An OUTSTANDING week of new releases! HENRY COW's FIRST NEW OFFICIAL RELEASE IN 30 YEARS! THE RECOMMENDED RECORD 1982 SAMPLER, FRED FRITH & DANIELLE ROGER PALARDY, K-SPACE [GENDOS CHAMZYRYN/TIM HODGKINSON /KEN HYDER], LES POULES [JOANE HETU/DIANE LABROSSE/DANIELLE ROGER], JOHN GEGGIE/MARILYN CRISPELL / NICK FRASER,

5 CD's from Cuneiform: ISOTOPE, RICHARD PINHAS & MERZBOW, DEUS EX MACHINA, MICROSCOPIC SEPTET and BIRDSONGS of the MESOZOIC, The Great Fledg'ling Catalogue Sale: CHRIS McGREGOR & BROTHERHOOD of BREATH, RICHARD & LINDA THOMPSON, SANDY DENNY, FOTHERINGAY, SHIRLEY COLLINS, DAVEY GRAHAM...

New on Jazzwerkstatt: CONNY BAUER QT & SOLO, UWE KROPINSKI & JOEL SASCHE Duo & Solo DVD, ROLF KUHN & JAN RODER, Sangeeta Michael Berardi w/ John Esposito & James Finn, Hans Werner Henze, Yoshi Wada, Bernard Hermann, Chris Newman & even more!




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OMIGOSH! We're having a cow! The First New HENRY COW Disc in 30 years!!!

HENRY COW [FRED FRITH/TIM HODGKINSON/CHRIS CUTLER/GEORGIE BORN or JOHN GREAVES/LINDSAY COOPER/DAGMAR KRAUSE] - 40th Anniversary Vol 6: Stockholm & Goteborg (ReR HC12; UK) This is the first new release in 30 years from this legendary audience-splitting British group, and the first featuring Georgina Born, the group's bassist from 1976-78. Remixed and re-mastered from the original Swedish radio tapes. Henry Cow were never going to fit in. Their compositions were way too composed and their improvising was way too improvised - a tendency that only got more extreme as time went on, as these recordings from 1976 and 1977 demonstrate. Stockholm and Goteborg fills in some of the missing history between In Praise of Learning (1975) and Western Culture (1978) and offers music that has not been heard on record until now. First is Tim Hodgkinson's late and fiendishly complicated epic composition 'Erk Gah' (a working title), that took many months of sweat to learn and resolutely eschews any hint of riff, solo or modular assembly. At the other extreme are the two wide-ranging improvisations built around heady extended instrumental techniques, aleatorics, quotations, more-or-less randomly inserted prepared materials and a blithe disregard for genre rules. Between, constantly shifting ground, are a straight-ahead version of Phil Ochs' No more Songs (one of only two covers ever performed by the band), an unreleased composition by Fred Frith, and a version of the Ottawa Song: a typical live set from that period. Finally, Stockholm is a snapshot of a band of exceptional talents having fun. And it reflects what the studio albums could not - that Henry Cow's natural habitat was the stage - and the real-time pressure of public performance - because it was there that the music could live and breathe. And evolve.
CD $16

[The CD above is an advance release from the coming TWO BOX SETS celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Henry Cow! BOX 1 will have 5 CDs covering the period from 1971 to 1976, BOX 2 will have 4 CDs + 1 DVD covering the years from 1975-1978; each box will have its own book!. The Stockholm CD [Vol 6] being sold above is an advance release from the second box.

These are promised for Xmas release, and for those that buy this disc now you will be able to purchase BOX 2 without the Stockholm CD in it at an appropriately lesser price from us, and slip in your already owned copy. There will also be a special price for purchasing both boxes together, with or without CD V6 (but PLEASE don't send us any requests for preorders now - the final prices are still up in the air as well as the exact release dates)

From ReR: "Assembled over 15 years, this collection gives for the first time some idea of the breadth and depth of Henry Cow's work. Always very much a live band, performance was their metier, and a concert might range far - always driven by an intense dialogue between tightly knit compositions and radically open improvisation. The officially released LPs tell at best only half this story, and one purpose of this definitive collection is to set the work back into its broader context. These are all previously unreleased recordings, that include many compositions and improvisations new to anyone who only knows the official releases, documentation of a number of one-off projects and events and - where different or remarkable enough to justify inclusion - live versions of parts of the LP repertoire. Many of these recordings are high quality radio transcriptions taken directly from the original masters, others are less hi-fi, but justified we think by their historic and musical quality. And everything has been carefully transferred and re-mastered by Bob Drake to the best audio quality that current technology allows without interference or tampering. It's all a million times better than the terrible bootlegs that are swimming around. Altogether, these 9 CDs embody some extraordinary, and occasionally prescient music. Taking this box together with the officially released albums, it is possible at last to get some impression of the extensive ground Henry Cow covered in it's 10 short years. Finally, there is the DVD: 80 minutes of the 1976 Cow (with Georgina Born and Dagmar Krause) performing many unreleased pieces as well as Living in the Heart of The Beast, Beautiful as the Moon &c. This is the only known video recording in existence - professionally made, multi camera - and has not been recovered since its original broadcast (just scour U-Tube, HC is conspicuous by its total absence). And last but not least, there is a great deal of written, photographic and textual documentation. Since this will probably be the last and definitive collection, it has to be thorough. For reasons of fairness and cost we have decided to split the set into two boxes - which can be bought separately or together. BOX 1 covers the period 1971 to the 1976 Hamburg radio show which documents John Greaves' last concert with the band, as well as the extraordinary Trondheim concert from the quartet tour that immediately followed. BOX 2 takes the story through to 1978 and includes more previously undocumented compositions as well as the Bremen radio recording."

Another reward for living long enough..sigh]


RECOMMENDED RECORDS [V.A.] - The Recommended Records Double Sampler: 1982 [2 CD set] (ReR 1982; UK) Featuring Faust, Art Bears, ZNR, Robert Wyatt, The Residents, Henry Cow, This Heat, Art Zoyd, Univers Zero, Stormy Six, Aqsak Maboul, Picchio Dal Pozzo, Decibel, Goebbels and Harth, The Homosexuals, The Work, Amos and Sarah, The Black Sheep, Feliu Gasul, The Muffins, R.Stevie Moore, Robel Vogel, Ron Pate/Raudelunas, Conventum, Joseph Racaille and Patrick Portella Originally released in 1982, this is a collection of specially commissioned and (at the time) newly recorded pieces by the most interesting groups and individuals then in the Recommended catalogue. Never reissued, it has slowly become a prized collectors' item - and remains an indispensable snapshot of the range and musical brilliance of this critical moment in the history of a small community of left-field groups struggling towards new musical languages. The breadth of imagination displayed is exemplary and it is amazing how fresh and original this music still sounds, and how much things have changed in only 25 years.
2 CD set for $27

FRED FRITH & DANIELLE PALARDY ROGER - Pas De Deux Nouveau (AM 175; Canada) This meeting with Fred Frith was a jubilation from start to finish. One of those precious moments where trust rules and energy flows. We had never played together, but it was bound to happen. The initial impetus for this duo came from a Carte blanche offered by Pierre Dumont of the Festival des musiques de creation in Saguenay. To me, it seemed appropriate to honor that Carte blanche with this project with Fred. And as long as we were dragging him to Quebec, we had to take the opportunity to present this "rare" duo in Montreal, at La Sala Rossa. This CD is not the faithful reproduction of one of these concerts, but a collage featuring highlights from both evenings.
CD $15

JOHN GEGGIE With MARILYN CRISPELL/NICK FRASER - Geggie Project (Ambiances Magnetiques 179; Quebec) Featuring John Geggie on double bass, Marilyn Crispell on piano and Nick Fraser on drums. Superb, sublime and spacious. Beautifully recorded, a warm and exquisite mix. Longer review when I get my hands on that promo.
CD $15

LES POULES [JOANE HETU/DIANE LABROSSE/DANIELLE PALARDY ROGER] - Phenix (AM 176; Canada) Les Poules have been playing together for over a decade, and every passing minute of their long history and musical intimacy. Joane Hetu staked out a minimalist territory of voiceless fricatives and static noises, which she mined over the course of the performance. Diane Labrosse explored a similarly focused territory, while Danielle Palardy Roger's percussion poured out speechlike with orchestrally various gestures accumulating over time into a complex field. A drama of highly attuned listening slowly emerged full of simultaneous starts, frequent finishing of each others' sentences, and sudden collective laughter. Occasionally, certain silences were allowed to move with grace to the center of the circle.
CD $15

K-SPACE [GENDOS CHAMZYRYN/TIM HODGKINSON/KEN HYDER] - Infinity [CD-ROM] (Ad Hoc 21; USA) COMPUTER-ONLY DISC (PC or MAC) that re-composes all musical parameters when loaded + 4 Quicktime movies + full-color photo album . A new, revolutionary album which is different every time you play it has been created by Tim Hodgkinson, Ken Hyder and Gendos Chamzyryn. At a time when the music industry is making a dramatic shift from CDs to downloads, K-Space's Infinity presents a different option. First of all, this disk plays on a computer, not a CD player. And this is a whole piece of work - you can't download tracks from it. In fact the disk contains software that performs the 'pieces' on the album differently every time you play them. These performances are in no way random and this has nothing to do with shuffle-culture. The software is specially programmed to make choices from the available material. Furthermore you can't pause or fast-forward this album: the music is indivisible, and you can only turn it on or turn it off. In fact everything that happens is there to create a special listening experience... The sensation for the listener is of being in one space which encompasses different locations and different moments in time. And each space is different each time the piece is played. On the same disc, there's also 4 videos of the band, and a full-color photo album. Faust's Jean-Herve Peron says: "Great great piece of work on the musical/spiritual level as well as this very ingenuous technological twist: you buy one cd and you get x-times the length of always good music ! A genius strike ! And magic.. it is always new.. I was UP UP AND AWAY !!"
CD-ROM for $16


Five GREAT New Releases from our friends at Cuneiform!

