Playlist, Week of 2026-05-10

Nice playing from Daniel Barbiero on Moon in Winter... It's been while since I revisited Quartet (New Haven) 2014... it's great hearing Nels Cline and Greg Saunier in the context of Braxton... I'd love a reprise, Mr. Braxton... John Gilmore shines like a golden beacon of sound on Dizzy Reece's From In to Out... Still working my way through the remarkable run of George Lewis replacing Lester Bowie in the Art Ensemble of Chicago at Storyville in 1977... 

Playlist 2026-05-11:

*Rashied Ali Quartet: New Directions in Modern Music (side 1)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1977-07-30 NYC (CDR) (disc 1)
*Ayumi Ishito: Ayumi Ishito and the Spacemen, Vol. 1
*Béla Bartók: 6 String Quartets (Emerson String Quartet) (disc 2)
*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (England) 1985 (disc 2)
*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (New Haven) 2014 (disc 1)
*Will Bryce/Sam Byrd/Jimmy Ghaphery: 2026-05-02 RVA (CDR)
*Daniel Carter: Open Question, Vol. 1
*Andrea Centazzo: Moon in Winter
*Nels Cline: Dirty Baby (disc 2)
*Ornette Coleman: Beauty Is a Rare Thing: The Complete Atlantic Recordings (disc 3)
*John Coltrane/Don Cherry: The Avant-Garde
*Deerhoof: Miracle-Level
*Deerhoof: Deerhoof and the Sound Sanctuary
*Bob Dylan/Various artists: Theme Time Radio Hour S02 E54: California
*Duke Ellington: Midnight in Paris
*Duke Ellington and Count Basie: First Time! The Count Meets the Duke
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Latin American Suite
*Entropic Hop: Live at Downtown Music Gallery
*Grateful Dead: 1974-10-18 Winterland, SF (CDR) "Seastones Jam > Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: The Closing Of Winterland: December 31, 1978 (disc 4) "Dark Star > The Other One > Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1979-01-10 Nassau NY (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Jefferson Pilot: Spirit of '77
*Rob Mazurek Exploding Star Orchestra/Small Unit: Spectral Fiction
*Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66: Crystal Illusions
*New Ting: 2026-05-04 "Watering Can Holler"
*Angelika Niescier: Chicago Tapes
*OOIOO: The Horizon Spiral
*Eddie Prévost et al.: The Secret Handshake With Danger, Vol. 2
*Dizzy Reece: From In to Out
*Santana: Caravanserai
*Santana: Welcome
*Archie Shepp: The Magic of Ju-Ju (side 1)
*Tyshawn Sorey: Alloy "Movement"
*Sparks: Whomp That Sucker (side 1)
*Sun Ra: Jazz by Sun Ra, Vol. 1 [Sun Song]
*Sun Ra & His Arkestra: The Cymbals​/​Symbols Sessions (New York City 1973) (disc 2)
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-28 Detroit (CDR) (disc 5)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Saturn XIII (sides 1, 2)
*Cecil Taylor Orchestra of Two Continents: 1984-10-20 Rubigen, Switzerland (CDR) (disc 2)
*Various artists: Rockabilly (disc 1)
*Alex Ward Item 10: Volition (Live At Cafe Oto) "Volition"

Playlist, Week of 2026-04-05

 

For some reason last night I was in the mood for some piano... I started off with a bit of Geneviève Foccroulle playing the solo piano work of Anthony Braxton, in this case "Composition 31," an early piece that's abstract and opaque and quite beautiful... Then I moved on to Cecil Taylor's first album, Jazz Advance... he lays it out right from the get-go with his Cubist reworking of Monk's "Bemsha Swing"... this whole album sounds fresh and invigorating, pretty amazing for the 21st century... imagine how radical it must have sounded in 1956!... Finally, I ended with Duke Ellington and Money Jungle... I've always felt kind of lukewarm about this album, but it's growing on me, and last night it blew me away... Duke's playing is nothing less than sublime, soaked in the blues but also forward-thinking and exploratory... so, all in all, a wonderful evening of creative piano music... 

Playlist 2026-04-06:

*George Adams/Don Pullen: Don't Lose Control (side 1)
*AMM: The Crypt - 12th June 1968 (disc 1)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1977-07-27 NYC (CDR) (discs 1, 2, 3)
*Kevin Ayers and the Whole World: Shooting at the Moon (side 2)
*Anthony Braxton Quartet: 1976-10-28 Graz, Austria (CDR) "Four Winds"
*Anthony Braxton: 4 (Ensemble) Compositions 1992 "Comp. 163"
*Anthony Braxton: Piano Music (1968-2000)/Performed by Genevieve Foccroulle (disc 3)
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium X (disc 6)
*Dave Burrell: High Won - High Two (side 4)
*Nels Cline: Downpour
*Nels Cline Singers: The Giant Pin
*Nels Cline Singers: Initiate (disc 1)
*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2014-12-30 Nashville (track 1)
*John Coltrane: 1965-04-02 Half Note, NYC (CDR) "Creation"
*Deerhoof: Noble and Godlike in Ruin
*Bob Dylan: Fallen Angels
*Bob Dylan/Various artists: Theme Time Radio Hour S02 E51: "Hello"
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Such Sweet Thunder (sides 1, 2)
*Duke Ellington: 1899-1974 (side 3)
*Duke Ellington: Money Jungle
*Duke Ellington: The Reprise Studio Recordings (disc 1)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Latin American Suite
*Grateful Dead: 1973-10-25 Madison WI (CDR)  "Dark Star > Mind Left Body Jam > Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: Listen to the River: St. Louis '71 '72 '73 (disc 20) "Dark Star" (1973-10-30)
*Grateful Dead: 1973-11-11 Winterland (CDR)  "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1973-11-21 Denver CO (CDR)  "Dark Star Jam"
*Grateful Dead: 1978-04-10 Atlanta (CDR) (disc 1)
*Impressions: Check Out Your Mind!
*Impressions: Times Have Changed
*Ingrid Laubrock: Serpentines
*Ingrid Laubrock/Tom Rainey: Stir Crazy (CDR compilation) (disc 12)
*Allen Lowe: Jews and Roots: An Avant-Garde of Our Own (disc 2)
*Thelonious Monk: Brilliant Corners
*Roscoe Mitchell: Discussions (sides 1, 2, 3)
*Rascals: 1968-08-16 Hollywood Bowl (CDR)
*Max Roach: The Long March (side 1)
*Sonny Rollins: Saxophone Colossus
*Ches Smith: Clone Row
*Sparks: Sparks (side 1)
*Sparks: Balls (side 4)
*Sun Ra and His Astro-Ihnfinity Arkestra: Sun Embassy
*Sun Ra and His Astro Ihnfinity Arkestra: The Intergalactic Thing (side 4)
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-27 Detroit (CDR) (disc 3)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: In the Orbit of Ra (side 4)
*Cecil Taylor: Jazz Advance
*UYA: 1994-10-16 Elbow Movement (wav)
*Various artists: Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues (A Musical Journey) (disc 4)
*Various artists: Body and Soul (CDR compilation)
*Weather Report: Live in Tokyo (side 4)
*Yes: Tales from Topographic Oceans (Super Deluxe Ed.) (disc 9)

