Braxton 'Complete Arista' 8 CD box! Briggan Krauss! Satoko Fujii! Steven Bernstein MTO! Stapp/Malaby/Takeishi! Jenny Scheinman! Haino Keiji! King Crimson Sextet - Phili 1996!

Wyatt-era Soft Machine Qnt DVD! Classic Fripp & Eno remastered CDs! Tilbury book on Cardew! Nato bargains: Beresford, Zorn, Coe, Hymas! Michael Brook! Raymond Scott!




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CONCERTS AT SYMPHONY SPACE - CREATIVE MUSIC STUDIO CELEBRATION!

Next Friday, October 24th at 7:30

Leading jazz artists come together for an unforgettable concert honoring the legacy of the Creative Music Studio, the Woodstock hotbed of musical exploration that gave birth to the concept of world jazz-the improvisational and compositional expansion of the world's musical traditions.

Join founders Karl Berger and Ingrid Sertso for a roof-raising concert, along with John Zorn, Anthony Braxton, and Steven Bernstein's Millennial Territory Orchestra comprising Steven Bernstein, Clark Gayton, Charlie Burnham, Doug Wieselman, Peter Apfelbaum, Erik Lawrence, Matt Munisteri, Ben Allison and Ben Perowsky!

2537 Broadway at 95th Street, NY, NY
Tel: 212.864.5400 - www.symphonyspace.org


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Benefit For Laura Kennedy

Original Bass Player of Bush Tetras needs an immediate liver transplant!!

Sunday October 26th at 8PM
Cake Shop * 52 Ludlow Street * LES NYC
www.cake-shop.com

$15 minimum donation

* The Bush Tetras * James Chance * Vanity Set * Certain General * Band of Outsiders * Lenny Kaye * Radio I-Ching * Deborah Frost * Sediment Club * Bell Hollow * Ivan Julian * Mikey IQ Jones * Julian Stockdale * Pat Irwin & DJ Dirtytrickpony


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ASTRONOME: A NIGHT AT THE OPERA!

Director Richard Foreman and musician John Zorn team up for "Astronome: A Night at the Opera" opening next year [2009] at Ontological-Hysteric Theater.

WATCH VIDEO FEED of rehearsals and see how Foreman develops this production..

EVERY WEDNESDAY from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 26, 2008-Jan. 21, 2009 live from the Ontological-Hysteric Theater in Manhattan!

[No rehearsals Dec. 24, 2008]

Tune in at http://www.free103point9.org

http://www.ontological.com/


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Possibly the ultimate gift - to yourself or a fellow explorer of creative music - for this Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanza.. IS OUT NOW!

ANTHONY BRAXTON With KENNY WHEELER/GEORGE E LEWIS/MUHAL RICHARD ABRAMS/LEO SMITH/HENRY THREADGILL/ROSCOE MITCHELL/JOSEPH JARMAN/JULIUS HEMPHILL/OLIVER LAKE/DOUGLAS EWART/LEROY JENKINS/FREDERIC RZEWSKI/DAVE HOLLAND/BARRY ALTSCHUL et al
- The Complete Arista Recordings Of Anthony Braxton: New York Fall 1974/Five Pieces 1975/The Montreux & Berlin Concerts 1976/Creative Orchestra Music 1976/Duets 1976/For Trio/For Four Orchestras [Composition 82]/Alto Saxophone Improvisations 1979 [Composition 95]/For Two Pianos [LTD ED 8 CD Box Set + Book] (Mosaic LTD ED 242; USA)
Anthony Braxton is the sort of artist who triggers those heated "Is it jazz?"debates; whatever his music is, it is brilliant. By the time he signed with Arista Records in 1974 at the age of 29, he had emerged as one of the major figures in Chicago's AACM, joined with the Arc trio [Chick Corea, Dave Holland and Barry Altschul] to form Circle, and lived the expatriate life in Paris and moved freely in jazz and contemporary classical circles.
What made his output at Arista (1974-80) so unique was the range of projects he was able to realize thanks to the supportive budgets of a major label.
This 8-CD set rescues his entire 13-LP Arista output from forgotten vaults (It does NOT include the 2 Braxton releases that were not original Arista productions but instead licensed from Freedom in Europe: The Complete Braxton (1971) [2 LPs] with Wheeler, Holland, Corea, Altschul; and the Time Zones [1 LP] duet album with Richard Teitelbaum).
"For years, customers have been requesting it. Internet discussion groups have filled with rumors about it. And without question, the world has been lacking it. This Limited Edition Collection includes all nine projects for the label (on eight CDs) from this ground-breaking and genre-defying composer and multi-instrumentalist, from his 1974 debut featuring many brilliant members of Chicago's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (Braxton's home city and late-60s creative flower bed) to his 1980 composition, "For Two Pianos." The music ranges from Braxton's explorations on unaccompanied alto saxophone, to two full CDs dedicated to a performance of a piece for four 39-piece orchestras, to duets with electronic instruments, and everything in-between. Incredible as it seems, this music - as modern and original today as it was when it was created - has been frozen on vinyl until now, locked in a technological time warp. As fascinating as Braxton has always been to listen to is the unlikely story of jazz on the Arista label itself.
The recordings amassed over the six years he was recording for Arista are so varied in inspiration, settings and result that fully describing them is nearly impossible. Each of his original opuses explores realms of composed and improvised sound in unexpected ways, including incorporating instrument and performance noises (the air escaping during a tongued section, the pop of keys being depressed); deconstructing a solo on the spot during its moment of creation to investigate a nuance of articulation or the effect of a dynamic jump; even how a figure that a musician might repeat endlessly in practice, as an exercise, can be worked into actual music. His writing for big band runs the gamut from pieces that would not be uncommon to hear in a program of contemporary classical music from one of the world's great concert stages, to pieces that swing so hard and at such breakneck speed that the way he weaves improvisation, scored segments, sound, and pinging performance theatrics make it seem almost impossible to perform them anywhere. The occasional instances where he records another composer's work are each unique events. A working of the Lionel Hampton tune "Red Top" for unaccompanied alto saxophone is more of a meditation on the theme than an interpretation. His Opus 23B is actually an atonal version of "Donna Lee," if you can picture that (and trust us, you can't); fascinating to contemplate and probably just as exciting for him to explore. His duet with Dave Holland on "You Stepped Out of a Dream" gives both musicians endless opportunities to step out of the song, only to re-find each other as if they were opening and passing through door after door in a endless hallway of entrances and exits. His performance of "Miss Ann," the Eric Dolphy tune, is an obvious homage to an idol. Rather than trying to replicate it, he pays the composer honor by pushing it, and himself, as far as he and the tune can go.
On the 47 compositions included, you'll hear Braxton on everything from flute and sopranino saxophone to contrabass clarinet. His fellow musicians include many innovators in the New Music and Third Stream movements at the time, such as Kenny Wheeler, Leroy Jenkins, Dave Holland, Jerome Cooper, Barry Altschul, Cecil Bridgewater, George Lewis, Leo Smith, Muhal Richard Abrams, Roscoe Mitchell, Joseph Jarman, Frederic Rzewski, Ursula Oppens, Karl Berger, Henry Threadgill, and electronic instrumentalist Richard Teitelbaum.
Mosaic's signature booklet includes an historical essay on Braxton's musical development and a track by track analysis of the recordings by trombonist/composer Mike Heffley, a former Braxton student and author of The Music Of Anthony Braxton (Greenwood Press); an accurate and detailed discography of the sessions; a reminiscence by original producer Michael Cuscuna and many photographs from the recording dates."
The 13 LPs issued (originally) by Arista and included here in CD form are:
*New York, Fall 1974 [1 LP] duet, quartet, and quintet: includes Jerome Cooper, Julius Hemphill, Oliver Lake, Hamiet Bluiett, Leroy Jenkins, Wheeler, Holland
*Five Pieces 1975 [1 LP] quartet with Wheeler, Holland and Altschul
*The Montreux/Berlin Concerts [2 LPs] quartet with Wheeler [Montreux], Lewis [Berlin], Holland and Altschul
*Creative Orchestra Music 1976 [1 LP] with Leo Smith, Karl Berger, Philip Wilson, Garrett List, Cecil Bridgewater, Jon Faddis, Lewis, Wheeler, Holland, Mitchell, Teitelbaum, Altschul, et al
*Duets 1976 [1 LP] with Muhal Richard Abrams
*For Trio [1 LP] with Mitchell/Jarman or Threadgill/Ewart
*For Four Orchestras [Composition 82] [3 LPs] Yep! Four orchestras + four conductors [woods/brass/string - but no saxes], all playing and conducted by Braxton at the same time!
*Alto Saxophone Improvisations 1979 [2 LPs] solo!
*For Two Pianos [1 LP] performed by Rzewski and Oppens "The statement in the music, beyond the music, is that the Arista years and its fruits on record amply embodied a satisfying American flowering of Braxton's work, in the "jazz" plot of its garden...but in doing so, and moving through flower to airborne pollen, it also showed that moment to be as evanescently improvised, as idiosyncratically composed, as the music itself. " - Mike Heffley, liner notes
NOW IN STOCK!
8 CD Ltd Ed Box + Book for $165

[Our cut-off for pre-orders was yesterday, Thursday 10/16, the day our shipment arrived from the factory. Don't FRET us - all those who preordered are having their box[es] shipped starting today Friday 10/17 - and all those who are ordering just now, Afterwards - and in most cases separately from any other items ordered, as we want these to arrive in perfect condition!
Also, if you preordered FOR IN-STORE PICKUP, come on down and git it..now!]