ISOTOPE [GARY BOYLE/HUGH HOPPER/NIGEL MORRIS /LAURENCE SCOTT] - Golden Section (Cuneiform 273; USA) Isotope was formed by British guitarist Gary Boyle in 1972. Having previously played with Dusty Springfield, Julie Driscoll [nee Tippetts] and Brian Auger and the Trinity and Brit-jazz figures like Mike Gibbs, Keith Tippett and Mike Westbrook, Gary decided to form his own ensemble to explore the new worlds of jazz-rock. The band signed with a large U.K. management company and label and immediately began playing constantly - 4-5 times per week at clubs throughout England and Europe.
In May, 1974, bassist and composer Hugh Hopper, formerly of Soft Machine, joined the group and stayed nearly 2 years. 'Golden Section' is over an hour of previously unreleased recordings from 1974-1975, all recorded with: Gary Boyle - guitar, Hugh Hopper - bass, Nigel Morris - drums, Laurence Scott - keyboards, with Aureo de Souza added on percussion on half of the program.
Isotope's music combined the flavors of contemporary, early 1970s jazz-rock with a distinctive British sound and Hugh's immediately recognizable fuzz-bass sound. Early jazz-rock is being rediscovered by a whole new, young audience and Isotope were one of the major British jazz-rock bands of the 1970s, alongside contemporaries such as: Brand X, Bruford, Nucleus, and, of course, Soft Machine.
This package includes a 12 page booklet with exclusive interviews with the musicians that gives an overview of the history of the band and tells the full story of the period covered by these recordings. Also included are never-before seen photographs.
CD $15

DEUS EX MACHINA - Imparis: Live [CD + DVD] (Cuneiform 259/260; USA) Imparis is a double-disc set which comprises a new studio album and a live DVD (the band's first ever DVD)! Deus Ex Machina's (formed in Bologna, Italy in 1985) music is a unique and unequaled blend of aggressive jazz/rock mixed with complex rhythms, touches of 1970s hard-rock guitar, Rock In Opposition and the avant-garde, all topped by the incredible vocals of Alberto Piras, one of the most amazing vocalists working in rock today. Their fifth studio album, Cinque, released by Cuneiform in 2002, was their first work issued outside of Italy. A sextet of violin, analog keyboards, guitar, bass, drums and vocals, their sound is a unique blending of high energy rock and jazz/rock fusion influences, all capped off with the distinctive vocals - sung in Latin and Italian - by Alberto Piras, one of the great vocalists working in rock today.
For fans of Area and Gentle Giant especially, and also Magma, Mahavishnu Orchestra, One Shot, Present, Return To Forever et al.
CD + DVD set for $21

RICHARD PINHAS [HELDON] & MERZBOW [MASAMI AKITA] - Keio Line [2 CD set] (Cuneiform 278/279; USA) (special price!) An incredible collaboration that sweeps across the generations of electronic music. Richard Pinhas is internationally recognized as one of France's major experimental musicians: the "father" of French electronic music. He was the founder of seminal space-rock band Heldon, a band whose violent fusion of electronics and guitar in the '70s rivalled the German electronic school. As a guitar player, he has been compared to Robert Fripp. Cited as an influence by many electronic musicians, Pinhas has helped to define the space music genre. Since founding Heldon in 1974, Pinhas has released over 15 albums, had involvement in dozens more and shaped the way we listen to music today. Masami Akita aka Merzbow is the forerunner of Japanese electronic music, and for the last 20 years plus, has been at the top of his game ploughing more and more extreme sonic territories. This release, recorded in Tokyo in October 2007, will surprise a lot of people in its sheer beauty. This is a collaboration that works in the true sense of the word, with each artist complimenting the other.
2 CD set for $17

BIRDSONGS OF THE MESOZOIC - Dawn Of The Cycads: Birdsongs Of The Mesozoic/Beat Of The Mesozoic/Magnetic Flip...Plus! [2 CD set] (Cuneiform 274/275; USA) Founded in 1980 by Roger Miller and Martin Swope, half of Mission of Burma, Boston's legendary and influential art-punk band, plus two related musicians, Birdsongs coexisted with Burma for several years until Burma broke up in 1983 and Birdsongs became a full-time performing and recording project. Birdsongs, with their unique lineup of three keyboardists (including electronic percussion) and guitar, occupied the musicians full-time until Roger left the band under very friendly terms in 1987 to devote his time to a solo career (and nearly two decades later to eventually resuscitate Mission of Burma).'
'Dawn of the Cycads' reissues on CD all of their recordings for Boston's Ace of Hearts label, which consisted of two EPs: Birdsongs of the Mesozoic (1983) and Beat of the Mesozoic (1986) and a full album, Magnetic Flip (1985) in newly remastered sound. In addition, there is over 40 minutes of previously unreleased bonus material included including late-period live recordings featuring material that the band never had a chance to officially record. The set features is a 20 page booklet that includes essays by the musicians and many photos. Also included on the second disc are a huge number of fun and enlightening graphic files of photos, set lists, dioramas and documents which are viewable on any computer.
2 CD set for $21

MICROSCOPIC SEPTET [PHILLIP JOHNSTON/DON DAVIS et al] - Lobster Leaps In (Cuneiform 272; USA) During their original lifetime, The Microscopic Septet was widely recognized as "New York's Most Famous Unknown Band." Originally active from 1980-1992, the group started with a basic reeds-and-rhythm texture that was sonically similar to the sound of the Swing Era, but used influences from the entire continuum of jazz. The result was a brilliant blend of fresh-sounding orchestration, ideas and inspired soloing. Along with Don Byron, Wayne Horvitz and former band-member John Zorn, The "Micros" were one of the most celebrated of the many cutting-edge units associated with experimental music's best-known venue, the Knitting Factory, during the peak years of the "Downtown" music movement in the late '80s and early '90s.
In 2006, Cuneiform Records reissued their four albums in two double-CD packages and these albums met with great acclaim and terrific sales and airplay. The Micros reunited to play a few shows to celebrate their release and had such a good fun that they decided to make it 'an occasional regular thing'.
So, they are back with their first album in 20 years! Their sound is the sound of jazz in America; all of it, from Ayler to Zorn, bebop to Basie, Ellington to Thelonious. The Microscopic Septet distill the essence of jazz into a sound that swings - a music that is intelligent, sometimes humorous, and always good fun. They aren't afraid to have some fun with the great jazz tradition while also paying homage to it!
CD $15



NEW from the premiere British Folk Archive label FLEDG'LING! Now at LOWER PRICES!

FOTHERINGAY Featuring SANDY DENNY - Fotheringay 2: The Unreleased Album (Fledg'ling 3066; UK) PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED! This is what would have been -- and now IS -- the second release for UK folk-rock legends Fotheringay, including all members Sandy Denny, Pat Donaldson, Trevor Lucas, Gerry Conway, and Jerry Donahue. These are the original recordings from 1970. Fotheringay remain one of the great might-have-beens of British music. They lasted less than a year, and released just one album, but their disappearance robbed the early '70s scene of a group of musicians capable of taking folk-rock to new heights of subtlety and musicianship. Now, the nine songs on that debut album; assumed for almost four decades to be their sole testament, are joined by the eleven that would have constituted a follow-up. Sadly, they broke up during the recording sessions for their second album. Incredibly, all the tapes survived in various record company archives. Thirty-eight years later, the surviving members of the group have mixed all the material to finally complete this remarkable album. When originally released, the debut album went straight into the Top Twenty in both Melody Maker and NME, and is now an acknowledged classic recording of British folk-rock. It is very, very rare that musicians get the chance to complete a project begun 38 years earlier. The second Fotheringay album has been eagerly awaited by all fans of Sandy Denny, British folk-rock, and by pretty much everyone in general.
CD $17

...and also recently responsible for some key archival Brit-jazz CD editions such as this previously UNRELEASED..

CHRIS McGREGOR SEPTET With DUDU PUKWANA/MONGEZI FEZA/EVAN PARKER/JOHN SURMAN/LOUIS MOHOLO/BARRE PHILLIPS or DANNY THOMPSON - Up To Earth (Fledg'ling 3069; UK) In 1969 the Chris McGregor Group were riding high on the London jazz scene, playing and hanging out with all the rising stars of British free jazz. Sessions for the previously unreleased Up To Earth brought together a dream team of South African exiles and some of the finest young players on the British scene - Chris McGregor piano, Dudu Pukwana alto saxophone, Mongezi Feza trumpet, Louis Moholo drums, John Surman baritone saxophone and bass clarinet, Evan Parker tenor saxophone with Barre Phillips or Danny Thompson on double bass.
Up To Earth was produced by Joe Boyd and engineered by John Wood at Sound Techniques studio in London, during the same months they were also working with several other luminaries of the Witchseason stable - Fairport Convention, Nick Drake and the Incredible String Band. The album was mastered and test pressings produced before the project was shelved. The group morphed into the spectacular big band - the Brotherhood of Breath - and all energies were transferred to recording the Brotherhood's debut album. Fledg'ling Records are very proud to release this remarkable album as part of our campaign to reissue Chris McGregor's wonderfully creative recordings from the late '60s & early '70s.
CD $17

[and keep your eyes open in October for the Also Previously Unreleased McGregor/Philips/Moholo 'Our Prayer' CD!]

