Three new Tzadik releases! Sex Mob Meets Medeski! Taylor Ho Bynum Positive Catastrophe! Michael Bates live! SIM Trio + Otomo! Steve Lacy Quintet! Peter Kowald Solo! Max Roach/Odean Pope Qt!

Miriodor! Led Bib! Yoshida & Nakamura! Schnee: Kurzmann & Stangl! No Neck Blues Band! Philip Glass! Foday Musa Suso

and lots more goodies...


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Three new Tzadik releases!


[ROB] ROBERT BURGER With CARLA KIHLSTEDT/EYVIND KANG/MARC RIBOT et al - City of Strangers [sndtck s] (Tzadik 7519; USA) Featuring Rob Burger on various instruments, Carla Kihlstedt, Eyvind Kang & Max Moston on strings, Marc Ribot on electric guitar, Mark Orton on acoustic guitar and Kenny Wollesen on drums. Robert Burger has worked with Laurie Anderson, Rufus Wainwright, Lucinda Williams, Iron & Wine, and was a founding member of chamber music collective Tin Hat Trio. His first Tzadik CD Lost Photograph was released in 2002 to great acclaim. Performing on a multitude of instruments, and complemented by some of the greatest names in new music, Robert presents City of Strangers, a deep and eclectic collection of film cues that reveals, once again, the boundless and potent gifts of an important contributor. TZADIK FILM MUSIC SERIES
CD $14

PISSUK RACHAV With JOHN ZORN/MARC RIBOT et sl - Eretz Hakodesh (Tzadik 8139; USA) Channeling Serge Gainsbourg through the lens of Hassidic porn and the loving erection of the soul, Pissuk Rachav is the bastard child of Holy Land poetic visions and Brahmachari Circus Music. Marimba, ney, theremin, drums and voice weave a remarkably original and hilariously serious musical universe that seems so perfect one wonders why it has never happened before. French Israeli Jeremy Fogel is an instant superstar, styled in the mold of his hero Serge Gainsbourg. In their own words "perambulations through the existential crisis experienced by post-menopause and suddenly somewhat melancholic Bruria heroine. We would advise all listeners to work out their own salvation with diligence and would like to dedicate all we say, write, sing, play or do to the eternal landlord of the soul." Who knew? This is their debut CD, and it is a must hear for all interested in the outer realms of sanity, Jewish or otherwise! Also features avant superstars Marc Ribot and John Zorn as special guests.
Ravid Zigdon, Jeremy Fogel, Yaron Allouche, Ariel Armoni, Saar Yachin, Erez Frank, Noa Rimer, John Zorn, Marc Ribot, Itamar Greenberg, Aviad Zigdon TZADIK RADICAL JEWISH CULTURE SERIES
CD $14

STABAT AKISH [MAXIME DELPORTE et al] - Stabat Akish (Tzadik 8064; USA) Maxime Delporte is a passionate and talented young composer based in Toulouse, France who combines jazz, rock, classical and more into a crazy new music filled with compositional surprises, brilliant solos and wild juxtapositions. Written for and performed by his astounding band Stabat Akish, the music is tight, virtuosic and powerful - perfect for fans of Zappa, Zs and Zorn. This newest installment of the Full Force series is a dynamic debut by this young band of musical misfits. TZADIK COMPOSER SERIES
CD $14


MICHAEL BATES' OUTSIDE SOURCES With RUSS JOHNSON/QUINSIN NACHOFF/JEFF DAVIS - Live In New York 13/9/2008 (Greenleaf P04; USA) Michael Bates has emerged as one of the most engaging young bassist/composers in recent years. His third record as a leader, Clockwise, released through Greenleaf Music, was met with praise. In celebration of Clockwise, Bates and his quartet Outside Sources recorded their record release show at Cornelia Cafe in NYC, documented here as the fourth installment of the Greenleaf Paperback Series. AllAboutJazz called Outside Sources, "a tight unit that reveled in richness, unpredictability, astounding technical ability and near-telepathic interaction." Live in New York is yet another burner Bates can add to his already expansive catalog. The final track of this release, "Damasa," fades out due to the "tape" running out; however, Included as a bonus track, "Lucifer," is an outtake from the Clockwise sessions.
CD $12


SEX MOB [STEVEN BERNSTEIN/BRIGGAN KRAUSS/TONY SCHERR/KENNY WOLLESEN et al] + JOHN MEDESKI - Sex Mob Meets Medeski: Live At Willisau, 2006 (Thirsty Ear 57189; USA) Steven Bernstein's powerhouse jazz band Sex Mob presents this amazing live performance album featuring the keyboard wizardry of John Medeski (of Medeski, Martin & Wood). Following their Grammy nominated album Sexotica,this first-ever live album is an audible testament to what Sex Mob does best- bringing it to you live!
CD $15



New from Switzerland On HAT!

MARY HALVORSON/REUBEN RADDING/NATE WOOLEY - Crackleknob (Hat ology 662; Switzerland) One listen to this CD and that element of trust and synchronicity immediately comes through. This is the kind of music that can only come from musicians who know each other well. It is like dropping in on an intimate conversation. Ideas get launched and then get immediately picked up, morphed, and woven back in. There is also a striking compactness to the pieces. Free improvisation rarely displays the level of succinct structural sensibility at play here. Wooley comments, "In general, we work at making the cleanest, most elegantly simple piece of music that we can. It's not something we've ever been implicit about, but I think that is just the general attitude about improvising that we all share." Here are three musicians who know how to listen, how to work together to develop a collective arc, and how to tie it all together to create abstract, spontaneous pieces that span the length of a pop song. - Michael Rosenstein
CD $20

ANTHONY BRAXTON With TONY OXLEY/ADELHARD ROIDINGER - Seven Compositions (Trio) 1989 (hat ology 658; Switzerland) [reissue] The great avant-garde reed player Anthony Braxton (who on this set switches between alto, C-melody sax, clarinet, flute, soprano and sopranino), bassist Adelhard Roidingerand drummer Tony Oxley play five of Braxton's complex originals, Oxley's "The Angular Apron" and the standard "All the Things You Are." As usual Braxton's improvising is quite advanced and original but is colorful and fiery enough to always hold on to open-eared listener's attention. This is one of literally dozens of stimulating Anthony Braxton sessions currently available. -- Scott Yanow
CD $20

LUCIANO BERIO & EDISON DENISSOV//ENSEMBLE FUR NEUE MUSIK ZURICH - La Vie En Rouge: Works For Voice And Chamber Ensemble (hat [now] 168; Switzerland) Luciano Berio "Time after time, I find myself returning to folk music. I want to take possession of this treasure-store, using my own resources. Even though I know it cannot come true, I have a utopian dream, namely to forge a single entity from our own music and the folk tradition." America, the Auvergne, Sicily, Sardinia, Armenia and Azerbaijan: their diverse geographical origins reflect the multi-cultural society that Luciano Berio and his wife and preferred interpreter, Cathy Berberian, belonged to.."My transcriptions are analyses of folk songs, and at the same time convey the atmosphere, the 'aroma' of this music as I understand it."
Edison Denissow: The composer combines strict technique, echoes of Debussy and Webern, a casual chanson style, bebop, the Marseillaise (maestoso), the speaking and singing voice, colourful instrumentation, chromatic paraphrases that are squashed down as far as crotchets, and entirely new sounds to form an idiosyncratic, close-knit musical language that is every bit the equal of Vian's in its fundamental blackness and malignance. - Thomas Gartmann
CD $20

MORTON FELDMAN/HILDEGARD KLEEB - For Bunita Marcus (hat (now) 174; Switzerland) [reissue] This piano work, composed near the end of Feldman's life, is perhaps his signature composition for the instrument, and reveals his truly original method of opening up time and space by restricting the movement of sound within them. As Feldman grew older and his compositions became longer (for example, the 4 CD-long "For Philip Guston"), his obsession with the space between sounds (how long it took to hear one before another was introduced) became a driving force in his work. It moved him to constrain the palette he wrote from, in this case to contain only two pitches (C sharp and D), and within these two pitches, an equally restrictive and systematic sequence of meters (alternating 3/8, 5/16). Add to this his direction to the pianist to push the keys just enough to make the slightest sound (ppp), and directions to the listener to playback at very low volume, and you have a very small world to peer into.
The paradox is what emerges from this tiny space, played out over an hour. Time and space drop away. Inside the intervals where notes are played, and chords are built in miniature, is the role that silence itself plays, where it becomes the biggest presence in the work. PianistHildegard Kleeb understands these methods instinctually; there isn't so much as an extra nuance here. Her ability to exercise the tension and restraint in performing such a lengthy work creates for the listener an endless expanse. For Bunita Marcus reveals Feldman thinking not only of musical forms, but also of memory forms, in which memory is formed as a relationship, not of the fragment to the whole, but rather, from fragment remembered as fragment to the next, unto the entire work. While Feldman would make time "disappear" into his works, his intent here is not so much putting weight on time itself, but on time as a visual analogy of structure and duration. With For Bunita Marcus, he has created a memory system in which lapses are freely accepted, because resolution doesn't happen within a structured piece of music, but in the memory of silence itself. -- Thom Jurek
CD $20



STEVE LACY QUINTET With AMBROSE JACKSON/IRENE AEBI/KENT CARTER/JEROME COOPER - Wordless: Paris January 4th 1971 (Futura GER 22; France) Steve Lacy (saxophone soprano), Ambrose Jackson (trompette), Irene Aebi (violoncelle), Kent Carter (contrebasse) & Jerome Cooper (batterie)
CD $18

JACQUES THOLLOT - Quand le Son devient aigu, jeter la girafe a la mer (Futura GER 24; France) Jacques Thollot (piano, orgue, drums, percussions & effets electroniques). Paris le 8 mars 1971
CD $18

and, back in stock..

ANTHONY BRAXTON - Recital Paris 1971: Solo (Futura GER 23; France) This is a rare live & studio date from the Theatre de Epeede Bois and Studio Europasonor, both in January of 1971. Mr. Braxton plays a solo alto sax version of Duke Ellington's "Come Sunday" for the live side and four multi-tracked piano parts for the studio side, entitled "G6N, (X'70B) K '7".
CD $18

ROB BROWN QUARTET - The Big Picture (Futura/Marge 31; France) Featuring Rob Brown on alto sax & flute, Roy Campbell on trumpets, William Parker on acoustic bass and Hamid Drake on drums. One could only imagine how great this all-star quartet date must be!
CD $18

OTHER DIMENSIONS IN MUSIC [DANIEL CARTER/WILLIAM PARKER/ROY CAMPBELL Jr/HAMID DRAKE] - In Paris: Live at the Sunset 2006 [2 CD set] (Futura/Marge 38; France) Featuring Roy Campbell on trumpets, flugelhorn, flute & recorder, Daniel Carter on alto sax, flute & trumpet, William Parker on bass & musette and Hamid Drake on drumset & frame drum. Considering that downtown all-star quartet (ODIM) have been together for more than 25 years, this is only their fourth disc. This disc is very special in a few different ways: it features the incredible Hamid Drake on drums (instead of their regular drummer Rashid Bakr, it was recorded at the Sunset in Paris in October of 2006 and it is a double CD. Another great thing about this disc is that each of the four members contributes illuminating words (English & French) to explain what Other Dimensions in Music is really about. The recording is also superb, warm and perfectly balanced. Bravo to the great Jean-Marc Foussat who has also worked with Joelle Leandre on many of her discs. This is a consistently strong date and double disc, perfectly captured on various levels. - BLG
2 CD set for $26



New from Erstwhile!

AMI YOSHIDA/TOSHIMARU NAKAMURA - Soba to Bara (Erstwhile 56; USA) Ami Yoshida - voice; Toshimaru Nakamurano-input mixing board. Free improvisation has rarely seen significant new movements as influential as the small group of Tokyo musicians once labeled as "onkyo", who have now been a primary driving force in contemporary improvisation for a full decade. Over that decade, these musicians have been responsible for some of the strongest and most radical work on Erstwhile, and Soba To Bara sits firmly in that lineage. Ami Yoshida strives to create a pure sound, abstracting her voice until it becomes almost completely unrecognizable. She created her unique style with no conventional training, initially inspired by Meredith Monk. Cosmos (with Sachiko M) and Astro Twin (with Utah Kawasaki) are her two longest-running projects, and their split release won the 2003 Ars Electronica award. Outside of Japan, Yoshida is solely known for her vocal work, but within Japan, she is a highly regarded writer, poet and comic book critic, with one novel and countless magazine articles to her credit. This is her third release for Erstwhile, following Cosmos-Tears and a s o (with Christof Kurzmann).
Toshimaru Nakamura is one of the most distinguished and original voices in the world of electroacoustic improvisation, with a vast body of work built up over the past decade. Since 1998, Nakamura has been exploring the possibilities of his no-input mixing board in contexts ranging from solo to collaborations with Keith Rowe, Sachiko M, Sean Meehan, Klaus Filip, Axel DXrner and Annette Krebs. Nakamura was a prominent presence throughout the AMPLIFY 2002 box set, appearing on five of the seven CDs, and has previously released ten other projects on Erstwhile including Good Morning Good Night, ErstLive 005 and 4g-cloud, as well as 2008's well-received One Day, with the duo English. Currently in preparation is an ErstLive release of his duo with Keith Rowe at the AMPLIFY 2008: light festival in Tokyo, as well as an ErstSolo release.
Despite knowing each other for over a decade, Yoshida and Nakamura had never performed as a duo when they were asked to make a CD and perform a set in the AMPLIFY 2008 festival. They discussed how best to approach this, and their idea was to record solo tracks separately, overdub them 'blindly' without hearing the other, and then spend time listening to the results before performing the concert. However, they were so satisfied with how powerful and seemingly synchronized the overlapped solos were that they decided that they wanted that to be the release. The traditional Japanese feel of the digipak was created by the very talented Tokyo designer Yasuo Totsuka, built around the kanji characters for 'Soba to Bara'. and the package also contains Japanese-only liner notes by Yoshida and Nakamura.
CD $13

