NEW THINGS from GARY LUCAS, CHRIS SPEED, SHRIMP BOAT, BLUE COLLAR, PAUL MURPHY TRIO, PATRICK BRENNAN, ANDREAS WILLERS, O. BLAAT, AMM, KATHLEEN SUPOVE, 2 from JOHN BUTCHER and 3 BECHEGAS DUOS w/ ALEX SCHLIPPENBACH, DEREK BAILEY and PETER KOWALD!


GARY LUCAS & URFAUST - Free Flying (Faust Records 26 2331) This is the second fine collaboration that downtown guitar ace Gary Lucas has done with this spaced out Czech band which features Mirka Krivankova on vocals, Zdenek Dvorak on electric violin, Vratislav Brabenic (from Plastic People) on sax, Richard Mader on bass & piano and Tomas Reindi on drums. Fully improvised and recorded live in a studio in Prague. Basically, this is one continuous space rock jam with some wild guitar, strange yet hypnotic vocal sounds and some mutant swirling sax and violin. There are many quiet moments with occasional noodling or distant spacey sounds. My favorite parts are when Gary and Mirka sail together with his processed guitar and her wacky vocals floating together mysteriously. More laid back than I would have imagined, but still a moody treat. They finally get down to a heavy boogie on "buttercup" with some great, nasty wah-wah guitar and squealing sax and leave us with a fine tabla-fueled space jam on "corn poppy". Strong on mood and sinister vibes. 'The Ghosts of Prague" for the same price.
CD for $16

ALSO AVAILABLE..

GARY LUCAS & URFAUST - The Ghosts of Prague (Faust Records 6 2331) 1st collaboration Lucas did with this spaced out Czech band from years ago!
CD for $16



CHRIS SPEED/YEAH NO - Swell Henry (Squealer 040) This is the fourth fab cd from Chris Speed's superb Yeah No quartet which now features Chris on clarinet, tenor sax & casio; Cuong Vu on trumpet, Skuli Sverrisson on electric bass and Jim Black on drums, with special guests Rob Burger on accordion, Jamie Saft on Wurlitzer & mellotron and Hilmar Jensson on guitar. Chris has written some immensely charming tunes here, the lush harmonies of tenor sax, trumpet and accordion sound sublime and dreamy on "She Has Four Thorns". Considering that Yeah No includes three of the four members of Pachora, their sound is similar , melodic and enchanting without the ethnic vibe. They rock out nicely on "Flanked" with Skuli's churning bass strumming strongly at the center and Cuong's trumpet smears soaring and simmering simultaneously. They also erupt with quick, nervous energy on "He Has a Pair of Dice" with the tenor and trumpet bending their notes around one another as bass and drums also swirl powerfully in crazy circles. Nice to hear this band getting down on "Staircase Genius" with guitarist Hilmar Jensson playing some nasty, yet tasty skronk guitar. Altogether an excellent program from Chris Speed's mighty Yeah No.
CD now priced at $14

SHRIMP BOAT - Something Grand [3 CD set] (Aum Fidelity 028/30) Shrimp Boat was a phenomenal band that made music out of Chicago from the mid '80s clear through to 1993. Taking inspiration from bluegrass, jazz, country, rock 'n' roll, and most importantly - their own collective gung-ho, their ability to voluminously manifest new song form from the air around them left those exposed awestruck. Three albums were released in their lifetime: great, beautiful documents all, but they aren't even the half of it. Ian Schneller, Sam Prekop, David Kroll, Eric Claridge and Brad Wood were Shrimp Boat. They recorded everything and this set manifests the extended 'Mega-money shot' culled from well over 400 hours of unreleased tapes - 16-tracks made at Idful Music, 4-tracks made at their loft on Archer Street, live stage performances, and radio broadcasts. 'Something Grand' is a 3 cd collection featuring 51 tracks and a 54-page booklet packed with photos, show flyers and two sets of comprehensive liner notes.
3 CD set for $36 (Limited edition bonus CD included for a short while - 2/25/04)

ANDREAS WILLERS OCTET - The Ground Music (Enja 9368/Germany) We had the good fortune to present an extraordinary solo electric guitar set here at DMG last Sunday (6/20) from A German jazz guitar wiz known as Andreas Willers. It was improvised, yet focused and melodic with some nimble tapping and well selected loops. The handful of folks who showed up were most impressed. I've known as Andreas for many years from releases he has done on FMP, Nabel (a swell Hendrix tribute) and Sound Aspects (w/ Mark Dresser, Jim Black & Bobby Previte!). Andreas left us with a half dozen copies of 'The Ground Music' from 2000 and I got to admit that this is my favorite disc of the week. His fine octet features Dominique Pifarely (from Louis Sclavis bands) on violin, Claudio Puntin on clarinets, Matthias Schubert on tenor sax, Arkady Shilkloper (Russian legend) on French horn & flugel, Jorg Huke on trombone, Dieter Ilg on bass and downtown drum great Tom Rainey, with Andreas on electric and acoustic guitas and all compositions. Certainly an unlikely crew from around the world - NY, Paris, Moscow, Cologne and Berlin. "Tell Me Why" opens with some great, tight and twisted Zappa-like writing and playing. During a robust trombone solo, the violin and guitar lead the band through some complex changes/charts. Claudio Puntin plays a marvelous, classical sounding clarinet solo on "Schlaf Du Mein Erquicker", supported perfectly by some rich jazz/rock guitar before Matthias also takes an inspired tenor solo. "Cycles" is an impressive, yet subdued solo electric guitar piece. During the middle of "On Both Sides of the Fence" there is where loops of guitar and voices add some unexpected surprises, the written sections are also well thought out and rather chamber like, yet never remain in one style for too long, consistently intriguing. "X [Parts 3 & 5}" is a strong collective improv with Andreas on acoustic guitar and Claudio laughing on his clarinet, very focused and well recorded. "Articulate Tumbling" is a hushed, acoustic piece with a couple of well written sub-groups playing their Zappa-like complex rhythms and dense harmonies. Dominique plays an amazing violin solo on this one. "The Music Grinder" is an odd sort of waltz that wouldn't sound out-of-place on 'The Grand Wazoo', while "Flying Circus" mixes older and newer jazz streams and Andreas plays an intense fusionish solo. There is just the right of humor used as a spice on a couple of these pieces, to keep things from being too serious. Excellent!
CD for $16 (we have just a half dozen and Enja imports have no distribution in the US at present, soÉ)