CHRIS McGREGOR With DUDU PUKWANA/MONGEZI FEZA/RONNIE BEERS/JOHNNY DYANI/LOUIS MOHOLO [a/k/a THE BLUE NOTES] - Very Urgent (Fledg'ling 3059; UK) In 1968 the Chris McGregor Group - essentially The Blue Notes, but with Ronnie Beers instead of Nick Moyake - and with an enlarged vision that embraced free jazz - were riding high on the London jazz scene, playing and hanging out with all the rising stars of British out-jazz. Very Urgent, their eagerly awaited debut recording, was a joyful call of intent. The album mixes simple but utterly unstoppable tunes and exhilarating horn charts - immediately establishing a vitality and exuberance that would continue to define the group. Forty years later, Fledg'ling Records are very proud to bring this splendid album back into print. The passing years have not diminished its impact. Re-mastered from the original master tapes.
CD $17

CHRIS McGREGOR'S BROTHERHOOD OF BREATH - Brotherhood (Fledg'ling 3063; UK) "The long-overdue release on CD of Brotherhood - the classic 2nd album from 1972 by Chris McGregor's magnificent big band Brotherhood Of Breath. Never before officially reissued this wonderful album continues the ground-breaking music of their debut album (now on FLED 3062). Mighty music for the head, the heart and the feet." The Brotherhood of Breath is the kind of band you want to tell people about. It's not for private enjoyment, or for worship by an elitist cult. The Brotherhood's music is for sharing with the world, and that's what makes its name so apt: the musicians and the audience are brothers (and sisters), and they share the same breath, becoming merely parts of the same giant metabolism. Chris McGregor came out of South Africa in 1964, leading a band called the Blue Notes. Three of those Blue Notes can be heard on this record, and the fact that Mongezi Feza, Dudu Pukwana and Louis Moholo are still with Chris is some tribute to the fantastic empathy they share, both personally and in the music they make together. -- From Richard Williams contemporary sleeve note
CD $17

CHRIS McGREGOR'S BROTHERHOOD OF BREATH - Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath (Fledg'ling 3062; UK) "Fledg'ling Records proudly present the long-overdue release on CD of a classic title from 1971 by Chris McGregor's magnificent big band - Brotherhood Of Breath. Arguably one of the most influential albums to emerge from the London jazz scene of the early 1970s. The Brotherhood of Breath was an exuberant big-band created by South African born pianist and composer Chris McGregor. In South Africa, McGregor had formed the racially mixed Blue Notes in the early 1960's. By 1964, finding it very difficult to work at home, they left for Europe, finally settling in London in 1966. The Blue Notes -- Chris McGregor, Dudu Pukwana, Mongezi Feza, Johnny Dyani and Louis Moholo -- made a huge impact on London's jazz scene and befriended many in London's emerging avant-garde jazz community. The Brotherhood Of Breath was essentially the expatriate Blue Notes augmented by a large number of their friends from the British jazz community. The ensemble played an energetic mixture of Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus and Sun Ra but retained a unique feel due to the South African influences and the intelligent arrangements. McGregor dreamed of keeping the band together 'not as an institution, but as a community.' Unfortunately the economics of touring with such a large ensemble made that impossible. The group with a varying line-up continued to perform and record sporadically until McGregor's untimely death in May 1990.""
Joe Boyd-produced first album originally released in 1971 by the RCA subsidiary Neon. South African McGregor formed the racially mixed Blue Notes in the '60s and later settled in London where soon formed a big band to work with on a regular basis called The Brotherhood Of Breath (essentially the Blue Notes augmented by musicians they befriended in the British jazz community). One of the truly legendary modern jazz big bands, the Brotherhood Of Breath had a tremendous impact on future European big bands. They incorporated the true spirit of Afro music into an ecstatic trance of jazz and rock stylings. The culmination of the explosive group's sound reaches a majestic peak of the 20 minutes 'Night Poem'. This is a great studio release with excellent compositions (particularly 'The Bride'). Featuring John Surman, Dudu Pukwana, Harry Miller, Louis Moholo, Harry Beckett, Marc Charig, Alan Skidmore, Mongezi Feza, Mike Osborne, Ronnie Beer, Nick Evans and Malcolm Griffiths.
CD $17

JOHN FRENCH/FRED FRITH/HENRY KAISER/RICHARD THOMPSON - Invisible Means (Fledg'ling 3072; UK) Fledg'ling reissues Invisible Means, the second oddball masterpiece from four of the world's finest experimental master musicians, originally released in 1990 on Windham Hill Records. This was the follow-up (and only other release by this group) to the much better-known Live, Love, Larf & Loaf album, released on Rhino Records in 1987. John French was the original drummer with Captain Beefheart's Magic Band, Fred Frith is an experimental composer and founder of the art-rock ensemble Henry Cow, Henry Kaiser is an innovative experimental guitarist and composer, and Richard Thompson is a founding member of Fairport Convention. Together, these legendary musicians from the U.S. and the UK conjure up a heady mix, covering a bewildering variety of genres, from folk and R&B to avant-garde and comic opera. Underpinning the whole album is the extraordinary level of their musicianship. Amongst the highlights are John French's hilarious "Now That I Am Dead," in which a deceased musician discovers death is the career boost he's being waiting for, and Richard Thompson's remarkable "Begging Bowl" and the simply stunning "Killing Jar." Fledg'ling Records is proud to present this newly re-mastered CD, and as a bonus includes a previously-unreleased live cover of The Rolling Stones' "Play With Fire.
CD $17

JOHN FRENCH/FRED FRITH/HENRY KAISER/RICHARD THOMPSON - Live, Larf, Larf & Loaf ..plus (Fledg'ling 3067; UK) 1st of 2 albums by this line-up. What do you get when you put four extreme geniuses from different fields of endeavor together? Extreme song albums of truly off-kilter "pop" from English folk rock meister Richard Thompson, John Drumbo French (of Capt. Beefheart) and guitar experimentalists and trailblazers Henry Kaiser and Fred Frith! The album 'Live, Love, Larf & Loaf' was first released in 1987 and is a wonderful and rare collaboration between four experimental world-class master musicians: JOHN FRENCH - original drummer with Captain Beefheart's Magic Band, FRED FRITH - founder of the art-rock ensemble Henry Cow, HENRY KAISER - innovative experimental guitarist and composer and RICHARD THOMPSON - singer-songwriter par excellence and founding member of Fairport Convention. This carefully re-mastered and packaged edition adds four previously unreleased live tracks.
CD $17

[see further down for even more Fledg'ling titles at lowered prices!]



New on Jazzwerkstatt!

CONNY [KONRAD] BAUER/GIANLUIGI TROVESI/DIETRICH DIESNER /TONY OXLEY - Live At Jazzwerkstatt Pirtz (Jazzwerkstatt 32; Germany) Featuring Conny Bauer on trombone, Gianluigi Trovesi on alto sax & clarinet, Dietrich Diesner on sax and Tony Oxley on drums. This looks like a great live date from four fine musicians who know how to play. Review soon.
CD $17

DANIEL ERDMANN/JONAS WESTERGAARD/SAMUEL ROHRER - Sleeping With The Enemy (Jazzwerkstatt 17; Germany) Daniel Erdmann (saxophones), Samuel Rohrer (drums), Jonas Westergaard (bass); recorded September 4&5, 2006 at Radiostudio Zurich
Drummer Samuel Rohrer is an organizing authority who needs only a single stroke to restore order in any given structure. Rohrer has left his mark in various environs so far. Beyond his employment as a reliable rhythm worker, he creates intricate moods that he drives forward and cultivates his unpredictable, crystal-clear flow that meanders through the center. Rohrer and tenor saxophonist Daniel Erdmann have known each other for six years. In their play, they try to keep it economical and efficient, none of them could be labelled a chatterbox. They hit the right spot and swirl about it, no soloist self-adulation needed. Erdmann has found his own voice, too, betting on the earthy natural sound of his instrument: he hisses, growls, overblows it, whispers sweet flatteries, keeps it rough in the middle of the flow. Supreme ease is required and provided by this dense, poetic group music that nestles organically around the bass of Danish-born Jonas Westergaard, who is also a member of the celebrated Danish outfit "Blake Tartare" (fronted by Canadian sax wizard Michael Blake).
CD $17

UWE KROPINSKI/JOE SASCHE - Hey Joe (Jazzwerkstatt 36; Germany) Two amazing German guitarists, one mostly electric (Uwe) & one mostly acoustic (Joe), who have played together for many years in the Doppelmoppel ensemble with the Bauer brothers on trombones.
CD $17

ROLF KUHN QUARTET - Rollercoaster (Jazzwerkstatt 39; Germany) Rolf Kuhn(clt). Ron Graupe(g), Johannes Fink(b), Chr. Lillinger(d)
CD $17

LAX [HENRIK WALSDORFF/ULI JENNESSEN/GERROLD GENSSLER] - Live (Jazzwerkstatt 31; Germany) Henrik Walsdorff(as), Uli Jennessen(d), Gerold Genssler
CD $17

JAN RODER - Double Bass (Jazzwerkstatt 37; Germany) The great bassist, Jan Roder, plays with Rudi Mahall in Schlippenbach's Monk's Casino Qt, as well as th Silke Eberhard Trio and Die Enttaunchung.
CD $17



New from Sunjump..