SCHNEE [CHRISTOF KURZMANN/BURKHARD STANGL] - Neuschnee (Erstwhile ERSTPOP 02; USA) Christof Kurzmann lloopp, vocals, clarinet, rubber band; Burkhard Stangl guitars, vibraphone, piano, background vocals. Guests: Manon-Liu Winterpiano (track #2); Eden Carrasco saxophone (track #4); Nicolas Carrasco electronics (track #4)
Burkhard Stangl and Christof Kurzmann began their duo 'schnee' in 1999, finally working together after many years of a non-collaborative friendship. Their first album, released in 2000, combined Stangl's acoustic guitar with Kurzmann's electronic sound manipulation. This was an unusual approach at the time, although it quickly became widely copied and very influential. Since the duo was so well-received, they continued their work, playing concerts throughout Europe, as well as tours in China and Japan. At the same time they began experimenting with another fairly unique approach within this area of music, incorporating song structures and pop vocals into their compositions. These efforts led to the recording of a second album, schneelive, an elongated and meticulously structured version of a Prince song, as performed in the AMPLIFY 2004: addition festival at Ausland in Berlin. While schneelive was a snapshot of their approach on a single night, neuschnee is more complex, recorded on three continents in five countries over four years. Kurzmann has been a prominent part of both the Vienna and the Berlin scenes over the past decade. As an organizer, he cofounded the phonoTAKTIK festival, helped begin the prominent Rhiz club in Vienna, and ran the prestigious Charhizma label. Since moving to Berlin in 2001, he has organized countless shows, including the Berlin half of AMPLIFY 2004: addition. Kurzmann has been an essential part of many Erstwhile-related live events, in Tokyo, Berlin and NYC, and was the first to work at Amann Studios for an Erstwhile release, beginning a crucial relationship for the label. neuschnee is his fifth release for Erstwhile, following a s o (with Ami Yoshida), The Magic ID-till my breath gives out, and the two previous schnee releases. Stangl explores the full range of the guitar, from quiet, melodic plucking to atonal walls of noisy drones. This range and adaptability allowed him to be extremely prolific from 1999-2004, in the collective projects Polwechsel, Efzeg, and SSSD, in duos and trio with Christof Kurzmann and Taku Sugimoto, as well as many others. neuschnee is also his fifth release for Erstwhile, following Wrapped Islands (with Polwechsel and Fennesz), eh (with dieb13), and the two previous schnee releases. Stangl also has a duo album with Kai Fagaschinski in the works for Erstwhile, scheduled for fall 2009 release. These two CDs mark his first new work in some years.
The five tracks on neuschnee form an ambitious meta-song suite, with the various lyrics and musical styles combining to create a whole greater than the sum of its parts. The design is again from Berlin designer Marion Gerth, previously responsible for The Magic ID-till my breath gives out on ErstPop. The front cover juxtaposes a satellite picture of snow with the Mao Zedong poem 'Snow', which the musicians discovered in a book bought while on tour in Beijing.
"After a long phase of experimental and avant-garde work, which inscribed itself in our hearts and still grounds any musical activity, the collection of experiences in originally non-western cultures such as Japan, South Africa or Latin America - each with their own fascinating music - played an important role, too, when we started to think about songs again in a new way and started to integrate them slowly into our delicate musical architecture. The songs or even their fragments are meant as reconciliation: a reconciliation of experiment and tradition, of thoughtful silence and expressive celebration of each moment, of worlds of noises and clearly defined harmonies."-Burkhard Stangl
CD $13

[see below for our restocking list of available Erstwhile CDs!]



We've now been able to lower the price of the Japanese 'Doubt' label back to $20 for single CD releases!
Here's the latest..

SIM [OSHIMA TERUYUKI/OOTANI YOSHIO/UEMURA MASAHIRO] + OTOMO YOSHIHIDE - Monte Alto Estate (Doubt 127; Japan) "There was a period when I couldn't afford any more records, so I would just play two random recordings together at the same starting point and at the same speed, start to finish. Surprisingly these trials uncovered many successful results that sparked enormous inspiration. "Monte Alto Estate" reminds me of my experiments, sounding more like a Miles Davis "Bitches Brew" alongside This Heat's "24 track loop" to create a intensely funky Ground Zero. Meshing sharp tight rhythmic loops with the inscrutable sounds of Onkyo; a brilliant blend in my book, something you want to sink your teeth into and revisit over and over. The culprits responsible are a group called SIM, a trio of Oshima Teruyuki (guitar, composition), Ootani Yosio (electronics, computer), Uemura Masahiro (drums) plus the special addition of Otomo Yoshihide (turntables, self-made synthesizer). Minimalism and maximalism bang their heads together here to blur the distinction between the two! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!" - Chuck Bettis/DMG
CD $20

also available recently..

KAZUTOKI UMEZU - Umezu Kazutoki Plays The Enka (Doubt 126; Japan) This Umezu's second solo disc. Instead of just solo bass clarinet like his first disc (also on Doubt), he plays alto & soprano sax, clarinet and bass clarinet. "Enka" is a style of Japanese pop songs analogous to American blues or country. For this disc Umezu performs fourteen standards from Japan and elsewhere in Asia. This solo effort is completely satisfying from the beginning to the end. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
CD $20 [down from $23]

[see further below for a list of all the great Doubt - and IMJ - CDs we have restocked!]



3 new ones from Cuneiform!

POSITIVE CATASTROPHE [TAYLOR HO BYNUM/ABRAHAM GOMEZ-DELGADO/MATT BAUDER/MICHAEL ATTIAS et al] - Garabatos Volume One (Cuneiform 286; USA) Positive Catastrophe is the brainchild of Taylor Ho Bynum (cornet) and Abraham Gomez-Delgado (percussion). Taylor is one of the most impressive of the latest crop of up and coming jazz musicians and Aib has long been expanding the boundaries of Latin-based music and jazz. Together they have come up with Positive Catastrophe: a trans-idiomatic ten-piece little big band that successfully connects the dots between Sun Ra and Eddie Palmieri and beyond! The group enlists a bevy of New York's most adventurous jazz and salsa musicians, all of whom are composers and leaders in their own right. The full line up is: Taylor Ho Bynum (cornet, flugelhorn, co-leader), Abraham Gomez-Delgado (vocals, percussion, co-leader), Jen Shyu (vocals, erhu), Matt Bauder (tenor sax, clarinets), Michael Attias (baritone sax), Mark Taylor (french horn), Reut Regev (trombone), Pete Fitzpatrick (guitar), Alvaro Benavides (bass), Tomas Fujiwara (drums). With the exceptional musicianship of all of these players and their fluidity in multiple genres, a unique instrumentation that hints at a traditional jazz and salsa big bands yet includes french horn, erhu, and rock guitar, and a pair of dramatic vocalists that are comfortable singing in three languages, Positive Catastrophe creates a truly boundary-crossing kind of new music. "If you've been hungering to hear Latin-based jazz in a new light, your prayers have been answered." - NY Press
CD $15

LED BIB [MARK HOLUB/LIRAN DONIN/TOBY McLAREN/PETE GROGAN/CHRIS WILLIAMS] - Sensible Shoes (Cuneiform 283; USA) Sensible Shoes is the fourth album by this London quartet of dual alto saxes, Fender Rhodes & keyboards, bass and drums. It is a cataclysmic offering of jazz-rock, free-jazz, avant-skronk, funk-rock, art-noise and whatever else they can lay their hands on. A tremendously popular act at home in the UK, where they regularly play large-scale festivals and concert halls (as well as playing the typical club gigs that all musicians play), Sensible Shoes is their first recording to be released outside of the UK. The band has impressed afficiandos of foward thinking electric jazz with their impressive and muscular dual sax-topped, Fender Rhodes-driven music. This new album is culmination of two years of heavy touring since the release of their last album and all of that work definitely shows! A band who have already done great things and are destined for more of the same, but with extra sauce, please.
"We are a jazz band from London, we sound like (insert some ridiculous adjectives here). We have played with (insert long list of people who we have onced shared a toilet with). And we have played at (insert long list of places where we have once smuggled our instruments inside)."
CD $15

MIRIODOR - Avanti! (Cuneiform 288; USA) Sometimes it's hard to write about an album simply because it's difficult to find new ways of saying 'amazing'. Miriodor's albums present that challenge. With a string of utterly fabulous releases, how does one find a new way to get across the fact that Miriodor are one of the very finest new music/rock ensembles in existence? Maybe by truthfully stating that, in my opinion, Avanti! is most likely their best work yet! The band have always produced music that is intricate, tuneful, challenging and filled with both fire and humor. The mixing and production were handled by member Bernard Falaise, the first time the band have done all of this work 'in house' and he has added some adventurous and interesting touches which never overwhelm the integrity of the underlying musical work, but add an additional dimension which is new for the band.
"Fortuitously placed under the sign of number seven, Miriodor's seventh album contains seven songs which all last seven minutes or more, for a total of 60 minutes of dense and twisted music, - la Miriodor. The band, now in its 30th year of existence, has attained a level of cohesion and complicity that sometimes baffles even its more recent members, those who have only been around for 15 years or so... At the core of this production are the usual partners in crime : Bernard Falaise (guitars, stringed instruments, etc.), Pascal Globensky (keyboards, synthesizer, piano), Remi Leclerc (drums, percussion, sampler) and Nicolas Masino (bass, keyboards). On this album, we tried to develop our playing as a quartet, so about half the album has no outside guests, no sequences and just a few overdubs. On the other pieces we are joined by Pierre "The Preacher" Labbe on tenor and barytone saxes, regular acolyte Marie-Chantal Leclair on soprano saxophone, and Maxime St-Pierre on trumpet."
CD $15


JONO EL GRANDE [JON ANDREAS HATUN] - Neo Dada (Rune Grammofon 3084; EEC) LP version on white-colored vinyl in deluxe gatefold sleeve. Includes voucher for free MP3 download of the whole album. This is the second full-length release by Jon Andreas Hatun aka Jono El Grande, a self-taught composer, musician, conductor and prankster who remains an outsider on the far margin of the Norwegian experimental music scene. When Frank Zappa asked Does Humor Belong In Music?, a certified guess is that many a serious music lover already knew the answer. But like Zappa, Jono understands the importance of timing, and as anyone who has witnessed his concerts can testify to, Jono is a humorist and slapstick entertainer of sublime proportions, his great forte being not letting it get in the way of the music. Jono El Grande released his debut mini-album Utopian Dances in 1999, a collection of absurdist instrumentals recorded at home using not much more than a workstation synth. 2003 saw the release of Fevergreens (RCD 2031CD), an album that drew upon classic progressive rock, film music, easy listening and a variety of pop idioms and featured a 9-piece orchestra. If Jono's prankster image and celebrity status in Norway has meant not being taken seriously as a composer, Neo Dada should set the record straight once and for all. This is an album brimming with musical adventure, odd turns, weird combinations of sounds and instruments, complex signatures and a good portion of pure joy, all mysteriously sugared with melodic hooks that will stick to your brain like any annoying pop tune. There are elements from the Canterbury and Rock In Opposition scenes and traces of artists such as Frank Zappa, Magma, Henry Cow and Gentle Giant, but Jono has taken large steps since his last record when it comes to establishing his own musical signature. Instrumentations and arrangements are also more adventurous -- there are more prog sonics mixed with impressive orchestrations, all performed with a theatrical, art-rock, tragi-comedic flair. Musicians include: Jono El Grande (vocals, guitar, various); Petter SXrlie Kragstad (keyboards); AndrX Bongard (keyboards); HXkon MXrk Stene (marimba, vibraphone, percussion); Erik LXkra (saxophones); Embrik Snerte (bass); Terje Engen (drums); Hans Martin Austestad and BXrd Bratlie (additional vocals); Ida Kristine Hansen (violin I); Isa Caroline Holmesland (violin II); Gunnhild OddbjXrnsdatter (viola); Lisa Isabel Holstad (cello).
LP $23

BUSHMAN'S REVENGE [EVEN HELTE HERMANSEN/GARD NILSSEN/RUNE NERGAARD] - You Lost Me At Hello (Rune Grammofon 2043; EEC) This is the second full-length release by Norway's Bushman's Revenge (Even Helte Hermansen, Gard Nilssen, Rune Nergaard). You Lost Me At Hello shows a distinct development from their debut Cowboy Music (Jazzaway, 2007). Founded by Hermansen and Nilssen in 2003 in their hometown of Skien, a couple of hours from Oslo, the trio aim to combine the jazz/improv background of the rhythm section with the rock/metal background of leader, composer and guitarist Hermansen to create their own expressive music inspired by names like Black Sabbath and Jimi Hendrix as well as Ornette Coleman and Albert Ayler. Hermansen is also a member of such diverse groups as Shining and Solveig Slettahjell's Slow Motion Quintet. Nergaard is from the northern town of Bodo and also plays in Humvee and the Eirik Hegdal Quartet, while Nilssen can be found in Puma, Humvee and Lord Kelvin. Both have a background at the Jazz Academy in Trondheim, breeding ground for musicians such as Arve Henriksen, Stale Storlokken, Nils Petter Molvar, and many more. Musically, You Lost Me At Hello has an untamed energy, showing a looser and rougher side than the debut, yet with a more focused road-map towards free exploration. The production is quite heavy with a dark and dirty side to it, and within the Rune Grammofon catalog, this record is probably most comparable to Scorch Trio and Motorpsycho. Metal crunch, bass meanderings, free jazz space-drums, anthemic riffs, and bursts of scrawl and fire, Bushman's Revenge will lay to waste all other contenders.
CD $17


MITCH KESSLER With JOHN ESPOSITO/IRA COLEMAN/PETER O'BRIEN - Erratica (Sunjump CD 07; USA) Featuring Mitch Kessler on alto & tenor saxes & compositions, John Esposito on piano, Ira Coleman on bass and Peter O'Brien on drums. Sunjump mainman & jazz pianist extraordinaire, John Esposito, continues to release great discs with musicians known and unknown. I hadn't heard of the leader, altoi/tenor saxist Mitch Kessler - this disc is his debut, recorded in '08 - and was surprised how strong a player and composer he is. "The Sixth Marx Brother" begins with a strong unaccompanied solo tenor intro which is breathtaking. The rest of the quartet come in when Mitch states the memorable theme. Bassist Ira Coleman takes the first solo which is so fine and followed by the first of many superb solos by John Esposito, on of the strongest jazz pianists on the planet, an under-recognized giant. When Kessler finally solos, Esposito keeps a few different lines going at the same time, both hands commanding inter-dependent layers. This is a marvelous quartet, that sound as if they have been playing together for many years, sailing and swinging together as one strong force. "Deconstructing Post Modernist Dilletantism" has a rather Monk-like theme that keeps shifting in unexpected ways. Throughout this disc the bass and drums play together with tight, resourceful, connected lines allowing the piano and sax to explore and come up with surprising twists and turns. On the title track, "Erratica", the sax and piano do an amazing job of shadowing one another, swirling tight lines around that are consistently inter-connected with the immense rhythm team flowing superbly underneath. "Panic" is an aptly titled burner that reminds me of Miles' incredible sixties without Miles (Wayne, Herbie, Ron & Tony!). The interplay between the tenor and the drums is just unbelievable. In a more perfect world, this disc would be played constantly on WBGO so that it had a chance to be heard and bought by the jazz-loving masses. In the meantime, it is you the DMG sonic connoisseur that would appreciate this treasure, so check it out and give some credit (cash?) where it is due. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
CD $14


First time CD release for this FMP classic album!