KATHLEEN SUPOVE - Infusion / four works for piano and electronics (Koch Classic 7572) Over the past decade, Ms. Supove has become one of the most exciting and adventurous modern classical pianists to check out, especially now that the boundaries between classical, jazz, rock, progressive and world music has turned to dust. Kathleen performs with a diverse cast of ensembles - Dr. Nerve, Twisted Tutu, the Philip Glass Ensemble, the Kitchen House Blend and for The Bill T. Jones Dance Company. On 'Infusion' she performs four challenging works by Carolyn Yarnell, Elaine Kaplinsky, Marti Epstein and Randall Woolf. Ms. Yarnell's "The Same Sky" is up first and was written for solo piano, computer and a video projected on the raised lid of a piano. The piece is filled with layers of cascading notes, waves upon waves, majestic and subtly mesmerizing, the piano is bathed in a haze of dreamy echoes. I remember composer/pianist Elaine Kaplinsky from a fine local female trio called Trousers. Haven't heard from her in awhile, but her piece called "Umbra" is from 1997 and starts out minimally and evolves through fractured constantly shifting lines that become more dense and twisted, but moves through more minimal sections. Even more minimal is Marti Epstein's "She Fell Into a Well of Sorrows", a slow, sparse and spacious, Morton Feldman-like delicacy that is also dipped in an aura of reverb sprinkles. "Adrenaline Revival" was composed by Kathleen's partner Randall Woolf and is in nine parts. Each part is "a series of miniatures, each extending the piano's potential sonorities." The parts are pretty short, mostly under 3 minutes and often romantic in nature. By the forth part, sounds like a twisted boogie-woogie and more fragmented by the next part. Even when the main melody appears to be not that weird, the piano often triggers some slightly unnerving sample but never for very long. At times, I almost forgot what cd I had on, when that bluesy, boogie groove kicked in (part 8) and finally slowed down to a quaint dreamscape on the last part. A nice way to bring this pianistic adventure to an end.
CD for $15

O. BLAAT - Two Novels: Gaze / In the Cochlea (Cronica a 012-2004) O. Blaat is our old friend Keiko Uenishi, former tap dancer and early member of the downtown scene. She has been booking an unusual international cast of electronic(a), DJ's and sonic manipulators for the Sub-Tonic Lounge weekly for a few years, as well as helping organize electronic(a) festivals upstairs at Tonic on occasion. Besides all that, she performs her own version of electronic music under the mysterious name, o. blaat. This is her first solo offering, where she works with a few other sonic wizards - Kaffe Matthews, (former DJ) Toshio Kajiwara, DJ Olive, Ikue Mori, Aki Onda, Eyvind Kang and Akio Mokuna. Christian Marclay once recorded Keiko's tapping for his record 'Footsteps' and has written some choice liner notes. The first half of this cd is called 'Gaze' and her duo with Kaffe Matthews is first. Intense, crackling static, radio frequency transmissions, strong and well defined, refined, confined, yet fascinating, The duo with Toshio (sampler) is filled with streams of glitches, warped samples, electronic chirps and squeaks, short but sweet. The duos with DJ Olive slow things down to a more minimal, snail-paced detour, yet retain some more introspective consideration. "Hanging Sky" is a superb duo with Ikue Mori and Keiko, a mature, evocative, careful and exquisitely well-constructed. The duos with Eyvind Kang (monster violinist with a psychedelic soul, currently with Secret Chiefs III) start out softly yet soon expose eerie feedback drones. The second half of 'Two Novels' is called "In the Cochlea" and it is an o. blaat solo work. A highly detailed piece in ten parts that unfolds like a story, one scene at a time, neatly magnified if you take the time to observe and let it happen. Very tasty, spicy little tales, quiet yet intense.
CD for $14

PAUL MURPHY TRIO - Shadow*Intersections*West (Cadence Jazz 1160) This outstanding trio features Jimmy Lyons collaborator Paul Murphy on drums, Marco Eneidi on alto sax and Kash Killion on cello. A few months ago, a long lost studio session featuring Jimmy Lyons (the late, great avant-jazz alto sax giant that was Cecil Taylor's main soloist for longer than any one else) and his drummer of choice, Paul Murphy, came out also on Cadence Jazz (called 'Red Snapper') and blew minds. Not bad since a phenomenal Jimmy Lyons box-set had also been released last year on Ayler records. I had only heard of Paul Murphy from a few other sessions with Jimmy Lyons and Glenn Spearman, yet Paul's drumming was also spirited and creative. Jimmy introduced Marco Eneidi, another intense alto saxist, many years back, so they were bound to play togther in the future and that they did. I know and dig Marco's powerful alto sax playing from the many years he spent I NY, hearing him blast with William Parker and others. He lives in the bay area now and recently toured and played at CB's Lounge with his new trio with Lisle Ellis & Donald Robinson. Don't know Kash Killion very well except for a few discs with Joel Futterman, but it turns out that he had also played with Cecil Taylor, Sun Ra Eddie Gale. This new studio date was recorded in August of 2002 in Springfield, Virginia, probably closer to where Murphy lives, than the other two. These cats mean business and this is one f**king heavy-duty trio. Paul Murphy does some amazing flurries around his kit, which is well recorded, panning around the stereo spectrum, riding those tom-toms with quick-spinning activity. Kash Killion is like one of those crazy, furious free-jazz bassists from the sixties (Alan Silva, maybe) plucking m ore often than bowing and banging on his cello with power and passion. Marco is another under-recognized giant, here either playing with his usual aggressive, bent-toned flurries and finally stretching out and slowing down nicely on "Spectral Traces". Also like Jimmy Lyons records, this trio flies high similar high-speed bebop-like lightning flashe lines and unstoppable spirit. I am already tired and this is only the third track!?! I a kidding, but you know what I mean. I am jumping around in my seat and soaking in it. On "Ghibli", they start slowly with just sax, bluesy, swagger, very slowly building in tempo and intensity as the rest of trio joins in and eventually explodes with them burning spirits for nearly 10 minutes, before they finally come back down to Mother Earth and slow down for a bit more bluesy solo sax and come down for a soft landing. The amazing duo with Marco and Kash is another fire-breathing test and match of wits. Guess who wins sucker, we all do! In Paul Murphy, I hear a stream/combination of the best drummers - Elvin Jones, Rashied Ali and Tony Williams, as well as the UK greats like Tony Oxley or John Stevens, the way they all seem to float around their drum sets. This is certain to be one of those legendary (yet unnecessarily obscure) free-jazz sessions that is both timeless and astonishing no matter when you play this wonderful treasure.
CD for $14