SANGEETA MICHAEL BERARDI With JOHN ESPOSITO/JAMES FINN /HILLIARD GREENE/PETE O'BRIEN - Earthship (Sunjump CD 04; USA) Featuring Sangeeta Michael Berardi on guitar, James Finn on tenor sax & flute, John Esposito on piano & drums, Hilliard Greene on bass and Peter O'Brien on drums. I hadn't heard of Mr. Berardi before he did a duo disc with Joe Giardullo on Boxholder a couple of years ago. It turns out that Sangeeta has a rare album out from 1980 where he collaborates with Archie Shepp, Roswell Rudd, Eddie Gomez, Mario Pavone and Rashied Ali. Sangeeta's main inspiration is John Coltrane and most of the titles of the original compositions here refer to Trane. The title track is first and has a lovely Trane-like melody and vibe with the dark, robust, warm-toned tenor of James Finn over the top. Sangeeta takes a great solo on this piece, which in some ways reminds me of Tisziji Munoz, only much slower [both have been musician's musicians since the '70s]. Esposito also plays a swell McCoy Tyner-like solo here as well. "Coltrane's Love Lights Our Way" is mostly a duo for guitar and (Elvin Jones-like) drums. It sounds even more Munoz-like (tone-wise) and has a fine, spiritual quality that warms the heart. I dig the way that Sangeeta's guitar swirls on "Eleutheria" giving it a more sax-like tone. I also like the way the sax and piano play in different tempos that still seem to connect on another level. This wonderful offering concludes with the one standard that made Coltrane famous, "My Favorite Things". Sangeeta layers a couple of different guitar parts here, one with a shimmering, echoed quality. The main guitar line has one of those studio distortion tones that were so popular during the fusion heyday of the 70's, which does give me some nostalgia for the days before jazz/rock sped up too much and became somewhat excessive. A second disc from these sessions will be released next year (2009), I can hardly wait! - BLG
CD $14

also available..

SECOND SIGHT [JOHN ESPOSITO/JEFF MARX/DAVE DOUGLAS et al] - Flying With The Comet..Plus! (Sunjump CD 03; USA) 4 Bonus cuts not on the LP! John Esposito: piano; Dave Douglas: trumpet; Jeff Marx: saxes; Allen Murphy: bass; Jeff Siegel: drums; Frederick Berryhill: percussion. "More than twenty years have passed since we recorded this music. This really was a seminal band. This was everyone's first record release [except for 23-year-old Dave Douglas, who had been on Doctor Nerve's first release the year before]. We worked consistently in NYC and the Northeast playing only original music, no standards or Jazz repertory. We were interested in referencing the work done by musicians before us and moving it forward in our own way. I produced the two record dates: the one you have before you and one recorded a year later, in 1987, and never released, titled "Tiger Tracks" [finally to be released in 2009].
Gene Santoro wrote: "The sextet swings like mad and bubbles over with lively effervescent chops to spare." Gene Kallbacker in Hothouse magazine described SECOND SIGHT as "A group of individuals attuned to the whole and attentive as soloists to linear development and personalized phrasing, as opposed to simply filling the space. A real sleeper, Flying With The Comet is a solid, rousing date."
CD $14

JOHN ESPOSITO TRIO With IRA COLEMAN/PETE O'BRIEN - Down Blue Marlin Road (Sunjump CD 01; USA) John's latest CD, Down Blue Marlin Road, is a trio effort and marks the end of a long period of working almost solely as a sideman and composer. The trio album, featuring Pete O'Brien (drums) and Ira Coleman (bass), is an adventurous attempt to reimagine some of jazz's more ridden warhorses. While a certain hint of familiarity remains on tunes like On Green Dolphin Street and It Was Just One Of Those Things the trio takes the tunes to unexpected new places. Critic/Composer Kyle Gann calls Down Blue Marlin Road a "virtuoso feat of recomposition as well as performance ..jazz purified to the essence."
Down Blue Marlin Road exposes the great talent, wit, and energy John brings to every project whether he is playing, composing, or simply producing. The relative intimacy of the trio setting allows the listener to experience the fullness of John's imaginative reconstruction of great standards. It is not merely composition, however, that makes the album. Listen for the undeniable facility with which these three musicians play each track. Of John in specific hear what critic John Szwed calls, "the lustrous clarity of a gamelan band" using repetition so brilliantly that crystalline forms accrue from IT"
CD $14

JOHN ESPOSITO With ERIC PERSON/GREG GLASSMAN/KENNY DAVIS /PETE O'BRIEN - The Blue People (Sunjump CD 02; USA) The Blue People is an album of original compositions for jazz quintet. The band features Eric Person (saxophone), Greg Glassman (trumpet), Kenny Davis (bass), and Peter O'Brien (drums). With The Blue People John Esposito creates an exciting tapestry of sound. A master of harmony and song form John digs beneath the surface of the jazz idiom to find a strong, irrefutable source. The compositions on The Blue People are at once challenging and ear-catching. They represent a very thorough grasp of the most recent developments in form and harmony in jazz, but also a great understanding of the energy, the feel, the swing that makes jazz what it is. Whether it's somewhat deranged sort of blues like the opener, Boppin', or intricately arranged piece like the title track, The Blue People, the music is propulsive and refreshing.
The band is comprised of a remarkably intuitive and musically flexible combination of improvisors. With O'Brien and Davis in the rhythm section the pieces have a death-defying quality of controlled frenzy. Out front Person and Glassman display a virtuosic love for melodicism and danger. And leading them all through the maelstrom is John Esposito in the piano chair whose playing composer Kyle Gann describes as, "evanescent, like flashes of thought." Together they create an atmosphere of mastery, energy, and surprise that truly transcends description.
CD $14


STEVE SWELL'S FIRE INTO MUSIC With JEMEEL MOONDOC /WILLIAM PARKER/HAMID DRAKE - Fire Into Music [ltd ed CD-R] (self released; USA) Featuring Steve Swell on trombone, Jemeel Moondoc on alto sax, William Parker on acoustic bass and Hamid Drake on drums. This live set was recorded at Ballroom Marfa in Texas in October of 2004. This was initially a limited edition LP that has long since gone out of print. Now it is a limited edition CD-R. I caught this fine downtown all-star quartet up at the Guelph Fest a couple of years ago and was knocked out by their performance. This disc was recorded at a performance space (bar?) with an occasionally boisterous crowd. There are just two long pieces here, "Junka Nu" is first. This piece has one of those infectious William Parker grooves with Hamid's joyous, ever-propulsive drumming. Steve Swell takes the first long and inspired solo with that great rhythm team locked in together along with him. Jemeel is next and starts slowly and builds quickly into a great, hard swinging conclusion. What is most amazing is the way William and Hamid play together, accelerating and then slowing down, always organically linked. Rhythm teams just don't get any better than this one. I swear I hear a train going by during William's fine first solo, as well as some folks in the audience talking quietly and occasionally howling. The second piece is called "Space Cowboys" and it starts freely but soon kicks into high gear. Although I wish that the two horns were a more up-front in the mix, the spirit still soars throughout. The first solo on this piece is William's dynamic bowed bass with Hamid burning underneath. I love the way William's bass seamlessly blends elements of free, funk and swing into his effervescent style. Hamid takes a great Art Blakey-like solo which the folks screaming for more. This piece also includes another couple of inspired soolos by Jemeel and Steve before its grand conclusion. Steve Swell never sits still, hence we have yet another strong offering from him and his powerful Fire Into Music quartet. - BLG
CD $16


kREEPA [HILARY JEFFERY/JOHN RICHARDS] With PAUL DUNMALL - Inside-a-sekt (Monium 03 SBT; EEC) Mostly duos & trios recorded at Kreepa Studios featuring Hilary Jeffery on trombone & electronics, Paul Dunmall on tenor sax and John Richards double bass & electronics. This strange yet intriguing disc turned up with a recent order from a Dutch distributor. The title track opens and consists of layers of eerie plucked acoustic bass and minimal analogue (?) synth weirdness. Dunmall's tenor swirls around Hilary's mutant synth and John's strange electronics on "Boiled Hen". Both Paul and Hilary play dark, spooky sounds that are most affective for this entire epic length piece. Hilary twisted trombone sounds and vocalizations work well with John's subtle electronics on "Leecha". What is interesting about this is that it is much closer to lower case improv than anything else. Bassist John Richards does a good job of just concentrating on a a few notes at a time so that we can each the string and wood resonate by itself. The subtle electronics add an air of mystery throughout. I get the feeling that each piece deals more with mood and texture than with the usual dialogue of most improv affairs. I wouldn't say that this disc is a necessity for Paul Dunmall complete-ists, but I still find this fascinating in a dark yet quiet sort of way. - BLG
CD $20