BRIGGAN KRAUSS' H-ALPHA With JIM BLACK/IKUE MORI - Red Sphere (Skirl 09; USA) Featuring Briggan Krauss on alto & bari sax, Ikue Mori on laptop and Jim Black on percussion & drums. This downtown all-star trio has been together for a couple years and has continually evolved. All three members keep busy in a variety of solo and group projects. Although Briggan has recorded several fine discs with Babkas, Pigpen and Sex Mob, his solo efforts are few. This only his 4th disc as a leader in the past decade and a half since moving here from the Pacific northwest.
This is one powerful and an intense trio. Briggan has a most distinctive and throttling tone/sound. On the opening piece, "Sun", he sounds as if his baritone is about to explode with focused roars and fractured notes. Ikue's twisted laptop sounds and Jim's massive drums, weave their way around and match Briggan just right. There 17 tracks here and most are 5 minutes or less. On "Alpha Centauri", Ikue's eerie insect sounds and Jim's soft jewelry box noises work wonders with Briggan's haunting drones. On each piece, Briggan changes the tone of his sax while Ikue and Jim also alter their sound and approach accordingly. Many of the song titles have a science fiction-like reference and of course, "Wolf 359" comes from 'Star Trek's Voyager' series. Each pieces seems to create a different theme or scene. On "Lalande 21185", Briggan sounds like a foghorn warning us of some impending threat. I dig the way Ikue creates suspense and tense moments, giving Briggan and Jim an area or context to deal with. From dreamy to haunting to mesmerizing, this trio has their own group sound that reveals layers of strange shapes and textures, yet never ceases to delight those who wander into its house of bent mirrors. - BLG
CD $14


STEVEN BERNSTEIN'S MILLENNIAL TERRITORY ORCHESTRA [MTO] - We Are MTO (Mowo 3204; USA) Second superb disc from Steve Bernstein's downtown all-star big band featuring the likes of Peter Apfelbaum, Art Baron, Doug Weiselman, Charles Burnham and Kenny Wollesen. These guys are always a blast to check out live and on record. You can view the MTO playing up at the Montreal Jazz Festival accompanying a Laurel & Hardy movie on Steve's website.
CD $15


SATOKO FUJII MA-DO With NATSUKI TAMURA/NORIKATSU KOREYASI/AKIRA KORIKOSHI - Heat Wave (Not Two 806; EEC) Featuring Satoko Fujii on piano & compositions, Natsuki Tamura on trumpet, Norikatsu Koreyasu on bass and Akira Horikoshi on drums. This is Satoko Fujii's 40th disc as a leader or co-leader and she continues to impress us all with each and every disc she puts out. Satoko is joined here by her most constant collaborator, trumpet great Natsuki Tamura. Her bassist, Norikatsu Koreyasi, has worked with her in small groups before and the drummer plays in one of Satoko's Japanese big bands. Both are wonderful musicians and seeing this quartet up at the Guelph Fest was a revelation. They didn't play in NYC (our loss), but did play Philly.
The title track opens this extraordinary disc with some majestic piano and trumpet over a sublime free-flowing groove. The powerful rhythm team do a great job of fleshing out Satoko's sprawling, modal-sounding piano. Each of the nine pieces provides a different challenge or structure. At th beginning of "Mosaic", Satoko plays inside the piano and rubs the strings with an object. Soon the songs difficult structure provides a challenge for the entire quartet. The ever-incredible Natsuki Tamura takes the first incredible trumpet solo that must be heard to be believed. When Satoko takes her explosive solo the massive rhythm team erupts powerfully and tightly around her. Most impressive! "Ring a Bell' begins with a stark, somber unaccompanied trumpet solo which is soon joined by haunting bowed bass. I love Akira's ultra-subtle drumming, just cymbals and a bit of hands-on-drums. The gorgeous and poignant melody is played superbly while Satoko mutes the strings of the piano while she plays with rhythmic grace. The aptly titled, "Tornado" explodes open with some high flying trumpet while the rhythm section spins underneath. This outstanding piece is broken into sections, the free section midway is especially outstanding and balanced just right between charted and uncharted territory. Just when you think that you have this band pegged, they break into "The Squall in the Sahara" which has a charming theme in the beginning and end with some more incredible free solos from the piano and trumpet in between. This disc captures the magic that this quartet exudes and reminds me of their amazing set at Guelph: rich and probing in every way. Again, Satoko Fuji and Natsuki Tamura offer one of this year's best discs. - BLG
CD $18


BEN STAPP TRIO With TONY MALABY/SATOSHI TAKEISHI - Ecstasis (Uqbar 01; USA) Features Tony Malaby on tenor and soprano saxes, Satoshi Takeishi on percussion, and Benjamin Stapp on tuba; all original music by the tubist. Over the past few years there has been a number of great tuba players emerging from the local scene like Jesse Dulman, Jose Davilla, Marcus Rojas, as well as out-of-towners like Michel Godard, Tom Heasley and Oren Marshall. Ben Stapp in a new man in town and has been stopping in and letting us check out his assorted projects on CD-R. This is his first legit CD as a leader and it is a stunning debut. Ben has chosen two great musicians from much different situations: the ubiquitous Tony Malaby on saxes and diverse percussion hero, Satoski Takeishi, who has worked with Myra Melford, Shoko Nagai, Anthony Braxton and Dave Liebman. "Painted Shark" opens this disc with a memorable theme. Mr. balances between taking the role of a bassist and playing most impressive solos. While Malaby takes a coy, laid-back soprano solo, Ben buzzes around him spinning impressive tube counterpoint. "Machu Picchu" is a somber, haunting work for snake charming soprano sax and growling tuba. Satoshi's laid-back simmering hand-percussion is also consistently marvelous as he weaves a web around his two cozy comrades. In many ways this is a most perfect and finely balanced trio with no superfluous rules or roles. What I find most interesting is that Tony Malaby sounds completely different here than in any other situation since he must play with thoughtful restraint and quiet elegance throughout. Ben also does a fine job of playing melodic, crafty basslines as well as soloing with an impressive flair. Ben utilizes just the right amount of echo to give his tubs that fat, warm and lyrical quality. Nice to hear a disc that is rich in detail, warm in sound without ever having to scream for attention. - BLG
CD $15



JENNY SCHEINMAN - Crossing The Field (Koch 4912; USA) Crossing The Field marks the much-anticipated fifth and most extravagant instrumental release by acclaimed songwriter, composer and arranger Jenny Scheinman. Internationally recognized for her distinct violin work alongside Grammy Award-winning artists such as Norah Jones, Lucinda Williams and Bill Frisell, Scheinman has been awarded the #1 Rising Star Violinist for five consecutive years (2003-2007) by Downbeat Magazine. Crossing The Field delves deep into contemporary American music with its lush and cinematic arrangements featuring Scheinman's deft violin mastery supported by guitarist Bill Frisell, pianist Jason Moran, and a full orchestra led by founding members of Brooklyn Rider, a string quartet well-known for their work with Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Project. The album represents one half of Scheinman's unprecedented double portrait in American music, along with her self-titled, simultaneously released debut vocal record
CD $16

Also recently available..

JENNY SCHEINMAN - Jenny Scheinman (The Vocal Album) (Koch 4483; USA) Featuring Jenny Scheinman on vocals & violin, Tony Scherr on guitar & vocals, Bill Frisell on guitar, Tim Luntzel on bass and Kenny Wollesen & Steve Jordan on drums. This is the much anticipated vocal debut disc from local violin sorceress, Jenny Scheinman, and you know what - it is f*cking great! This Jenny's fifth disc as a leader, but it is her first as a singer! What us most surprising is not how great this disc is but how long it took Jenny to unleash her gorgeous, heart-warming voice. I have always had a fondness for those tasty roots rock singers, from Linda Thompson to Carlene Carter to Syd Straw to Jesse Sykes. Jenny Scheinman can now be added to that long list. Jenny penned four of the eleven songs and has chosen some select covers by Bob Dylan, Lucinda Williams, Tom Waits and Jimmy Reed. The opening tune is a traditional song that was originally arranged and by Dylan called "I Was Young When I Left Home". It is poignant, stripped down, and done just right with minimal acoustic guitars, slide and violin. When Jenny sings "God's sending an angel" on her own "Come On Down", she sounds like she really means it. That chorus will get you every time, so "come on down!" These songs really make me smile, feel good and want to dance around the kitchen. "Rebecca's Song" is another lovely, haunting, laid back folk/jazz ballad that I found to be superbly bittersweet. Jenny also does a righteous, earthy version of Mississippi John Hurt's "Miss Collins," an interesting choice that works so well with its stripped down instrumentation and Tony Scherr's shining vocal harmony. I could on & on, since every track here is so wonderful, but I won't spoil it for you, dear listener. If this sounds like your cup of tea, then don't wait and grab this fine down-home treasure and make yourself feel good! - BLG
CD $16



Recent Leo releases:

ANTHONY BRAXTON QUARTET With TAYLOR HO BYNUM/MARY HALVORSON/KATHERINE YOUNG - Comp. 367B (Moscow) 2008 (Leo 518; UK) Performed in Moscow on June 29, 2008 with Anthony Braxton on sopranino, soprano, alto saxophone and contrabass clarinet, Taylor Ho Bynum on cornet, flugelhorn, piccolo and bass trumpets, Mary Halvorson on electric guitar and Katherine Young on bassoon, to the ecstatic Russian audience, this is one of the best Mr. Braxton's performances ever both in terms of music and quality of recording. If it doesn't become an all-time classic I shall swallow my tongue.
CD $17

JOELLE LEANDRE/SZELEVENYI AKOSH [AKOS] - Kor (Leo 522; UK) Every new CD by Joelle Leandre on Leo Records becomes a special event. On this dazzling duet recording with multi-woodwind ace Akosh S. (Szelevenyi Akos) at the Olympic Cafe in Paris the musicinas present seven works with a gait that intimates poetry in motion. Glenn Astarita writes in his liner notes that one might call this recoding magic, for the music in whatever form or stylization is rarely as deep, moving and potent.
CD $17

MARK O'LEARY/KENNY WOLLESEN/JAMIE SAFT - The Synth Show (Leo 521; UK) This is the eighth CD by Mark O'Leary on Leo Records. He's played and recorded with outstanding musicians, old and young. Some writers considered his work to be eclectic, but over the years Mark O'Leary has redefined the very term 'eclectic'. The Synth Show recorded in Brooklyn with Jamie Saft on Synths and Kenny Wollesen on drums encompasses a broad terrain from free jazz to fusion to synthscapes to pop, quite the poly-aesthetic blend spiced by Mark's breathtaking chops.
CD $17

DENIS BEURET - Alone: Bass Trombone & Electronics (Leo 511; UK) Denis Beuret is a wizard of trombone playing. 12 improvisations recorded here reflect his vast musical palette. The originality of sonorities, mixing double sounds, digital effects, innovating mutes, new mouthpieces and other astonishing accessories combine with an original polyrhythmic use of loops. They were recorded live and in one take. To believe this it is imperative to experience his radical performance live in order to see and understand how he achieves this amazing results.
CD $17