WHIT DICKEY QUARTET - Coalescence (Clean Feed 021) Featuring Roy Campbell on trumpet. Rob Brown on alto sax & flute, Joe Morris on double bass and Whit Dickey on drums, direction and production. Premier free-jazz drum master, Whit Dickey, records and plays live in-frequently, hence each cd and each gig is something to be savored. Although Whit's playing and direction is essentially free, nothing he does is simple or predictable, his approach seems to be continually evolving. 'Coalescence' features four long pieces, each unique in its own way. On "Mojo Rising", the theme is rather Ornette-like, yet Joe Morris' bass pumps hard as Whit drumming expands and contracts in a natural, intense fluid motion. Roy's trumpet solo deconstructs itself, disintegrates and turns to dust, so Rob Brown can build his solo from scratch ascending higher and higher. This best part is the final duo with the drums and bass, swirling quickly together and sailing to the stratosphere. The title track slows down the pace so both Rob and Roy can take more relaxed and somewhat warm-toned solos, as the rhythm team dances around with a more infectious groove at the center. "Steam" begins slowly, freely and with haunting flute, muted trumpet, bowed bass and mallets, each sound filled with suspense and subtle drama, a ghost-like aura pervades. Finally, "Coalescence 2", starts freely, yet the quartet remains internally connected through years of playing together. They move in spurts together, answering one another and weaving gracefully around one another, building more intensely as they go and reach for the moon and the stars. Coalescence, coalescence, rising higher and higher and...
CD for $16

BLUE COLLAR [NATE WOOLEY/STEVE SWELL/TATSUYA NAKATANI] - Is An Apparition (Rossbin 016) Blue Collar is some of favorite local heroes: Nate Wooley on trumpet, Steve Swell on trombone and Tatsuya Nakatani on drums & percussion. "I've been deeply impressed by trumpeter Nate Wooley's playing in very diverse situations over the past few years, and I'm ecstatic to finally have an official recorded document that captures him so well. Wooley has found his own way in a post-Kelley/Doerner/Hautzinger world, with an openness to different musical situations that puts him in a similar category as masters like Daniel Carter and Jack Wright, two of his major inspirations and favorite playing partners, musicians that make the music happen in almost any situation. He is known for his visibly spiritual immersion in the improvisational moment, freely switching back and forth between trumpet and restrained, trumpet-like vocals. Although he has a subdued, thoughtful lyrical side that's been shaped by his studies with Ron Miles and his deep admiration of Maneri music, with this trio he focuses on his more unconventional trumpet explorations, creating amazing new shapes and textures in tandem with the awe-inspiring virtuosity of trombonist Steve Swell, who is one of the true heroes of current jazz, part of that small circle of musicians who are really sustaining jazz as a living tradition. This is not a typical jazz-related outing for Swell though, but rather a rare showcase for him as a radical improviser who can find meaning in exploratory concepts of sound and motion without relying on pulse or melody. Percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani brings his abstract ritualism to the trio, pushing things even further into unknown territory with his bells, gongs, bowed cymbals, rumbles and scrapes. Track 7 finds them dealing with sustained rhythmic flurries that recall that wild double-trumpet and percussion trio album by Herb Robertson, Paul Smoker, and Jay Rosen on CIMP, but besides that passage this disc is much more unconventional rhythmically, with a total deconstruction of the usual roles of the instruments. Wooley and Swell avoid typical "brassy" passages and focus more on percussive sounds and air-blast textures, such as the mind-blowing passage in track 6 that sounds like a storm on another planet. Even though they often give the feeling of "acoustic instruments making electronic music", the music is more biological than mechanical--sound shapes moving in an unidentifiable biological space, waddling over leaves, tripping over a rock, plopping into a puddle. It's the sounds of animals that don't quite exist, with motions and moods that defy human understanding. The three instruments softly bump into each other, jerk in opposite directions for a second, circle around each other. The togetherness is stunning, but without any cliches of groove or call-and-response; it's an abstract togetherness of moving around in the same small space. Even though it's completely improvised music, they have a genuine group sound from regular gigging around NY over the past few years, and it's appropriate that they have a band name ("Blue Collar") instead of just "Wooley/Swell/Nakatani". This disc feels like a fresh new point in the space of musical possibilities, within visiting distance of the early British free improv traditions, current traditions of abstract gesturalism, 90s free jazz, and the primal/sublime dialectic of the Jack Wright school. It's packed to the brim with magic and detail, another masterpiece from the discerning and impeccable Italian label Rossbin." -- Michael Anton Parker
CD for $14

BORAH BERGMAN / GEORGE HASLAM / PAUL HESSION - the mahout (Slam 318) Fantastic transatlantic trio featuring the legendary Borah Bergman on piano with two British luminaries, George Haslam (Slam label head) on baritone sax & tarogato and Paul Hession on drums. Borah needs no introduction since he has been recognized as one of the guiding lights of avant-jazz piano for the past two decades, closing in on a dozen solo/duo/trio releases with fellow travelers like Thomas Chapin, Roscoe Mitchell, Evan Parker and Hamid Drake. On 'the mahout', Borah hooks up with two like-minded players from England - George Haslam on baritone sax and tarogato (large eastern European clarinet) and Paul Hession, who once played here at the old DMG. Haslam is one of the older British jazz sax greats who has played in diverse situations, from duos with Mal Waldron, Paul Rutherford & Laszlo Gardony to collaborations with Brazilian groups to free jazz with Elton Dean & his cohorts. This intense trio match wits most intensely, swirling around one another at high speeds, erupting together in ascending spirals. 'the mahout' has a strong balance of three strong trio improves and four solo pieces from each of the participants. George's solo bari sax piece is called "M.E.W." and is dedicated to the late Mal Waldron, who George had recorded with. It is a poignant work, touching, solemn and quietly lovely with George playing two reeds at once in the mid-section. Borah's first solo piece is called "Streams" and it is aptly titled as he pours forth streams of notes at a daredevil rate and a dizzying display. George plays a fine, laid back bari solo at the center of "Ancient Stars", while the rest of the trio swirl around him in a flurry of activity, connected on a more subliminal level as they all come together just right. Hession's solo drum piece, "The Varmint", is begins relaxed and free-flowing, playing with his hands in a most elegant way. Borah's other solo is called "Dusk" and is also a laid back treat, showing a side of Borah we rarely get to hear. The final trio "Zircon" is again an amazing and explosive piece with some powerful and intense interplay. This is an extremely well balanced session and it is always great to hear the under-recorded Borah Bergman in just the right situation.
CD for $14 (A few copies directly from George at this lower price; when they are gone it will be back to $18)