PETER KOWALD - Open Secrets: Solo (FMP 132; Germany) Featuring Peter Kowald on solo contrabass, recorded in January of 1988 in the FMP Studio in Berlin. This was the late master-bassist and world-traveling improviser, Peter Kowald's second solo offering. The first, 'Was Da Ist' was recorded in 1984. 1988 was a great year for Mr. Kowald, as he toured non stop traveling to Japan, India, New Zealand and New York (probably the Vision Fest). Solo bass records were not that common in the 1980's and before, making this gem all the more special.
No one plays the acoustic bass quite like Peter Kowald and you can tell that he is in his element on this disc. "Peek at World" opens and is an anagram for Peter's name. Playing solo is present the naked truth, alone with no other instruments to hide behind or lean on. So every note counts. Peter takes his time, bending and stretching the strings of the bass in his own way. Certain notes buzz and hum, but each note rings true. When Kowald starts to bow, no one sounds like him as he twists the notes into odd shapes. He de-tunes the bass on "Language Differentes", tapping on the strings and creating some bizarre alien sounds. His bowing gives his bass a voice-like sound that reaches directly to our hearts and touches our souls along the way. On "Vita Povera - Arte No", he bends each note, sliding slowly up and down the strings, giving the notes a chance to hover in the air. The furious bowing on "El Mismo Rio" is especially intense and he often has two or three lines droning at the same time. "Welt Um [Wale]" is even more ominous as the strings buzz in some, molasses-like hum. The title track is the intense and distinctive with Kowald bowing powerfully, opening up the floodgates and letting the spirits run free. Each piece on this disc is like a short story that Kowald is telling us about his journey around the world. If you listen closely you can hear an assortment of exotic influences flowing through his fingers and hands. This is a most impressive solo bass offering and one that will ring true for eternity. It reminds me of that special time when Peter Kowald played a solo set at the old DMG store on 5th Street in 2002. No one who was in attendance that night will forget his performance. This disc also captures the magic just right. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
CD $20



New from Jazzwerkstatt:

MAX ROACH With CECIL BRIDGEWATER/ODEAN POPE/TYRONE BROWN - Live In Berlin (Jazzwerkstatt 69; Germany) recorded live at Jazzbuhne Berlin, June 16, 1984. This CD looks back on two momentous events in the history of jazz: the only concert that the legendary Max Roach gave in the former East Germany and at Jazzbuhne Berlin, the country's most important jazzfestival, which was held annually between 1977 and 1989. The 1984 concert brought together the internationally acclaimed trumpeter Cecil Bridgewater, who had been playing with Roach since 1971 and hence longer than anyone else, Odeon Pope, who had been in the ensemble since 1979 and who being experienced in free jazz had a lot to do with the most recent innovations, and the bass player Tyrone Brown, who had joined in 1983. All of them were excellent soloists.
The quartet breathes new life into the once highly popular bebop themes Jordu and Good Bait, making for a surprise in the latter with its introduction of the organic, yet original 3/4-time that was so typical of Roach. After an astounding anthem-like introduction, Coltrane's Giant Steps turns into a crazy speed trip with a truly wonderful tenor solo and that unmistakable Max Roach solo style. Although Perdido, an Ellington swing number, fits the profile of timeless modernism and allows everyone a solo. By contrast Bits is an exquisite tour de force of musicianship. Here, Roach is the shouter with humorous, improvised lyrics, while Cecil Bridgewater demonstrates similarly comic gifts on the mouthpiece of his trumpet (reaping laughter and a special round of applause for weaving in a quotation from Struttin' with some Barbecue). The tenor sax eventually joins in to create an imaginatively upbeat dialogue.
CD $19

GUNTER ADLER [RUDI MAHALL/DANIEL ERDMANN/JOHANNES FINK/HEINRICH KOBBERLING] - Auf der Schonhauser Allee (Jazzwerkstatt 44; Germany) [this is a group name and NOT to be confused with the solo electronic artist named Gunter Adler, who isn't involved with this quartet] Rudi Mahall: bass clarinet Daniel Erdmann: tenor saxophone Johannes Fink: double bass Heinrich Kobberling: drums "Gunter Adler expressed explicitly an inventive combination of four individual-creative jazz musicians. This leads to a remarkable production of interactive jazz. This music will touch the listener through the melodic recognition value of their own compositions. All this can be heard on their CDs Gunter Adler 1, Live In Asien, and from there back in the homeland on their newest masterpiece Auf Der Schonhauser Allee.. what the pseudonym Gunter Adler means, nobody knows it even at the end.Therefore everybody wants to know when the quartet plays again..
CD $19

GRIX [FLOROS FLORIDIS/ANTONIS ANISSEGOS/YIORGOS DIMITRIADIS] - Sweet, Sour, Sharp & Soft (Jazzwerkstatt 41; Germany) Floros Floridis: alto saxophone, bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet; Antonis Anissegos: piano; Yiorgos Dimitriadis: drums. Motivated and resourceful, saxophonist Floros Floridis is arguably Greece's most accomplished improvising musician. A world traveler, he's best known in the jazz world for his collaborations with like-minded experimental musicians, most notably the late Wuppertal-based bassist Peter Kowald and drummer Gunter 'Baby' Sommer of Dresden. Floridis has always made a point of encouraging other Hellenic players along the path to Free Music. "Free Improvisation is my favorite method of creating music" he says. "It's the one I respect and believe in the most."
This CD from Grix, his new trio, is a notable example of this philosophy. Over the course of one dozen instant compositions, the 55-year-old, hooks up with two prodigiously talented younger performers from his home town Thessaloniki. Pianist Antonis Anissegos (born 1970) and drummer Yiorgos Dimitriadis (born 1964), now both live in Berlin, where Floridis is also a frequent visitor. All the tunes on Sweet, Sour, Sharp & Soft involve sonic cross-pollination, which means that each trio member contributes his fair share to the success of the CD. The singleminded toughness is one of the musical qualities exhibited on this CD, along with extrasensory mutual interaction and profound technical skill. In fact, although taken together the adjectives may suggest contradictions; alternatively Sweet, Sour, Sharp & Soft is how these extraordinary improvisers play on this notable and highly original date. - Ken Waxman, Toronto
CD $19

ANDREAS WILLERS - Orange Years (Jazzwerkstatt 57; Germany) Andreas Willers (electric & acoustic guitars, devices, electric bass, drums, percussion, banjo, melodica) Making a decent recording of a functional set with live loops is certainly no easy undertaking. After all, the optical elements that enable the audience to see how the various sound layers come about are missing. On stage, Andreas Willers uses his guitar, a few effects, and a loop machine with which he can turn a single instrument into the sound cosmos of an entire orchestra. On stage, this combination of instrument and effects takes place in real time, and the audience experiences all the resulting sounds and loops directly. Willers made use of multitrack recording to transfer his solo program to CD. This additional element tightened up the arrangements and added color to the recording, underpinned throughout by the direct, easily identifi able sound of Willers's guitar.
Andreas Willers sees himself as a musician who switches back and forth between the avant-garde and other styles. For him, loops, improvisations, and other musical molecules are a kind of theatrical backdrop. By recording the music himself, he can shift his sound structures back and forth like background scenery. - Angela Ballhorn
CD $19

CORDULA HAMACHER QUARTETT With JOHN SCHRODER/JOHANNES FINK/ZORAN TERZIC - Connected (Jazzwerkstatt 58; Germany) Cordula Hamacher (tenor & soprano saxophone), John Schroder (drums), Zoran Terzic (piano), Johannes Fink (double bass); recorded at Tonstudio 24, Berlin in 2008.
If deception can be felicitous, as opposed to fraudulent, then surely here in this album by the Cordula Hamacher Quartett. Because what Connected does best is to play with our expectations, tricking and teasing us in the most pleasantly exhilarating way. Take the opening Connected 1, for example, a funky blues with strong elements of gospel and a meaty, hard-bop saxophone from Hamacher that soon has us pigeonholing the whole album in the groove and soul jazz slot. Or would, were it not for John Schroder's refusal to provide the steady backbeat that is all but obligatory in that context, and for the open, rhythmic fl uidity that makes this combo so hard to pin down. And after hearing the unashamedly nostalgic dance number with which the album ends an enchanting Vienna Waltz
inspired by Balkan folk music (another deception, incidentally, since it opens with an improvised prelude), then we begin to get a sense of the sheer scope of the musical adventure in which saxophonist Cordula Hamacher and her ensemble are inviting us to take part.
Rarely has Whitney Balliett's much cited apercu of the Sound of Surprise seemed so apposite. And funk and groove constitute only one element among many in the band's stylistic cornucopia. The secret of how such disparate parts were forged into a coherent whole is to be found in the title with its allusion to the connectedness of the four very different musicians whom Cordula Hamacher has brought together with characteristically sure touch. They are indeed well connected, these four. And that is definitely no deception.
CD $19

DER MOMENT [GERHARD GSCHLOSL/JOHANNES FINK/MATTHIAS ROSENBAUER] - Transzendenz (Jazzwerkstatt 55; Germany) Featuring Gerhard Gschlosl: trombone Johannes Fink: double bass and Matthias Rosenbauer: drums. The great Jazzwerkstatt label continues to uncover gems known & unknown from Germany and other nearby countries. Der Moment is a fine trio from Franconia or Lower Bavaria. Members of this trio have worked with Rolf Kuhn, Gunter Adler & Rudi Mahall on the Meta Records & Jazzwerkstatt labels. Trombone-fronted trios were not so common previously but this seems to be changing thanks to [the late] Paul Rutherford, Connie Bauer and Albert Mangelsdorff.
The title track is first and it has a great groove, sort of funky yet constantly changing. I dig the way Gerhard changes the sound of his trombone during each section of the song. This is not a free improv date, as each member contributed pieces that they had written. Hence, the trio works their way though a variety of styles and changes, occasionally serious with much humor involved as well. All three members of this trio are strong musicians and each are integral to the tight, spirited and inventive sound. On "18 Grad Minus" there is a great section with bent bowed bass, quirky muted trombone and tight quick changing drums. "Virus" starts with a burlesque-like intro yet it keeps switching style and sounds like alot of fun. What makes this trio and disc so special is that it just feels right and makes me smile while also throwing in lots of curves and surprising twists & turns. It doesn't take itself too seriously. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
CD $19

JAZZ PARASITES [KALLE KALIMA/ED SCHULLER/ERNST BIER] - Very Early (Jazzwerkstatt 62; Germany) Kalle Kalima: guitar Ed Schuller: double bass Ernst Bier: drums
CD $19


WATSON JENNISON/FRANCOIS GRILLOT/TODD CAPP - West 56th (One Eyed Cat 01; USA) Featuring Watson Jennison on soprano sax, flute, recorder, bottle & other stuff, Francois Grillot on acoustic bass and Todd Capp on drums. It always makes me smile when someone unknown to me shows up at the store and lays their CD on me and it turns out to be a long, lost gem. Mr. Jennison used to have a boutique in NY in the seventies, but now lives back up in Canada where he is from. For this disc he has gotten together with two of downtown's better improvisers, bassist Francois Grillot and drummer, Todd Capp. "Meeting" starts with just bass and soprano, played starkly and calmly until softly, swirling cymbals cone in. The sound of this trio reminds me of the loft jazz gigs during the same period (late seventies) when Watson was living in NYC. This music is mostly cerebral, restrained and free-flowing. Time is stretched out and the music floats like clouds across the sky. On "Together", Watson starts on flute and again, the mood is subdued until midway when Francois begins burning on bass and Watson switches back to soprano. It is joyous to hear the trio start to soar higher and higher. Eventually Francois takes a stunning bass solo with the rest of the trio swirling around him. Even when they take things further out, like on "Improvisation" there is always a feeling of communication and resolution. This disc was recorded in Francois' kitchen and it does have a warm, cosy sound. One of the better free improv discs I've heard in recent memory. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
CD $12


NO-NECK BLUES BAND [aka NNCK] - At 6AM We Become The Police (Locust 117; USA) "NNCK LP soundtrack for the upcoming NNCK movie of the same name, directed by Adam Egypt Mortimer. This album presents recordings from the first NNCK rehearsal space at 195 Chrystie St. NYC in the years 1995-97. Two pieces were recorded for Harmony Korine's Gummo soundtrack but never released. Others are quintessential NNCK moments, including the first session joined by Butoh princess Michiko Takahachi, who instantly became a permanent member. The closing of the 195 Chrystie St. studio in 1997 marked the end of NNCK downtown as they set their sites for Harlem. This soundtrack and the upcoming film closely document this transitional period." - Nuss
LP $18


ON KA'A DAVIS & FAMOUS ORIGINAL DJUKE PLAYERS - Seeds of Djuke (LiveWired 1004; USA) "Featuring On Ka'a Davis on guitars, voice, compositions & production, Luther Thomas, Andrew Lamb, Saco Yasuma & Tom Chess on horns plus various singers, bassists and percussionists. On Ka Davis is an underground local legend who was inspired by and worked with Sun Ra for a couple of years. On has played at the old store and left us with a cool, spaced out self-produced CD some years back. Since hearing his new one over the past few weeks, I was amazed at how far he has evolved and put out one of the freshest, most vibrant and enchanting space/rock/funk/jazz/exotic gems of the year!
All of the 17 pieces here are relatively short (under nine minutes), yet flow together seamlessly through different dimensions. The hypnotic groove on "Yea! Yea!" blends dub & funk with spacy jazz. Saxists Andrew Lamb and Luther Thomas wail softly in the distance while layers of somber guitars create a groovy dreamworld. I dig the way On directs different lines of voices and guitars over that quietly mesmerizing groove. Andrew Lamb plays a warm, lovely slow-burning sax solo on "No! No Go for It!" while On plays dreamy space/jazz guitar with voices and percussion all swirling sublimely together. The dig the chorus of voices on "Ain't Nobody Teach Nobody Nothin'!", singing in righteous harmonies with layers of infectious guitars, percussion and that cosmic groove. For "Voodoo Ultralux", On casts a spell by using a some eerie echoplexed horns with dreamy voices and percussion. Sometimes it sounds as if there are two or more songs going on at the same time yet, there is also a consistent pulse or groove underneath that ties it all together when things start to go "out". For those guitar fan-addicts, On does take a number of impressive solos but never steps on anyone since the overall vibe is more important than anything else. It is rare when an album makes you want to dance as much as listen closely to all that is going on, but this disc is the perfect remedy for jaded souls and (wannabe) hipsters. Every time I play this gem in the store, someone invariably asked what it is and ends up taking one home. It is your turn to reap the rewards of On Ka'a Davis and the Famous Original Djuke Music Players. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
CD $14