FRANCOIS CARRIER/MICHEL LAMBERT/JEAN-JACQUES AVENEL - Within (Leo 512; UK) "You can hear Fran¨ois Carrier's joy in this recording, using mouthpiece calls, interrupting a bass passage with a biting phrase, reacting to Avenel's use of the kalimba, or leading the three-way conversations between the musicians with wit and aplomb. His joy is communicative, and spreads to the ensemble sound. Michel Lambert - playing with time, timbre and intensity, never locked in a pattern - pushes the improvisations forward. As for Jean-Jacques Avenel, one would never guess the bass master is a guest here, but instead was always meant to play with Carrier and Lambert, since his huge sound, agile runs and unfailing imagination provide the perfect cement for the trio."
CD $17

JAMES CHOICE ORCHESTRA - Live At Musik Triennale Koln (Leo 513; UK) James Choice Orchestra consist of 23 outstanding players of improvised and written music from the fileds of jazz, rock, avant-garde, contemporary classical, world, and othe styles of music. It has four leaders/composers - Frank Gratkowski, Matthias Schubert, Norbert Stein & Carl Ludwig Hubsch with each composer contributing a lenghty piece of music. One of the goals of the orchestra's leaders is to develop musical structures that let the group's musicians both express themselves and expand the character of each unique composition.
CD $17

ACTIS FURIOSO 2 [CARLO ACTIS DATO et al] - World People (Leo 510; UK) Actis Furioso - 2 is the latest of the many wild and amazing adventures which have taken Carlo Actis Dato around the world, from Japan to New Zealand, from Finland to Australia, from Marocco to Indonesia. For this new project, Actis has brought in extra musicians of extraordinary vitality to expand his famous quartet into a nonet. The group pull elements from many different styles, cultures, rhythms, dances, epocs and more, much more, to offer their listeners an explosion of emotions, energy, songs, dances and fun from places far and wide.
CD $17

THE DORF [JAN KLARE et al] - The Dorf (Leo 523; UK) "The Dorf" is a very large band that plays monthly at the jazz club Domicil in Dortmund, Germany. The orchestra is led by Jan Klare who writes the music for the band. Since November 2006 between 15-25 musicians, out of a pool of about 30 players, come together to rehearse, eat and play a concert in the evening. It is sort of a loose, but still collective thing and it's very exciting. "THE DORF IS HEAVY, RAW AND A LOT OF FUN". An additional track which is almost 16 minutes long contains a (mpg) video of a life performance that can be watched on computer.
CD $17

HEINZ GEISSER/SHIRO ONUMA - Duo (Leo 514; UK) Who else but Leo Records will take a chance and release a recording of two drummers. Heinz Geisser (Switzerland) and Shiro Onuma (Japan) transmit superhuman-like drumming heroics by performing with a sense of urgency, spurred upon by the semblance of a uniform musical plane. This is not a cut-throat competition. Two drummers put out dense layers of tumultious triple strokes and press rolls generating an enormous steady-state form of motion and attaining a high level of harmony. Yet their polyrhythmic fury is founded upon a mutual desire to spiral into the cosmos at the speed of light.
CD $17

VYACHESLAV GUYVORONSKY - Caprichos (Leo 519; UK) Caprichos is a less jazzy work by Vyacheslav Guyvoronsky, one of the best Russian composers working today. It consists of 43 short pieces recorded by the Guyvoronsky's trumpet and a string ensemble. While the music for the string ensemble is rigorously structured, the trumpet improvises, flies above and away. It seems that Guyvoronsky can't help it, for his roots, heart and soul are in free jazz. The whole thing is Guyvoronsky's response to Goya's etchings by which he was greatly impressed and inspired.
CD $17

VYACHESLAV GUYVORONSKY/ANDREY KONDAKOV/VLADIMIR VOLKOV - Christmas Concert (Leo 520; UK) Guyvoronsky (trumpet), Kondakov (piano) and Volkov (bass) are well known Russian musicians from St. Petersburg. There is no leader in this trio and all three are equal parts of the whole. Although they play only original compositions the main idea of the trio is to find the highest level of interaction and improvisation. They performed in California and Don Heckman gave them the highest marks in Los Angeles Times: "...compelling performance, high skills, original approach to the improvisational art..., finding ways to enliven jazz from the wellspring of their own creative culture".
CD $17

CAROLYN HUME - Gravity And Grace (Leo 515; UK) With this new CD Carolyn Hume continues the direction taken with her previous solo album which received a huge critical acclaim. However, this time she goes even deeper by bringing in two very special musicians - the cellist Oliver Coates and vocalist Sonja Galsworthy. The three of them create an atmosphere of beautiful suspense, sadness and heart-breaking melancholy which takes you to infinity, nothingness and inner peace.
CD $17

LAPSLAP [MICHAEL EDWARDS/KARIN SCHISTEK/MARTIN PARKER] - Itch: 10 Improvisations For Instruments And Live Electronics (Leo 516; UK) Based in Edinburgh, Scotland, Lapslap emerged from a desire to make well-formed music in realtime using computers and instruments. The group freely combines computer solos with instrumental trios and any combination in between: in one set, instrumentation can range from the purely acoustic piano/sax/horn to the completely electric laptop/laptop/synth. The music draws from traditions ranging from avant-garde classical, free improv/free jazz through to improvised electroacoustic/glitch.
CD $17

EVGENY MASLOBOEV/ANASTASIA MASLBOEVA - Russian Folksongs In The Key Of Rhythm (Leo 517; UK) This duo of father and daughter is a real find from the depth of Siberia. Evgeny and Anastasia take the mood of the ancient Russian folksongs and envelop them with subtle rhythmic sensibilities creating something totally unique. Evgeny plays a huge array of instruments - from drums, block-flutes, vargan and marimba to frying pan and kitchen utensils - while Anastasia sings. The genre they create is difficult to define. The closest we can come up with is ethno-jazz. Some pieces from this CD were chosen for the series of programmes about Russia "Journey with Jonathan Dimbleby" broadcast by BBC.
CD $17

LENA SEDYKH - Magic Letters (Leo 524; UK) Lena Sedykh is an artist who lives in Moscow. In 2007 she published a book entitled "Magic Letters" which is a collection of her paintings. The concept of the CD is to unite the spirit of her paintings with music. To realise the concept she brought together an international team of brilliant musicians from Russia, USA and Great Britain. Lena Sedykh - voice, Helen Bledsoe - flutes, Nikolai Rubanov bass-clarinet, Vitaly Zaitsev - trumpet, Alexey Lapin - piano, Vladimir Shostak - bass, Marcus Godwyn - drums. Deep and beautiful music reflects the beauty of the paintings which you can enjoy in the 8-page booklet spread.
CD $17


AVISHAI E COHEN - Flood [After The Big Rain Trilogy part 2] (Anzic; USA) In part two of The Big Rain trilogy, trumpeter Avishai Cohen presents an intensely intimate recording featuring an unusual Piano (Yonatan Avishai) Percussion (Daniel Freedman) and Trumpet trio. The music, described by Cohen as "an instrumental meditation born of two notes" is haunting, touching and deeply spiritual, exposing yet another side of what DownBeat Magazine calls a "Singular Musicianship."
CD $16



BLACKSHEEP [YOSHIDA RYUICHI/GOTO ATSUSHI/SUGA DAIRO] - Blacksheep (Doubt 122; Japan) "Blacksheep" is a trio group, consisting of Yoshida Ryuichi (baritone sax player in Shibusashirazu Orchestra & Fujii Satoko Orchestra), Goto Atsushi (trombone player in "Tokyo Out" & "Denki Slime") and Suga Dairo (pianist in Shibusashirazu Orchestra & "Real Blue"). The great Doubt label continues to uncover the gems of the emerging Japanese underground scene, as well as a few non-Japanese delights. Their impressive rosters features six discs from Otomo plus treasures from Kazutoki Umezu, Kato Hideki, Makigami Koichi and Altered States. Their last three discs feature lesser known yet no less impressive treats. Considering that I know little about the three musicians here, I was again knocked out by what I heard. This trio of bari sax, trombone and piano, includes no rhythm team member, yet it is wonder all-the-same. The opening track, "Sky Clippings and Spinning Fragments" reminds me of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra with its playful, childlike beauty. Obviously written and not improvised I was amazed to hear such stunning music on this more often noisy label. Their pianist sounds a bit like Keith Tippett as spins quick lines of notes in the higher end of the keyboard while the bari saxist plays a lovely lullaby with him, eventually breaking into a freer section when the bari saxist erupts along with the strong trombone player. When the entire trio finally explodes, they never lose focus, wailing tightly together. The "Black Sheep Song" follows and is another superbly written and wonderful work. While the bari saxist plays a strong, intense solo the piano tightly accompanies him, both players spinning quickly around one another marvelously. In a blindfold test the informed listener just might hazard a good guess like a long-lost session from John Surman, Keith Tippett and Paul Rutherford and he wouldn't be too far off. This is certainly one of the finest unexpected treasures I've heard this year. Where do they all come from?!? - BLG
CD $20

NAMBA JAZZ [YOSHIGAKI YASUHIRO/YAMAMOTO SEIICHI] - The Gun (Doubt 123; Japan) Namba Jazz is the improvisation duet by Yoshigaki Yasuhiro (drums, percussion) and Yamamoto Seiichi (guitar, misc.). "Namba" of Namba Jazz means not an area in Osaka but means Namba walking. And "Jazz" of Namba Jazz is not jazz but is actually Jazu.Namba Jazz has performed gigs 4 times in Japan. This CD is consisted great 10 tunes what selected in 3 gigs. The guitar playing by Yamamoto has a wide variety of the sound. He keeps a spark of genius and has never sounds the cliche of improvisation. He is genius for music absolutely. The drum and percussion master, Yoshigaki make the texture of Namba Jazz sound and he seems to look beyond Yamamoto's intimate feelings. His miraculous Fill-in or momentum of musical scene changes reflect his versatile in improvised music.Each of their various musical projects and groups, ROVO, PARA, Rashinban, Omoide Hatoba, Orquesta Nudge! Nudge!, Vincent Atmicus, Altered States, ex-Boredoms, ex-Modern Choki Chokis, etc.., are innumerable in this space, and what's more, they challenge to create the original sound. We would like you to listen the front line of improvised music, unrivaled sound of Namba Jazz !!
CD $20