LEE RANALDO / JIM O'ROURKE / CARLOS GIFFONI - North Six [3" CD] (Antiopic 005) A seething, screaming set of power electronics and guitar with hardly a moment's pause for air, this recording finds the trio of Carlos Giffoni (computer, synth, guitar), Lee Ranaldo (guitar, firebell) and Jim O'Rourke (synth) in devastating form. This is classic free bombast, alternately sounding like a 'rock band' interpretation of Merzbow's Rainbow Electronics or a punk update of a Musica Elettronica Viva session. The instantly identifiable Ranaldo/Sonic Youth guitar sound is joined by blurting digital scree and analog filter abuse and melting to create a heavy tidal rush of ecstatic cosmic noise. The bliss of the set is confirmed by the Brooklyn audience's joyful reaction at the close.
3" CD for $10

HOPPY KAMIYAMA & YEN CHANG - mamatango (Sushi Music 001) Yen Chang sings & plays chaos pad while Hoppy plays his usual oddities - digital president, asshole box, scum tape from the garbage & gram-pot. Recorded live at Doors and Goodman in Tokyo in February of this year. Anything more than that, I can't tell you, since this limited edition cd in comes in a clear blue slim-case and has no other info. Strange close mic'd vocal sounds float with other eerie samples and static. Mr. Chang like to bend his voice into odd shapes as he improvises and uses a fair amount of echo to alter his voice in enchanting ways, sometimes layering a few lines of echoes upon one another. Hoppy consistently comes up with fascinating samples and sounds - birds with electronic chirps, an assortment of keyboards, overloaded noises, subtle feedback and music for an alien soundtrack. Limited edition blue see-through plastic slim-case
CD for $15 (we only have a few of these)

SYLVIE CHENARD - Les projets de la baliene / Solo 2004 (Jazzy/self-produced) Sylvie is an old friend and an impressive avant guitarist from Montreal with a couple of self-produced cds and a duo release on Ambiances Magnetiques (reviewed here last month). 'Les projets' features 22 pieces for solo electric guitar with effects and samples. On each piece Sylvie takes her trusty guitar and mutates it with a wide variety of sonic mutations - loops, glitches, samples with a few layers of lines at times. She also puts her mysterious voice through some distant devices, using it like another sonic spice. Each piece evokes a different mood, often somber and occasionally spaced out. Some of the glitches she uses sound like there is something wrong with my cd player, repeating and warping certain fragments, the machines we depend on breaking down and frustrating us. Snippets of sustained toned guitar solos float in the mix and/or emerge from the enticing and hypnotic looped sections. Sometimes mesmerizing, sometimes a bit unnerving. Some of this sounds more like bizarre electronic and layered samples mixed into a strange brew.
Slim case CD for $10




A HALF DOZEN NEW-ISH RELEASES from a few of OUR FAVORITE EUROPEAN HEROES:


ALEX SCHLIPPENBACH & CARLOS BECHEGAS - Open Speech - Live (Forward 3) We can never get enough Schlippenbach, since he records so infrequently and recently toured here (with Evan Parker & Paul Lytton) for the first time in nearly two decades. His only recent releases include that 6 CD set ('Night and Day') an all-standards live quartet date and a few of those A Unheard Music series rare reissue discs like 'Pakistani Pomade'. Carlos Bechegas is thee flutist to be reckoned with nowadays, having a number of duo discs with Derek Bailey & Peter Kowald, as well as a couple of solo offerings. I heard that one on Leo was knocked out, so I look forward to this one as well.
CD for $16

PETER KOWALD & CARLOS BECHEGAS - Open Secrets (Forward 1) On his 1998 solo CD Flute Landscapes, Carlos Bechegas was applying extended techniques developed by free improvisers like Evan Parker, Derek Bailey, and bassist Peter Kowald. In the case of the last artist, it led to a fruitful relationship, as Open Secrets testifies. Recorded in a Portuguese studio in October 1999, this CD demonstrates how like minded the two musicians are. Their level of communication is exemplary. Bechegas integrates his voice in his flute playing, something that has become a trademark for Kowald, especially when using the bow. Therefore some of these duets sound like quartets; "Part 10," featuring the bassist's scary basso profondo, is simply stunning. At the beginning of "Part 7," it is the bassist who mimics the flutist, playing the high register. The 13 free improvisations are kept short (nothing over eight minutes), dense, and electrified. In "Part 3," Bechegas' flute jumps all around, unstoppable, while Kowald tries to keep up, obviously amused. The flute's flutter-like exuberance completes the bassist's more introverted playing to a surprising extent -- they were born to play together. Some free-improv records are inhabited by a magical atmosphere. 'Open Secrets' is one of them. All the promises found in Flute Landscapes have been kept. This is the first release on Bechegas' imprint Forward, and his first recording with a renowned improviser. Strongly recommended. --Fran¨ois Couture/AMG.
CD for $16

DEREK BAILEY & CARLOS BECHEGAS - Right Off (Numerica 1100) Mr. Bechegas wears a microphone in front of his nose, dangling from his forehead. This is not a fashion statement, but a way to capture the sound of his flute, translate it to MIDI data, and send it to a computer for real-time processing. After a delightful album where he used his set-up in free improvisation with bassist Peter Kowald, here comes a session with guitarist Derek Bailey, recorded in a Portuguese studio in July 2001. It must be impossible to catch Bailey on a bad day. His playing here is up to his standard, witty, challenging, open-minded, and generous. The fact that he doesn't transcend his own art leaves room to listen to the lesser-known variable in this equation. Bechegas likes to alternate long slow phrases with short quick ones. Paradoxically, his playing sounds more original when the flute is up front; when we clearly hear his inflections and breathing effects. Whenever the electronics take center stage the music becomes somehow more predictable. "R. In" strikes the perfect balance: Bechegas circumvolutes around Bailey's electric guitar with the computer adding menacing low-end growls. In "R. On" on the other hand, it could be any computer wiz dueting with the Englishman. The flute has a hard time being accepted in free improv circles -- for reasons not fully understood, but which probably have to do with its heavy "classical" historical baggage. Bechegas thrives to find new state-of-the-art ways to make it "fit in," but in the end his acoustic playing remains his best argument. -- Fran¨ois Couture for AMG
CD for $16