Playlist, Week of 2025-12-07

Like most recent weeks, this one turned out to be a Duke Ellington one... Of the two versions of the Togo Brava Suite, the Storyville release is the most comprehensive, but both are worth checking out... on the plus side, Joe Benjamin is one of Duke's greatest bass players, and he adds so much... on the downside, the absence of Johnny Hodges and Jimmy Hamilton in the sax section is deeply felt... Nice to be reminded how exciting and vital Anthony Braxton's trio work with Dave Holland and Barry Altschul was back in the '70s... 

Playlist 2025-12-08:

*100 Gecs: 10,000 Gecs
*B-52s: Whammy!
*B-52s: Party Mix
*B-52s: Mesopotamia
*Beatles: Introducing the Beatles (side 2)
*Beatles Remixers Group: Tuned to a Natural E Vol. 6 (disc 1)
*Anthony Braxton Trio: 1974-12-08 Toronto (CDR) (disc 2) track 2
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium R: Composition 162 - An Opera in Four Acts/Shala Fears for the Poor (disc 3)
*Anthony Braxton: 9 Compositions (Iridium) 2006 (DVD)
*Deerhoof: The Magic
*Deerhoof: Future Teenage Cave Artists
*Deerhoof: Devil Kids (sides 1, 2)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Three Suites    
*Duke Ellington: Cool Rock
*Duke Ellington: Live in Mexico "The Mexican Suite"
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Conny Plank Session
*Duke Ellington: Togo Brava Suite (Blue Note) "Togo Brava Suite"
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Togo Brava Suite (Storyville) "Togo Brava Suite"
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Ellington Suites "The Uwis Suite"
*Grateful Dead: 1972-05-25 London (CDR) (disc 3) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1972-09-15 Boston (Enjoying the Ride, disc 11)
*Herbie Hancock: Sextant
*Tim Harding/OJ Hunter/Fred McGann/Sam Byrd: 2025-11-29 RVA (m4a)
*Heldon: Agneta Nilsson
*Jimi Hendrix Experience: Bold as Love: The Axis: Bold as Love Sessions (discs 3, 4)
*Freddie Hubbard: Breaking Point
*Bobby Hutcherson: Medina
*Insect Life: Insect Life
*John Lennon/Yoko Ono: Milk and Honey
*Rob Mazurek Sound Is Quintet: 2010-03-03 Italy? (CDR) (disc 1)
*Muffins: Baker's Dozen (disc 4)
*Camila Nebbia/Kit Downes/Andrew Lisle: Exhaust
*Tomeka Reid Quartet: Dance! Skip! Hop!
*Sparks: MADDER!
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Supersonic Jazz (21st Century Expanded Ed.) (disc 1)
*Sun Ra: The Creator of the Universe (The Lost Reel Collection, Vol. 1) (disc 1)
*Stevie Wonder: Talking Book
*Wrens: Half of What You See
*John Zorn/The Dreamers: A Dreamers Christmas

Playlist, Week of 2025-07-27

Quartet (England) 1985, the digital release of 8 sets from Anthony Braxton's tour of the UK in 1985 (I realize I am just basically repeating the information in the title!), is a cause for celebration... this music, 8 CDs' worth, was originally recorded in mono on cassette by Graham Lock, author of the indispensable Forces in Motion, and it's been digitally restored... it sounds just fine... the performances are uniformly stellar, and amazingly there are no repetitions in the material used across the four evenings... this quartet, of course, is one of the absolute greatest jazz groups of any era (or any sub-genre of "jazz," however you define it)...  pianist Marilyn Crispell deserves special mention for superlative playing, but the whole band is playing at peak levels here... 

Playlist 2025-07-28:

*Beatles: Kicks, Kudos, and Cash: The Making of the Silver Beatals (boot CDR) (discs 1, 2)
*Anthony Braxton: 1969-10-25 Paris (CDR) track 1
*Anthony Braxton Quartet: 1976-10-28 Graz, Austria (CDR) track 3
*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (England) 1985 (discs 7, 8)
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium R: Composition 162 - An Opera in Four Acts/Shala Fears for the Poor (disc 3)
*Clash: Sound System Extras (disc 2)
*Elvis Costello and the Attractions: Armed Forces (side 1)
*Miles Davis: Bitches Brew (UltraDisc One-Step) (sides 1, 2)
*Deerhoof: Noble and Godlike in Ruin
*Bob Dylan/Various artists: Theme Time Radio Hour S01 E43 "Colors"
*Duke Ellington: Afro-Bossa
*Duke Ellington: The Great Paris Concert (disc 1)
*Grateful Dead: 1970-02-08 Fillmore West, SF (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1970-02-11 Fillmore East, NYC (CDR) "Dark Star > Spanish Jam"
*Grateful Dead: Dick's Picks 4 (1970-02-13 Fillmore East) (disc 1) "Dark Star"
*Eddie Hazel: Eddie Hazel: Game, Dames, and Guitar Thangs
*Muffins: Baker's Dozen (discs 8, 9)
*New Ting: 2024-07-14 "Magic Duck Feet" (wav)
*New Ting: 2024-07-21 "Red Canister Under Pressure" (wav)
*Sun Ra and His Inter-Galactic Research Arkestra: Nuits de la Fondation Maeght (side 3)
*Sun Ra: Stray Voltage (side 2)
*Sun Ra Arkestra Under the Direction of Marshall Allen: Babylon (disc 1)
*UYA: 1994-01-12 Cut Me, Dippy (wav)
*John Zorn: At the Gates of Paradise
*John Zorn: The Concealed