HANS WERNER HENZE//ENSEMBLE DISSONANZEN/MARCO CAPPELLI - Musica Da Camera (Mode 202; USA) The selections of chamber music on this CD by Hans Werner Henze (b.1926) tends toward his lyrical side, and with an emphasis on compositions derived from his theater pieces.
* The CD's repertoire especially suits the Naples based Ensemble Dissonanzen, featuring the talents of its guitarist, Marco Cappelli.
* The Sonatina for flute and piano was written in 1947, its style owes something to both Fortner (Henze's teacher in Heidelberg at this time) and Hindemith.
* Boulevard Solitude, composed in 1952, established Henze as one of the leading composers of his generation, particularly in the field of music theatre. Ein kleines Potpourri was concocted from the opera for chamber ensemble. The driving Perpetuum mobile movement is a transposition of the opera's savage Intermezzo.
* The Drei Tentos are from Kammermusik for tenor, guitar and octet composed in 1958, when Henze, who had been living in Italy for years, spent some time in Greece. Here, fragments of Holderlin's text are evoked without being enunciated.
* The kaleidoscopic Carillon, Recitatif, Masque is scored for the unusual plucked trio of mandolin, guitar and harp.
* Toccata Mistica is one of only a handful of works Henze composed for piano. Its fluid, impetuous tidal waves of sound allude to a disfigured seascape, with the grand piano cast adrift like a raft amid the breakers.
* The seven Neue Volkslieder und Hirtengesange are derived from Henze's stays in Styria, an Austrian region where folksongs feature the bassoon. Here the folksong melodies are transformed verse by verse and influenced by a complex harmonic and contrapuntal texture in which the guitar accompaniment plays a key role.
* Liner notes by Alessandro Mastropietro, presented in English, German, French and Italian
CD $15

CHRIS NEWMAN//MICHAEL FINNISSY - Piano Sonatas Nos. 1, 4, 6, 10 (Mode 201; USA) Chris Newman is a contemporary composer, painter, author and performance artist living in Berlin. This is the first recording of Newman's Piano Sonatas, a large and important aspect to his work.
The renowned British piano virtuoso and composer Michael Finnissy performs the four sonatas here. Newman and Finnissy have been collaborators for over a quarter century, ensuring definitive performances.
CD $15


YOSHI WADA - Off The Wall (EM 1078; Japan) More Yoshi Wada from EM Records! The long-awaited reissue of Wada's 1985 LP Off The Wall, recorded in Berlin and originally released on the esteemed FMP-subsidiary SAJ label. A minimalist yet majestic monsterpiece ("massive," as Tom Johnson declares in his perceptive liner notes), Off The Wall features Wada and Wayne Hankin on bagpipes, Marilyn Bogerd on adapted organ, and percussionist Andreas Schmidt-Neri. The original album consisted of two side-long pieces recorded on successive days by Jost Geber, who captured the power and dynamics of the quartet without losing the meditative delicacy of the bagpipes and the intricacy of their interplay with the homemade organ (constructed by Wada), resulting in a slowly-evolving mosaic of combination tones and overtones.
Simultaneously static yet changing, rooted and ethereal, homespun and alien, ancient and very modern, the music is created entirely with acoustic instruments but has "electronic" textures at times, yet is very warm and human, always pulsing, shifting and mutating. Em Records is pleased indeed to release Off The Wall for the first time ever on CD, with the bonus track "Die Konsonanten Pfeifen," a slightly earlier recording with Wada and Hankin on bagpipes and Kevin Newhoff on percussion, originally released as a cassette.
CD $21


BURNT FRIEDMAN & JAKI LIEBEZEIT - Secret Rhythms 3 (Nonplace 25; Germany) This is the third release in Burnt Friedman & Jaki Liebezeit's collaborative Secret Rhythms series, following Secret Rhythms 2, released by Nonplace in 2006. Jaki Liebezeit, together with Burnt Friedman continues to pursue a vision of new music. If it is still possible to establish a link with Liebezeit's past as a founding member of Can (1968-1978), then it lies in the spirit with which he seeks, then as now, new musical forms. The post-Can Liebezeit not only created his own cycle-based drum system but also developed an innovative drum set that concentrates on the essentials. Friedman and Liebezeit came together in Cologne in 2001, having recognized that they were on the same musical wavelength, sharing a preference for so-called "secret rhythms," which means that the rhythms are not hidden, but less common -- often foreign to Western culture. Friedman's amorphous sequences and placeless sound particles adhere to the same understanding of rhythm, allowing the two heterogeneous sound generators to perfectly intermesh and form a unit both acoustically and electronically. While the solo parts (vibraphone, guitar, and keyboard) set the tone of part 1 and 2 was colored by the singing of David Sylvian, the seven instrumental titles on part 3 dispense with soloist actions and dominant actors. All the voices and elements, which perform a circling movement forward like links in a chain, enjoy equal rights. Electronic and acoustic sound like they have always belonged together. "Die Ehrliche Haut" and "Wirklich Version" first appeared on parts 1 & 2 respectively, but were re-edited on a dub plate and slowed down. Burnt Friedman takes the credit for production, overdubs, and arranging the pieces on all three albums. Recorded in stages in the studio or rehearsal space over the course of months, the material finally emerges in the concentrated form of 5 to 10-minute songs, although terms like beginning or end have nothing to do with music of this kind. Other musicians include Hayden Chisholm, Tim Motzer, and Joseph Suchy.
CD $16


GROUP INERANE - Guitars From Agadez: Music of Niger (Sublime Freq 034; USA) By popular demand, this is the CD reissue of the second Sublime Frequencies vinyl release (the limited LP release sold out almost immediately upon release in 2007). Group Inerane is the now sound of the Tuareg Guitar Revolution sweeping across the Sahara Desert and inspired by the rebel musicians that started this music as a political weapon used to communicate from the Libyan Refugee camps in the 1980s and 1990s. Spearheaded by the enigmatic guitar hero Bibi Ahmed, Group Inerane has been together for several years and carries the rich tradition of Tamachek guitar songs for another generation. These ten tracks are a combination of amplified roots rock, blues, and folk in the local Tuareg styles, at times entering into full-on electric guitar psychedelia. This music is performed with two electric guitars, a drum kit and a chorus of vocalists. The recordings were captured live in the city of Agadez in the Republic of Niger. Group Inerane was also featured in the Sublime Frequencies DVD Niger: Magic and Ecstasy in the Sahel. Recorded by Hisham Mayet, this CD reissue includes an 8-page insert with photos of the musicians and liner notes.
CD $15


BERNARD HERMANN - Aldous Huxley's Brave New World [sndtck] (Cherry Red/El 154; UK) "Published in 1932, some 17 years before George Orwell's equally dystopian 1984, Brave New World was prompted by Aldous Huxley's visit to the United States and his shock at the all-embracing commercialization he encountered. Set in the 26th century, the book depicts a world in which the masses are socially engineered and subconsciously indoctrinated for their roles in society, and kept docile and content by a combination of drugs (Soma), promiscuous sex, synthesized Muzak and mindless entertainment (the feelies). Solitary pursuits such as reading are discouraged in favor of group activities, while the nuclear family has been replaced by the Hatcheries and Conditioning Centres that control every aspect of the period between artificial conception and childhood. This extraordinary musical radio production of Huxley's masterpiece attracted a suitably stellar cast of performers including the author himself in the role of narrator and the great film composer Bernard Hermann. A titan of cinema now remembered for such undisputed masterpieces as Citizen Kane, Psycho and Taxi Driver. Here, his palette was necessarily constrained by budgetary considerations, but he nevertheless deployed his slender resources - organ and percussion instruments - with typical ingenuity. In the first part of the programme we hear eight cues of Bernard Herrmann's original score followed by the original radio production in its entirety with Herrmann's music as broadcast by the CBS Radio Workshop in January and February 1956."
CD $17

HENRY MANCINI - The Versatile Henry Mancini (Cherry Red/El 155; UK) "Henry Mancini's first album, a languid and vastly superior piece of exotica initially released in 1957 as Driftwood and Dreams re-issued here for the first time on compact disc in both stereo and the original beautiful mono version. For these historic sessions, Mancini recruited the renowned Brazilian guitarist Laurindo Almeida to bring a distinctly tropical feel that would have been beyond the reach of even the most seasoned American player and to add a crucial touch of the other-worldly, the soprano Loulie 'Lulu' Jean Norman, whose wordless vocals would later achieve global recognition on the theme from Star Trek. Donald Fagen called Henry Mancini the 'High Priest of Hollywood Cool,' and this masterful album is full of stylish Mancini motifs that anticipate such future triumphs as Moon River, Baby Elephant Walk, The Days of Wine and Roses, The Pink Panther and The Party. High quality bonus material includes The Four Freshmen's exquisite recording of Mancini's 'What's It Gonna Be,' written for the film Rock, Pretty Baby, the rare Mancini single of instrumental material from the same movie, 'Hot Rod and Big Band Rock and Roll,' and another Hank composition 'Cha Cha Cha for Gia' from Four Girls in Town."
CD $17



The Fledg'ling backcatalog of British Folk treasures
[ ** - never before offered by DMG!]