PHILIP GLASS//SCOTT HICKS, dir. - Glass: A Portrait Of Philip In Twelve Parts (Orange Mountain 54; USA) "For eighteen months, director Scott Hicks (Shine, No Reservations) followed composer Philip Glass around with a video camera capturing all aspects of his life. His film provides an intimate look at Glass as a family man, delves into his spiritual life and produces some insights on how he composes music. Orange Mountain Music's soundtrack to Glass: A Portrait Of Philip In Twelve Parts contains much of the music from the film including a wide variety of music from every part of Philip Glass's career. Included on this collection are selections from Einstein On The Beach, Etoile Polaire, Glass' music for solo piano and more."
CD $19

FODAY MUSA SUSO - The Two Worlds (Orange Mountain 53; USA) "Foday Musa Suso is an internationally recognized musician and a Mandingo griot (musician/oral historian of the Mandingo people) born in West Africa. Suso grew up in a society where griots function as walking libraries, singing their stories for the community while providing history, wisdom and entertainment. With this new album The Two Worlds, Suso displays virtuosic kora performances of his own compositions. Known also as a recording artist and collaborator, Suso has collaborated with artists like Philip Glass and the Kronos Quartet, and he continues to perform internationally at the world's most prestigious venues."
CD $19


CULTURE MUSICAL CLUB - Shime! (World Village 468080; Germany) "Culture Musical Club began life as part of the youth organization of the Afro Shirazi Party during Zanzibar's struggle for independence back in 1956. Today, Culture Musical Club is not only the largest, but also one of the most prolific and successful orchestras of Zanzibar as they present taarab music. In addition to innumerable performances in Stone Town, villages of Zanzibar and on Tanzania mainland, this group has toured internationally with outstanding success and has won over audiences in France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, the Arab Emirates and Reunion. They perform new compositions on a regular basis and have developed a distinct and uniquely Swahili style. Their CD releases have made the name Culture Musical Club known to audiences throughout the world, so much so that rehearsals in their clubhouse have become somewhat of a tourist attraction. This, however, does not interfere with the first and foremost aim of their social gathering -- namely to enjoy music and 'to be moved' by it, as the original meaning of the word 'taarab' implies."
CD $20

DUOUD - Ping Kong (World Village 479025; Germany) "DuOud consists of two oud-playing Istanbul-based musicians; Tunisian born Jean-Pierre Smadja (already noted for two albums he issued as Smadj on MELT 2000), and Algerian born master oud player Mehdi Haddab (known for his work with the acclaimed French based trio, Evoko, and more recently Speed Caravan). Blending their North African heritage with the latest Western technology, the pair builds a musical cycle that looks to their African roots while absorbing and morphing contemporary music styles -- break beats, jazz grooves and metal guitar. While DuOud are not the first to mix the North African lute with electronic technology, they do it with such an imaginative freedom that sets them apart from their contemporaries; their debut album Wild Serenade saw them nominated for the Best Newcomer award in the 2003 BBC Music Awards. On Ping Kong, DuOud hovers between tradition and futurism, with varying moods ranging from surf kitsch to contemporary groove. The album features cameos from Cyril Atef from Bumcello and Malouma."
CD $20


THE PYRAMIDS - Lalibela (Ikef 09; USA) "'We were playing music to burst out of our bodies. Extremely free! Extremely intense!' -- Idrissa Ackamoor. The Pyramids came together in the feverish expat climate of Paris & Amsterdam in 1971 where the three Antioch classmates -- Idrissa Ackamoor, Margo Ackamoor and Kimathi Asante -- hooked up with drummer Donald Robinson and began to flesh out their own brand of musical freedom, but it was the subsequent pilgrimage back to Africa that proved to be the young musicians' creative awakening & truly set their brand of spiritual jazz apart from the pack. Cut just months after their return to Yellow Springs, Ohio in 1973 with kindred players jumping in on the session, Lalibela is an urgent, beautiful & massive two track suite of propulsive Afrodelic cosmic earth groove. Exact repro of the ultra-rare private issue LP on the band's Pyramid Records label. Remastered from the original source tapes. 180 gram virgin vinyl pressing."
LP $19

THE PYRAMIDS - King Of Kings (Ikef 10; USA) "'There were spirits in that recording studio! I remember a feeling of spiritual strength while we were recording! Images and sounds reverberating off the walls!' - Idris Ackamoor. Though only a year had passed in the time between the fierce abandon of Lalibela and 1974's King Of Kings, it signaled a monumental shift for the band. By 1974, the core Pyramids continued their musical odyssey with their Lalibela collaborators -- percussionists Hekaptah, Marcel Lytle and saxophonist Masai -- while welcoming drummer-in-exile Donald Robinson back to the Pyramids' Midwestern American family. Inspired, the group set to shape a set of compositions that most fully realized -- in form, feel & reflection -- their African passage. On a spring day in 1974, the Pyramids went into a remote 16-track studio called Appalachia Sound Recording hours from Antioch in Chillicothe, Ohio -- the site of ancient native Indian burial mounds -- and, with no less intensity than before, cut a warm and infectious spiritual jazz masterpiece -- King of Kings -- in a day and headed back to Antioch that night. Exact repro of the ultra-rare private issue LP on the band's Pyramid Records label. Remastered from the original source tapes. 180 gram virgin vinyl pressing."
LP $19

THE PYRAMIDS - Birth/Speed/Merging (Ikef 11; USA) "A psychedelic Afrojazz stunner that capped off a feverish diaspora from the Midwest to the Bay Area by way of Africa. Cut in 1975, Birth/Speed/Merging was the band's highest end production to date and their final recorded act. The mood was celebratory, carnivalesque and wholly in the groove. Features the burning classic 'Black Man & Woman Of The Nile.' Remastered from the original source tapes. 180 gram virgin vinyl pressing."
LP $19


ECCENTRIC SOUL [V.A.] - Smart's Palace (Numero 27; USA) "Smart's Palace was anything but royal. Beyond the bloodlines of the Smart Brothers and their jester brother Leroy, the only kings and queens to be discovered there were JB and Aretha playing on the Wurlitzer. However, between 1963-1975 the club held court for the entire Wichita, Kansas soul scene. At its heart was Dick Smart, bassist, club owner, DJ, record store owner, promoter, and sole proprietor of the Solo label. Collected here for the first time is the story and songs that came out of this thriving, if not totally unknown scene. Housed in Numero's signature slipcase, the 19 track disc features Theron & Darrell, Baby Neal, Chocolate Snow, L.T. & the Soulful Dynamics, Fred Williams & the Jewels Band, and The Hard Road, on labels like Solo, Kanwic, Vantage, and Lee-Mac, all fully annotated with a ransom of pictures, posters, and ephemera fit for a king." Includes 28-page booklet and collectable Numero Group trading card.
CD $18

ECCENTRIC SOUL [V.A.] - The Young Disciples (Numero 23; USA) "By 1967, East St. Louis, once dubbed an 'All-American' city by the U.S. Chamber Of Commerce, had become St. Louis, Missouri's evil twin. Unemployment, drug addiction and vicious gang activity put a dark and heavy lid on a bi-state area that once cooked-up world-changing talent the likes of Chuck Berry, Josephine Baker and Miles Davis. But both cities still spawned heroes, and Allen Merry was one of them. Already a living legend for his early work with Ray Charles and Ike Turner, Merry channeled his talent into teaching, forming the Young Disciples through the South End Community Center to keep the kids off the streets, out of the gangs and into the studio, where young men and women spiraling downward could ride the spiral groove upward on Merry's YoDi, Gateway and Merry labels. With nearly 80 local youths involved from both sides of the Mississippi, the Young Disciples (named for one of the area's most notorious gangs) encompassed solo acts, duos, male and female vocal groups, a massive horn section and a troupe of African dancers. Every sweat-drenched recording included here emerged from this grass-roots organization that changed, if not saved, lives. Former East St. Louis Mayor Carl Officer had a slogan he liked to pitch: 'There's A City Under Here.' Here's the musical proof of that possibility."
CD $18

LOCAL CUSTOMS [V.A.] - Downriver Revival [2 LP + DVD set] (Numero 26; USA) "Between 1967 and 1981 Detroit's downriver neighbor Ecorse, MI had its very own Moe Asch. Set up in a basement on 18th Avenue, Felton Williams' Double U Sound chronicled the musical lives of Ecorse's citizens and issued them on the Solid Rock, Compose, and Revival labels. Compiled here are 24 of Williams' most fascinating recordings, covering gospel, group soul, garage-punk, northern, jazz, and funk. Also included in the 2LP package is a DVD of the nearly 200 sound recordings pulled from his archives and a 30 minute documentary on the making of Downriver Revival. Deluxe 2LP set contains 24 prime tracks from the Double U archives housed in a thick gatefold sleeve with a tipped in booklet stuffed with photos and detailed notes on the recordings. DVD contains a virtual vault for a 'dig your own' experience." Artists include Shirley Ann Lee, Gospel Supremes, Coleman Family, Calvin Cooke, Bobby Cook & the Explosions, Organics, Combinations, Apostles Of Music, Deliverance Echoes, The Young Generation, Junior Mays Group, The Burgess Band, Mighty Voices Of Wonder and Voices Of Deliverance.
2 LP + DVD set for $26
also available as CD+DVD set for $20

THE FINAL SOLUTION - Brotherman [sndtck] (Numero 22; USA) "Continuing a tradition that began with Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, and culminated with Shaft and Superfly, Brotherman was a blaxploitation film set to hit screens in 1975. Prior to the script being finished, the producers commissioned an original sound track to be performed by The Final Solution, a fledgling vocal group from Chicago's west side. In classic Numero fashion, before even one foot of film was shot, the plug was pulled and the movie was cancelled. Dragged around for 30 years by songwriter, guitarist and arranger Carl Wolfolk, the tapes of his life's work have finally been mixed, and the soundtrack album has been augmented to include two orchestrated instrumentals intended for the film. Having no stills from the film to work with, the Numero Group tasked Minneapolis' Burlesque of North America to paint a cover that could withstand the scrutiny of any blaxploitation poster geek. The deluxe single disc set is housed in our standard slipcase, with a plush booklet detailing the known history of the film and the group that created the music."
CD $15


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Several Erstwhile releases have gone out of print - get these while the getting's good!

TETUZI AKIYAMA/GUNTER MULLER - Points And Slashes (Erstwhile 44; USA)
CD $13

AMPLIFY 2002 [V.A.] - balance [7 CD/1 DVD Box Set] (Erstwhile 33-40; USA)
7 CD + DVD box set for $120

AVVA [TOSHIMARU NAKAMURA/BILLY ROISZ] - Gdansk Queen [DVD] (Erstwhile 48; USA)
DVD $20

JOHN BUTCHER/PHIL DURRANT - Requests And Antisongs (Erstwhile 07; USA)
CD $13

COSMOS [SACHIKO M [MATSUBARA]/AMI YOSHIDA] - Tears (Erstwhile 24; USA)
CD $13

MATT DAVIS/PHIL DURRANT/MARK WASTELL - Open (Erstwhile 32; USA)
CD $13

KEVIN DRUMM/MARTIN TRETREAULT - Particles And Smears (Erstwhile 06; USA)
CD $13

PHIL DURRANT/THOMAS LEHN/RADU MALFATTI - Dach (Erstwhile 14; USA)
CD $13

erikM/DIEB 13 - Chaos Club [2 CD set] (Erstwhile 49; USA)
2 CD set for $22

THE FLIRTS [COR FUHLER/GERT-JAN PRINS] - The Flirts (Erstwhile 17; USA)
CD $13

FOUR GENTLEMEN OF THE GUITAR [4G: KEITH ROWE/OREN AMBARCHI/CHRISTIAN FENNESZ/TOSHIMARU NAKAMURA] - Cloud [2 CD set] (Erstwhile 46; USA)
2 CD set for $22

HAUNTED HOUSE [LOREN MAZZACANE CONNORS [aka GUITAR ROBERTS]/SUZANNE LANGILLE/ANDREW BURNES/NEEL MURGAL] - Up In Flames (Erstwhile 02; USA)
CD $13

EARL HOWARD/DENMAN MARONEY - Fire Song (Erstwhile 03; USA)
CD $13

GIUSEPPI IELASI/DOMENICO SCIAJNO - Right After (Erstwhile 20; USA)
CD $13

GREG KELLEY/JASON LESCALLEET - Forlorn Green (Erstwhile 19; USA)
CD $13

GRAHAM LAMBKIN/JASON LESCALLEET - The Breadwinner: Musical Settings For Common Environments And Domestic Situations (Erstwhile 52; USA)
CD $13

SACHIKO M [MATSUBARA]/TOSHIMARU NAKAMURA/OTOMO YOSHIHIDE - Good Morning Good Night [2 CD set] (Erstwhile 42; USA)
2 CD set for $22

THE MAGIC I.D. [MARGARETH KAMMERER/CHRISTOF KURZMANN/KAI FAGASCHINSKI/MICHAEL THIEKE] - Till My Breath Gives Out (Erstwhile ERSTPOP 01; USA)
CD $13
also available as ltd ed LP for $22

MIMEO [MUSIC IN MOVEMENT ELECTRONIC ORCHESTRA: KEITH ROWE/COR FUHLER/THOMAS LEHN et al] With JOHN TILBURY - The Hands Of Caravaggio (Erstwhile 21; USA)
CD $13