HAINO KEIJI - Koitsukara Usetaitameno Hakarigoto (PSF 8029; Japan) "With its crank handle mechanism and drone strings out-numbering melody strings, the hurdy-gurdy is the Ur-industrial instrument par excellence, a connection Keiji Haino makes abundantly clear on the opening track of Koitsukara Usetaitameno Hakarigoto, the third album he has made under the tortuously punning banner of the 21st Hard-y Guide-y Man. The terrifying density and textures of his bone-shearing noise immediately bring to mind the arresting closing sequence of Halber Mensch, Japanese director Sogo Ishii's document of Berlin group Einstuerzende Neubauten's mid-1980s visit to Japan, when he filmed them in all their destructive glory at a busy intersection bringing the city to a standstill with their armoury of scraped metal and heavy machinery. The major difference is Haino achieves his pandemonium totally alone on an electrically amplified medieval instrument, and the chaos he invokes is of a wholly other kind to that of the displaced Berliners. Rather than creating chaos, he accepts it, even as he taps it for the tremendous energies needed to generate the overarching schemes that shape and contain his monumental works. Haino is not the only person using the hurdy-gurdy as something more than folksy color. There's Stevie Wishart working at the interface of contemporary composition and improvisation; and hurdy-gurdy player Cliff Stapleton featured strongly in the late output of Coil (the UK outfit of John Balance and Peter Christopherson, not to be confused with the Japanese unit of the same name with whom Haino has performed blues sets live). And though the hurdy-gurdy is but one of the hundreds of instruments he has gathered during his frequent working trips around the world, next to guitar, voice, percussion and electronics, it's the one on which Haino continues to evolve a distinctive body of work that is at once of a piece with and different from the main thrust of his music. Not that any one style holds true, mind, in a discography that is approaching 200 entries. As with his other instruments, Haino has developed methods of playing the hurdy-gurdy that both exploit and defy its particular character. Asked what compelled him to acquire one on a trip to France in the mid-1990s, he replied by mimicking the turning of a handle, saying it was the only instrument he knew of that you played that way, as opposed to striking, blowing, bowing or plucking it. His long-held interest in medieval European troubadour music might well have been another contributing factor. However, the hurdy-gurdy is more than the purely mechanical cranked instrument such as the barrel organ which it is sometimes confused with. The handle turns a rosined wooden wheel that bows a melody string, whose pitches are determined by pressing the tangents, or keys, with the other hand. The instrument usually contains two more sympathetic drone strings. How the player jerks or cranks the handle creates the fluttering beats and rhythms characteristic to its traditional use as a folk instrument at carnival or festival dances. Knowing as much is only so helpful to understanding the way Haino plays it. He hadn't had the instrument long when he released his first hurdy-gurdy album, Twenty-first Century Hard-y- Guide-y Man, on PSF in 1995. It was followed in 1998 by Even Now, Still I Think, released by the Japanese major label Tokuma as part of an extraordinary deal that saw the release of eight Haino/Fushitsusha projects in two stages (and if you think signing to a major in any way compromised the artist, you only have to check the number of CD length tracks of unrelieved intensity produced during the deal). First impressions from both is that Haino's instrument of choice is immaterial, that Haino plays Haino regardless, and on these two occasions the hurdy-gurdy just happened to be the tool selected to do so. To be sure, they both set out an extreme position from which they rarely retreat, with Haino sounding like he's pushing the instrument to the very limits of endurance. This is especially the case on the barely wavering 72-minute assault of the Tokuma disc. But as with much of Haino's music, it rewards the listener's perseverance through its most extenuated passages, which often come right at the front of his work, with moments of otherworldly, overwhelming beauty amid the swarming overtone activity generated at this volume. Before returning to his 21st Century Hard-y Guide-y Man persona on Koitsukara Usetaitameno Hakarigoto here, Haino dedicated a hurdy-gurdy disc apiece to the two double sets, Abandon all words at a stroke, so that prayer can come spilling out (released in 2001 by the Canadian label Alien8) and Reveal'd to none as yet -- an expedience to utterly vanish consciousness while still alive (recorded live at Tokyo Super Deluxe in 2005 and jointly released in December that year by the U.S. labels Archive/Important). Through them, all it's possible to discern id an increasing awareness and appreciation of the hurdy-gurdy's character. It's very much evident in this disc's opening track, alluded to earlier, in the way the turning crank handle sinks its drone deeper to the core, even as it sends up the baleful clouds of overtone dust that hover above the churning chaos. Tracks two and three make play with the bowing mechanism of the hurdy-gurdy wheel, its sorely tested violin tone transformed into an electric buzzsaw over rasping tones that simultaneously betray and exploit the hurdy-gurdy's fundamentally primitive construct. The third track, incidentally, is the album's magnificent centerpiece, evolving from a manic hoedown into a frenzied dance warding off the onset of melancholia represented by a buzzing secondary drone. Elsewhere the sounds Haino draws from the instrument range from delicate music box prettiness to something altogether darker, conjuring an image of a creaking ghost ship whose fate it was to be sealed at the point of breaking up in a storm for all eternity." --Biba Kopf
CD $20

RYOJIRO FURUSAWA & KAN MIKAMI - Buriki/Tin (PSF 181; Japan) "A sparse and stripped-back yet fully-impassioned meditation on time, history and freedom. Surreal folk meets free jazz. Two tracks, including a 24-minute, one-take masterpiece. Ryojiro Furusawa is one of Japan's most respected jazz drummers, having played from the late '60s with everyone from Yosuke Yamashita and Sadao Watanabe to Yuji Imamura, Maki Asakawa and Shang Shang Typhoon. He's also been a long-time collaborator with Kan Mikami, appearing on Kan's Bang! album in 1974. Kan Mikami is Japan's wisest and wildest folk-poet, a surreal master of the non-sequitur blues, a worldclass howler of truth and passion. This is the duo's third album, following Shokugyo (1987) and Dereki (2007). Gatefold high-gloss papersleeve, including lyrics in Japanese and English."
CD $20

MAHER SHALAL HASH BAZ With MASAMI SHINODA - Koshi Kudake No Inu [DVD] (PSF DV04; Japan) "Enticing archival document of an early (1987) show by wide-eyed mystics Maher Shalal Hash Baz at Kid Ailack Art Hall, Tokyo. The visuals provide a rare and valuable opportunity to pick apart the working methods of one of the Japanese underground's most truly original and agile thinkers, Tori Kudo. In Maher Shalal Hash Baz, he took the heterophonic voicings, the deliberately fluctuating rhythmic mis-steps and the non-unison unison so characteristic of Japanese traditional music and re-applied them to idiot savant mini-hymns arranged for electric guitar, euphonium, ocarina and organ. It's a music that exists in a unique world of its own, alternately donning and shedding the armor of rock and jazz. Another major draw is the presence of the late Masami Shinoda on alto sax. Shinoda was an important, though largely unsung, figure in the history of the Tokyo underground during the '80s and '90s, showing up in all manner of groups from punk iconoclasts Jagatara and Pungo, to his own experiments with chindon marching advertising bands. He spent a few years in Maher in the '80s and this DVD captures the innocent joy and rapturous invention he brought to their music. 24 tracks, 75 minutes." Color, NTSC Region Free (says Region 2 on the package, but that appears to be a typo, it plays as if Region Free), Stereo, 08.09.21.
DVD $24


YA HO WHA 13 - Penetration, An Aquarian Symphony (Cold Sweat 08; USA) 2008 repress. "One of the heaviest albums from Father Yod and crew. Along with I'm Gonna Take You Home, it's just the best -- one of the finest sacred space cadet acid-mantra psychedelic death trips of all time, for sure. Captain Father Yod moans and groans a perfect vocal chime over the top of the searing guitar rip of 'Djin' and a massive cloak of tribal percussion and general peaked whatsis. Touched and tipped by higher forces you can only dream of -- this contain the most intense passages created by the band Ya Ho Wa 13. One of the best album covers of all time, too. 'This was called an 'Aquarian Symphony' back in 1974 to herald through music, the coming of the Aquarian Age, September 17th, 2003. It was ahead of it's time. Now it's time has come!' -- Djin Aquarian, (guitarist), May, 2003."
CD $16



JOHN TILBURY//CORNELIUS CARDEW - Cornelius Cardew (1936-1981): A Life Unfinished Book [Ltd Ed Hardcover] (Matchless/Copula; UK) "Cornelius Cardew was a musician of genius for whom life and art were as one. He was a radical, both artistically and politically, becoming a tireless activist and uncompromising Marxist-Leninist. Passion and imagination governed all he did: his boldness and humanity continue to intrigue and inspire. John Tilbury, whose close friendship with Cardew dates from their first concert together in January 1960, has worked for many years on this biography, and brings his subject vividly to life. In doing this, he has drawn extensively from Cardew's journals and letters, and obtained first-hand accounts from friends and colleagues. The handling of this material is thoughtful and meticulous. Tilbury is a master story-teller and this particular story is of epic scale and character. We begin in 1932, appropriately on May Day, with the first meeting of his parents. Later, we encounter the intrepid schoolboy and student, who impressed sufficiently at the Royal Academy of Music to receive funds to study in Cologne with Karlheinz Stockhausen. The narrative during this period is delightfully picaresque, a colorful prelude to the years of family responsibilities and extraordinary musical endeavor and achievement (AMM, Treatise, the Scratch Orchestra and The Great Learning). As events unfold, discussion of the music is given due weight, but is never unduly weighty. Towards the end, there is an implacable gain in momentum as Cardew's political work makes increasing demands on his time and apparently limitless reserves of energy. A life unfinished? The final chapter is entitled '12/13 December 1981' and eloquently 'vibrates in the memory.'
This is a FAT BOOK! 1071 pages (230cm x 153cm), including 16 photographs and numerous musical illustrations. Published in 2008 by Copula, an imprint of Matchless Recordings and Publishing."
Limited HARDCOVER edition for $110.00
Softcover edition for $75



Archival treasures from France's NATO LABEL!