JOHN BUTCHER / CHRISTOPHER IMER / AGUSTI FERNANDEZ - Clearings (Art 8) Butcher consistently plays his distinctive and probing tenor & soprano sax in many different ways and in many different situations. Agusti Fernandez is another of those under-recognized giants of avant-piano explorations who has done some amazing duos with Derek Bailey, Evan Parker, Marilyn Crispell & William Parker and is a new member of Evan Parker's great Electro-Acoustic Ensemble. Christopher plays violin and is a mystery to me. Can't wait to hear John Butcher in yet another new context!
CD for $17

JOHN BUTCHER / ANN PEEBLES / NILAN PERERA - Smash & Teeny / Gathering [2 CD set w. video] (Spool 305) This one looks very interesting and features John Butcher on saxes, Sarah Peebles on laptop & detuned sho (mouth organ) and Nilan Perera on altered electric guitar & effects. I am a big fan of Sarah Peebles fascinating, rare and strange electronic & ethnic solo efforts. John Butcher also continues to knock me out on tenor and soprano sax. Haven't heard Perera yet, but I am no less intrigued.
2 CD set w/ video included for $28

AXEL DOERNER / GREG KELLEY / ANDREA NEUMANN / BHOB RAINEY - Thanks, Cash (Sedimental 036) This document of an historic tour marrying two of Berlin's finest improvisers with Boston's hometown sluggers (nmperign, The BSC) has finally been released. In August 2001, Doerner and Neumann arrived at Boston's Logan airport for a tour that would cover the continental United States and take up the month of September. They started by recording with Boston's BSC (released on Grob) and then embarked, with Rainey and Kelley, on what would normally be a significantly perception-altering tour of the U.S. It turned out to be more literally mind-melting, which brought out the bottomless magnanimity of each player. The music lets light in through dark slats, and is filled with the richness of sound these musicians bring to their best projects. My friends Michael Parker, A.J. & myself can't wait to taste this sonic treat!
CD for $14

SAKADA - Never Give Up On the Margins of Logic [3" CD] (Antiopic 006) Featuring: Eddie Prˇvost, Mark Wastell, Margarida Garcia, Rhodri Davies & Mattin. For London's Freedom of the City Festival Mattin's Sakada materializes in a big band incarnation. Unexpectedly, the larger the group, the smaller the sound. In contrast to Sakada's dense previous recordings as the trio of Mattin, Prˇvost and Rosy Parlane, here the expanded Sakada navigate a more restrained and open territory. Droning passages rise and ebb in blocks, the sound folding over on itself, while minute textures dance on the edges. The emphasis on bowed sounds (Prˇvost's cymbals, Davies' harp, Garcia's bass, Wastell's objects and Mattin's computer casing (!!!)) brings to mind the slow churning of a Morton Feldman composition, yet mutated further into the realm of the unexpected and abstract. This recording finds a group as attuned to the space in between as they are to each other. An intense document of precisely restrained improvisation.
3" CD for $10

OREN AMBARCHI - Grapes from the Estate (Touch 61/UK) Ambarchi's third solo project for Touch sees him reaching beyond the work for electric guitar that he's become recognized for, expanding his palette and taking his investigations into another sphere entirely. 'Grapes from...' features new instrumentation (strings, tuned bells, percussion and others that can only be guessed at), but the singular and unmistakable influence that Ambarchi exerts on these new materials is what makes it such an indelible work. There is a reconciliation of his love of song-based music and his determination to deal in pure sound. The result is a work that truly eludes such arbitrary definitions. 'Grapes From The Estate' is an all-consuming experience that draws the listener out of an ordinary sense of time, into a world beyond it. On more than any other release, his entire body of work to date can be experienced in a single statement. There are the seemingly random tonal structures that are such a large part of his vocabulary, the playfulness and humor of his formative noise schooling, his love of free jazz, of pop music, and rhythmic elements, perhaps subconsciously derived from his Sephardic heritage.
CD for $15

DAVID GRUBBS - A Guess at the Riddle (Drag City 266) David Grubbs has worked simultaneously at records of songs and records of longer, immersive instrumental pieces. 'A Guess at The Riddle' is a record of songs. It feels like an unburdening. Matching experimentation with articulateness, 'A Guess at The Riddle' is to David's other solo records what Gastr del Sol's 'Camoufleur' was to their preceding records. One finds acoustic instruments (David's piano and Nikos Veliotls's cello) brokering peace agreements with electronics (Matmos), one finds full bands going full-bore (Adam Pierce and Thomas Belhom kicking ass behind the drums, David returning to the electric guitar, David's freshest, most lively-sounding production) and one finds David's strongest collection of songs.
CD for $14

MORTON FELDMAN - Marilyn Nonken plays Triadic Memories [2 CD set] (Mode 136) The place Triadic Memories takes us is full of illusions, not only of function and direction but also of timelessness and stasis. This almost 90 minute, single movement work for solo piano is available in two formats: as a specially priced 2-CD set and complete and uninterrupted on one DVD-Audio. There is no indication of tempo. For this recording, Ms. Nonken chose a steady eighth-note pulse throughout that approximates the heart rate at rest. Unfolding in time at this rate, the work's geography its rapturous peaks and long, low valleys is brought into relief. Of Marilyn Nonken's October 2003 performance of "Triadic Memories", John Rockwell wrote in The New York Times: "Ms. Nonken played it with a relaxed, almost rubber-wristed calm, caressing the keys without losing rhythmic definition. A lovely performance of a lovely piece."
2 CD set for $28

ISAIAH OWENS - You Without Sin Cast The First Stone (Casequarter 102) The Casequarter mission continues full-force with its second installment of the wondrous and sacred musical intensity and beauty that avails itself in the American South. This time it is a collection of contemporary recordings - 'You Without Sin Cast The First Stone', the solo debut of singer/guitarist Isaiah Owens. In the early 1990s, Isaiah Owens ended a distinguished career singing lead with the gospel quartet the Flying Clouds of Montgomery, Alabama. Early in the 1980s, Owens began to teach himself guitar and soon began sitting in on local AM gospel radio broadcasts, most notably with the Montgomery Gospelaires and later with Ann Talbert's Cheerful Angels program. Always known for his dynamic vocals and piercing falsetto, Owens augmented the initial chords he taught himself with extremely loud volume. Along with emphasizing the rhythmic over the traditionally musical, Owens was not afraid to incorporate dissonance into his playing. The merging of Owens' unique guitar style with his accomplished vocals makes for an intriguing and original musical experience truly not heard anywhere else in the gospel world.
CD for $14


SOME REISSUES/RESTOCKS ...