Playlist, Week of 2024-10-30

Been immensely enjoying the newest Anthony Braxton box of Lorraine music, played by saxophone quartet (plus computer)... this particular configuration really suits the music, in a different way I think than the various combinations on 10 Comp (Lorraine) 2022... at any rate, this is a wealth of new Braxton music that I'm sure will continue to yield years of pleasure... RIP Phil Lesh, and a tip of the hat to Daniel Barbiero, who got me to check out (again, and it's been a while) the great bass playing on "Eyes of the World" from June 16, 1974 in Des Moines... 

Playlist 2024-10-28:

*Alco Frisbass: Le Bateleur
*At the Drive-In: Relationship of Command
*Anthony Braxton Saxophone Quartet: Sax QT (Lorraine) 2022 (discs 1, 2, 3, 4)
*Carter Family: 1927-1934 (disc 1)
*Kim Cass: Levs
*Stephan Crump: Slow Water
*Kris Davis Trio: Run the Gauntlet
*Miles Davis: 1969-03 Rochester NY (CDR) (disc 2)
*Duke Ellington: The Complete 1936-1940 Variety, Vocalion, and Okeh Small Group Sessions (disc 6)
*Duke Ellington: …And His Mother Called Him Bill
*Grateful Dead: 1974-06-16 Des Moines (CDR) (disc 2)
*Herbie Hancock: Takin' Off
*Jimi Hendrix: Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision (discs 1, 2, 3)
*Ingrid Laubrock/Tom Rainey: Brink
*Love Cry Want: Love Cry Want
*Brian Marsella's iMAGiNARiUM: Chapter One: The Clocks Have Gone Mad
*Rob Mazurek/Exploding Star Orchestra: Live at the Adler Planetarium
*Jackie McLean: It's Time!
*Micro-East Collective: 20000325 Micro​-​East Collective, Red Room, Baltimore, MD
*Matt Mitchell: Zealous Angles
*New Ting: 2019-09-30 "Emulsify My Desires" (wav)
*New Ting: 2024-10-14 "Druids and Salarymen on the Oedo Line Weep Silently before Dawn" (wav)
*Charlie Parker: Live and Private Recordings in Chronological Order (disc 11)
*Annette Peacock: 31:31
*Elvis Presley: The Complete Elvis Presley Masters (disc 20)
*Pretty Things: S.F. Sorrow
*Tomeka Reid/Kyoko Kitamura/Taylor Ho Bynum/Joe Morris: Geometry of Phenomena
*Jon Rose/Mark Dresser: Band Width
*Sara Schoenbeck: Sara Schoenbeck
*Ches Smith: Laugh Ash
*Soft Machine: 1967-11-10 London (CDR) (disc 2)
*Sparks: Angst in My Pants (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra and His Astro Infinity Arkestra: Strange Strings (Expanded Edition) (side 3)
*Sun Ra: Media Dreams (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra: Kingdom of Discipline
*Cecil Taylor Feel Trio: Two Ts for a Lovely T (disc 5)
*Cecil Taylor: 2016-04-14 Whitney Museum, NYC (CDR) (disc 2)
*Thumbscrew: Wingbeats
*Tom and Marty Band: Afraid to Go to Sleep
*Various artists: That Devilin' Tune (Vol. I, disc 4)
*Various artists: Éthiopiques 1 : Golden Years Of Modern Ethiopian Music 1969-1975
*Alex Ward: Gated
*Anna Webber/Matt Mitchell: Capacious Aeration

Playlist, Week of 2024-07-14

Enjoyed checking out a younger, definitely energetic band with the New Loft session with bassist Pat Lawrence... I made some notes for an in-depth examination of Anthony Braxton's Echo Echo Mirror House music a while back... maybe someday I'll flesh them out, but I'll just say now the 2011 NYC version of it is the strongest... The 1963 John Coltrane Stuttgart "Mr. PC" is over a half-hour long... after a lengthy bass solo, which, okay, then Trane comes in for a good 17- or 18-minute solo that reminds me of Interstellar Space... 

Playlist 2024-07-15:

*Muhal Richard Abrams Orchestra: Blu Blu Blu
*Muhal Richard Abrams: Think All Focus One
*Muhal Richard Abrams: Song for All
*Muhal Richard Abrams: One Line, Two Views
*Beatles: Get Back: The Rooftop Performance
*Anthony Braxton: Echo Echo Mirror House (NYC) 2011
*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (New Haven) 2014 (disc 1)
*James Brown: At Studio 54 (side 1)
*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2010-07-30 Nashville (wav)
*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2019-05-02/03 Nashville (rough mix wav) (disc 2)
*John Coltrane: The Heavyweight Champion: The Complete Atlantic Recordings (disc 7)
*John Coltrane: 1963-11-04 Stuttgart "Mr. PC"
*Betty Davis: The Columbia Years 1968-69
*Miles Davis: The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965 (disc 5)
*Miles Davis Quintet: Complete Live at the Blue Coronet 1969 (disc 2)
*Miles Davis Quintet: Live in Europe 1969: The Bootleg Series Vol. 2 (disc 3)
*Deerhoof: Miracle-Level (sides 1, 2)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Masterpieces by Ellington
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Such Sweet Thunder
*Duke Ellington: The Girls' Suite/The Perfume Suite (sides 1, 2)
*Michael Formanek Elusion Quartet: As Things Go
*Four Freshmen: Greatest Hits
*Jimi Hendrix: Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision (discs 1, 2)
*Interstellar Fife & Drum: 2012-06-30 Richmond VA (streaming)
*Steve Lehman/Orchestre National de Jazz: Ex Machina
*Misha Mengelberg: 1967 Antibes (streaming)
*Myra Melford: Snowy Egret
*New Loft: Pieces 39 (2003): With Pat Lawrence
*New Ting Ting Loft: 2016-04-13 Musicircus, UR, Richmond (wav)
*Soft Machine: Høvikodden 1971 (discs 2, 3, 4)
*Sun Ra: Inside the Light World: Sun Ra Meets the OVC (sides 1, 2, 3)
*Henry Threadgill Very Very Circus: 1990-08-30 Willisau, Switzerland (CDR)
*Neil Young: Tonight's the Night
*Neil Young: Oh Lonesome Me (CDR compilation)