STEVE BERESFORD/DAVID TOOP/JOHN ZORN/TONIE MARSHALL - Deadly Weapons (Nato/Hope St 10051; France) This collective of jazz improv weirdos banded together for a one-off in 1986 to riff on the deep vibe of all things French and cinematic. Backing vocalist Tonie Marshall, Zorn, Beresford, and Toop created a virtual and highly experimental film noir soundtrack to a movie that perhaps existed in the mind of Jean-Luc Godard in the 1950s, but was never made. Toop is clearly the sonic architect here, haunting the proceedings with his deep use of effects, subdued percussion, and strategically placed guitars among the keyboards and Zorn's unmistakable alto. The set beings with a theme written around a narrative by Benjamin Peret, and comes out of the box as a R&B vamp that paints a picture of foggy wharfs, smoky bars, and people in trench coats. It gives way quickly, however, to a noisier kind of meditation that somehow keeps the vibe. As we move through "Du Gris" and Zorn's "King Cobra," the textured and sampled passages become more pronounced but the eerie, foreboding feeling remains. When Marshall begins, in her grainy, soft voice, to sing the gorgeous "Tallulah," -- one of two tributes to actresses here, the other is to Jayne Mansfield -- the effect is complete as we enter into a dreamy soundscape of pure cinema verite. From here on, the listener has fully entered a landscape that is familiar yet somehow strange, as if the color mix were off on a TV or movie screen. We can understand the images but not the language, and there are no subtitles. And that's what this quartet is going for, a manner of creating musical images that are outside the specific languages they employ in the architecture of their chosen sounds. By the time the end credits roll (on "Jayne Mansfield"), this quartet has done what so many attempt, but so few actually succeed at: They've created a virtual cinema of the unconscious, colored by sound yet evoking not only images but sounds, feelings, and textural awareness; beautiful and harrowing. Recommended! - Thom Jurek, AMG
CD $12.00 7 for 6 SALE.

STEVE BERESFORD With TONY COE/LOUIS SCLAVIS/HAN BENNINK//CHARLES TRENET - L'Extraordinaire Jardin De Charles Trenet (Nato/Chabada/Hope St 10055; EEC) Steve Beresford, piano, voice, arrangements; Tony Coe, tenor saxophone, clarinet; Louis Sclavis, baritone saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet; Jean Mereu, trumpet, bugle; Yves Robert, trombone; Nicholas Ward, violin; Sharon Haslam, violin; Andrew Parker, alto; Robert Glenton, cello; Stuart Dunlop, bassoon; Dave Green, bass; Chris Laurence, bass; Han Bennink, drums, voice; Tonie Marshall, voice; Laura Davis, voice; Benat Achiary, voice; Zozo Shuaibu, voice.
Charles Trenet is one of the greats in the history of French song. Playing with words, including mixing jazz, he is well known and recognized for "La Mer", "I Sing", or "The Extraordinary Garden". With his band, Steve Beresford (ex Flying Lizard, ex Alterations and member of the Melody Four) offers a visit to the country of crazy singing and in conclusion, he offers an original called "Learn French with Trenet" which explains how you can not book either method, easily learn French in just listening to Charles Trenet. [roughly translated.. indeed!]
CD $12.00 7 for 6 SALE.

TONY COE - Les voix d'itxassou (Nato/Hope St 10054; France) Ray Warleigh, flute, alto and soprano saxophones; Alexander Balanescu, violin; Lis Perry, violin; Sharon Haslam, violin; Nicholas Ward, violin; Mayuni Seiler, violin; Andre Parker, alto; Rusen Gunes, alto; Jenny Ward Clarke, cello; John Barclay, trumpet, bugle; Malcolm Griffiths, trombone; Frank Ricotti, percussion, vibraphone; Hugh Burns, guitars; Stuart Elliott, drums, percussion; Chris Laurence, double bass; Tony Hymas, piano; Tony Coe, tenor and soprano saxophones, clarinet, piano; Francoise Fabian, voice (track 1); Ali Farka Toure, guitar, voice (track 2); Maggie Bell, voice (track 3); Jose Menese, voice (track 4); Benat Achiary, voice (track 5); Violeta Ferrer, voice (track 5); Juan Jose Mosalini, bandoneon (track 5); Abed Azrie, voice (track 6); Youval Micenmacher, percussion (track 6); Aura Msimang-Lewis, voice (track 8); Liria Begeja, voice (track 9); Marcel Azzola, accordion (track 10); Marianne Faithfull, voice (track 11); Marie Atger, voice (track 12); Jean-Claude Adelin, voice (track 12); Sandrine Kljajic, voice (track 14).
Les Voix d'Itxassou is perhaps saxophonist, composer, and arranger Tony Coe's most ambitious project. Here he pairs an orchestra of no less than 18 pieces with vocalists from all over the world to sing songs of political, social, spiritual, economic, and class alienation and resolve. With many texts written by poet Francis Marmonde, some of the singers -- who include Marianne Faithfull, Ali Farka Toure, Maggie Bell, Abed Azrie, FranXoise Fabian, Marie Atger, and Juan JosX Mosalini, to name but a few -- offer aspects of the various tragedies of nationalism and dislocation. In the case of non-French-speaking singers such as Farka Toure, they wrote their own texts according to the dictates of the collaboration. Unlike many of his more musical and experimental projects, the notion of song is everything here. The human voice communicates its emotion and truth in its fullness or grief, and the orchestra underlines, shades, colors, and otherwise creates a net under or around it. In some cases, such as Azrie's "Le Legende de Oiseaux," indigenous instruments such as the nay are added to the orchestra's arrangements. Only Bell sings in English, while Faithfull sings in German, Farka Toure in Nigerian, and Violeta Ferrer in Spanish. Coe's arrangements are so spare yet so ever-present, they become as necessary as the song structure itself, carrying a melody and turning the harmonies back to the singer to feed from. If only others composed for song in this way, wit might be reinvented in the context of Anglo-European music. This is one of Coe's finest hours. ~ Thom Jurek, AMG
CD $12.00 7 for 6 SALE.

TONY HYMAS With JIM PEPPER/JEFF BECK/RAY RUSSELL/CHRIS LAURENCE et al - Oyate [2 CD set + Book] (Nato 777702/Hope St 10056; EEC) T Tony Hymas played keyboards for Jack Bruce (mid-70's), Jeff Beck, Stan Sulzman and had a quartet with Tony Coe, Hughie Burns & Terry Bozzio. He has performed modern classical music (Ligeti, Tippett & Prokofiev) and currently has quartet called Ursus Minor w/ Jef Lee Johnson, Francois Corneloue & Dave King. "Oyate" is Tony Hymas' first of ten discs and was released in 1990. Mr. Hymas' music and vision of the sad history on Native Americans is presented here with taste and sincerity. A handful of Native American speakers and vocalists narrate the sad tale most effectively. The voices of John Trudell, D.J. Nez, Joseph Bellanger, Bonnie Jo Hunt and Floyd Westerman. "Rapid Creek" opens to an eerie, crackling fire with ghosts wandering around. John Trudell does a fine job of speaking some righteous words in "Crazy Horse", while Jeff Beck plays fine slinky, sly guitar over this fretless bass-like groove. "Tashunka Witko" was a most surprising situation with Michel Doneda playing soprano sax, Jeff Beck on lead guitar and Tony Hymas on keyboards. Mr. Doneda, a great French out/jazz saxist, plays this stunning Irish-like melody on his soprano sax while Jeff Beck plays another stunning solo. For "Satanta", Tony uses layers of cinematic samples to evoke a spacious landscape in the desert. Just voices, spoken word and chorus, lone percussion and subtle samples do a great job of painting our journey. There are a few fine instrumental sections interspersed throughout: a strong acoustic trio with Tony Coe on tenor sax, Tony Hymas on piano and Chris Laurence on contrabass, as well as "Lone Wolf" which features the great Jim Pepper on tenor, another influential Native American songwriter and jazz musician who has since passed away. There are a couple of missteps as far as the (female) singing on a couple of tracks, but overall this is an ambitious and mostly successful work. This is a great soundtrack for the mind, with just enough pictures and voices to help see the unfolding story. - BLG
2 CD set for $16.00 7 for 6 SALE.

TONY HYMAS/BARNEY BUSH With EVAN PARKER/JEAN-FRANCOIS PAUVROS/JONATHAN KANE - Left For Dead [2 CD set + Book] (Nato 112139/Hope St 10057; EEC) Tony Hymas: keyboards and percussion; Barney Bush: voice; Edmond Tate Nevaquaya: voclals, flute, tambour; Evan Parker: saxophone; Merle Tendoy: vocals, tambour; Jean-Francois Pauvros: guitare, vocals; Geraldine Barney: voice, tambour, lulu; Jonathan Kane: drums; Hawk (Hawk chef du Shawnee United Remnant Band chante Ancient War Song): vocals
"This music is composed by a man who loves its own land. He knows taking the time to hear his heart beat. When he heard this poetry, it seemed to be in full alliance with. The music of Tony is the horse on which the knight [comes] bearing messages." - Barney Bush (1993)
Left for Dead: third part of a double album trilogy meeting between Tony Hymas and Indian artists, and development of the relationship between his music and the poetry of Barney Bush, Shawnee Indian particularly lucid about the fate of those he calls "The Prisoners of the American dream. "
The recordings were made during tour of autumn 1993. The flutist and singer Comanche Edmond Tate Nevaquaya (already present on the second part of the Remake American Dream) and newcomers, the Navajo singer Geraldine Barney, the Cree-Shoshone singer Merle Tendoy, saxophonist Evan Parker, guitarist Jean-Francois Pauvros and drummer Johnathan Kane complete the group. The title "Left for Dead" is a tribute to Leonard Peltier.
2 CD set for $16.00 7 for 6 SALE.