AMM - From a Strange Place (PSF 80) Keith Rowe on table-top electric guitar, John Tilbury on piano and Eddie Prevost on drums & percussion. "Recorded live in Japan at a venue called the Egg Farm (hence Keith Rowe's amusing cover painting), it's not hard to raise some analogies with kabuki theatre. As with many a concert by this "mature" incarnation of AMM, a large portion of the event is quiet, spare, and gestural. Pianist Tilbury is in post-Feldman mode throughout, softly raining isolated, lovely figures while Prevost spends much of his time delicately, if atonally, bowing cymbals and other metals and quietly rustling various objects over his drumheads. Rowe contents himself with muted rubbings and the occasional radio transmission, all, as usual, supremely attuned to the ruminations of his companions. About 50 minutes in, there is a brief but intense surge in volume as Rowe creates the visceral impression of massive sheets of steel being rent apart, but things soon subside back into an edgy, contemplative state. The subtle beauty of this near stasis is one of the unique capabilities of AMM. For all the improvisatory and non-idiomatic nature of their art, the odd and wonderful thing is that there is no other ensemble who sounds remotely like AMM. Highly recommended." -- Brian Olewnick/AMG
Japanese import CD on sale for $16 [Limited time only, then back to $20]



ARCHIE SHEPP - Poem For Malcolm (Actuel 11/Sunspot 548) Another great session recorded in Paris (on August 14 1969) for the BYG Actuel label. Tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp backed by Burton Greene on piano, Alan Silva & Malachi Favors on basses; Hank Mobley on tenor sax, Grachan Monchur III on trombone, Vince Benedetti on piano and Claude Delcloo & Philly Joe Jones on drums. "This album is a mixed bag. Best is "Rain Forrest" on which tenor-saxophonist Archie Shepp, in a collaboration with trombonist Grachan Moncur III, pianist Vince Benedetti, bassist Malachi Favors, and drummer Philly Joe Jones perform some stirring free jazz; the interplay between Shepp and Jones is particularly exciting. On a four-and-a-half minute "Oleo," Shepp "battles" some bebop with fellow tenor Hank Mobley, but the other two tracks, a workout for the leader's soprano on "Mamarose," and his emotional recitation on "Poem for Malcolm," are much less interesting, making this a less than essential release despite "Rain Forrest." -- Scott Yanow/AMG
Here it is on CD in a Miniature replica of the original BYG-Actuel LP gatefold cover.
CD for $17

ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO - Message To Our Folks (Actuel 28/Sunspots 549) Originally recorded at Studio Davout in Paris on August 12, 1969. The Art Ensemble Of Chicago stands out as one of the most influential and long-lasting avant-garde jazz bands of all time.
Here it is on CD in a Miniature replica of the original BYG-Actuel LP gatefold cover.
CD for $17

THE ABOVE TWO ACTUEL ALBUMS ARE AVAILABLE IN MORE ECONOMICAL VERSIONS BELOW [ For those who don't need the 'Mini-LP cover...]

ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO - A Jackson In Your House/Message To Our Folks (Actuel 2 & 28/Fuel 2K; USA) Before drummer Don Moye joined the Art Ensemble, they were still a cosmic quartet that played "Great Black Music - Ancient to the Future" and featured four giants - Roscoe Mitchell & Joseph Jarman on numerous reeds & percussion, Lester Bowie on trumpets and Malachi Favors on basses & percussion! Two essential albums which stretch the boundaries of jazz from the gospel of "Old Time Religion" to the bebop of Bird's "Dexterity" to the out/rock of "Rock Out" to the avant/space/jazz of the future -"A Brain for the Seine"!!! Two of the classic Actuel LPs on 1 CD!
CD for $16

ARCHIE SHEPP - Yasmina A Black Woman/Poem for Malcolm (Actuel 4 & 11/Charly; UK) Two Classic BYG/Actuel release complete on 1 CD ! Yasmina A Black Woman - Another of tenor sax giant Archie Shepp's fabulous studio dates from August of 1969 in Paris with an odd cast of characters from both the avant and more mainstream jazz world playing well together. The collective personnel features Archie, Roscoe Mitchell, Arthur Jones & Hank Mobley on saxes, Clifford Thorton on cornet, Lester Bowie on trumpet, Dave Burrell on piano, Malachi Favors & Earl Freeman on basses and Sunny Murray, Philly Joe Jones & Art Taylor on drums. The [LP] side-long title track is especially mind-blowing! . Poem for Malcolm - One of Shepp's most memorable albums for BYG. Side one has him playing with Burton Greene, Alan Silva, Philly Joe Jones, and Claude Delcloo on the extended Mamarose/Poem For Malcolm. The track starts out with very free playing, then moves into a more subdued passage, with Shepp's recitation of his "Poem For Malcolm". Side two has a great lineup that includes Grachan Moncour III, Malachi Favors, and Hank Mobley, who gives one of the wildest performances of his life! The group runs through the 20 minute track Rain Forest/Oleo, and begins with a dark, spare performance, then leaps into a reading of "Oleo" that's filled with fire.
CD for $16




SOME NEW ENTRIES ON OUR "7 FOR THE PRICE OF 6" CD SALE!

