jerome Cooper, drums, and bassist Sirone.
The '70s and '80s saw Jenkins, like friend and colleague Muhal Richard Abrams, developing a much-admired creative voice as a composer in the classical new-music world. His music was performed by such as the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the Albany Symphony, the Kronos Quartet, Pittsurgh New Music Ensemble, Cleveland Chamber Symphony, and the New Music Consort. From the mid '80s Jenkins was, of course, violinist with our electro-acoustic Skymusic Ensemble, for many years in-residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York. In 1989 Leroy Jenkins was commissioned by Hans Werner Henze for the Munich Biennale New Music Theater Festival to create the opera/ballet Mother of Three Sons with choreographer Bill T. Jones. Later the work was also staged at the New York City Opera and Houston Opera and received a Bessie Award for its "lyrical, intricately-constructed river of jazz and opera." Jenkins then turned much of his attention to creating music theatre works, among them: Fresh Faust, a rap opera; The Negro Burial Ground, a cantata presented at New York's Kitchen Center; the opera The Three Willies in collaboration with Homer Jackson presented at The Painted Bride of Philadelphia and at the Kitchen; and Coincidents an opera with librettist Mary Griffin, which is to receive its premiere at Roulette in New York. At the time of his death Mr. Jenkins was developing two new operas: Bronzeville, a history of South Side Chicago with Mary Griffin, and Minor Triad, a music drama about Paul Robeson, Lena Horne, and Cab Calloway set to a libretto he engaged me to write.
Jenkins's performing work continued apace. He collaborated frequently with dancer/choreographer Felicia Norton and was commissioned by the Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival for collaborations with choreographers Molissa Fenley and Mark Dendy. A recent touring group called Equal Interest featured Jenkins on violin, Joseph Jarman on woodwinds, and pianist Myra Melford. Also recently he assembled a world- music improvisatory ensemble including Jin Hi Kim of Korea on Komungo, Rmesh Misra of India on Sarangi, the Malian Yacouba Sissoko on Kora, and himself on violin. For these and a lifetime of extraordinary work, Leroy Jenkins received many awards, including ones from the NEA, NYSCA, Rockefeller Foundation, and the Guggenheim Foundation (2004).
The likes of Leroy Jenkins will not soon be seen again. Tucked gem-like under his chin, his violin seemed some vital body part hard-wired into an extremely active brain. At work on a composition he was all excitement, open to suggestion, thoughtful, and fearless. He has left the world of music—too soon—a better place.

...here are the new links

Leroy Jenkins Ensemble - (2000) 35 AACM Anniversary Concert - [FLAC]

part1
http://www.mediafire.com/file/zm2woyz1zwt

partt 2
http://www.mediafire.com/file/y3jjy3zmw35

part 3
http://www.mediafire.com/file/hzmzdztuhtg

part 4
http://www.mediafire.com/file/l2zrtiutzo5

ENJOY THE MUSIC!