WHITE BICYCLES [V.A. Produced By JOE BOYD] - Making Music in the 1960s (Fledg'ling 3061; UK) Includes Soft Machine's She's Gone which was only available on Triple Echo LP box and never made it to the CD format! "May 2006 sees the publication of legendary record producer Joe Boyd's autobiography. Fledg'ling are very proud to announce the release of this remarkable companion CD -- tracing the story of Joe's production work in London during the swinging sixties. Carefully remastered. Deluxe digipac with full-color large format booklet. Extensive sleevenotes by Joe Boyd." Artists: Eric Clapton & The Powerhouse; The Incredible String Band; Johnny Handle; Dave Swarbrick, Martin Carthy & Diz Disley; Pink Floyd; The Purple Gang; Soft Machine; Fairport Convention; Shirley Collins; Nick Drake; Fotheringay; Mike Heron; Vashti Bunyan; John & Beverley Martyn; The New Nadir; Dudu Pukwana & Spear; Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath; Nico; Geoff & Maria Muldaur
CD $17

SANDY DENNY - A Boxful Of Treasures [5 CD Box Set] (Fledg'ling 5002; UK) Deluxe 5CD set packaged in a long form box -- in the same stunning quality as Fledg'ling's prior Shirley Collins boxset. 4CDs trace Sandy's complete career, many rare and previously unreleased songs including 'Silver Threads and Golden Needles' -- previously unknown outtake from Fotheringay, 'Losing Game' -- previously unreleased duet with Jess Roden, 'She Moved Through The Fair' live in Los Angeles - duet with Dave Swarbrick - alternate takes and early demo versions. Fifth CD bonus disc with rare demos and live tracks, solo and with Fairport Convention (only included with the first pressing). 56 page full colour booklet containing : Foreword by Richard Thompson, Biographical essay by Jim Irvin (Mojo), Coda by Dick Gaughan, many rare and previously unpublished photographs drawings and lyrics from Sandy's original notebooks full discographical track details.
"We don't hear Sandy Denny on the radio these days. Her records, few that they are, don't fit the current formats, don't send the programmers into paroxysms, don't have listeners voting in. She couldn't be considered for sixties, seventies hit nostalgia; she never had hits. Rock album stations? Never sold enough albums. Even Nick Drake sneaks into the odd Easy Listening show, the music lulling and deceiving, with its attractive surfaces hiding the pain within, something romantic for a cult to cling to. But where is Sandy's cult? Where are the graveside vigilants a la Jim Morrison? The colour supplemental cultural dissections? The South Bank Show eulogies, the bad TV and film biopics telling us who should be important in our lives? Somewhere the taste gurus have failed the flock, have failed to tell us, after twenty years of hindsight opportunity, that Sandy Denny was the greatest British female artist of her generation." -- from Richard Thompson's foreword to Pamela Murray Winter's unpublished Sandy Denny biography.
"A Boxful of Treasures is a mammoth 5CD set, from the earliest home recordings to Sandy's final studio recording in May 1977. Amongst the 88 tracks are 26 previously unreleased songs and many rare recordings. Among the many highlights are a stunning solo performance of 'No End'; the original demo of 'Autopsy'; Fotheringay's reading of 'Silver Threads And Golden Needles'; an alternate take of 'Next Time Around'; home demo versions of 'All Our Days', 'Rising For The Moon' and 'By The Time It Gets Dark'; and a remarkable duet with Jess Roden on 'Losing Game'. Months of careful research ensures that A Boxful of Treasures is a fitting tribute to the greatest British female artist of her generation."
5 CD Box Set for $75

FOTHERINGAY Featuring SANDY DENNY - Fotheringay (Fledg'ling 3044; UK) Fotheringay's beautiful debut album was recorded in 1970 and has long been regarded as one of the greatest achievements of British folk-rock. Sandy Denny, Trevor Lucas, Jerry Donahue, Pat Donaldson and Gerry Conway created a magical ensemble sound and one of the finest albums of Sandy's career. It has been out of print for sometime. For this carefully re-mastered edition Fledg'ling have restored all of the original artwork and added four bonus tracks - performances recorded at the 1970 Rotterdam Festival. Remastering approved by original producer Joe Boyd. Amongst my favorite British folk-rock classics of all time. - BLG
CD $17

RICHARD THOMPSON - Henry the Human Fly (Fledg'ling 3045; UK) Richard Thompson's first solo album after leaving Fairport Convention is a stunning tour de force -- an absolute classic of English music. Recently voted by MOJO magazine as one of the top guitar albums of all time, 'Henry the Human Fly' has been out of print for several years. For this sensitively re-mastered, slipcased edition Fledg'ling have restored all the elements of the original artwork, included song lyrics and added several previously unpublished photographs.
CD $17

MORRIS ON [RICHARD THOMPSON/ASHLEY HUTCHINGS/JOHN KIRKPATRICK/BARRY DRANSFELD/DAVE MATTACKS] - Morris On (Fledg'ling 3037; UK) Richard Thompson's first solo album after leaving Fairport Convention is a stunning tour de force -- an absolute classic of English music. Recently voted by MOJO magazine as one of the top guitar albums of all time, 'Henry the Human Fly' has been out of print for several years. For this sensitively re-mastered, slipcased edition Fledg'ling have restored all the elements of the original artwork, included song lyrics and added several previously unpublished photographs.
CD $17

LINDA THOMPSON - Give Me A Sad Song (Fledg'ling 3020; UK) "A wonderful historical collection of previously unreleased demos and rare tracks from Linda Thompson -- one of Britain's finest interpretive singers. Remarkable demos from 1970 recorded with Martin Carthy. Linda's contributions to a very rare album of Brian Patten's poems. Demos written by Richard Thompson for a proposed stage musical from the mid-1970's and some powerful demos with Betsy Cook from the mid-eighties. All in all a collection 'joining-up the dots' of Linda's acclaimed career. Musicians include: Martin Carthy, Betsy Cook, Gerry Conway, Neil Innes, Andy Roberts, Graeme Taylor and Richard Thompson. Originally released 2001.
CD $17

THE ALBION BAND - Rise Up Like The Sun (Fledg'ling 3040; UK) Rise Up Like The Sun is widely acknowledged as one of the finest and most ambitious of English folk-rock albums ever. With John Tams overseeing the production, this crack edition of the Albion Band tackle everything from Appalachian love ballads to the music of John Coltrane and Richard Thompson. Remastered and fully annotated with four rare bonus tracks.
CD $17

ROBIN WILLIAMSON & HIS MERRY BAND - Journey's Edge: Deluxe Expanded Edition (Fledg'ling 3071; UK) In 1975 as the Incredible String Band dissolved Robin Williamson relocated to Los Angeles. He soon began work recording a tremendous body of new songs and a backlog of material that didn't fit the repertoire of the late period String Band. These songs hark back to the glory days of the Incredible's; based around the majestic acoustic ensemble playing of the Merry Band, this long out-of-print album is a highlight of Williamson's career. The album marked the beginning of a very creative period for Robin - leading the Merry Band, beginning his interest in the Celtic harp and ancient bardic poetry. Journey's Edge was released in 1976 on the Flying Fish label in the USA. This deluxe Fledg'ling edition will see the album's first official European release. With TEN splendid previously unreleased bonus tracks.
CD $17

MIKE HERON - Smiling Men With Bad Reputations (Fledg'ling 3041; UK) 2003 reissue of this album, originally issued by Elektra in 1971. Mike Heron was a founding member of the Incredible String Band, along with Robin Williamson and Clive Palmer. "Smiling Men With Bad Reputations is Mike Heron's remarkable debut solo album from 1971. An eclectic masterpiece that blends rock, folk and world music into an atmospheric whole. Guest musicians include Pete Townshend, Elton John, Jimmy Page, Richard Thompson, John Cale, Keith Moon Dr. Strangely Strange & Steve Winwood. Remastered and fully annotated with two rare bonus tracks and a new sleevenote by producer Joe Boyd
CD $17

THE YOUNG TRADITION With SHIRLEY & DOLLY COLLINS - The Holly Bears The Crown (Fledg'ling 3006; UK) The YOUNG TRADITION joined by Shirley & Dolly Collins. Legendary, long lost recordings from 1969. A collection of seasonal songs from some of the finest voices of the 1960's English folk revival. * Voted Folk Roots top ten reissue of 1995
CD $17

SHIRLEY & DOLLY COLLINS - Snapshots (Fledg'ling 3057; UK) "Fledg'ling Records are very proud to announce the release of a powerful collection of historic recordings from Shirley & Dolly Collins. The recordings of Shirley Collins hold a pivotal place in the English folk song revival of the 1960s and '70s. Through an impressive handful of remarkable LPs -- Folk Roots, New Routes; Anthems in Eden; Love, Death and the Lady; No Roses and For As Many As Will, Shirley always married a deep love of the songs handed down by rural labouring people with beautiful contemporary arrangements. Those recorded with Dolly Collins are especially treasured. Gathered here are some magical performances of Shirley and Dolly Collins recorded in concert in the late 1970s and a handful of demo recordings from the 1960s." Deluxe digipack with full-colour large format booklet. Extensive sleevenotes by Shirley Collins.
CD $17

SHIRLEY COLLINS - Adieu To Old England (Fledg'ling 3023; UK) "Another classic Shirley Collins recording, this time from 1974 and long out of print. Beautiful interpretations of Southern English songs and toasts with some fine arrangements by Dolly." Feat.: SHIRLEY COLLINS with Albion Morris Men : dancing; Dolly Collins : flute organ; John Harrington : concertina; Ian Holder : accordion; Bill Molan : melodeon; Simon Nicol : electric guitar; Terry Potter : mouth organ; Geoff Singleton : fiddle; Bob Stewart : plucked psaltery; Roger Swallow : drums; John Watcham : anglo concertina; Bill Molan, Geoff Singleton & John Harrington : vocals & percussion.
CD $17