MATERIAL - Best Of Material (Charly/Fuel 2K; USA) Bill Laswell's Material has changed its sound so many different times that any number of compilations could serve as a best-of and still not paint a complete portrait. This is actually more like "Best of the Early Years," gathering tunes from the first three EPs (Temporary Music 1, 2, and American Songs), and the 1st and 2nd albums, Memory Serves [with players like Henry Threadgill, Olu Dara, Sonny Sharrock, Fred Frith] and One Down, plus a couple of 12" only releases, including 'Busting Out' with killer Nona Hendryx vocals and an over-the-top guitar solo by Ronnie Drayton, and the only CD release of the LONG version of "For a Few Dollars More" that DOES include the phenomenal [but short] 20 second Henry Kaiser solo! This period saw Material start out as a punk-informed art-funk band, then move toward a fairly straight R&B sound with One Down (which actually featured Whitney Houston's recording debut on a tune with Archie Shepp, singing a Soft Machine tune 'Memories' with sax solos by Archie Shepp - originally sung by Robert Wyatt and written by Hugh Hopper!! - along with other luminaries such as Fred Frith, Nile Rodgers, Nicky Skopelitis, Yogi Horton, Oliver Lake, Fred Maher, Daniel Ponce, Bernard Fowler). CD $10.00 7 for 6 SALE.


DR. JOHN [MAC REBENNACK] - The Very Best Of Dr. John (Rhino; USA) Dr. John has recorded many great albums, but it's difficult to argue with such a perfect distillation of his catchy, grooving, slapdash pop work as this Rhino set. Coming out of the R&B studio subculture of New Orleans, the former Mac Rebennack possessed songwriting smarts and reams of recording expertise, each of which had reached their peak by the early '70s. Focused squarely on that prime era, 1970 through 1974, the collection begins with his only Top Ten hit, 1973's irrepressibly fatalistic "Right Place, Wrong Time." Two others come from his best album (1973's In the Right Place), the jaunty "Such a Night" and "Qualified." 1972's Dr. John's Gumbo also rates three tracks: the New Orleans classics "Iko Iko" and "Tipitina," plus "Junko Partner." The compilers were also wise to choose three songs from Gris-Gris, his unjustly neglected psychedelic debut, including "Mama Roux" and "I Walk on Guilded Splinters" (but unfortunately, not the glorious "Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya Ya"). A version of Jimmy Liggins' jump-blues classic "Honeydripper," from 1981's Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack, spotlights his sparkling boogie-woogie piano, and the set closes with a pair of standards from his latter-day Warner Bros. years (one of which is the unofficial Mardi Gras theme "Goin' Back to New Orleans"). Whether it's for a first listen or the perfect road-trip disc, The Very Best of Dr. John has virtually all of the New Orleans master's best recordings in one spot. -- John Bush, AMG
CD $12.00 7 for 6 SALE.

GENTLE GIANT - The Last Steps: Live (Purple Pyramid; USA) The Last Steps is a document of Gentle Giant's last show [in the US]. By the time they packed it in, the band's records had become of lesser interest to the fans that had followed them for an entire decade, but the live shows were still always a quality treat!
CD $10.00 7 for 6 SALE.

STEVE HOWE - Portraits of Bob Dylan (Purple Pyramid; USA) Steve Howe's tribute album Portraits of Bob Dylan features an array of great vocalists: Yes bandmate Jon Anderson, Phoebe Snow, Annie Haslam of prog-classical explorers Renaissance, soul legend P.P. Arnold, and former Hollies lead singer Allan Clarke, and Keith West, the singer from the late '60 psych group Tomorrow that Howe was in, doing covers ranging from old chestnuts like "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" (done in a rather nice ornate finger-picking style) to the admirably obscure "Going, Going, Gone" (from 1974's underrated Planet Waves and essayed in a hyper-dramatic style by Clarke). Portraits of Bob Dylan is pleasant enough, and it's a nice gesture toward an obvious hero of Howe's... -- AMG
CD $10.00 7 for 6 SALE.

LOTHAR & THE HAND PEOPLE - This is It: Machines (See for Miles 75; UK) Completely cool and rather bizarre psych/pop band that moved from Colorado to NYC and recorded two weird gems for Capitol in 1968 and 1969. One of the first rock bands to work with a theremin (named Lothar) and a synthesizer, they became on a staple on FM radio, when FM was still taking chances and playing all types of experimental rock. This solid compilation collects 15 of the best songs from both albums, including their late night stoner classic "Space Hymn", which was played often on Alison "the Nightbird" Steele's popular radio show on WNEW-FM. Their songs were rather quaint and oddly catchy and just a bit weird. I caught them at the Atlantic City Rock Festival in August of 1969, before Woodstock, and thought they were great. If you own the domestic (One-Way?) version of this collection, it is missing "Space Hymn", which is their best track - an epic journey into inner/outer space - and is found here.
CD $15.00 7 for 6 SALE. [Out of Print, but we have some!]

KINKS - Marble Arch Years: Well Respected Kinks/Sunny Afternoon/Kinda Kinks (Castle; UK) This will take some explaining for American audiences and perhaps even British fans who aren't first-generation Kinks fans, or for those who weren't fanatical record collectors at the time. Marble Arch was a record label, but it wasn't a label that the Kinks recorded for, at least not directly. As explained in the liner notes to Castle's triple-disc box, Marble Arch was a subsidiary of the Kinks' label, Pye. The label created the spinoff, naming it after the famed London location, as a way to offer cheap mini-albums to an audience who wouldn't buy LPs because they were too expensive. So, every release on Marble Arch was shorter than the average U.K. LP, usually weighing in at ten songs, at a considerably reduced price and, in the case of the Kinks, also offered singles that had yet to appear on albums (although there would also be album tracks). In short, they were a lot like the American versions of British albums at the time, which also boasted abbreviated, jumbled track listings. That means there is no particular sound to the Marble Arch years, nor was it a particular phase in the group's development (it's not named after a studio they recorded at or a house they all lived in, for instance) -- it's simply an elegant name for the Marble Arch recordings, which were pure product at the time. Pure product gains luster in the rosy view of nostalgia, of course (particularly for those who didn't live through it and just pick up albums based on covers or discographies they read in specialty magazines), and so collectors are primed for a collector's box like this -- a mini-cardboard box containing all three Kinks Marble Arch releases in mini-LP sleeves that reproduce the original artwork, down to the pictures of other Marble Arch releases on the flip, with a thin paper insert of liner notes that mimics LP inserts at the time. Really, the only difference is that the pure mono mixes are included instead of the simulated stereo that populated some Marble Arch releases, but that again will likely satisfy those collectors who like the appearance of historical purity yet don't mind sonic revisionism. The uncredited liners claim "these 'budget' albums shouldn't be underestimated as they introduced many a fan to the Kinks' music," before admitting that they're "probably best remembered for their colourful, and now collectable sleeves, rather than the music they presented," and that's the truth and also the problem. Sure, the sleeve of Sunny Afternoon is delightful, not just for the colors but because it places the Kinks in a psychedelic setting where they never belonged, but is it worth buying all this music that you [might] already own (perhaps several times over) again, particularly since one of these albums is an abridged version of Kinda Kinks? Perhaps -- if you are one of those fans introduced to the Kinks through these albums or if you love collector's bait [or if you want a quick entry into some of their best early work and don't have any, this is a great way to start] - Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG
CD $30.00 7 for 6 SALE.