Playlist, Week of 2024-02-18

This week in my Muhal Richard Abrams explorations, I primarily focused on his appearances as a sideman, mostly with Anthony Braxton... the 1976 Carnegie Hall recording, one long suite listed by the Library of Congress as "Suite For Duke Ellington," consists of compositions I am not familiar with... Muhal excels on the Basel date, especially on "Comp. 69G"... in the Milan show, it's great to hear the band romp through several of the "40" series of Braxton compositions, especially since the original recorded versions don't have piano... On the Creative Construction Company recordings, Muhal is, as he so often is, self-effacing, definitely a team player... On Marion Brown's Sweet Earth Flying, he shares keyboard duties with Paul Bley, but they really don't get into each other's way... The Muhal-led quintet performance from 1978 in Holland features extended takes on two songs from the album 1-OQA+19, with everybody from that album except Braxton: Henry Threadgill and George Lewis fronting a powerhouse rhythm section of Muhal, Leonard Jones, and Steve McCall... 

Playlist 2024-02-19:

*Muhal Richard Abrams featuring Malachi Favors: Sightsong
*Muhal Richard Abrams: 1978 Laren, Holland (CDR)
*Muhal Richard Abrams: Mama and Daddy
*Beach Boys: Love You (side 2)
*Anthony Braxton: Creative Orchestra Music 1976 (side 1)
*Anthony Braxton Ensemble: 1976-06-27 Carnegie Hall, NYC (CDR)
*Anthony Braxton: Quintet (Basel) 1977
*Anthony Braxton Quintet: 1977-06-03 Milan (CDR)
*Marion Brown: Sweet Earth Flying
*Circle: 1971-03 Bologna (CDR) (disc 1)
*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2023-12-29 Nashville (rough mix wav)
*Elvis Costello: My Aim Is True (side 1)
*Creative Construction Company: Creative Construction Company
*Creative Construction Company: Creative Construction Company Vol. II
*Miles Davis: Sketches of Spain
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Treasury Shows, Vol. 23 (disc 2)
*Firesign Theater: I Think We're All Bozos on This Bus (sides 1, 2)
*Grateful Dead: 1969-06-14 Monterey (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1974-07-21 Hollywood (CDR) (discs 1, 2, 3)
*Fletcher Henderson: Swing 1929-1937
*Jimi Hendrix Experience: Electric Ladyland
*Booker Little: Out Front (side 1)
*Muffins: 1977 Washington DC (CDR)
*Pere Ubu: Live at the Longhorn April 1, 1978 (side 1)
*Pere Ubu: We Do What We Do
*Prince & the New Power Generation: Diamonds and Pearls (Super Deluxe Ed.) (disc 1)
*Tito Puente: The Complete 78s: Vol. 1 1949-55 (disc 2)
*Matana Roberts: Coin Coin Chapter Five: In the Garden (side 1)
*Sparks: Whomp That Sucker (side 1)
*Sun Ra: Crystal Spears (Remastered)
*Sun Ra and His Interplanetary Vocal Arkestra: The Space Age Is Here to Stay
*Art Tatum: The Art Tatum Solo Masterpieces Vol. 8
*Cecil Taylor: Respiration
*Cecil Taylor Unit: 1969-11-04 Copenhagen (youtube)
*Cecil Taylor: Silent Tongues (side 1)
*Cecil Taylor: 1999-04-21 Culver City, CA (CDR)
*Tower of Power: East Bay Grease (side 1)
*Trio What (Else): 2024-02-11 Richmond VA (mp3)
*June Tyson/Sun Ra: Saturnian Queen of the Sun Ra Arkestra (side 2)
*XTC: English Settlement (sides 3, 4)
*John Zorn: Bagatelles Vol. 7: Brian Marsella

Playlist, Week of 2024-01-28

I've started my deep Muhal Richard Abrams dive... the amount of variety and sheer ingenuity displayed on these four early studio albums is just stunning... with the cream of the AACM crop aboard... I've always dug Duets 1976 with Anthony Braxton, and I absolutely love the version of "Maple Leaf Rag"... Lots to think about with the new Sun Ra LP Paradiso Amsterdam 1970... I made some comments about it over at the Hoffman All-Purpose Sun Ra Thread here... More amazing Braxton (and early Chick Corea, back when he was interesting) on the new (to me) Bologna Circle concert... Lots to get excited about...

Playlist 2024-01-29:

*Muhal Richard Abrams: Levels and Degrees of Light
*Muhal Richard Abrams: Young at Heart/Wise in Time
*Muhal Richard Abrams: Things to Come from Those Now Gone
*Muhal Richard Abrams: 1-OQA+19
*Susan Alcorn/Leila Bordreuil/Ingrid Laubrock: Bird Meets Wire
*Art Ensemble: 1967/68 (disc 4) "A to Ericka"
*Albert Ayler: The Hilversum Session
*Beatles: The Beatles (Super Deluxe Edition) (disc 7) (Dolby TrueHD 5.1) (sides 3, 4)
*Anthony Braxton with Muhal Richard Abrams: Duets 1976
*Anthony Braxton: Tentet (Wesleyan) 1999 (disc 1)
*Anthony Braxton: Two Compositions (Orchestra) 2005
*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (FRM) 2007 (disc 1)
*Circle: 1971-03 Bologna (CDR) (discs 1, 2)
*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2023-12-29 Nashville (rough mix wav)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Treasury Shows, Vol. 21 (disc 2)
*Duke Ellington: The Great Concerts: Cornell University 1948 (disc 1)
*George: Leave It
*Grateful Dead: Dick's Picks 4 (1970-02-13) (disc 1) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: Rockin' the Rhein with the Grateful Dead (disc 3) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1983-10-11 NYC (CDR) (discs 1, 2, 3)
*Grant Green: Idle Moments
*Drew Gress: The Irrational Numbers
*Drew Gress: The Sky Inside
*Andrew Hill Trio: 1972 Yellow Springs, OH (CDR)
*King Crimson: Islands (40th Anniversary Ed.) (DVD) 2010 mix
*Garry Martin Project (CDR compilation) (discs 8, 9)
*Matt Mitchell/Kate Gentile: Snark Horse (disc 2) "Thumbly"
*Matt Mitchell/Kate Gentile: Snark Horse (disc 5)
*Roscoe Mitchell and the Note Factory: 1994-08-28 Saalfelden (CDR)
*Evan Parker/Keith Rowe/Barry Guy/Eddie Prévost: Supersession
*Rasmussen/Flaherty/Rowden/Corsano: Crying in Space
*Sharp/Lopez/Kaiser/Amendola: Minus X: A Tribute to the Music of Iannis Xenakis (disc 1)
*Sparks: Live at the Record Plant 1974 (sides 1, 2)
*Sparks: Whomp That Sucker (sides 1, 2)
*Sparks: Angst in My Pants (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra And His Intergalactic Research Arkestra: Paradiso Amsterdam 1970 (sides 2, 4)
*Art Tatum: The Art Tatum Solo Masterpieces Vol. 5
*John Zorn/Various artists: Chamber Music 2023-09-03 San Francisco (CDR)
*John Zorn/Chaos Magick: Parrhesiastes

Playlist, Week of 2023-06-18

Dave's Picks vol. 6 is a strong entry in this series, espeically the 1970 show... the Pigpen tracks are particualrly strong, with the versions of "Hard to Handle" and "Good Lovin'" ranking with their best... Getting psyched for seeing Sparks at the end of the month in DC... the new album is really strong... I have become quite enamored of Anthony Braxton's piano playing... on the surface, at first, he may sound a little ham-fisted, but damn if he isn't an imaginative and interesting pianist... his playing on Quintet (Tristano) 2014 is consistently inventive and inspiring... I need to go back and check out the standard sessions he plays piano on again... I didn't give them a fair shake when I first heard them... 

Playlist 2023-06-19:

*Anthony Braxton: Quintet (Basel) 1977 "Composition 69 N/G"
*Anthony Braxton: 9 Compositions (Iridium) 2006 (selections)
*Anthony Braxton: 12 Duets (DCWM) 2012 (disc 8)
*Anthony Braxton: Quintet (Tristano) 2014 (discs 3, 4)
*Cornelius Cardew: Treatise (Ensemble 303)
*John Coltrane: Transition (side 1)
*Marilyn Crispell: For Coltrane
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Treasury Shows, Vol. 3 (disc 1)
*Duke Ellington: An Intimate Piano Session
*Exploding Star Orchestra: Stars Have Shapes
*Grateful Dead: Dave's Picks vol. 10 (1969-12-12 LA) (discs 2, 3)
*Grateful Dead: Dave's Picks vol. 6 (1969-12-20/1970-02-02) (discs 1, 2, 3)
*Lionel Hampton: The Complete Lionel Hampton Victor Sessions 1937-1941 (disc 1)
*Jimi Hendrix: Jimmy Before Jimi 64/65/66 (disc 3)
*Buddy Holly: The New Complete Buddy Holly v2.0 (disc 2)
*Freddie Hubbard: The Artistry of Freddie Hubbard
*Freddie Hubbard: Here to Stay
*Bobby Hutcherson: Components
*Fela Kuti: Ikoyi Blindness
*Parliament: The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein
*Prince/New Power Generation: The War
*Queens of the Stone Age: In Times New Roman
*Santana: Welcome
*Jimmy Smith: Groovin' at Small's Paradise (disc 1)
*Sparks: The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte
*Sun Ra: Ellingtonia, Vol. 2
*Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra: Angels and Demons at Play
*Sun Ra: ESP Radio Tribute Highlights (CDR compilation) (disc 3)
*Sun Ra and His Astro Ihnfinity Arkestra: The Intergalactic Thing (side 2)
*Sun Ra and His Intergalactic Solar Arkestra: Space Is the Place (previously unreleased tracks) (streaming)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Prophet (side 1)
*Cecil Taylor: 1969-11-09 Rotterdam (CDR)
*Keith Tippett's Ark: Frames (Music for an Imaginary Film) (disc 2)
*Charles Tolliver Big Band: Mosaic Select (disc 2)
*Lennie Tristano: Personal Recordings 1946-1970 (disc 1)
*UYA: Improvisations 5 (1992) (CDR compilation) "Pixie Styx"
*Jack White: Fear of the Dawn
*John Zorn: Multiplicities II

Playlist, Week of 2022-07-10

Used to be as a kid, I'd get one album and play it over and over before getting another one (months later)... those days are long gone... all by way of saying I don't absorb all the music I listen to as much as I used to... so it was nice to return to Michael Formanek's large-scale work The Distance and realize all over again how wonderful and compelling it is... I'm still absorbing the marvelous four discs' worth of improvisations of Anthony Braxton with Nels Cline, Greg Saunier, and Taylor Ho Bynum... wonders abound on those discs, as the pieces morph and transmute multiple times over the course of the hour or so it takes for them to unfold... 

Playlist 2022-07-11:

*Area: Crac! (side 1)

*Art Ensemble of Chicago: Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City: Live at Iridium (disc 1)

*B-52s: Wild Planet

*B-52s: Cosmic Thing

*Beatles: Past Masters (2009 stereo remaster) (sides 1, 2)

*Paul Bley: Ballads

*Anthony Braxton: The Complete Arista Recordings of Anthony Braxton (disc 4) "Opus 76 (Version Two)"

*Anthony Braxton: Seven Compositions (Trio) 1989

*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (New Haven) 2014 (disc 4)

*Broadcast: Maida Vale Sessions

*Clash: London Calling

*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2009-07-23 Nashville (wav) track 6 "What You Said"

*Congotronics International: Where's the One?