SHIRLEY COLLINS - False True Lovers (Fledg'ling 3029; UK) Our campaign to see all of Shirley's albums reissued on compact disc finally comes to an end with this release of her debut album. Probably her rarest album, False True Lovers was first released in 1959 on the prestigious Folkways label and has never been released outside of North America. With the help of Washington's Smithsonian Institute we were able to return to the original Alan Lomax produced tapes to produce this sparkling transfer to CD. Recorded when Shirley was just eighteen, False True Lovers is a stunning collection of British and American traditional song, capturing a turning moment in the English folk song revival of the 1950's.
CD $17

SHIRLEY COLLINS - The Power Of The True Love Knot (Fledg'ling 3028; UK) "Classic 1967 recording finally appears on CD. Produced by Joe Boyd with exquisite arrangements by Dolly Collins and contributions from Robin Williamson and Mike Heron of the Incredible String Band, and Bram Martin (cellist on the Beatles' 'Eleanor Rigby'). The songs on this record belong to ladies fair and tender, the ballad-heroines with lily hands, riding through meadows distracted, saving or losing their virtue, getting pregnant, eloping with gypsies, dying of remorse, twined in the True-Lover's Knot." Shirley Collins: vocals, banjo, dulcimer; Dolly Collins: pipe organ; Bram Martin: cello; Robin Williamson: tin whistle, chanter, percussion; Mike Heron: percussion. Produced by Joe Boyd."
CD $17

SHIRLEY COLLINS & [DAVY] DAVEY GRAHAM - Folk Roots, New Routes (Fledg'ling 3052; UK) "Another classic record from 1965. An experimental recording conceived by Austin John Marshall bringing together Shirley's haunting traditional song with Davy's guitar improvisations. Folk Roots, New Routes opened the door for Fairport Convention's Liege and Lief and Pentangle's debut. For this carefully remastered, slipcased edition Fledg'ling have restored the original artwork, added a new sleeve-note essay and previously unpublished photographs."
CD $17

[DAVY] DAVEY GRAHAM - Folk Blues & Beyond (Fledg'ling 3050; UK) Folk, Blues & Beyond was first released on Decca Records in 1965, and is one of the most important recordings from the 1960s folk revival. "UK guitarist, multi-instrumentalist and serviceable-to-perfunctory vocalist. A seminal guitar influence, setting standards for succeeding generations. Graham was the first guitarist to emerge from Britain whose work combined stylistic elements from Julian Bream, Big Bill Broonzy, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Ali Akbar Khan, Leadbelly, Joe Pass, Segovia and others too numerous to name. John Martyn described him as his 'absolute hero' in a Guitar Player interview '75. Of Scottish and Guyanese parents, he came to personify musical adventure, his adoption of non-standard guitar tunings, most notably D-A- D-G-A-D, arguably his most important legacy. His uniqueness became, directly or indirectly, a model for Martin Carthy, Bert Jansch, Wizz Jones and later musicians as diverse as Martin Simpson and J]aso[rgen W. Lang." -- Music Web Encyclopedia "Covers of traditional folk standards like "Black Is the Colour of My True Love's Hair" and "Seven Gypsies" combine with interpretations of compositions by Bob Dylan ("Don't Think Twice, It's Alright"), Willie Dixon ("My Babe"), Charles Mingus ("Better Git in Your Soul"), and Reverend Gary Davis ("Cocaine") for an eclecticism of repertoire that wasn't matched by many musicians of any sort in the mid-'60s. --Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide. This release has been carefully remastered, with restored original artwork in the slipcased edition. Also added are five very rare bonus tracks, new sleeve-notes and previously unpublished photographs
CD $17

[DAVY] DAVEY GRAHAM - Hat (Fledg'ling 3051; UK) "First released in 1969 on Decca Records, Hat has not previously appeared on compact disc. The album is a rounded portrait of Davy Graham's remarkable guitar style - drawing together Willie Dixon, Charles Mingus, The Beatles, Henry Purcell and Indian raga on one splendid record. Fledg'ling have carefully remastered this album from the original master tapes, added new sleeve-notes and previously unpublished photographs. drawing together material from Willie Dixon, Charles Mingus, Henry Purcell, The Beatles and Indian ragas on one splendid record." " Hat ... offers the standard pleasures that you expect from his records: excellent, feverishly imaginative acoustic guitar playing; vibrant jazz-blues arrangements; and covers of blues numbers, Paul Simon, and Lennon-McCartney. He's just as capable of good-time blues ('I'm Ready') and a folk cover of 'Getting Better' from Sgt. Pepper as dark, slightly dissonant instrumentals with a modal/Eastern flavor." -- Richie Unterberger, AMG
CD $17

[DAVY] DAVEY GRAHAM - Large As Life and Twice As Natural (Fledg'ling 3054; UK) "Fledg'ling Records are very proud to announce the release of this classic album on CD. First released in 1968, Large As Life And Twice As Natural is a tremendous acoustic-folk-blues-jazz masterpiece. As always with Davy Graham the music seems to defy categorization. Perhaps the simplest description would be 'great.' On Large As Life And Twice As Natural Davy is joined by the legendary Harold McNair on flute, Dick Heckstall-Smith on saxophone, Jon Hiseman on drums (both from Colloseum) and Danny Thompson (from Pentangle) on double bass. For this carefully remastered edition Fledg'ling have restored all the elements of the original artwork and added several previously unpublished photographs. Not previously available on compact disc. New sleeve-note essay by John Renbourn, who was present during the sessions. Deluxe slipcased packaging."
CD $17

[DAVY] DAVEY GRAHAM - Midnight Man (Fledg'ling 3053; UK) "First released in 1966, Midnight Man has a slightly more rhythm'n'blues focus than his other Decca albums -- as Mr. Graham plays homage to some of his musical heroes. Beautiful playing as always, and a repertoire drawn from the songs of Lalo Schifrin, Herbie Hancock, Lonnie John, Oscar Brown Jr., Blind Willie Johnson and Lennon / McCartney. For this carefully remastered edition Fledg'ling have restored all the elements of the original artwork and added several previously unpublished photographs. Not previously available on compact disc."
CD $17

**HELEN WATSON - Blue Slipper (Fledg'ling 3058; UK) This is UK soul/folk/blues singer Helen Watson's (Daphne's Flight) debut album, Blue Slipper, first released by EMI Records in 1987 and reissued by Fledg'ling in 2006 with four rare bonus tracks. The album was produced by Glyn Johns in Los Angeles, and among the musicians playing on the recording were Bernie Leadon (The Eagles), Jerry Donahue (Fairport Convention), Steve Lukather (Toto), Paul Barrere, Bill Payne and Richie Hayward (Little Feat). The sessions were the first time the musicians from Little Feat had recorded together since Lowell George's death in 1979. For this edition, Fledg'ling added two rare tracks from 12" singles and two previously-unreleased demo recordings.
CD $17

**HELEN WATSON - Doffing (Fledg'ling 3024; UK) Originally issued by Fledg'ing in 1999. Doffing is a beautiful collection from one of Britain's most distinctive and acclaimed voices. On this release, Helen pays tribute to some of her favorite songs and songwriters. From typically idiosyncratic readings of Junior Parker's "Mystery Train," John Hiatt's "Icy Blue Heart" and Dan Penn's splendid "I'm Your Puppet" through the exuberant hijinx of the Maddox Brothers' "I Want To Live And Love" to the deep soul of Paul Kelly's "Personally." Through a magical series of understated arrangements focused around Helen's remarkable voice, Doffing affirms all that is best in British folk-soul.
CD $17

**HELEN WATSON - Lifesize (Fledg'ling 3031; UK) Released by Fledg'ling in 2002. A magnificent third solo album from Helen Watson -- one of Britain's finest singer-songwriters. A stunning collection of Helen's magical, understated songs -- beguiling songs of hope, intriguing songs of love lost and new love found, and some exquisite pastoral vignettes -- all focused around her glorious, acclaimed voice. Lifesize makes the final part of a very loose trilogy with Doffing (1999) and Somersault (1997). Guest musicians include Helen's erstwhile Daphne's Flight colleagues Chris While and Julie Matthews.
CD $17

**JOHN KIRKPATRICK - Carolling & Crumpets (Fledg'ling 3060; UK) A remarkable journey through the English Midwinter in music and song. The customs and traditions of England at Midwinter yield a breathtaking array of dazzling riches. Accordion maestro John Kirkpatrick takes the listener through tunes celebrating Midwinter dance, rhymes of hope and luck-bringing, songs in honour of food and seasonal merriment and an original song all about the Nativity from the on-looking creatures viewpoint
CD $17

**JOHN KIRKPATRICK - Make No Bones [2 CD set] (Fledg'ling 3065; UK) Originally released on Fledg'ling in 2007, Make No Bones are two CDs of recordings by John Kirkpatrick -- each one representing one half of a typical evening's performance. No frills, no additives, just how it comes. To come straight to the point, John Kirkpatrick is widely acknowledged as a master of the squeezebox. A world-class musician who has been at the forefront of the British folk scene for nearly 40 years. To "make no bones" about something is to say or do something without delay or scruple, regardless of the consequences; to be honest and direct without any risk that the statement may be misunderstood; to come straight to the point. This is two CDs of John Kirkpatrick performing traditionals and originals at his very best.
CD $18