GUNTER MULLER/OTOMO YOSHIHIDE - Time Travel (Erstwhile 29; USA)
CD $13

TOSHIMARU NAKAMURA & ENGLISH [JOE FOSTER/BONNIE JONES] - One Day (Erstwhile 53; USA)
CD $13

TOSHIMARU NAKAMURA/SACHIKO M [MATSUBARA] - Do (Erstwhile 13; USA)
CD $13

ANDREA NEUMANN/BURKHARD BEINS - Lidingo (Erstwhile 26; USA)
CD $13

JEROME NOETINGER/erikM - What a Wonderful World (Erstwhile 28; USA)
CD $13

JULIEN OTTAVI/DION WORKMAN - Misenlian (Erstwhile 45; USA)
CD $13

POIRE_Z [GUNTER MULLER/VOICE CRACK [NORBERT MOSLANG/ANDI GUHL]/erikM] - + (Erstwhile 22; USA)
CD $13

POLWECHSEL [WERNER DAFELDEDECKER/JOHN BUTCHER/MICHAEL MOSER/BURKHARD STANGL] & CHRISTIAN FENNESZ - Wrapped Islands (Erstwhile 23; USA)
CD $13

R/S [PETER REHBERG & MARCUS SCHMICKLER] - One: Snow Mud Rain (Erstwhile 51; USA)
CD $13

DEAN ROBERTS/WERNER DAFELDECKER - Aluminium (Erstwhile 09; USA)
CD $13

KEITH ROWE - Keith Rowe: Cultural Templates (Erstwhile Erstlive 07; USA)
CD $13

KEITH ROWE - The Room (Erstwhile ERSTSOLO 01; USA)
CD $13

KEITH ROWE/AXEL DORNER/FRANZ HAUTZINGER - A View From The Window (Erstwhile 41; USA)
CD $13

KEITH ROWE/BURKHARD BEINS - Keith Rowe/Burkhard Beins (Erstwhile ErstLive 01; USA)
CD $13

KEITH ROWE/CHRISTIAN FENNESZ - Live at the LU (Erstwhile 43; USA)
CD $13

KEITH ROWE/GUNTER MULLER/TAKU SUGIMOTO - The World Turned Upside Down (Erstwhile 05; USA)
CD $13

KEITH ROWE/JOHN TILBURY - Duos for Doris [2 CD set] (Erstwhile 30; USA)
2 CD set for $22

KEITH ROWE/SACHIKO M [MATSUBARA]/TOSHIMARU NAKAMURA/OTOMO YOSHIHIDE - Rowe M Nakamura Yoshihide [3 CD set] (Erstwhile Erstlive 05; USA)
3 CD set for $39

KEITH ROWE/TAKU UNAMI - Rowe/Unami (Erstwhile Erstlive 06; USA)
CD $13

KEITH ROWE/THOMAS LEHN/MARKUS SCHMICKLER - Rabbit Run (Erstwhile 27; USA)
CD $13

KEITH ROWE/TOSHIMARU NAKAMURA - Between [2 CD set] (Erstwhile 50; USA)
2 CD set for $22

KEITH ROWE/TOSHIMARU NAKAMURA - Weather Sky (Erstwhile 18; USA)
CD $13

KEITH ROWE/TOSHIMARU NAKAMURA/THOMAS LEHN/MARCUS SCHMICKLER - Keith Rowe/Toshimaru Nakamura/Thomas Lehn/Marcus Schmickler (Erstwhile ErstLive 02; USA)
CD $13

MARTIN SIEWERT/MARTIN BRANDLMAYR - Too Beautiful To Burn (Erstwhile 31; USA)
CD $13

SCHNEE [CHRISTOF KURZMANN/BURKHARD STANGL] - Schnee (Erstwhile 08; USA)
CD $13

SCHNEE [CHRISTOF KURZMANN/BURKHARD STANGL] - schnee_live (Erstwhile ErstLive 03; USA)
CD $13

BURKHARD STANGL/DIEB 13 - Eh (Erstwhile 25; USA)
CD $13

STILLUPPSTEYPA & TV POW - We Are Everyone In The Room (Erstwhile 16; USA)
CD $13

VHF [SIMON VINCENT/GRAHAM HALLIWELL/SIMON FELL] - Extracts (Erstwhile 01; USA)
CD $13

AMI YOSHIDA & CHRISTOF KURZMANN - a s o [ASO] (Erstwhile 47; USA)
CD $13

OTOMO YOSHIHIDE & VOICE CRACK [NORBERT MOSLANG/ANDI GUHL] - Bits Bots & Signs (Erstwhile 11; USA)
CD $13


..AND 'Improvised Music from Japan'/ IMJ restocks:

TETUZI AKIYAMA AND MARTIN NG - Oimacta (IMJ 519; Japan) Tetuzi Akiyama has in recent years attracted tremendous interest on the Japanese and international improvised music scenes. In addition to performing many times in Europe, America, Australia, and New Zealand, he's been releasing a steady stream of solo and group recordings on these countries' labels. Oimacta, a duo album he recorded in a Sydney studio with Martin Ng (turntable feedback), promises to become one of his most widely recognized works. Akiyama's instrument here is the acoustic guitar. Ng, who lived in Sydney at the time of recording and has since moved to the U.S., is known for his duo album with Sydney guitarist Oren Ambarchi, and for his participation, along with Martin Tetreault and Otomo Yoshihide, in the 'Turntable Hell' UK tour of May '02. If you didn't know beforehand what instruments the musicians were playing on these four tracks, you'd be hard put to identify the sources of their sound. Its rich colors, and the mysterious atmosphere it evokes, are awe-inspiring.
CD $17

SAMM BENNETT - Secrets of Teaching Yourself Music (IMJ 516; Japan) This features Samm Bennett on Korg Wave drum, vibrators and contact mics, Korg ER-1, Alesis Air synth, Casio VL-Tone, cd player, Bias, bumble ball, can, gong, beepers, effectors and crank-toy with portable karaoke mic. Percussionist Samm Bennett was active on the New York improvised music scene in the '80s and '90s. Later he moved to Tokyo, where he's been involved in multidirectional projects including SKIST (his duo with Haruna Ito) and R.U.B. (his trio with Kazuhisa Uchihashi and Ned Rothenberg). From early on, Bennett has explored the fusion of acoustic and electronic. At the same time, he's employed a variety of materials -- electronic drums like the Korg WaveDrum (his main instrument), household products, toys and so on -- in the creation of a highly original, richly colored sound that subtly combines humor and seriousness. While the playful title suggests that anyone, regardless of talent or experience, can enjoy making music with familiar objects, what this album of 19 tracks (almost all live recordings) makes abundantly clear are Bennett's fine musicianship and excellent taste. Bennett has released quite a few leader and co-leader recordings, but this is only his second solo album to date -- his first since 1984. It's worth the 20-year wait.
CD $17

HAN BENNINK/KAZUO IMAI - Across The Desert (IMJ 514; Japan) European free jazz/free improvisation pioneer Han Bennink (drums) made this studio recording with Kazuo Imai (guitar) in Tokyo in May of 2002. Imai, who in the '70s studied with Masayuki Takayanagi and Takehisa Kosugi, currently performs both on his own and with the annual five-member collective improvisation project Marginal Consort. 'Across the Desert' contains nine duo pieces. Imai plays both acoustic and electric guitar while Bennink delivers strong, constantly changing rhythms. Here are two musicians who know their instruments inside out. Their unique affinity is powerfully conveyed in these dynamic exchanges.
CD $17

PETER BROTZMANN/SHOJI HANO - Funny Rat (IMJ 512; Japan) Free jazz drummer Shoji Hano and German saxophone giant Peter Brotzmann first met in Japan in the early eighties. In 1990 Hano went to Europe for the first time and played with Brotzmann; then he invited Brotzmann to Japan for a duo tour in fall '91. This album is the complete recording of a concert they gave during that tour, at Aku Aku in Tsukuba. In '92 Hano released (on his label EGG) a cassette tape of that performance, with the same title, omitting one of the pieces played in the concert. The omitted number is restored on this CD release (track four), making for a total of five pieces. Since that tour Hano and Brotzmann have continued to play together frequently. This valuable recording captures the powerful collaboration of that early period.
CD $17

AXEL DORNER/TOSHIMARU NAKAMURA - Vorhernach (IMJ/Ftarri 221; Japan) "This is a duo album by trumpeter Axel Dorner, who is one of the leading artists on the new Berlin improvised music scene, and no-input mixing board player Toshimaru Nakamura, who garners critical acclaim in the West as well as in Japan. Dorner's playing is far removed from conventional trumpet styles: he constructs his sound mainly from hissing noises, clicks and sputters. Nakamura spins out a delicate electronic sound using only the mixing board's internal feedback. At times they produce sounds one at a time; at others their sounds overlap; and at others, both are silent. The tension and compositional power are stunning. A masterpiece. The album consists of two tracks, each over 25 minutes long, recorded in Berlin in August 2005."
CD $17

KLAUS FILIP/TOSHIMARU NAKAMURA - aluk (IMJ 526; Japan) "Vienna artist Klaus Filip plays music using nothing but sine waves produced with 'lloopp,' an improvisation software program he invented and continues to refine. Toshimaru Nakamura makes music simply by controlling a mixing board's internal feedback, inputting no external sounds. Two artists with highly individual playing methods, they came together to create this album of improvisational works. Two of the three tracks were recorded in a Tokyo studio in May of 2005, when Filip came to Japan along with trombonist Radu Malfatti. The third was studio-recorded the following June, when Nakamura in turn visited Vienna. The performances move along in a calm, detached manner, but also contain exquisite warmth and tension born of the whispering and murmuring of electronic sounds. A kind of sound that could only come from these two artists."
CD $17

HACO - Stereo Bugscope (IMJ 523; Japan) Starting with her work in After Dinner in the '80s, up to her current activity as a soloist and in projects like the female trio Hoahio, and Yesterday's Heroes, with Terre Thaemlitz, Haco has long been the reigning songstress of avant-garde music. But she isn't only a highly acclaimed vocalist and composer/lyricist; in recent years she's been exploring areas unrelated to vocalizing or pop melodies, with projects that focus on the sounds that surround us in our daily lives. One of these is U View Masters ('the sound collection and observation organization'), which produces a large-scale annual event; another is U Stereo Bugscope, which is documented on this album. The name 'Stereo Bugscope' refers to a performance system that detects oscillating sounds emitted by the circuitry of electronic devices. It also signifies the act of listening to the electromagnetic world that emerges from the inside of devices such as computers, cell phones, MD players, and wireless routers through the use of two inductive microphones (pickups). The oscillating-circuit sounds come from the IC board and clock, and the electromagnetic noise comes from the electrical current that turns the fan and drives the motor. These signals are ordinarily so faint as to be inaudible. The sound is then electronically amplified, which makes it at first seem very extreme, but at the same time amazingly beautiful.
CD $17

SHOJI HANO - 48 (IMJ 505; Japan) Drummer Shoji Hano began his performing career in the '80s, playing with artists like Toshinori Kondo (trumpet) and Kaoru Abe (alto sax, etc.). Since his first European tour in 1990, he has played in many countries and collaborated with a wide range of musicians. Some of Hano's performances with sax players Peter Brotzmann of Germany and the late Werner Ludi of Switzerland, American bassist William Parker, English guitarist Derek Bailey, etc., have been recorded on CD. As evidenced by his great collaboration with power sax player Brotzmann, Hano's drumming, with its amazing strength and speed, is situated firmly in the realm of free improvisation and free jazz; but it also has roots in the rhythmic style of the Kokura taiko drumming he grew up hearing at local festivals in his native Kokura, Kyushu. Hano has established an incomparable and absolutely inimitable style, and the clearest expression of his unique approach is undoubtedly in the drum solo. This performance was recorded live in March of this year at Bin Spark in Tokyo. It is Hano's first all-drum-solo album, and a superior document of the full range of his talent
CD $17

KATO HIDEKI/JAMES FEI - Sieves (IMJ 522; Japan) Featuring Kato Hideki: electric bass and bass synthesizer and James Fei: oscillators, filters, spring reverb, contact mike, and miscellaneous electronics. Based in New York City since 1992, Kato Hideki -- a former member of Otomo Yoshihide's group Ground-Zero and Tony Buck's band Peril -- has been involved in myriad projects in America and Europe, including Fred Frith and Ikue Mori's Death Ambient, and a multimedia collaboration with Nicholas Collins. Taiwan-born James Fei studied with Alvin Lucier and Anthony Braxton following his move to the U.S. (also in '92). Now living in New York, he's active as a composer and improviser, and as an instructor at Columbia University's Computer Music Center. Fei is also a sax player, although he doesn't use the instrument on this album. In recent years, Kato and Fei have been performing as a duo at live music venues and galleries in New York. 'Sieves' was made through a process of excerpting, editing, mixing, and mastering electronic performance and recording using feedback; live-performance-like analog mixes; and performance-recording of acoustic reverberation. Not limited to mere documentation and editing, the recording process was treated as a form of improvisation and composition.
"On this duo work, multi-instrumentalist Kato Hideki plays electric bass & bass synth while alto saxist & Braxton collaborator James Fei plays a variety of electronics (oscillators, etc.). Although the initial tracks were recorded and manipulated live in the studio, the sounds were modified in the mixing process and sent through an echo chamber and remixed again. Kato's deep electric bass provides ominous eerie drones, which are used minimally. The synth(s) and electronic sounds are carefully captured and placed selectively in the sonic spectrum. Mutant feedback, distant electronic blips and some occasional static spice is what I mostly hear. Often, this is even more minimal than the Erstwhile aesthetic, yet from a similar approach. My computer and refrigerator are usually loader than this stark story. Eventually some more harsh electronics are employed and it sounds like some robots are groaning. At times I am reminded of the more academic approach that was employed at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center. The overall spaciousness gives the sounds a chance to breathe and be suspended just right. " - BLG
CD $17

THE INTERNATIONAL NOTHING [KAI FAGASCHINSKI/MICHAEL THIEKE] - Mainstream (IMJ/Ftarri 222; Japan) "The debut album of The International Nothing -- the duo project of Kai Fagaschinski and Michael Thieke, two Berlin-based clarinetists who are composers as well as improvisers. All eight of the tracks on this recording are composed works. In addition to five pieces focusing on the resonance of the mellow, limpid timbres produced by the two clarinets, there are a couple of tracks seasoned with songlike elements and vocalization by guest musicians, and one tune featuring two contrabass players. The album as a whole offers just the right amount of diversity and breadth. Guest musicians are Margareth Kammerer (voice, guitar), Christof Kurzmann (remix, voice), Derek Shirley (contrabass ), and Christian Weber (contrabass). Mainstream is the first release from the new label Ftarri, an offshoot of the Improvised Music from Japan label."
CD $17