*Estamos Trio: People's Historia

*Joe Farrell Quartet: Joe Farrell Quartet

*Michael Formanek/Ensemble Kollosus: The Distance

*Fred Frith Trio with Lotte Anker, Susana Santos Silva: Road (disc 1)

*Mary Halvorson: Belladonna

*Kip Hanrahan: Days and Nights of Blue Luck Inverted

*Freddie Hubbard: The Artistry of Freddie Hubbard

*King Crimson: Starless (disc 19)

*Led Zeppelin: Houses of the Holy

*George Lewis/Roscoe Mitchell: Voyage and Homecoming

*Tony Malaby's Sabino: The Cave of Winds

*Garry Martin Project (CDR compilation) (disc 4)

*Rob Mazuerk Quartet: Father's Wing

*John McLaughlin: Where Fortune Smiles

*Myra Melford's Fire and Water Quintet: For the Love of Fire and Water

*Merzbow/Mats Gustafsson/Balázs Pándi: Cuts Open (disc 1)

*Charles Mingus: Mingus Three (discs 1, 2)

*Matt Mitchell/Kate Gentile: Snark Horse (discs 4, 5)

*Hank Mobley: The Complete Hank Mobley Blue Note Sessions 1963-70 (disc 8)

*Phantogram: Voices

*Spirit: Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus

*Cecil Taylor Unit: It Is in the Brewing Luminous "Part 1"

*June Tyson/Sun Ra: Saturnian Queen of the Sun Ra Arkestra (side 1)

*Various artists: Masters of the Modern Piano 1955-1966 (side 2)

*Anna Webber: Idiom (disc 1)

*XTC: Drums and Wires

*John Zorn: Cobra (disc 1)

*John Zorn/Simulacrum: Spinoza 

Playlist, Week of 2022-05-01

In the world of Anthony Braxton albums of cover tunes devoted to the work of single artists, Eight (+3) Tristano Compositions 1989 stands out, along with the Charlie Parker Project, as the best... his playing is absolutely on fire here... amply complemented by the baritone sax of John Raskin, with a killer rhythm section of Dred Scott, who I need to check out more of, Cecil McBee, and Andrew Cyrille... just brilliant... I continue to be blown away by Black Messiah, a true masterpiece of the last decade... I used to enjoy Of Mist and Melting mostly for the acerbic sax of Jan Garbarek, but now I go back for the superb drumming of Jack DeJohnette... so well-recorded... 

Playlist 2022-05-02:

*Anthony Braxton: Eight (+3) Tristano Composition 1989: For Warne Marsh

*Anthony Braxton: Trillium R: Composition 162 - An Opera in Four Acts/Shala Fears for the Poor (disc 3)

*Anthony Braxton Diamond Curtain Wall Quartet + Jason Moran: 2012-12-15 Kennedy Center (CDR)

*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (Standards) 2020 (discs 12, 13) (streaming)

*Bruford: 1979-07-19 Falls Church, VA (CDR)

*Circle: 1971-03-04 Hamburg (CDR) "There Is No Greater Love"

*Alice Coltrane: Carnegie Hall '71

*John Coltrane/Alice Coltrane: Cosmic Music (side 1)

*Bill Connors: Of Mist and Melting (side 1)

*Sylvie Courvoisier/Mary Halvorson: Searching for the Disappeared Hour

*D’Angelo and the Vanguard: Black Messiah

*Duke Ellington: The Girl's Suite/The Perfume Suite (sides 1, 2)

*Estamos Trio: People's Historia

*Hatfield and the North: Hatfield and the North (side 1)

*Joe Henderson: An Evening with Joe Henderson

*Andrew Hill: Point of Departure

*Jacob Lindsay/Ava Mendoza/Damon Smith/Weasel Walter: Jus

*Lindsays: The String Quartet (Haydn/Beethoven)

*Tony Malaby's Sabino: The Cave of Winds

*M.I.A.: Kala

*Hank Mobley: The Complete Hank Mobley Blue Note Sessions 1963-70 (disc 2)

*Ikue Mori: One Hundred Aspects of the Moon

*Andy Partridge: My Failed Songwriting Career Volume Two

*Annette Peacock: X-Dreams

*Matana Roberts: Coin Coin Chapter Three: River Run Thee

*Rolling Stones: Let It Bleed

*Manfred Schoof Quintet: Voices

*Archie Shepp & the New York Contemporary Five: The New York Contemporary Five (Storyville)

*Sly and the Family Stone: There's a Riot Goin' On

*Sonic Youth: Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star

*Tyshawn Sorey and Marilyn Crispell: The Adornment of Time

*Sparks: Indiscreet

*Sparks: Music That You Can Dance To (selections)

*Sparks: Balls (sides 1, 2, 3, 4)

*Sparks: Lil Beethoven

*Sparks: Hello Young Lovers

*Sparks: Hippopotamus (sides 1, 2, 3, 4)

*Stereolab: Refried Ectoplasm (selections)

*Sun Ra: The Eternal Myth Revealed, Vol. 1 (discs 9, 10)

*Sun Ra: Mastering Comparisons (CDR compilation)

*Sun Ra & His Arkestra: The Cymbals​/​Symbols Sessions (New York, 1973) (side 3)

*Anna Webber: Idiom (disc 2)

*John Zorn: Bagatelles Vol. 3: Trigger 

Playlist, Week of 2022-03-27

 

Space Aura is space gold from Sun Ra... Amazing that they dug up these 1966 recordings from the same tour as Nothing Is... John Gilmore is on FIRE (sorry for the caps, but hell, he really is... on FIRE!)... Speaking of fire, and fiery solos, you can't do worse than Anthony Braxton and Alexander Hawkins on the Standards 2020 set... And since it's so hot in here, I may as well mention, well, just about everything I listened to this week... but especially the AMM set and one of Duke Ellington's greatest albums, The Far East Suite... any of these recordings could last a lifetime on a desert island... I just got back from the Big Ears Festival, and I'll have a brief report soon... spoiler alert: it was awesome...