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, bass & piccolo clarinets, Dietmar Deisner on soprano sax and Tony Oxley on drums. One of the great things about the Jazzwerkstatt label is that they seem to be picking up from where FMP left off, as far as presently the cream of European improvised music. They already have provided an outlet for giants like Peter Brotzmann, Rudi Mahall and both Bauer brothers. This is a particularly strong line-up with the elder Bauer brother. trombonist extraordinare, Conny Bauer plus the great but under-recorded Dietmar Deisner who can be heard on just a few of the early FMP discs. Mr. Trovesi has more than a half dozen discs on ECM, Soul Note and Splasch and has even guested with the ICP Orchestra. British drum legend, Tony Oxley, has worked with many of world's finest players like Derek Bailey, Bill Dixon, Barry Guy, Evan Parker & Cecil Taylor. This disc consists of four duos with Bauer and Trovesi and one long quartet improv. It trns out that Conny and Gialuigi first met in 1979 and actually recorded a rare and long out-of-print duo record around the same time. This is one marvelous duo, perfectly recorded and balanced just right. Both men dig deep into their bag of tricks or extended vocabulary and blend and bend their ideas together. What makes this duo so amazing is the way they make music out of sounds, an endless steam of ideas. There is a sense of playfulness, tossing ideas back and forth, completing each others sentences. When they start burning together profusely, they continue to weave their way aound one another as one solid force. As srange as their sounds get, they remain comrades in sonic connections. There are moments when they even get funky and it is a joyous release from what one might expect. Since the sax or clarinets have a more high-pitched sound and the trombone a lower end sound, the way they work/blend together is special. Trovesi's clarinet playing is consistently engaging and even startling at times: with an endless array of approaches, effects, dynamics and conversations. The quartet adds Dietmar's soprano and Oxley's drums, building into a marvelous quartet improv. The three horns (soprano, clarinet & trombone) start with a cosmic drone with perfect cushion of percussoin provided by Mr. Oxley. This is one of those amazing European free/jazz sessions that rings true and sounds like it could've been recorded at any time as far back as the last forty years. It reminds me of early Spontaneous Music Ensemble, perhaps busier at times. Extraordinary, no doubt. - BLG
CD $17


LES POULES [JOANE HETU/DIANE LABROSSE/DANIELLE PALARDY ROGER] - Phenix (AM 176; Canada) "Featuring Joane Hetu on sax & voice, Diane Labrosse on sampler and Danielle Palardy Roger on percussion. Les Poules (The chickens or chicks?) have been playing together for more than a decade, yet their history goes back even further to Justine and Wondeurbras. All three of these women are impressive musicians, composers and leaders in their own right and I always look forward to whatever they present to the Victo and Guelph Festivals, as well as that great AM Fest at The Stone last year. This is only the third disc by Les Poules, but it was well worth the wait.
This disc is broken into six parts, "Rencontre", "Creatures", "Feu", "Renaissance", "Beaute" and "Immortalite". Joane's soft yet bizarre vocal sounds permeate the first section with delicate but eerie samples and samples floating in the air. This music is stark and ultra-subtle yet filled with suspense and carefully crafted sounds. It is as if another language or communication is trying to break through the bonds that separate us at times with well-selected non-verbal sounds. This is less about making music than it is about creating textures, setting scenes and telling a story. Ms. Labrosse uses her sampler to expose fragmented melodies, diverse static sounds and assorted electronic kernels to keep an ongoing dialogue or story present. Ms. Hetu often sounds like a ghost or skeleton mouthing or whispering sounds without using words. Each of the 24 parts conveys a slightly different terrain to view or bathe in. One part reminded me of the Residents 'Eskimo' album. Ms. Roger shows an impressive amount of restraint, rarely if ever playing any beats, yet her playing breathes life into the flow. With more 180 releases in their ever-increasing catalogue, the Ambiances Magnetiques treasures chest continues to grow, evolve and surprise us time and again." - BLG
CD $15


ARCHIMEDES BADKAR - Archimedes Badkar (South Side 4279; Germany) It still amazes to discover some little known band from Sweden in the mid-seventies that were one of the best progressive units to ever emerge from Scandinavia. This was the first album by Archimedes Badcar, an Swedish octet of multi-instrumentalists: trumpet, sax, guitars, mandolin, pianos & organ, vibes, sitar, bass, assorted percussion and drums. Their guests included Bengt Berger (who worked with Don Cherry). Their music is a whimsical, happy, Canterbury-like progressive blend with elements of jazz, rock, folk and ethnic flavors. "Kaumba" features a couple of layers of hypnotic thumb piano, lovely acoustic guitar and an exquisite folk/rock section. When the two horns come in on "Sweet Loves", it sounds a bit like that groovy South African groove. "Wago Goreze" is a long tranquil piece for hypnotic repeating piano, bells and somber horns. Completely sublime, like Terry Riley played by a native tribe. There moments when they lay back and just simmer softly and a numbers of sections of well-played acoustic guitar. The other (popular?) Swedish prog band from this same era was Samla Mammas Mana, who Archimedes Badcar only occasionally sound similar to. There a few unexpected surprises here like when they cover Trane's classic "A Love Supreme" or when they play a mesmerizing, Soft Machine-like cyclic groove on "Sammansmaltning". This disc is certainly one of the most unexpected progressive gems I've heard in recent memory. How could we have not known about them way back when...?!? - BLG
CD $22


Never before released!

SOFT MACHINE [MIKE RATLEDGE/ROBERT WYATT/HUGH HOPPER/ELTON DEAN/LYN DOBSON] - Alive In Paris: February 2nd 1970 [DVD] (Voiceprint DVD 45 VPT; UK) Great quality French TV broadcast, recorded on 3/2/70. "This DVD captures The Canterbury Sound legends, Soft Machine, live in France filmed in 1970 at the Theatre de la Musique. The line up of the band at the time included Mike Ratledge, Robert Wyatt, Hugh Hopper, Elton Dean and Lyn Dobson. This rare footage has only recently been rediscovered and as such is a rare insight into one of the classic British genre defining bands of the sixties and seventies. Tracks include 'Out-Bloody-Rageous,' 'Eamonn Andrews,' 'Facelift' and 'Esther's Nose Job.' NTSC format, region free, 60 minutes running time.
Like manna from heaven for all of us Canterbury freaks, the Soft Machine live catalogue just keeps growing thanks to labels like Cuneiform, Voiceprint, HUX and Moonjune. Soft Machine DVD's are pretty rare, except for a boot called 'The Soft Machine Factor', which has 15 minutes segments from 1967, 1970 and 1974 and Cuneiform's 'Grides' which has a set from 1971, there is nothing available on film. This era of Soft Machine, from March of 1970 was many folks favorite version of this ever-changing band. This version featured Mike Ratledge on organ & pianet, Hugh Hopper on electric bass, Robert Wyatt on drums & vocals, Elton Dean on alto & saxello and Lyn Dobson on soprano sax & flute. Mr. Dobson was a true free spirit and member of the Softs for a very short period of time. The gig was performed at the Theatre de la Musique in Paris and when it begins the camera comes from behind the band and then circles around them focusing on each member, one at a time. The band is marvelous, loose/tight form. They play Hugh's classic 'Third' album opener, "Facelift". Both saxists have pick-ups on their axes, yet the sound is still unique and consistently mesmerizing. To be able to watch our (my) favorite band up close is a revelation and an endless joyride. Both saxists are wearing impressive looking shirts and it is also interesting to see the audiences' reaction and their clothes as well. Lyn Dobson takes a fine long, flute and vocal solo, even playing some blues-harp, a rare moment indeed for a Soft Machine set. One of the highlights of a Softs set was Robert Wyatt's echo-plexed vocal excursions and we get some intense and bizarre ones here. The way the band shifts between sections and dynamics is often breathtaking. I dig when Wyatt does a spaced out vocal version of "Dedicated to You..." as part of his solo. It made me both happy and sad to hear/see the late Elton Dean take one of his amazing, distinctive saxello solos. Watching this incredible film does capture that unique magic that Soft Machine once possessed and that so many of love to hear, again and again. - BLG
DVD $20


KING CRIMSON [ROBERT FRIPP/BILL BRUFORD/ADRIAN BELEW/TONY LEVIN/TREY GUNN/PAT MASTELOTTO] - Live in Philadelphia, PA, August 26, 1996 [2 CD set] (DGM KCCC 38; USA) The 38th Collectors' Club release (September, 2008). Despite having played over 150 gigs, and released four albums it was all over far too soon as the double-trio King Crimson came to Philadelphia - a city which had seen some storming performances in the past - to give its final performance in front of an audience. Sound quality 4.5 [out of 5] Robert Fripp - Guitar, Soundscapes; Adrian Belew - Guitar; Trey Gunn - Warr Guitar; Tony Levin - Basses, Stick; Pat Mastelotto & Bill Bruford - Acoustic & Electronic Drums & Percussion [A note to the suspicious: These are the legitimate DGM product, not the Russian counterfeit copies that are found on eBay and elsewhere!]
2 CD set for $18


Legendary Art Rock/Minimalism recordings remastered

ROBERT FRIPP & BRIAN ENO - (No Pussyfooting) [Ltd Ed 2 CD set] (DGM 5007/Inner Knot; USA) The milestone seminal ambient/non-ambient recording [1972] with guitar and loops - a must no matter what your tastes!
In August, 1972, Robert Fripp, King Criimson guitarist, was producing some material for Robert Wyatt. Brian Eno, then a member of Roxy Music [these two artists shared the same management], came to the studio to add synth to the same sessions. Fripp & Eno found a common cause - Eno invited Fripp for tea at his home and showed him two Revoxes side by side sharing the same tape, invited Fripp to plug in - and the rest is history. They ended up releasing what would become one of the most significant and influential pieces of electronic music ever recorded. Calling the album No Pussyfooting, Fripp & Eno vowed to never compromise musically to adapt to the views of the record companies of the time. Unavailable for the past few years, No Pussyfooting has been remastered and expanded using the original master tapes by Simon Heyworth.
The limited-time 2nd disc contains The Heavenly Music Corporation at half speed and Swastika Girls played in reverse, as the original reel to reel tape was accidentally played in reverse by BBC Radio One.
Ltd 2 CD edition for $16

ROBERT FRIPP & BRIAN ENO - Evening Star (DGM 0516/Inner Knot; USA) 2nd, and equally important, ambient/non-ambient recording with guitar and loops with treatments from 1975. Exceptional!
Following their release No Pussyfooting, Fripp & Eno continued to elaborate and eventually released their second album, Evening Star, which contained 4 short pieces (one an excerpt from Eno's Discreet Music) and 1 long one from '75 include an excerpt from their Paris performance. With just two albums recorded over a four year period, Fripp & Eno established a rudimentary route map of some of the music's future possibilities, and continue to inspire musicians to this day. Evening Star has been expanded and remastered using the original master tapes by Simon Heyworth.
CD $15