DIANE LABROSSE/MARTIN TETREAULT/HACO - Lunch in Nishinomiya (IMJ 527; Japan) "In the trio album Lunch in Nishinomiya, Haco (contact microphones, oscillators, effects) joins forces with two leading Montreal improvisers known for their innovative playing - Diane Labrosse (sampler) and Martin Tetreault (turntable, surfaces, small electronics). When Labrosse and Tetreault came to Japan in 2003, they found a kindred spirit in Haco. The three recorded an improvised music session at Haco's studio in Nishinomiya (near Osaka), and later completed the construction and mix through an e-mail exchange between Canada and Japan. This is not Haco the songstress. With exquisite balance, the trio combine a variety of grating, explosive, scraping, vibrating sounds (noises) with precise breathing and dynamism, tension and relaxation. The result is extremely delicate electroacoustic sound."
CD $17

SACHIKO M [MATSUBARA] - Bar Sachiko (IMJ 517; Japan) Sachiko M with two sine waves on one empty sampler. Ms. Sachiko M is a musician who uses the sampler as an instrument. Rather than apply the device's original function of sampling recorded material, she makes music using nothing but its internal test tone sine waves. Her approach to this radically minimalist sound and meticulously thorough music has created a sensation worldwide. Currently one of the most sought-after improvisers on the scene, Sachiko M collaborates with influential artists both inside and outside Japan. Her projects include Filament, a duo with Otomo Yoshide, and Cosmos, a duo with Ami Yoshida. This is Sachiko M's third solo album, following Sine Wave Solo (Amoebic) and Derive (Noise Asia). While the two earlier recordings are made up entirely of short tracks, 'Bar Sachiko' is a single 60-minute performance using just two sine waves. A completely shocking creation.
CD $17

SACHIKO M [MATSUBARA] - Salon De Sachiko (IMJ/Hitorri 111; Japan) The mistress of the empty sampler sine wave here leaves her post and ventures off into the woods. These woods contain two oscillators that create a sparse birdsong of the utmost intimate surrounding. Part sound installation part recording, "Salon de Sachiko" brings us further in the adventures of this onkyo master. These adventures, despite taking exactly one hour to tell, become a fascinating story for the patient and inquisitive of all that is strange in the microscopic universe that many overlook. For fans of Richard Chartier, Ryoji Ikeda, Bonnie Jones. RECOMMENDED! - Chuck Bettis/DMG
CD $17

KAFFE MATTHEWS/ANDREA NEUMANN/SACHIKO M [MATSUBARA] - In Case Of Fire Take The Stairs (IMJ 503; Japan) Kaffe Matthews (laptop), Andrea Neumann (inside piano), Sachiko M (sinewaves, contact microphones). Recorded live in Tokyo, 3/17/02. "Although I and II include two and three tracks, respectively, each is a single work. They are divided into multiple tracks for listeners' convenience. Kaffe Matthews created her sound by live-sampling and processing her own and the other musicians' sounds as they played."
CD $17

TOSHIMARU NAKAMURA - Side Guitar (IMJ 513; Japan) Nakamura's main instrument of late has been what he calls the 'no-input mixing board.' Rather than input external sound sources into the mixer, he treats it as a self-contained instrument by controlling its internal feedback -- the result being a truly original performance style. Over the past four years, Nakamura has released the solo NIMB CDs No-Input Mixing Board (on the Zero Gravity label), No-Input Mixing Board 2 (a bruit secret), Vehicle (cubic music), and No-Input Mixing Board [3] (Alcohol). These releases and his many live performances in Japan and abroad have been widely acclaimed. Nakamura started out as a guitarist and still plays his guitar from time to time. 'Side Guitar' is the solo guitar album he's been itching to make. The title comes from the term used in the sixties and seventies, in the heyday of Japanese 'Group Sounds' bands, for backup -- or rhythm -- guitar players. This is Nakamura's homage to the 'side guitar' playing he once aspired to. Don't be misled, however, by the album title, or by the track title 'Rhythm Guitar'. This is still the Nakamura of the no-input mixing board: the sound, consisting mainly of feedback from the guitar, is uniquely abstract. As you listen, you'll catch sight of a musician who remembers his 'side guitar' -- idolizing self of 30 years ago as he pursues the joy of making sound.
CD $17

TOSHIMARU NAKAMURA/TETUZI AKIYAMA et al - Meeting at Off Site Vol. 1 (IMJ 501; Japan) Toshimaru Nakamura (no-input mixing board), Tetuzi Akiyama (guitar, turntable, contact microphones). With Ami Yoshida (voice), Brett Larner (amplified ukelin), Thomas Ankersmit (sax), Taku Sugimoto (guitar), Tetsuro Yasunaga (electronics), Toshihiro Koike (trombone), Utah Kawasaki (synthesizer), Jason Roeke (bass), Yoshihide Otomo (guitar), Gregor Hotz (sax), Michel Henritzi (MD players, electronics), Sachiko M (sampler with sinewave), and Bruno Meillier (synthesizer, electronics), Seymour Wright (sax)."
CD $17

TOSHIMARU NAKAMURA/TETUZI AKIYAMA et al - Meeting at Off Site Vol. 2 (IMJ 506; Japan) Tetuzi Akiyama plays amplified acoustic guitar on all tracks except #2 (turntable and air duster), and #7 (electric bass). Toshimaru Nakamura plays no-input mixing board on all tracks except #7 (tabletop guitar). Gallery Off Site in Yoyogi, Tokyo -- one of the world's most well known venues for performance of the new improvised music. Off Site's core event is the monthly improvisation series 'Meeting at Off Site', established and still hosted by Tetuzi Akiyama and Toshimaru Nakamura. Following the critical success (both domestic and international) of Vol. 1, released last year, this second CD of live recordings documents the period between December 2001 and May 2002. Like the first volume, it consists of excerpts from concerts by the two Meeting hosts, plus one or two guest musicians. The difference is that here, the excerpts are fewer and longer, allowing the listener to better appreciate each musician's unique style. This CD documents the musical evolution -- which one might even call the Off Site sound -- characterized by extreme quietness and sparsity of sound. This is an indispensable record of the improvised music avant-garde currently gaining worldwide attention
CD $17

TOSHIMARU NAKAMURA/TETUZI AKIYAMA et al - Meeting at Off Site Vol. 3 (IMJ 515; Japan) Gallery Off Site in Yoyogi, Tokyo, is one of the world's most well known venues for new improvised music. 'Meeting at Off Site', the monthly improvisational performance series hosted by Tetuzi Akiyama and Toshimaru Nakamura, has in recent years been Off Site's main event. The six tracks on this CD are edited recordings of the Meetings of May through October, 2002. This is the final collection of original-format Meetings, in which hosts Akiyama and Nakamura improvised with one or two guest musicians from Japan or overseas. (Subsequently, the format was changed to a solo session by a guest musician.) In other words, it is the final segment of a trilogy. Here is the 'Off Site sound,' characterized by extreme quietness and sparsity of sound. As a document of internationally recognized cutting-edge improvised music, Meeting at Off Site Vol. 3 should not be missed. Guest musicians are Hakon Kornstad, Masafumi Ezaki, o.blaat, Sachiko M, Oren Ambarchi, Keiichi Sugimoto, Paul Hood, and Gunter Muller.
CD $17

TAKEFUMI NAOSHIMA/HIROZUMI TAKEDA/UTAH KAWASAKI/MISUTERU TAKEUCHI/TOSHIHIRO KOIKE/TAKAHIRO KAWAGUCHI/YASUO TOTSUKA - Septet (IMJ/Meenna 333; Japan) Takefumi Naoshima: mixing board; Hirozumi Takeda: guitar; Utah Kawasaki: guitar; Mitsuteru Takeuchi: flute; Toshihiro Koike: trombone; Takahiro Kawaguchi: remodeled counters; Yasuo Totsuka: compressor
This CD is a document of a studio-recorded improvisation session. All seven musicians play extremely quietly. (They would probably play this way in a live performance, too.) So quietly that almost all of the "played" sounds are softer than the sounds resulting from the physical action of playing music--the touching of instruments, the rustling of clothes, etc. So quietly that outside noises which faintly penetrate into the sealed recording studio can be heard over the music. In this music it's extremely unclear what is going on. It's as if someone had secretly recorded the sound of office work. Sounds occur, but the musicians themselves may not be completely sure whether they were produced intentionally. This really is a curious document. It isn't the kind of playing that brings out the atmosphere of the performance venue. The focus here is on the softness, or near-inaudibility, of the sound. Very soft sounds do not linger, physically or psychologically. They contain too little energy to reverberate, and leave a weak impression because they tend not to remain in the listener's memory. This is the unique quality of quiet sound. So perhaps this is an attempt to look closely at quiet sound as an element of music or performance. It is certainly not the kind of music that attempts to elicit subtle listening--if it were, the background noises would not be offhandedly left in. Interestingly, though, the character of the music slowly emerges as we listen. And gradually we find that we are focusing on a fresh, new form of improvisation. (From the liner notes by Toshiya Tsunoda)
CD $17

MASAHIKO OKURA - Time Service (IMJ 518; Japan) Over the past few years, alto sax player Masahiko Okura has led an astonishingly full and varied musical life. Active as a soloist, as leader of the jazz-rock band Gnu, and as a member of the improvisational trio Bject (with Tetuzi Akiyama and Utah Kawasaki), he also collaborates with many other improvisers, including Otomo Yoshihide, Taku Sugimoto, Ami Yoshida, Axel Dorner, Alessandro Bosetti, Werner Dafeldecker, and Gunter Muller. With the recent addition to his repertoire of two more instruments --the bass clarinet and the 'tube,' a reed instrument of his own invention made from a tube and a mouthpiece -- he has further enriched his musical vocabulary. Okura has released three CDs with Gnu and two with Bject. Time Service is his very first solo album. None of its six tracks contain the slightest trace of Gnu's pop sensibility. This is a highly abstract work that brings out the subtle tones and resonance of the alto sax, bass clarinet, and tube, and illuminates Okura's unique musicianship. A masterpiece.
CD $17

AKI ONDA - Bon Voyage! (IMJ 510; Japan) Aki Onda's many activities since the nineties have included participating in the group Audio Sports, with Eye Yamatsuka and Nobukazu Takemura, and releasing albums under his own name, as well as producing recordings by numerous musicians in Japan and other countries. For three years beginning in 2000, Onda was a composer in residence at Dartmouth College (in New Hampshire). He recently shifted his base of activity to New York, where he is working with cassette recorders and electronics to create highly abstract, original works of music. To make this album, Onda spent two years editing a huge collection of field recordings that he'd amassed over a 14-year period (between 1988 and 2002), randomly taping sounds in locations around the world. To Onda, this is both a document and a memory of a personal journey. Various sounds--a city's hustle and bustle, the chirping of birds, music being played, children's voices--are layered one atop another. Except for the last track, there is little in the way of what would normally be called a 'work of music.' On the other hand, no work digs so painfully deeply into the interior of the artist Onda.
CD $17

RAKU SUGIFATTI [RADU MALFATTI AND TAKU SUGIMOTO] - Futatsu [2 CD set] (IMJ 508/9; Japan) Vienna resident, Radu Malfatti, who turns 60 in December, is a trombonist and composer with a long and impressive career. In the nineties he established the unique compositional/improvisational style, using very few sounds, that he continues to develop. Thirty-something guitarist Taku Sugimoto has since the late nineties followed a similar path, pursuing a playing style marked by extreme sonic spareness. His work has received critical acclaim in Japan and abroad and has greatly influenced many young Japanese musicians. 'Futatsu' is an amazing two-cd set bringing together one studio piece and two live-performance recordings. In the studio work, sounds are set down one by one on a background of absolute silence. Despite settings that take in background noise and the sound of passing cars, their live performances are as quiet as ever. This amazing recording will give you a new perspective on the relationship between sound and silence.
2 CD set for $24

TAKU SUGIMOTO - Live In Australia [2 CD set] (IMJ 524/5; Japan) "Taku Sugimoto is an extremely restrained guitarist who produces very few sounds in performance, allowing silence to be the controlling force. As an improviser and composer, he's garnered international acclaim, and also provoked strong reactions, both positive and negative. This two-CD set documents Sugimoto's live performances, in Australia in September 2003, of two of his own compositions (one per CD): 'Dot (73)' and 'Music for Amplified Guitar.' Environmental sounds - listeners' coughs, footsteps, and chair scraping, as well as noises from outside - make their way clearly and naturally into Sugimoto's live concerts. Occasionally there's a sound from his guitar; it's as if he were collaborating with the sounds around him. This is very much the case on Live in Australia, and particularly on Disc 1. As the performance began, so did a rain shower, which grew more intense, filling the space with a sound like white noise. Over this background noise, Sugimoto quietly plucked a handful of short sounds. The set includes a long (1,000+ word) essay by Sugimoto that sheds new light on his musical ideas."
2 CD set for $24

YUMIKO TANAKA - Tayutauta (IMJ 507; Japan) Featuring Yumiko Tanaka on futozao, shamisen & vocal. Ms. Tanaka made her mark as a traditional shamisen artist specializing in the female-school gidayu style. Tanaka was a member of Otomo Yoshihide's Ground Zero in 1996-'97 and she is currently involved in a number of fields, ranging from contemporary classical music to free improvisation to avant-garde theater. Among her many international activities, one of the most notable is her participation -- as both musician and actress -- in German composer Heiner Goebbels' acclaimed play Hashirigaki (now on a world tour). Surprisingly, this energetic and multi-faceted musician has to date released no solo or leader recordings -- making this collection of 10 totally improvised solo works a debut CD of sorts. On Tayutauta, Tanaka uses the gidayu shamisen in ways that leave traditional playing methods far behind. Here, the instrument's characteristic flavor is nowhere to be found. The performances -- which incorporate such techniques as plucking, bowing, and the use of 'prepared' objects -- are calm and sedate, but suffused with a strong feeling of cohesion backed by Tanaka's distinctive musical stance and sensibility. This is improvised music of rare quality.
CD $17

TETSUYA UMEDA - Ocket (IMJ 701; Japan) "This is the debut album of Osaka-based sound artist Tetsuya Umeda (born in 1980). Active mainly in the fields of sound installation and performance, Umeda presents works that invariably explore the character of a particular space through physical phenomena and electricity-induced minimal movement. Ocket is made up of nine performance works produced and recorded in 2003-04 and featuring Umeda's self-made speaker tool. The impression of viewing the sound from the space above results in an effect that is closer to 'observation' than to 'performing.' Through this experimental endeavor, each track attains an unimaginably beautiful, prismatic resonance. Stimulating."
CD $17