DMG's RECOMMENDED UPCOMING NYC GIGS


Friday June 25th-

URI CAINE BLUE WAIL QUARTET at the Village Vanguard!


Saturday June 26th-

NEIL YOUNG TRIBUTE - by HAL WILNER w/ JANE SIBERRY, RON SEXSMITH, IRON & WINE & even more for FREE!!! at 7:30 in Prospect park in Brooklyn!!

MARC RIBOT TRIO PLUS at Tonic at 8 & 10pm - w/ Morgan Craft on guitar & Giulia Lowlie on turntables (Burnt Sugar & Rough Americana), Dave Hofstra -bass & Deatoni Parks - drums!!

URI CAINE GOLDBERG VARIATIONS OCTET at the Village Vanguard!


Sunday June 27th-

CHRIS MANNIGAN & ED OWENS alto sax & bass here at DMG at 7pm for free!

Free Style Series at CB's Lounge - 313 Bowery starts at about
7pm w/ - chris kelsey, jay rosen & francois grillot;
8pm - jack wright, dan dechellis & reuben radding;
9pm - boom quartet: mario pavone, david berkman, matt wilson & tony malaby;
10pm - mary halvorsen & jessica pavone - another strong line-up!!


Monday June 28th-

YOUSSOU N'DOUR at Joe's Pub at 11:30 - he still rules!


Tuesday June 29th-

BOB DYLAN'S 'Blood on the Tracks' Tribute Project at Merkin Hall (129 W. 67th St. near Broadway) at 8pm w/ Richard Barone, Tony Visconti, Joel Harrison, Vernon Reid, Joan Osborne, Marc Anthony Thompson, Buddy Cage and others - looks interesting to me!


Wednesday June 20th -

VANDERMARK 5 at Tonic at 8 & 10pm! - Great new cd & half tribute to Rahsaan & they are always great live!

TONY MALABY / ANGELICA SANCHEZ / TOM RAINEY at Cornelia St. Cafˇ at 8:30 - outstanding avant/jazz tenor sax/piano/drums trio!!


Thursday July 1st-

MARTY EHRLICH TRIO at Tonic at 8pm - w/ Mark Helias & Michael Sarin - an outstanding trio!


Friday July 2nd-

TRAD GRAS OCH STENAR & BARDO POND at Tonic at 8pm! Ancient Scandinavian psych/prog krautrockin' meets their post-rockin' throb children from Philly (Bardo Bond)!

(STEVE BERNSTEIN'S) SEX MOB at Tonic at midnite!! Always a blast!


Saturday July 3rd-

BADAWI at 8pm at Tonic - Raz Mesinai's great middle eastern groove fest rules!

ANDY STATMAN at 10pm at Tonic - an amazing klez/avant/jazz clarinetist & a brilliant bluegrass mandolinist all rolled into one wonderful Hasid from Brooklyn!!

BURNT SUGAR at midnite at Tonic - Miles/Hendrix/Funkedelic/Space-rock conducted by Greg Tate (& Butch Morris) - taking over the world!!

RICHARD THOMPSON BAND & HENRY KAISER MYSTERY BAND at the Fillmore in San Franciso! Bruce & Jason take a quick vacation to the bay for this historic double-bill!!


Sunday July the 4th-

DMG is closed, as are many other stores, so...Celebrate Freedom....today and every day - GET OUT AND REGISTER TO VOTE - EARLY! So many of our American friends/clientele seem to not be overly concerned, and don't bother voting. Please insure that WARMONGERING GREED, CORRUPTION, and EVIL PERSONAL AGENDA does not sweep [back] into our government come the new year!!!


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TWO VERY VERY SPECIAL SUMMER GIGS!!

Henry Kaiser returns to NTonic for two incredible nights!!

Tuesday July 13th -

HENRY KAISER - RAY RUSSELL - JONAS HELLBORG - LUKAS LIGETI at Tonic at 8pm!!!
Holy shit! Legendary British avant/jazz/rock guitar hero comes to Tonic to jam w/ another guitar great (Mr. Kaiser, who almost never comes to NYC) plus Jonas Hellborg - a truly astonishing electric bassist and the mighty Lukas Ligeti on drums!! What more do you want?


Wednesday July 14th-

ELLIOTT SHARP'S TERRAPLANE w/ HENRY KAISER & GLENN PHILLIPS ! at Tonic at 8 & 10pm
E. Sharp's blues band are phenomenal on their own, but only tonight they are joined by two guitar gods - bay area's best - Henry Kaiser plus Atlanta legend Glenn Phillips from the Hampton Grease Band!!!!


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OH YEAH THE DOWNTOWN MUSIC GALLERY 'FREE IN-STORE PERFORMANCE SERIES' CONTINUES IN 2004 WITH:


SUNDAY June 27th

CHRIS MANNIGAN and ED OWENS - Alto sax and bass duo!


SUNDAY July 4th

NO GIG - we won't be open [gasp!]


SUNDAY July 11th

RAS MOSHE reeds, RUIT REGEV trombone, TYSHAWN SOREY drums


SUNDAY July 18th

ERNEST ANDERSON & JOHN WIECZOREK - guitar and percussion duo!


SUNDAY July 25th

7 PM
NATE WOOLEY trumpet, STEVE SWELL trombone, TATSUYA NAKATANI percussion - Three Jazz/Improv Masters! and..

8 PM
DOM MINASI - Master Jazz Guitarist goes solo just for DMG!