Avant-Garde populist classic back in print

JON HASSELL/BRIAN ENO - Possible Musics: Fourth World Vol 1 (E EG 7; USA) Post-modernist Miles trumpet through harmonizers w/ Eno (producing) on bass (!) and percussion. Wonderful, spacy, pre-ambient classic !
"Largely thought of merely as a mostly stillborn offshoot of Brian Eno's larger ambient music series, the Fourth World series of albums, in collaboration with trumpeter Jon Hassell, is actually an entirely separate beast. Fourth World, Vol. 1: Possible Musics starts off from the same basic idea as Hassell's previous solo albums, like Earthquake Island and Vernal Equinox: a blend of avant-garde composition, jazz soloing, and African and Middle Eastern rhythmic forms. This album adds only Eno's characteristic production touches, like the reversed echo that adds a ghostly, unreal edge to Hassell's trumpet solos on the side-long "Charm (Over Burundi Cloud)." The rest of the album, including the African hand drummers on the hypnotic "Delta Rain Dream" and the swirling, almost speech-like solos of "Griot," is pure Hassell. Although this album was never a chart hit and has become surprisingly underappreciated over the years, its influence on what has since become known as tribal techno is incalculable, as has its influence on those art rockers who have picked up a world music vibe. Peter Gabriel in particular owes a fair chunk of his royalty checks from Security onward to Jon Hassell." Stewart Mason, AMG
CD $12


MICHAEL BROOK - RockPaperScissors (High Wire; USA) It's been 14 years since Michael Brook did a proper solo album, Cobalt Blue, but that doesn't mean the guitarist has been absent from music. He's produced and performed on pop recordings by Julia Fordham and Jorane and made numerous albums for the Real World label, including signature releases by the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Djivan Gasparyan, and Hukwe Zawose. He's also composed and performed on film scores and was part of Hans Zimmer's soundtrack posse, contributing notably to Black Hawk Down, among others. He throws all of that into his new album, RockPaperScissors, which could've been called RockPaperScissors and Whatever, as Brook slices up a career's worth of influences and drops them in one load--albeit an elegant one. Lebanese violinist Claude Chalhoub turns in a mournful duet with Brook on "Tangerine," singer Paul Buchanan shows up on the title track, and a Bulgarian choir turns up incongruously on a dreamy, '60s style guitar instrumental, "LightStar." There are King Crimson-like guitar grooves on "3 Doges," and on "Darker Room," a spoken-word sample of Richard Burton performing Dylan Thomas's "Under Milk Wood," quoting the "Starless and bible-black" line that Crimson connoisseurs will note as the title to a one of their albums. Given Brooks's extensive work as a film composer and session artist, it makes sense that much of the disc has a cinematic quality, with many tracks featuring a full orchestra. Excepting Lisa Germano's haunting turn on "Want", the other two vocal tunes drag. Rather than honing a sound, as he did with Cobalt Blue, RockPaperScissors brims with too many ideas, as if Brook thought it might be another 14 years till his next album and he had to get it all out now. --John Diliberto [in stock on Monday]
CD $15

MICHAEL BROOK - An Inconvenient Truth [sndtck] (High Wire; USA) Most documentaries suffer from generic soundtracks or the most rudimentary of scores, often cut by the director's friend. But then most of them don't have Michael Brook as composer. The guitarist is best known for his world fusion work with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and other Real World artists and his own ambient fusion releases like RockPaperScissors and Hybrid. It's the latter side that's tapped for Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, his dire documentation of Earth's warming and the government's inability to tackle the problem. Those themes dominate the film, but Gore's treatise is surrounded by personal reflections and autobiographical side trips. It's in these segments that most of Brook's music is used. He manages to be pastoral, reflecting Gore's Tennessee farm roots; and atmospheric, underscoring Gore's emotional personal journey. Plaintive guitars ("Katrina"), processed guitar washes ("Main Title--River View"), touches of ambient Americana ("How Could I Spend My Time?"), and even a bit of U2's quietly anthemic pulse ("Science") emerge. Some of the best tracks, like "Best Unsaid" and "Carte Noir," weren't even used in the film. This score works as individual songs, but even better as an album-length dip into a melodic, rustic ambience, a drift down an American river, where shadows lie around the bend and dark shoals are just beneath the surface. --John Diliberto [in stock on Monday]
CD $15


ANTHONY PHILLIPS With MIKE RUTHERFORD/PHIL COLLINS/JACK LANCASTER et al - The Geese & The Ghost: Expanded Edition [2 CD set] (Voiceprint 432 VPT; UK) Anthony Phillips was a founding member of the British Rock band Genesis. The band recorded two singles and the album From Genesis To Revelation before leaving Decca and signing with Charisma to record the Trespass album. Anthony recorded the albums From Genesis To Revelation and Trespass and also performed a great many gigs before deciding to leave the band following a particularly bad bout of stage fright and also suffering a debilitating bout of bronchial pneumonia.
It was between the years 1970 and the release of his debut album The Geese And The Ghost in 1977 that many fans lost sight of Anthony Phillips. In actual fact much of the material that would make up the Geese And The Ghost would be written during this time.The Geese and the Ghost was originally released in 1977 and features performances from Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins alongside Anthony. This 30th anniversary of the original release of Ant's solo debut album is marked with the re-issue of the album as an expanded 2 CD version. The 2 CD re-issue of the album is the first CD release of the album to be sourced from the original master tapes, which were found in 2001. The album itself has been expertly re-mastered from the original master tapes by recording engineer and co-producer of the original album Simon Heyworth. The location of the original master tapes brought to light the previously unheard Lute's Chorus Reprise section of Henry: Portraits From Tudor Times which was excised from track at the final stage of completing the album as it was felt at the time that the track was a little too long. This has now been restored to its rightful place on the album in order that the track can be heard for the first time in the originally intended form.
The extra CD features a fascinating "behind the scenes" view of the initial stages of the recording of the album with the basic tracks of Ant and Mike Rutherford's original acoustic guitar parts for The Geese & The Ghost (Parts One & Two), Which Way The Wind Blows and Henry: Portraits From Tudor Times being mixed for the first time in isolation from the later overdubs that were added to the album. Complimenting these unique versions of the original tracks is the only unreleased track from the original sessions (a planned new version of the co-written Silver Song that never progressed beyond this initial recording), Ant's original demo of Collections (which was recorded for Charisma Records boss Tony Stratton-Smith in the Spring of 1974) and the original basic instrumental tracks of God If I Saw Her Now and Sleepfall. Last but by no means least the final track is the unreleased single version of Silver Song, recorded in November 1973 by Ant together with Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins which receives it's first official release.
The re-issue will features new liner notes with a detailed account of the making of the album including contributions from John Hackett, co-producer Simon Heyworth and cover artist Peter Cross together with Ant's own memories of the album.
2 CD set for $20

ANTHONY PHILLIPS With MEL COLLINS/JOHN G PERRY/MICHAEL GILES et al - Wise After The Event: Expanded Edition [2 CD set] (Voiceprint 433 VPT; UK) Anthony's second solo album was released in May 1978 housed in a striking sleeve designed by Peter Cross and produced by Rupert Hine. This reissue contains a second disc of UNRELEASED rarities and outtakes recorded before and during the sessions for the album. Amongst the tracks are various pre-release mixes of tracks alongside demos of a number of the tracks including tracks that never made the finished line up. 2008 is the fortieth anniversary of Genesis and the thirtieth anniversary of the original release of Wise After The Event.
"Whereas Anthony Phillips' debut album The Geese & the Ghost was recorded piecemeal over a period of years, his sophomore set was cut in comparatively record time, a month in fall 1977, just as the first rave reviews for its predecessor hit the stands. It was an invigorating period and Phillips' confidence oozes out of every groove. Without departing from the proto-formula that established Geese among the year's most unexpected treats, Wise After the Event is a far more cohesive set, its highlights sprawling across entire tunes as opposed to the mere passages of before. It lacks, of course, the experimental edge of the earlier album -- there is nothing here to eclipse the first time you heard "Chinese Mushroom Cloud," for instance. There may also be too many sensitive ballads cluttering things up -- even the best can get a shade samey after a while. But the opening "We're All as We Lie" and the multi-textured title track are both career-enhancing classics, placing Phillips in the same kind of folky-art-prog middle ground as Roy Harper traditionally inhabited. And, as such, Wise After the Event emerges both wise and eventful." Dave Thompson, AMG
2 CD set for $20

ANTHONY PHILLIPS With RICHARD SCOTT/MORRIS PERT - 1984: Expanded Edition [2 CD set] (Voiceprint 434 VPT; UK) 1984 was originally released in 1981 and was critically well received. Based on the George Orwell novel 1984 Anthony Phillips is responsible for most of the playing on the album save for some percussion from Morris Pert and also percussion, Vocals and keyboards from co producer Richard Scott. This reissue has been re mastered for this release and also contains a second disc which includes outtakes and demos of the material that went on to from the original album. Also included on this 2nd disc is The Rule Britannia Suite.
2 CD set for $20


RAYMOND SCOTT And HIS ORCHESTRA - This Time With Strings (Basta 9187; EEC) "Raymond Scott's reputation as a 20th century musical maverick has grown in the 21st century. Sometimes considered the 'Man Who Made Cartoons Swing' because dozens of his melodies were enshrined in classic Warner Bros. animation of the 1940s and '50s, Raymond Scott was a man of numerous accomplishments: chamber-jazz composer, big band leader, electronica pioneer, intrepid audio engineer, music visionary. Scott's 100th birthday is celebrated in 2008, and Basta is planning a series of compilations of unreleased archival recordings, reissues, and remix projects. Scott (1908-1994), who was both musician and inventor, musically re-invented eleven of his compositions for full orchestra and strings on the 1957 album This Time With Strings. It is now being released as part of Basta's Essential Reissue Series -- the first time the album has appeared on CD. Many of these tunes were originally recorded by Scott's novelty jazz six-man Quintette in the late 1930s; others date from the 1940s and '50s. All get a spectacular makeover under the baton of the legendary maestro. This Time With Stringscontains some of Scott's most famous works, including Quintette favorites 'Powerhouse,' 'The Toy Trumpet,' and 'Twilight in Turkey,' retooled for an expanded setting. 'There are many of the old Quintette things in this LP,' said the composer in the original liner notes. 'Also some older things for dance band, material written for Broadway and the screen, and some of my more recent writing. Indeed, a potpourri given hi-fidelity dressing, and a certain vividness in string treatment.' The CD booklet includes the complete original liner notes by jazz historian Burt Korall. The album was recorded in glorious monophonic sound, which is retained on CD. No artificial processing. Crank up the hi-fi!"
CD $19