KATSURA YAMAUCHI/MICHEL DONEDA - La Drache (IMJ 528; Japan) "Alto sax player Katsura Yamauchi was born in Oita, Kyushu, in 1954. In 2002 he quit his company job to become a full-time musician, and each year since '03 has traveled to Europe and strengthened his ties with musicians in France, Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland, and so on. In the process he met and found a kindred spirit in one of France's leading improvisers, soprano/sopranino saxophonist Michel Doneda (who happens to be the same age as Yamauchi). They've played together many times since. Both musicians have performance styles characterized by a total absence of melodious phrases and a constant exploration of the nature of sound. Continuing in this direction, La Drache is permeated throughout with fresh yet tension-filled sound structures. All five tracks were recorded in France in 2004."
CD $17

AMI YOSHIDA - Tiger Thrush (IMJ 504; Japan) The long-awaited solo album of the amazing 'extended voice' performer Ami Yoshida is finally here. It's hard to believe Yoshida's sounds, with their myriad nuances, are those of a human voice - they could easily be mistaken for minute digital noises. Over the past several years, this artist's work - including projects with Yoshihide Otomo (guitar, turntable); and the duos Cosmos, with Sachiko M (sinewaves), and Astro Twin, with Utah Kawasaki (analog synthesizer) - has garnered considerable attention on the improvised music scene both inside and outside Japan. Her rare 1997 release 'Spiritual Voice' was a collaboration with the cd's producer, Tamaru (bass guitar, effects), so this is essentially Yoshida's first solo album. Consisting of 99 tracks, Tiger Thrush is a compendium of her extraordinary vocal powers. In her own words, it's "like a pictorial dictionary, arranged by category, of the sounds [she is] currently able to produce".
CD $17

OTOMO YOSHIHIDE - Core Anode (IMJ/Meenna 332; Japan) Core Anode is the roaring-sound project of the versatile and multifaceted Otomo Yoshihide, who works in genres ranging from free improvisation to jazz to rock to movie and TV music. The CD contains 3 pieces recorded live at concerts in Tokyo (2002), Copenhagen (2006), and London (2006). The players/numbers of players differed at each performance. In all cases the musicians were outside the audience area, surrounding the listeners, and in all cases they put out nothing but roaring sound.
In Tokyo the players were Otomo Yoshihide (guitar), Atsuhiro Ito (optron), Masahiro Uemura (drums), and Itoken (drums); in Copenhagen, Otomo (guitar), Ryoichi Saito (guitar), Mads Heldtberg (guitar), Nis Bysted (guitar), Yasuhiro Yoshigaki (drums), Andreas Hauer-Jensen (drums), and Toke Tietze Mortensen (drums); and in London, Otomo (turntable, guitar amp), Andrea Neumann (inside piano, mixing desk), Uemura (drums), Sachiko M (sinewaves), Rhodri Davies (harp), Yoshimitsu Ichiraku (drums), Stefano Tedesco (vibraphone), Tim Barnes (timpani, tam-tam, cymbal), Sarah Washington (electronics), Ko Ishikawa (sho, electronics), Matt Davis (trumpet), Angharad Davies (violin), Tom Chant (tenor sax), and Mark Sanders (drums).
CD $17

OTOMO YOSHIHIDE - Ensemble Cathode (IMJ 502; Japan) Featuring Taku Sugimoto: electric guitar, Tetuzi Akiyama: turntable without records, contact microphones, Yasuhiro Yoshigaki: waterphone, Kumiko Takara: snare drum, Masahiro Uemura: bells, Ami Yoshida: voice, Itoken: crotales, Mari Furuta: snare drum, Yoshimitsu Ichiraku: cymbal with bow, Sachiko M: sine waves, contact microphone, Yoko Nishi: prepared 17-string koto, Andrea Neumann: inside piano, Yoshihide Otomo: turntable. "This album was recorded intermittently between May 2001 and March 2002. Most of the tracks were recorded almost like live performances...In terms of musical concept, these pieces are located somewhere between 'Cathode' and 'Anode' (both on Tzadik). Although the musicians basically improvised, they were given a fairly limited amount of freedom. Depending on how you look at it, however, it could also be said that they were given a great deal of freedom. The pieces were created in such a way that the direction of the whole would not be determined by the will of any one musician or composer. This is similar to the way in which 'Anode' was created. Like all of my works so far, none of these pieces could have been realized without the improvisational and compositional skills of the participating musicians. Thus, they are not 'composed works' in the narrow sense given to this term by traditional Western music; nor can they, in my view, be categorized simply as improvised music. All I can say is that for me, this is the most natural way to make music. The same goes for any type of work I do --jazz, turntable and guitar solos, and so on." - Otomo Yoshihide.
CD $17

OTOMO YOSHIHIDE/PARK JE CHUN/MI YEON - Loose Community (IMJ 511; Japan) Here Otomo plays turntables & guitar, and is active on a worldwide scale in such fields as free improvisation, composition, and film music. On his trip to Seoul in May of 2002, Otomo made a studio recording with Seoul musicians Park Je Chun (percussion) and Mi Yeon (piano). Known as a brilliant student of Kang Tae Hwan, the pioneer of the Korean improvised music scene, Park was formerly a member of Kang's band. Mi Yeon, an artist firmly grounded in contemporary classical music, has collaborated with Park for a number of years. Some of the five works on this CD are partially overdubbed with separately recorded improvisations by Gunter Muller (electronics, selected drums), Sachiko M (sine waves), and Yumiko Tanaka (futozao shamisen). This is Otomo's first trio project with percussion and piano, as well as one of his rare collaborations with Korean musicians. The tension-filled performances are superb. This uniquely fascinating recording should not be missed.
CD $17

IMPROVISED MUSIC FROM JAPAN [V.A.] - Extra 2003 [Book & 2 CD set] (IMJ 302/3; Japan) In bilingual English-Japanese & 128 pages in total. This is a special issue supplementing the well-received Improvised Music From Japan 2002-2003 (IMJ-301, no longer available). While the annual magazine provides an overview of the year's trends, each Extra will include an expansive special feature on a particular theme. The special feature of IMJ Extra 2003 is 'Improv's New Waves,' a close look at Japan's young improvisers (with an emphasis on electronics musicians). It contains a comprehensive essay by music critic Yoshio Otani, and interviews of artists like Taku Unami, com-yas and Tetsuro Yasunaga, BusRatch, Takefumi Naoshima, Kazumi Namba, asuna, and nentegaine, as well as articles on labels associated with these artists--Hibari Music, commune-disc, cubic music, and Flyrec. In addition to the special feature, Extra includes interviews of Ami Yoshida, Shoji Hano, and Katsura Yamauchi; a conversation between Tetuzi Akiyama and Toshimaru Nakamura; and a wealth of cd reviews. The two accompanying CDs contain 17 tracks by musicians presented in the special feature (asuna, Masafumi Ezaki, Takefumi Naoshima, Kazuhiro Kinoshita, Ju Muraoka, Masahide Tokunaga, DJ Peaky, DILL, Taku Unami, Taku Hannoda, nentegaine, aen, Yoichiro Shin, Kazumi Namba, Takumi Toki, Teruyuki Ohshima, and BusRatch), plus two bonus tracks--a sax solo by Katsura Yamauchi, and a duo by Shoji Hano and Masaharu Shoji (19 tracks)
2 CD set + Book for $22

IMPROVISED MUSIC FROM JAPAN [V.A.] - 2004 [Book & 2 CD set] (IMJ 304/5; Japan) "Here's Issue 2 of the annual periodical covering the improvised music scene in Japan. It's packed with artist interviews, musician-penned articles, essays by music critics, and CD reviews - all in both English and Japanese. At a total of 192 pages, it's 30 pages fatter than Issue 1. Featured artists are Tetsu Saitoh, Michel Doneda, Kazue Sawai, Kazuo Imai, Aki Onda, Yumiko Tanaka, Samm Bennett, Tetuzi Akiyama, Haco, Uchihashi Kazuhisa, Ami Yoshida, Masahiko Okura, Sachiko M, Otomo Yoshihide, Taku Sugimoto, Luc Ferrari, Kang Tae Hwan, etc. All but one of the recordings on the attached CDs are previously unreleased. The 20 tracks are by Four Color, Masahiko Okura, Shuichi Chino, Samm Bennett, Tetuzi Akiyama/Martin Ng, Yumiko Tanaka, Han Bennink/Kazuo Imai, Une Chance pour l'Ombre (Michel Doneda/Tetsu Saitoh/Kazue Sawai/Kazuo Imai/Le Quan Ninh), Optrum, Naoaki Miyamoto, Sachiko M/Toshimaru Nakamura/Otomo Yoshihide, Mi Yeon, Park Je Chun, and Kang Tae Hwan."
2 CD set + Book for $30

IMPROVISED MUSIC FROM JAPAN [V.A.] - 2005 [Book & 2 CD set] (IMJ 306/7; Japan) "The 2005 edition of the annual Japanese-English magazine Improvised Music from Japan is devoted entirely to recent albums. Over 350 releases (with a cover photo for each!) are presented. The albums, mainly from 2004-2005, span a wide range of styles -- improv, onkyo, noise, electronics, contemporary classical, free jazz, avant-rock, and more. While contributions from music critics are numerous, this is not just a collection of reviews. Musicians write about their own and other artists' works, label owners about their labels. The articles' styles and points of view are as diverse as the albums they present. IMJ 2005 also includes two CDs with a total of 21 tracks -- by PsysEx, Jio Shimizu, Tetsuya Umeda, mills, sim, Toshihiro Koike, Shuichi Ohori, Chihiro Wada, Toshiya Tsunoda, Kiyoshi Mizutani, VOIMA, Bunsho Nishikawa and Tim Olive, m/s (Minoru Sato), Yasuo Totsuka, Diver, Mitsuhiro Yoshimura, Tomomi Adachi, The Cinngirls, aspects, Yui Kimijima, and Merzbow."
2 CD set + Book for $28

IMPROVISED MUSIC FROM JAPAN [V.A.] - Extra 2006 Special Berlin Issue [Book & 2 CD set] (IMJ 308/9; Japan) "This book is in JAPANESE ONLY; 80 pages; 21cm (H) x 15cm (W); 2 CDs included. In addition to interviews of 12 musicians/1 group residing in Berlin (Gregor Hotz, Nicholas Bussmann, Merle Bennett, Thomas Ankersmit, Ignaz Schick, Hans Strobl, Pure, Annette Krebs, Andrea Neumann, Caramel Empties, Alessandro Bosetti, Boris Baltschun, and Kai Fagaschinski), this 'extra' issue of IMJ features 2 CDs with 18 tracks by a total of over 30 musicians, almost all of whom are Berlin residents: Adeline Rosenstein/Andrea Neumann, Annette Krebs/Steffi Weismann, Kommando Raumschiff Zitrone, Michael Thieke Unununium, Lucio Capece/Axel Doerner/Robin Hayward, Tunar, Alessandro Bosetti, Tony Buck/Andrea Neumann, Sink, Marzipan Marzipan, Kalkuel & Leidenschaft, Boris Hauf, Phillip Sollman, Thomas Ankersmit, Ignaz Schick/Jason Forrest, Burkhard Beins, Rechenzentrum, and blumme. The interviews were conducted by Toshimaru Nakamura during a visit to Berlin in January 2005 (with the exception of the email interview of Annette Krebs by Taku Sugimoto, which took place between January and April 2006). In addition to discussing their musical activities, the artists share many of their thoughts about the Berlin scene. Their candid views reveal the dynamism that has characterized that scene since the late '90s. Berlin musician Nicholas Bussmann was in charge of the selection of artists for the accompanying CDs, and the result is an ideal compilation for those who want to know more about today's Berlin scene. Through the words and music of musicians on the scene, this issue explores the current situation of improvised music (and related genres) in Berlin."
2 CD set + Book for $24


..AND 'Doubt Music' restocks:

ALTERED STATES [KAZUHISA UCHIHASHI/NASUNO MITSURU/YOSHIGAKI YASUHIRO] - Bluffs II (Doubt 109; Japan) Altered States are an improvised group who've pursued 16 years awith the same lineup - Uchihashi, Nasuno, Yoshigaki - in Japan. This work consists of all improvisations, no overdub, no edit. You will be surprised to listen this telepathic improvisation. Their play is more instant compositions as their playing than improvisation..
CD $20

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"). .. 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

ANDREW D'ANGELO MORTHANA TRIO With ANDERS HANA/MORTEN J OLSEN + MIKE PRIDE - Morthana With Pride (Doubt 105; Japan) You gotta love Andrew d'Angelo, one of the funniest and most ridiculous musicians known. Have you ever seen him doing somersaults on stage with the Matt Wilson Quartet?!? The story goes that Andrew (alto & bari sax & bass clarinet) met Anders Hana (electric guitar & effects) and Morten J. Olsen (drums) in the bathroom of the Molde Jazz Fest in Norway in 2001. Anders and Morten were only 17 & 18 at the time. ..There are a few quieter, freer moments as well, all played taste. If you are a jazz snob, you will probably hate this. If you more open-minded, you might actually enjoy this blistering jazz/punk insanity. Don't say I didn't warn you. - BLG
CD $20

GREEN ZONE [KATO HIDEKI/OTOMO YOSHIHIDE/UEMURA MASAHIRO] - Green Zone (Doubt 106; Japan) Featuring Kato Hideki on bass & violin, Otomo Yoshihide on electric guitar and Uemura Masahiro on drums. Electric bass great, Kato Hideki, was an original member of Ground Zero with Otomo, when they were a more-noisy, post-punk improv group. Since moving here more in 1992, Kato has played a variety of different stringed things, as well as bass and constantly reinvents his approach with each project. This music is most impressive, in-your-face and way over-the-top! For those of us still brave enough to sit inside the eye of the hurricane. - BLG
CD $20

GROUND ZERO [OTOMO YOSHIHIDE'S] - 1992 + (Doubt 114; Japan) This CD includes unissued live performances and studio recordings (12, 13) right after Otomo formed GROUND-ZERO. This happened before the release of their first album, called "Ground-Zero" (God Mountain). Their playing is in the rough and sound quality is not quite best, but these materials keep a record of their intense performances of earlier GROUND-ZERO for future ages.
No collection of Japanese experimental music will be complete without this. A true gem!" - Chuck Bettis
CD $20