Playlist 2022-03-28:

*AMM: Laminal (disc 2)

*Anthony Braxton: 12 Comp (ZIM) 2017 (Comp. 413)

*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (Standards) 2020 (discs 5, 6) (streaming)

*Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet: 2011-12-23 Cambridge, MA (CDR)

*Cul De Sac: Crashes to Light, Minutes to Its Fall

*Miles Davis: In Person Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk, Complete (disc 3)

*Miles Davis: The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings of the Miles Davis Quintet 1965 to 1968 (disc 1)

*De La Soul: 3 Feet High and Rising (20th Anniversary) (disc 2)

*Duke Ellington: The Far East Suite

*Herbie Hancock: My Point of View

*Herbie Hancock: Inventions and Dimensions

*Herbie Hancock: Empyrean Isles

*Julius Hemphill: 'Coon Bid'ness

*Henry Cow: Bremen (Cow Box Redux)

*Andrew Hill: Point of Departure

*Andrew Hill: Time Lines

*Bobby Hutcherson: Oblique

*Roscoe Mitchell Quintet: Turn

*Joe Morris/Agustí Fernández/Nate Wooley: From the Discrete to the Particular

*Sean O'Hagan: Radum Calls, Radum Calls

*Jeff Parker: The New Breed

*Popol Vuh: Affenstunde

*Popol Vuh: In den Gärten Pharaos

*RAIC: 2019-07-13 UR (CDR)

*Rolling Stones: Now!

*Keith Rowe: The Room

*Matthew Shipp: Duos with Mat Maneri & Joe Morris

*Wayne Shorter Quartet: 2002-07-12 The Hague (CDR)

*Sun Ra and His Band from Outer Space: Space Aura

*John Zorn/Simulacrum: The Garden of Earthly Delights

Playlist, Week of 2022-02-20

Totally great improvisations from Anthony Braxton and Joe Morris... Braxton's all over the place in terms of instrumentation while Morris soldiers on on guitar alone... the contrasts are compelling and exciting... definitely one of Braxton's strongest solely-improv outings... Still got my Blue Note thing going, and also delving some into Prince (again)... there are nuggets of gold in his 21st-century work... The Supremes in mono: sheer girl-group Motown bliss... I will never cease to be blown away and transported to other worlds of ecstasy by the work of Cecil Taylor....

Playlist 2022-02-21:

*Beatles: Hard Day's Night (2009 stereo remaster) (sides 1, 2)
*Anthony Braxton/Joe Morris: Four Improvisations (Duo) 2007 (discs 1, 4)
*Anthony Braxton: 12 Comp (ZIM) 2017 (Comp. 410)
*Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet & 7-tette: Navigation (The Complete Firehouse 12 Recordings) (disc 1)
*John Coltrane Quartet: 1965-04-02 Half Note, NYC (CDR) (disc 3)
*Deerhoof: Actually, You Can
*Deerhoof: Devil Kids
*Paul Dunmall/Matthew Shipp/Joe Morris/Gerald Cleaver: The Bright Awakening
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Suite Thursday - Controversial Suite - Harlem Suite (side 1)
*Duke Ellington: 1899-1974 (side 5)
*Duke Ellington: The Greatest Jazz Concert in the World (disc 2)
*Stan Getz: The Complete Roost Recordings (disc 3)
*Joe Henderson: The Complete Joe Henderson Blue Note Sessions (disc 5)
*Henry Cow: Legend (side 1)
*Andrew Hill: 2001-08-14 Saalfelden (CDR)
*Andrew Hill Octet: 2003-04-23 Kristianstad, Sweden (CDR)
*Cindy Lee: Malenkost
*Charles Mingus: Music Written for Monterey 1965, Not Heard, Played in its Entirety at UCLA (sides 1, 4)
*Roscoe Mitchell: Splatter
*Hank Mobley: The Complete Hank Mobley Blue Note Sessions 1963-70 (discs 4, 5, 6)
*Jemeel Moondoc Quartet: The Astral Revelations: Live at Bimhuis
*Prince: 12-inch Remixes 1b (CDR compilation) (selections)
*Prince: C-Note
*Prince: The Chocolate Invasion
*RAIC: Gestalt
*Wadada Leo Smith: Kabell Years 1971-1979 (discs 3, 4)
*Tyshawn Sorey: The Inner Spectrum of Variables (disc 2) "Movement V + VI + Reprise"
*Sparks: Kimono My House (sides 1, 2)
*Sparks: Propaganda (sides 1, 2)
*Sparks: Indiscreet (sides 1, 2)
*Sparks: Big Beat (sides 1, 2)
*Sparks: The Rest of Sparks (side 1)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Omniverse (side 2)
*Supremes: 50th Anniversary: The Singles Collection 1961–1969 (disc 3)
*Cecil Taylor: Cecil Taylor Unit (side 2)
*Cecil Taylor & Günter Sommer: Riobec "Riobec 3"
*Henry Threadgill: Double Up, Plays Double Up Plus
*Keith Tippett Tapestry Orchestra: Live at Le Mans (disc 2)
*Various artists: WSAM: Over and Over (cassette compilation) (side B)
*Anna Webber: Idiom (discs 1, 2)
*Robert Wyatt: Flotsam Jetsam
*Robert Wyatt: Old Rottenhat
*Robert Wyatt: Dondestan

 

Playlist, Week of 2022-02-06

 

Can't stress enough how deeply beautiful Bird Meets Wire is... deep, rewarding, nourishing... Also true for Anthony Braxton's "Composition 307," which makes an appearance both on the disc Creative Orchestra (Guelph) 2007 and on the Wesleyan concert recording from 2011, conducted by Anne Rhodes... Deep rotation piles: Braxton, Hank Mobley, Joe Henderson, Roscoe Mitchell, Henry Threadgill, Wadada Leo Smith, Andrew Hill...