**JOHN KIRKPATRICK - Mazurka Berserker (Fledg'ling 3030; UK) A stunning series of duets with some of John's favourite musicians was the inspiration for this great new album. Recorded by Oliver Knight in Robin Hood's Bay and then added to at studios as far apart as London, Los Angeles and Sydney! Collaborating musicians include Richard Thompson, Martin Carthy, Dave Swarbrick, Bob Johnson, Ray Fisher, Alistair Anderson, Kevin Dempsey, Ben Mandelson, James Fagan & Nancy Kerr. 'Mazurka Berserker' contains some of the finest (and most complicated) music JK has ever recorded.
CD $17

**JOHN KIRKPATRICK - The Duck Race (Fledg'ling 3043; UK) A great new solo album from Mr K, exploring the Morris Dance tunes of Shropshire - tunes from the repertoire of the Shropshire Bedlams and Martha Rhoden's Tuppenny Dish, the two dance sides he helped form in the mid-1970s. Spectacular virtuoso playing - it's easy see why John is regarded as a world class squezebox player. All this plus some incredibly informative and amusing sleevenotes from John.
CD $17

**JOHN KIRKPATRICK & CHRIS PARKINSON - The Sultans Of Squeeze (Fledg'ling 3056; UK) A simply splendid collaboration between two of the world's finest squeezebox maestros. John Kirkpatrick well-known from his recordings with Brass Monkey, the Richard Thompson band, Morris On and solo has joined the House Band's acclaimed Chris Parkinson to record a diverse collection of tunes and songs. The duo take on a powerful repertoire drawn from the English tradition, music hall, zydeco, Pete Townsend and a few original compositions.
CD $17

**HOME SERVICE - Alright Jack (Fledg'ling 3015; UK) The Home Service that went into Raezor Studios in Wandsworth in December 1985 to make their third LP was a band with a pedigree second to none in its field of English music. That third LP was Alright Jack and it found the band on a creative streak. At the time of its release critics hailed it as one of the seminal albums in its field, one to rival the best albums that Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span, the Albion Band or Richard Thompson had produced. The passage of time has borne out how perceptive those assessments were, for like those other classic albums, it proved more than a 'genre album.' In a quintessentially British tradition Alright Jack proved a classic. They had decided that the album's centrepiece would be a setting of folk songs by Percy Grainger for large wind ensemble. Grainger, a highly complex character with enough quirks and eccentricities to fill the pages of a sizeable psychological study, had been regarded as one of the finest pianists of his day and the preserved evidence in the form of piano-rolls and recordings demonstrates a pianistic virtuosity on an Olympian scale. What is more, he had been a true visionary in the field of folk song collecting, for, in an era when many collectors allowed their preconceptions about the lower classes, good taste and musical orthodoxy to colour and distort their results, Grainger's attitudes were positively revolutionary. For example, other collectors, it would seem, often bowlderized language which might offend or doctored or rejected as aberrations, modes or time signatures which failed to comply with scholarly expectations or theories.
CD $17

**HOME SERVICE - The Mysteries (Fledg'ling 3014; UK) Originally released in 1985 on Coda Records and reissued in 1998 on Fledg'ling, this was the second full-length by British rock/folk/big band greats, Home Service. This is an example of their fine soundtrack work from the Royal National Theatre cycle of Mystery Plays, with a special guest appearance from Linda Thompson. Captured on this disc are some remarkable performances from John Tams and Bill Caddick -- two leading lights of the British folk scene. Carefully remastered from the original tapes.
CD $17

**HOME SERVICE - Wild Life (Fledg'ling 3001; UK) Originally released by Fledg'ling Records in 1995. Founded by previous members of the Albion Band in 1980, Home Service were the greatest British rock'n'folk band of them all. Members included well-seasoned UK musicians Malcolm Bennett, Bill Caddick, Howard Evans, Michael Gregory, John Tams, Graeme Taylor, and Roger Williams. They spent the bulk of their musical career playing for the National Theatre, released three full-lengths, lost some members, and subsequently faded away in the late 1980s. Wild Life captures them in a brief shining reformed moment in all their live glory, with brass blazing, lead guitar screaming and a rock solid rhythm section. Recorded direct to DAT at the Sidmouth Festival and London's Purcell Room and Half Moon during August 1992 with Bill Caddick on lead vocals. A glorious aural souvenir and the last output from "Britain's finest folk big band."
CD $17

BLUE BLOKES 3 - Stubble (Fledg'ling 3068; UK) This is the debut release by Blue Blokes 3: old pals Ian Anderson (English Country Blues Band, Hot Vultures, Tiger Moth, etc.) on vocals, guitar & slide guitar, Lu Edmonds (Mekons, Billy Bragg's Blokes, PiL, The Damned, Kirsty MacColl, etc.) on vocals, cumbus, saz, guitar, and Ben Mandelson (Billy Bragg's Blokes, 3 Mustaphas 3, Tiger Moth, Orchestre Jazira, etc.) on vocals, mandolin, baritone bouzouki, banjo, tenor guitar, guitar and more. Past social twanging and banging apart, this crew came together one dark and rainy night in the spring of 2007 to pay tribute to English folk sweetheart Shirley Collins on the occasion of a celebratory evening to mark her receipt of the MBE from another queen. Their wonky take on old time nomadicized English country blues and death folk seemed to appeal and one thing led to another. Within days, Fledg'ling invited them to make an album, and then came offers to appear at other events. Produced by Hijaz Mustapha and Jamie Orchard-Lisle, Stubble is the result. Blues standards go willingly on trips through the Balkans, the Steppes or the South Downs, old English folk songs from the family closet get newly-clothed in subtle tones of vintage Congolese guitar and space saz, and certain participants' greatest hits get revisited with instruments they'd not suspected existed at the time they were originally recorded. The album's title could be a subtle allusion to it having taken little more than a week to effortlessly grow, but actually -- like the trio -- it also just looked good on paper.
CD $17

ANNE BRIGGS - Sing a Song For You (Fledg'ling 3008; UK) Recorded back in 1972 but never previously released -- Sing A Song For You captures Anne Briggs at her glorious best. Ten songs -- five original by Anne along with beautiful traditional material like 'Sovay', 'The Bird In The Bush' and 'Sullivan's John'. Backing by Barry Dransfield and Steve Ashley's Ragged Robin band." Feat: Anne Briggs - vocals, bouzouki, guitar; Steve Ashley - vocals, harmonica, whistle; Barry Dransfield - violin; Richard Byers - vocals, guitar, mandolin; Brian Diprose - bass guitar; John Thompson - drums.
CD $17

DAPHNE'S FLIGHT [CHRISTINE COLLISTER/MELANIE HARROLD/JULIE MATTHEWS/HELEN WATSON/CHRIS WHILE] - Daphne's Flight (Fledg'ling FIVE 05; UK) Originally released in 1996 on Fledg'ling Records, and Daphne's Flight only release. A fantastic collaborative album from five divas of folk, blues and soul. Recorded in 1995 on the Isle of Man, this album stands as a benchmark of British folk singing. The very cream of British women singers -- Christine Collister, Melanie Harrold, Julie Matthews, Helen Watson and Chris While -- in a unique collaboration, producing a sound that is both inspired and breathtaking.
CD $17

DORRIS HENDERSON WITH JOHN RENBOURN - Watch the Stars (Fledg'ling 3055; UK) "First released in 1967, Watch The Stars is a remarkable long-lost gem from the mid-sixties British folk revival. A beautiful collection of folk, blues and haikus, the album melds a folk-boom topicality with a fine 'beat' sensibility; uniting the Afro-American West Coast with suburban London. Long out-of-print, the record is an early milestone in the careers of Dorris Henderson and John Renbourn. On Watch The Stars Dorris and John are joined by the classical guitarist Tim Walker and Danny Thompson (from Pentangle) on double bass. Contains two songs written by Anne Briggs and an early cover of Arthur Lee's 'Message To Pretty.' For this carefully remastered edition Fledg'ling have restored all the elements of the original artwork and added several previously unpublished photographs. Not previously available on compact disc. Deluxe slipcased packaging."
CD $17

ANDY ROBERTS - Andy Roberts And The Great Stampede ..plus (Fledg'ling 3064; UK) With great honor Fledg'ling Records announce a deluxe reissue of Andy Roberts' splendid 1973 album -- Andy Roberts and the Great Stampede -- originally released on the legendary Elektra label. One of this country's under acknowledged guitarists and songwriters, Andy Roberts was a leading member of the Liverpool Scene, Plainsong, Grimms and the Hank Wangford Band. He has toured with Roy Harper, Pink Floyd and Roger McGough, amongst many. On And The Great Stampede his band are pianist Zoot Money (of Big Roll Band fame), B J Cole -- Europe's finest pedal steel guitarist, electric violinist Mick Kaminski (from the Electric Light Orchestra) and the fabulous Fotheringay rhythm section -- Pat Donaldson and Gerry Conway. The legendary Ollie Halsall adds lead guitar on the first track. For this edition, Andy Roberts has written extensive sleeve notes chronicling the recording and the background to the songs. The package includes previously unpublished photographs and five previously unreleased bonus tracks."
CD $17


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