MATS GUSTAFSSON - Catapult: Baritone Sax Solo (Doubt 103; Japan) I honestly wish Mats Gustafsson would release a solo baritone sax album every month. Seriously. The man has enough technical and conceptual depth to sustain the careers of thirty musicians. By now both his unprecedented rhythmic explosiveness and aching post-jazz tenderness are well-etched trademarks, and I think Catapult shows how he's reached a point of effortless synthesis of all possibilities he's ever considered for his instrument. Even when he's pushing his baritone sax to superhuman sonic extremes he can drop into a crawling meter that gives a feeling of meditative serenity. ..The music of the spheres, etc. - Michael Anton Parker
CD $20

KAZUO IMAI TRIO - Blood [CD + DVD set] (Doubt 124/125; Japan) The trio of Imai Kazuo - guitar / Ito Atsuhiro - optron / Suzuki Manabu - electronics ; have created a unique blend of compelling improv that is thought provoking and dare I say "rocking" with raw nervous energy the way early downtown NY music sounded to me when I first heard it. When I put on this disc, a big smile emerged on my face and tarantism crept over me from the very first sound to the very last. "Blood" keeps the energy high, physical, and flowing; even with the moments of space for more subdued solos. The DVD half of this release is beautiful document of the making of "Blood", which displays a spectacular world of reminiscent of a bioluminescence creature, let us say an electric eel; since the optron is like the musical equivalent. For those who don't already know, the optron is a very unique instrument created by Ito (previously heard on recordings with Otomo Yoshihide) which is basically a flourescent light played like a guitar. This thing is dynamically brutal and visually awe-inspiring (epilectics beware) that creates an frantic electro-shock therapy sound. Imai's cv boasts collaborations with Taj Mahal Travellers, Takayanagi Masayuki's New Direction, as well as playing with Lee Konitz Irene Schweizer, and Arthur Doyle; with his vast experience you hear open direction in his guitar playing. Suzuki carves his own niche with his handmade electronics of his own creation rounding this trio off with a perfect blend of uniqueness. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!! -Chuck Bettis/dmg
CD + DVD for $28

MAKIGAMI KOICHI - Moon Ether: Voice And Theremin Solo (Doubt 107; Japan) Koichi: voice, throat, theremin with moogerfogger. Makigami Koichi is one of best voice performer in the world. "Moon Ether" is his improvisation of voice and theremin except 1 & 11 are Asian folksong. This works includes his marvelous Khoomii singing -double voice, humor, free theremin playing, a taste of impromptu talent, sound effect, etc... "Shadowlike, the theremin sings. The ether dances" -Makigami Koichi.
CD $20

NASUNO MITSURU With OTOMO YOSHIHIDE/KIDO NATSUKI/SAMM BENNETT et al - Prequel Oct. 1998-Mar. 1999 + 1 (Doubt 121; Japan) "This is the first CD of Nasuno Mitsuru a.k.a. "Groove Master", top bass player of Tokyo underground music field. The years for the recordings are from 1998 to 1999 as the title indicates. M3 & M4 were included in "Improvised Music from Japan" 10CD set, theerfore the reference to "Prequel.." This CD is a kind of complete version. All tunes are composed / improvised / effected experimentally but we can feel a kind of mellowness, tenderness, humor, etc. Here it is singular work. In case you didn't know, Nasuno is bass player with Altered States and other great wild bands from Japan!
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.
"Yamamoto was an original member of the Boredoms and has recorded a number of fine solo discs since leaving with two on Tzadik. Yoshigaki used to play in Altered States and was the drummer for Soup with Bill Laswell & Otomo Yoshihide. Jazz, rock, surf, noise, Beefheartian spastic rhythmic schemes, yet always tight and focused.. There are a great deal on unexpected twists and turns and changes in directions, but most of all everything seems to work on some level no matter where they sail or soar." - BLG
CD $20

MASAYUKI TAKAYANAGI NEW DIRECTION FOR THE ART - Complete "La Grima" (Doubt 113; Japan) Featuring Takayanagi Masayuki on guitar, Mori Kenji on sax and Yamazaki Hiroshi on percussion and recorded at the Genya Festival in August of 1971. Considering that the late Japanese noise/improv guitar legend, Masayuki Takayanagi, has upwards of 20 releases, it's a shame that less than half of these are currently in print. These guys mean business and they capture that storm like force with ease. Mori later switches to soprano as the trio continues to soar but not as over the top. This is an extraordinary trio, all three members burning tightly together and playing as one demonic force. One nearly 42 minute piece and astonishing throughout. Too much! - BLG
CD $20

MASAYUKI TAKAYANAGI NEW DIRECTION UNIT - Vol 1: Axis Another Revolable Thing - In Concert (Offbeat 1005/Doubt 110; Japan) Recorded in September of 1975 in Yasuda Seimel Hall in Tokyo and featuring Masayuki "jojo" Takayanagi - electric & gut guitar; Kenji Mori - alto sax, vibes, clarinet, flute, shinobue; Akira Ijima - electric & gut guitar; Noboyushi Ino - bass and cello and Yasuhiro 'Hiroshi' Yamazaki - drums. Holy shit! This is considered to be the holy grail of Japanese "free jazz" by those in the know (like Alan Licht & Jim O'Rourke), it is certainly deserving of the legendary status it has garnered through the years. So superbly recorded, that they mention the expensive mics and recording equipment involved. What we find here is three long pieces, all called "Fragment" with a subtitle. ..For those of you brave enough to deal with Coltrane's 'Ascension', Ornette's 'Free Jazz', Sharrock's 'Black Woman' or Peter Brotzmann's 'Machine Gun', this disc is an overwhelming gem of its own. - BLG
CD $20

MASAYUKI TAKAYANAGI NEW DIRECTION UNIT - Vol 2: Axis Another Revolable Thing - In Concert (Offbeat 1009/Doubt 111; Japan) [see above review - it applies to both volumes!]
the tracks on this album, especially "fragment iv," have a luminous brilliance that comes from a deep place never before visited by new direction. we listeners are enthralled by this brilliance." - teruto soejima
CD $20

IMAHORI TSUNEI/TATSUYA YOSHIDA - Dots (Doubt 120; Japan) One of their miraculous duo result is their first CD "Territory" (dmf-112, 2006). This work, "DOTS" is even more overpowering, speed, ramified rhythm, edits, and so on. First, they recorded their improvised music in studio, then they overdubbed various sounds, edited the materials and mixed different effects into the tunes. This is the music for the prog rock, math rock, post rock fans. Dense and Fiery!
CD $20

IMAHORI TSUNEI/TATSUYA YOSHIDA - Territory (Doubt 112; Japan) Featuring Imahori Tsuneo on guitars & devices and Tatsuya Yoshida on drums, darbuka, voice & devices. Tatsuya Yoshida continually dishes out surprises on may levels. He is an incredible drummer, composer & vocalist, has dozens of projects going on all the time (Ruins, work w/ Acid Mother Temple, Daevid Allen, Samla, Satoko Fujii and too many solo to name here). Imahori Tsuneo used to play guitar in Tipographica, often considered to be the greatest prog band to emerge from Japan. On each of the 17 pieces the duo explore a different "Territory", hence the name of the CD. From the over-the-top prog explosion of "Irritation" to hypnotic, melodic almost dub-like groove of "Ghost of Laundry". Imahori seems still influenced by Zappa and Beefheart on guitar, and is as creative and diverse as Tatsuya is. None of the pieces are too long, so nothing goes too far into any indulgent territory. There are a great of unexpected twists and turns and the duo never cease to amaze us with the wealth of influences and styles. - BLG
CD $20

KAZUTOKI UMEZU - Show The Frog (Doubt 104; Japan) This is Umezu's first solo effort for bass clarinet and it is a wonderful disc. He plays some originals, a couple of traditional tunes, a couple jazz standards, by Thelonius Monk & Billy Eckstine plus some covers by composers I am unfamiliar with. Umezu's version of Monk's "In Walk Bud" really takes off as he spins quick layers of lines around Monk's great melody, showing how far one can stretch and embellish the original song. I can't recall another solo disc of bass clarinet that exists, so this just might be the first one. It is particularly great one at that. - BLG
CD $20

OTOMO YOSHIHIDE - Guitar Solo: 12th October 2004 @ Shinjuku Pit Inn Tokyo + 1 (Doubt 101; Japan) The ever prolific guitarist/turntablist/sampler wiz and composer, Otomo Yoshihide, rarely puts out solo projects - this one shows him as a diverse guitarist who moves between noise, jazz and beyond. For instance "Lonely Woman" is played on acoustic guitar with done hushed care, stretching the notes out with suspense, the pace slowed down until each note drifts by on a sea of silence, eventually picking up the pace and turning up the drama. - BLG
CD $20

OTOMO YOSHIHIDE - modulation with 2 electric guitars and 2 amplifiers (Doubt 119; Japan) This is Otomo Yoshihide's second guitar solo release on doubtmusic. The concept of this work, however, is complely different from that of the first. Here, feedback sound issues from two amplifiers, each connected to one of two guitars placed on a tabletop. Due to this stereo effect, the feedback mutually interferes, producing beatlike fluctuations, creating black holes into which the sound suddenly disappears, sounding completely different depending on the position of the ears, creating the illusion that the sound is coming from only one speaker when the listener is in certain locations, and so on, thus turning into truly interactive music. Because these effects cannot be obtained unless the sound coming from the two amps mutually interferes, we recommend listening without earphones or headphones, through speakers, with the sound as loud as conditions allow. Depending on the positions of the speakers, the interference effect and sound image will surely differ as well.
*Warning: To obtain the desired results, please listen through speakers at the highest volume possible. Please note, however, that Otomo Yoshihide and doubtmusic will accept no responsibility whatsoever for any resulting hearing loss." [..or speaker damage, it might be added - MannyLunch]
CD $20

OTOMO YOSHIHIDE'S NEW JAZZ ORCHESTRA [ONJO] - Live Vol 1: Series Circuit [2 CD set] (Doubt 115/116; Japan) Otomo Yoshihide's 2005 self-titled disc by his New Jazz Orchestra was my favorite record of that year, and remains one of my all-time favorite jazz albums to this day. When he squeezed his mind-melting reinterpretation of Eric Dolphy's classic "Out to Lunch" album in at the end of the same year, he simply upped the ante further and declared officially to the world that his New Jazz bands, as they grew in both size and ambition, featured perhaps his greatest work thusfar as an arranger and conductor. The next logical step was to take such a killer band on the road in 2006; the next step after that is the obligatory live record in 2007. Japan's stellar Doubtmusic label now presents us with the first of two double-CD collections of ONJO onstage, reworking not only compositions from the two ONJO studio albums but also tackling some of the Takeo Yamashita songbook, which Otomo first recorded on a now-unavailable CD for P-Vine back in 1999 and which, as Otomo points out in his excellent liner notes, featured the first appearances of the New Jazz Quintet. As is to be expected, the performances are of the highest quality, with now-frequent Otomo collaborator Kahimi Karie sitting in on vocals for many of the tracks which she co-wrote with Otomo on the first ONJO CD, as well as adding tasteful vocals to some of the Dolphy reinterpretations. Many of the highlights, though, are the Yamashita tunes, which add a bit of lightness and variety to the proceedings while still retaining the dreamy noirish tone of the band's unique sound. My only beef, and a minor one at that, is that none of ONJO's versions of songs of songs from Karie's more jazz-influenced solo albums are here, despite their regular inclusion in ONJO setlists. Oh well. All in all, nearly two hours of killer sounds all around. Bring on Volume Two! - Mikey IQ Jones.
2 CD set for $26

OTOMO YOSHIHIDE'S NEW JAZZ ORCHESTRA [ONJO] - Live Vol 2: Parallel Circuit [2 CD set] (Doubt 117/118; Japan) Let it be noted the Mikey IQ Jones was equally enthusiastic of Vol 2, as were we all!
2 CD set for $26

OTOMO YOSHIHIDE'S NEW JAZZ ORCHESTRA [ONJO] - ONJO (Doubt 102; Japan) Are you ready for this one? Before we begin, check the band: Otomo Yoshihide (guitar, turntable, conduction); Axel Dorner (trumpet, slide trumpet); Aoki Taisei (trombone, bamboo flute); Tsugami Kenta (alto sax, soprano sax); Okura Masahiko (alto sax & tubes); Alfred Harth (tenor sax, bass-clarinet, trumpet); Mats Gustafsson (baritone sax); Ishikawa Ko (sho); Sachiko M (sinewaves, contact mic); Unami Taku (computer); Takara Kumiko (vibraphone); Cor Fuhler (piano, inside piano); Mizutani Hiroaki (bass); Yoshigaki Yasuhiro (drums, percussion, trumpet); Nananan Kiriko (bombo); Otsu Makoto (drum samples); Kahimi Karie (vocals); Hamada Mariko (vocal)
Still not convinced? Here goes. This is Otomo's first orchestral work, a studio date recorded in Japan in January 2005, featuring big-band arrangements of many of the New Jazz Quintet/Ensemble's repertoiry staples: Jim O'Rourke's "Eureka" (here with new french vocals by avant-pop chanteuse Karie), Mingus's "Orange Was the Color of Her Dress, then Blue Silk," Otomo's own "Tails Out," a killer interpretation of Ornette's "Broken Shadows," as well as a few new pieces, with seven cuts in total. What amazes me here is the overall balance and subtlety found in the arrangements, which effortlessly mix up elements of jazz, noise, post-flux hijinks, massive free blowouts, and delicate pop song stucture. STILL not convinced? You say you need hyperbole, but it's got to be REAL? This is as real as it gets, dear readers. A landmark achievement not only for Otomo, but for the evolution of modern jazz as a whole. This record is a masterpiece, and I expect to be packing one of these in ALL of your orders this weekend. - Mikey IQ Jones @ DMG
CD $20

OTOMO YOSHIHIDE'S NEW JAZZ ORCHESTRA [ONJO] - Plays Eric Dolphy's 'Out To Lunch' (Doubt 108; Japan) With Mats Gustafsson, Axel Dorner, Alfred Harth, Sachiko M, Takara Kumiko, Cor Fuhler, Aoki Taisei, Tsugami Kenta, Okura Masahiko, Nakamura Toshimaru, Mizutani Hiroaki, Yoshigaki Yasuhiro, et al. "Yoshihide takes Dolphy's classic and gives it a good modern paintjob - he knows where to embellish and mutate, while keeping key elements of the original tunes intact. Tributes of this nature aren't easy - and are seldom successful - but Otomo nails it on this one, making a record that should appeal to fans of the original while hopefully drafting in new converts to the Dolphy cause. Dig the punked-up version of "Gazzelloni!" Highest recommendation!!" - Mikey IQ Jones of DMG
CD $20


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