DAVE HARRIS AND THE POWERHOUSE FIVE - Dinner Music For A Pack Of Hungry Cannibals (Basta 9189; EEC) "Dave Harris played tenor sax in Raymond Scott's legendary late 1930s six-man 'Quintette.' Over a long career as a sought-after session musician in New York and L.A., Harris (1913-2002) released only one record as a bandleader. That was Dinner Music For A Pack Of Hungry Cannibals in 1958, and it was a tribute to his old boss, for whom he held deep respect. Harris and the Powerhouse Five recaptured the manic elegance and rhythmic wit of twelve classic Scott tunes. Nostalgia was the inspiration, but sharp musicianship and a celebratory gusto mark this album as a missing link in the Scott legacy. Basta presents the first CD reissue of this long out of print album. When Raymond Scott organized his Quintette, he recruited CBS Radio Orchestra compatriot Harris. The group was short-lived -- in 1939, Scott expanded the group into a swing orchestra. However, the original RSQ created a sensation during its brief existence, and left a lasting impact on music history. Scott composed 'portraits in music,' programmatic novelties with eccentric titles like 'War Dance for Wooden Indians,' 'Reckless Night on Board an Ocean Liner,' and 'In An 18th Century Drawing Room.' A dozen tunes from this group's repertoire were later adapted by Warner Bros. music director Carl Stalling in hundreds of classic Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. Thus was the RSQ's legacy -- quite apart from the bandleader's own efforts -- preserved for future generations. One title, 'Powerhouse,' has become a staple of cartoon fare, having been used in The Simpsons, Ren & Stimpy, and Animaniacs, as well as in forty anarchic WB shorts and several major motion pictures. In addition to leading a succession of orchestras, Scott composed a Broadway musical in 1946, conducted orchestra on TV's Your Hit Parade in the 1950s, and was a pioneer in electronic music development. But in late-life interviews, he professed that his 1937-1939 Quintette was his favorite band. That opinion was doubtless shared by Harris, who always spoke fondly of working under Scott. Such was Harris' affection for this band that in 1958 he organized a sextet, called his sidemen the Powerhouse Five, and recorded an album of RSQ favorites in modern high fidelity. After the RSQ, Harris remained with Scott's first swing band, then compiled an impressive resume as a session player on radio and TV, and in the recording studio. In a career that extended into the 1970s, he worked with Billie Holiday, Gene Krupa, Eddie Cantor, Mickey Katz, Stan Webb, Russ Case, Bob Haggart and countless others. As a director with a musical pedigree, Harris, on Dinner Music For A Pack Of Hungry Cannibals, maintains the high standards set by his old boss, recapturing the spunk, energy, and humor of the original RSQ. While there's an obvious element of nostalgia at play, don't underestimate the joyfulness and craftsmanship of these performances."
CD $19


LA DUSSELDORF [KLAUS DINGER/THOMAS DINGER/HANS LAMPE] - La Dusseldorf (Water 227; USA) "Upon the break-up of legendary Krautrock duo Neu!, drummer Klaus Dinger formed La Dusseldorf with his brother Thomas and keyboard player Hans Lampe. This, their self-titled debut, was recorded in 1975 and is a staggering mix of Dinger's trademark motorik rhythms, glammy synths, pulsing organs, and urgent guitar work that altogether create a sound that, at times, predates both punk and post-punk, no small feat. Featuring their European hit single 'Silver Cloud,' La Dusseldorf's debut record is classic Krautrock on par with the best offerings of Neu!, Kraftwerk, and Can."
CD $15

LA DUSSELDORF [KLAUS DINGER/THOMAS DINGER/HANS LAMPE] - Viva (Water 228; USA) "Viva is the second release from Klaus Dinger's post-Neu! group. Originally released in 1978, Viva is a stunning combination of washed-out synthesizers, swirling guitar work and Dinger's trademark motorik rhythms. Featuring the classic 'Cha, Cha 2000,' Viva is another fine effort from one of Krautrock's legends and stands as a testament of just how gloriously ahead of their time the German progressive rock scene of the '70s could be. An essential record, released domestically for the first time ever."
CD $15


AYNSLEY DUNBAR RETALIATION - Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation/Doctor Dunbar's Prescription [2 CD set] (SPV 97892; Germany) "On their self-titled debut album, the Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation flashed a British blues-rock approach that was rather similar to that of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers circa 1967. That was unsurprising considering that leader and drummer Dunbar had played on the Bluesbreakers' 1967 A Hard Road album, and that bassist Alex Dmochowski would later play with Mayall himself. Although everyone in the Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation was a skilled player, the record ultimately comes off as rather second-division late-'60s British blues, though in a little heavier and darker a style than Mayall's. That's not to say it's mediocre, but the material (mostly original) is only average, and not quite up to the level of the musicians' instrumental proficiency. Too, Victor Brox isn't the greatest singer, though he's okay, and while Jon Morshead plays guitar well, his style sometimes seems quite influenced by Peter Green (listen especially to his work on the cover of Percy Mayfield's "Memory of Pain"). Additionally, some of the original material wasn't all that original; the work song-style "Watch 'N' Chain" certainly bears similarities to the tune that Donovan popularized under the title "Hey Gyp" (itself similar to a song that Lonnie Young, Ed Young, and Lonnie Young, Jr. had recorded under the title "Chevrolet" on Atlantic's 1960 Roots of the Blues LP of Alan Lomax field recordings [reissued in 1993 under the title Sounds of the South]). It's not a bad record overall, however, with the players getting a chance to take extended solos on the instrumentals "Sage of Sidney Street" and "Mutiny." The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation's second album was much the same as their first, offering competent late-'60s British blues, given a slightly darker cast than was usual for the style via Victor Brox's somber vocals. Like their debut, it was dominated by original material, and as on its predecessor, the compositions were rather routine blues-rock numbers, though they benefited from arrangements by highly skilled players. The best of these tracks were the ones that utilized Brox's gloomy, almost gothic organ, if only because it made them stand out more among the company of the many similar bands recording in the prime of the British blues boom. Otherwise the main fare was straightforward blues-rock that was well played, but rather average and forgettable, the most distinguished ingredient being Dunbar's hard-hitting, swinging drums. If only because it has some original songs that were better than anything on the first album ("Fugitive," "Till Your Lovin' Makes Me Blue," and "Tuesday's Blues," the last of which has some songwriting and guitar work quite similar to Peter Green's late-'60s style in those departments), it's a slightly better listen, though not up to the standards of somewhat similar groups like Fleetwood Mac and John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers. - Richie Unterberger/AMG
CD $19

AYNSLEY DUNBAR RETALIATION - To Mum From Aynsley And The Boys/Remains To Be Heard [2 CD set] (SPV 97912; Germany) Although a fourth Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation album (Remains to Be Heard) would be cobbled together from outtakes and recordings done without Dunbar, their third LP, To Mum, From Aynsley and the Boys, was truly the final proper full-length release by the original group. Dunbar had expressed some interest in moving further afield from the blues-rock format around the time the record was done, and the addition of keyboardist Tommy Eyre (from the Grease Band) to the lineup was one step in that direction. The enlistment of John Mayall as producer was perhaps another step in attempting to refine their sound. Still, much of To Mum, From Aynsley and the Boys is pretty standard late-'60s British blues-rock, in line with the previous two albums by the band. Eyre does inject some of the arrangements with a jazzy, more R&B feel, particularly on "Leaving Right Away" and the instrumental "Unheard," the latter of which sounds like a rock band trying to do modern jazz and finding themselves a bit out of their depth. You also hear the quintet trying to stretch boundaries a little with the eerie, trumpet-overlaid intro to "Don't Take the Power Away," which has the downcast ambience typical of quite a bit of the Victor Brox-sung Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation material. There's also some exceptionally funereal organ in the march-plodding instrumental "Journey's End." Otherwise, though, much of this is rather-run-of-the-mill, if always well played, British blues-rock. Although the Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation broke up in late 1969 after their third album, singer Victor Brox was convinced by manager Bryan Morrison to assemble a posthumous fourth LP. Unfortunately, Remains to Be Heard came close to being the Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation in name only. For drummer-founder Dunbar is only on four of the ten tracks, and the rest include contributions by various musicians who weren't in the group, among them Brox's wife (singer Annette Brox), drummer Keith Bailey (who played with Graham Bond for a while), and some African drummers. The material isn't up to the group's usual standards either, with three of the tracks being leftovers from their third LP, 1969's To Mum from Aynsley and the Boys; cut by the quartet of Dunbar, Brox, guitarist Jon Morshead, and bassist Alex Dmochowski, the recordings had been left off that record since they were cut prior to Tommy Eyre (who appears on all of that LP's tracks) joining the band. Sadly, even some of the tracks with Dunbar aboard aren't up to snuff; you know an outtake should remain an outtake when it begins with the lyric "be my monkey woman, I'm gonna be your monkey man" (as "Invitation to a Lady" does), though "Downhearted" is a worthy effort in the downer-blues-with-organ style that was perhaps the group's strongest suit - Richie Unterberger/AMG
As a side note, Aynsley played with Zappa's group about this time, and Frank asked if he didn't want to join full-time? Dunbar declined, and invited Frank to join Retaliation!
CD $19


THE FAR CRY - The Far Cry (Fallout 2090; UK) "Their music reaches from blues to jazz into space," proclaimed the original liner notes to this highly unusual psychedelic jazz blast, originally released in 1968. The demented seven-piece band hailed from Boston, which was in the throes of the notorious "Bosstown hype" when their album was recorded. Though it can be compared to contemporary acts such as Captain Beefheart and Blood Sweat & Tears, it has a distinctive sound of its own, blending howling vocals, biting electric guitar and avant-garde saxophone with other instruments such as vibraphone, organ and congas, and makes its long-overdue CD debut here. "A heavy psychedelic outfit with free jazz influences." --Fuzz, Acid & Flowers
"Imagine Blood, Sweat and Tears locked in a closet with Captain Beefheart and Quicksilver Messenger Service's John Cipollina... a strange blend of jazz, fusion and psychedelic rock moves." --The Acid Archives
CD $12


THE SAVAGES - Live/Black Scorpio (RB 2450; Germany) "Probably one of the best and better known Indian '60s and '70s garage and psych groups, The Savages released two albums, both of them put together here on this CD. First was Live, from 1969, and second was the potentially sought-after Black Scorpio, which stands as one of the rarest collector items of the Asian psych-rock scene."
CD $19


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