Playlist 2022-02-07:

*Susan Alcorn/Leila Bordreuil/Ingrid Laubrock: Bird Meets Wire

*AMM: The Crypt - 12th June 1968 (disc 1)

*AMM: Before Driving to the Chapel We Took Coffee with Rick and Jennifer Reed

*Charles "Packy" Axton: Late Late Party 1965-67 (sides 1, 2)

*Beach Boys: SMiLE (soniclovenoize reconstruction) (disc 1)

*Beach Boys: Holland (Analogue Productions) (side 3)

*Anthony Braxton/Richard Teitelbaum: Silence/Time Zones "Behmoth Dreams"

*Anthony Braxton and the AIMToronto Orchestra: Creative Orchestra (Guelph) 2007

*Anthony Braxton  & the Wesleyan Tri-Centric Orchestra: 2011-04-25 Middletown, CT (CDR) (disc 2)

*Anthony Braxton: 12 Comp (ZIM) 2017 (Comp. 408)

*Rob Brown/Matthew Shipp: Then Now

*John Coltrane: 1965-09 Seattle (CDR) (unreleased tracks)

*Dave Douglas: Freak In

*Andrew Drury: Content Provider

*Duke Ellington: Centenary Celebration 1999: Vol. 3: The Great Bands of the 1940s

*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Treasury Shows, Vol. 1 (disc 1) 

*Duke Ellington: All American in Jazz

*Duke Ellington: His Piano and His Orchestra at the Bal Masque

*Joe Henderson: The Complete Joe Henderson Blue Note Sessions (discs 2, 3)

*Jimi Hendrix Experience: Paris 67 (side 1)

*Andrew Hill: Point of Departure

*Andrew Hill: Mosaic Select (disc 2)

*Andrew Hill: A Beautiful Day

*Freddie Hubbard: Straight Life

*Paul Lewis: Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Liszt, & Schubert

*London Jazz Composers Orchestra featuring Anthony Braxton: 1988-03-25 Basel, Switzerland (CDR) (disc 1)

*Roscoe Mitchell Orchestra: Littlefield Concert Hall, Mills College, March 19-20, 2018

*Hank Mobley: The Complete Hank Mobley Blue Note Sessions 1963-70 (discs 1, 2)

*Wes Montgomery: The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery

*Joe Morris/Mary Halvorson: Traversing Orbits

*Prince: Crucial (side 2)

*Prince & the New Power Generation: Caught in the Act: The Classic 1993 Broadcast (boot CDR) (disc 2)

*Franz Schubert: Schubert Piano Music (Richter, Goldstone/Clemmow)

*Wadada Leo Smith: Kabell Years 1971-1979 (disc 2)

*Sparks: Propaganda (sides 1, 2)

*Sun Ra: Lanquidity (45rpm version) (side 5)

*Supremes: 50th Anniversary: The Singles Collection 1961–1969 (disc 1)

*Various artists: Modern Jazz: The Beginnings

*Miroslav Vitous: Infinite Search

*Mal Waldron: The Call (side 2)

*Anna Webber: Clockwise

*Tony Williams Lifetime: Ego

Playlist, Week of 2020-09-06

The end of summer, and the listening's good... Although Bird shows up a lot randomly on the Magic Jukebox 2, it's been good to delve a little deeper... the Dean Benedetti box set is really amazing, and the somewhat low fidelity doesn't bother me a bit... those damn solos!... and nice to hear Bird's treatment of lesser-recorded songs like "Byas a Drink" and "It's the Talk of the Town"... a real time capsule... Jumping ahead to just last year, great to hear Ingrid Laubrock playing Anthony's Braxton Zim Music... in my spare time, I'd like to compare this to the London run of Zim Music from May of 2018... My old original Beatles records from when I was a kid still sound damn solid... they just leap out of the grooves and grab you... they still haven't let go after all these years...

Playlist 2020-09-07:

*Lotte Anker/Sylvie Courvoisier/Ikue Mori: Alien Huddle
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: Tribute to Lester
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: Reunion
*Beatles: Meet the Beatles (side 1)
*Beatles: Help! (side 1)
*Beatles: The Beatles (Super Deluxe Edition) (disc 6)
*Anthony Braxton: 2019-11-03 Berlin (CDR)
*Bill Bruford: Fainting in Coils (sides 1, 4)
*Nels Cline Trio: Ground
*Alice Coltrane: Ptah the El Daoud
*Cul De Sac: Crashes to Light, Minutes to Its Fall
*Duke Ellington: Duke Ellington 1938 (side 4)
*Duke Ellington: Love You Madly (1952-11-14 Carnegie Hall) (side 2)
*Mike Elder/Greg Jordan/Harry Forrest/Sam Byrd: 2019-09-21 (wav)
*Mike Elder/Greg Jordan/Harry Forrest/Sam Byrd: 2020-01-04 (wav)
*Fire! Orchestra: Arrival
*Grateful Dead: Pacific Northwest '73-'74: Believe It if You Need It (disc 1)
*Guided By Voices: Do the Collapse
*Guided By Voices: Isolation Drills
*Hampton Hawes: Trio and Quartet 1951-1956: Live and Studio Sessions (disc 2)
*Andrew Hill: One for One (side 1)
*Lemon Twigs: Songs for the General Public
*Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66: Equinox
*Lee Morgan: The Procrastinator (side 4)
*New Ting Ting Loft: 2017-04-17: "Unsudden Settling into Grey Emotion" (wav)
*New Ting Ting Loft: 2019-01-28 "Rump Roost Tools of America" (wav)
*Charlie Parker: The Complete Dean Benedetti Recordings of Charlie Parker (disc 1)
*Charlie Parker: Charlie Parker Volume II (side 2)
*Charlie Parker: Cheers (side 2)
*Charlie Parker: Bird: The Complete Charlie Parker on Verve (disc 1)
*Charlie Parker: Unheard Bird: The Unissued Takes (disc 2)
*Matana Roberts: Coin Coin Chapter Two: Mississippi Moonchile
*Omar Rodriguez: Omar Rodriguez
*Rolling Stones: The Brussels Affair '73
*Sonny Rollins Quintet with Kenny Dorham And Max Roach: Rollins Plays for Bird (side 1)
*Ruins: Symphonica
*Sun Ra: Strange Worlds in My Mind
*Sun Ra & His Arkestra: The Cymbals​/​Symbols Sessions (New York, 1973) (disc 2)
*Sun Ra Arkestra: 1973-07-04 Queens NY (CDR)
*Sun Ra & His Arkestra: Oblique Parallax
*Cecil Taylor: In Transition (sides 2, 3)
*Thumbscrew: The Anthony Braxton Project
*Richard Teitelbaum with Anthony Braxton: Time Zones "Crossing"
*June Tyson/Sun Ra: Saturnian Queen of the Sun Ra Arkestra
*Various ‎artists: Reunion Tape 1 (cassette compilation) (side A)
*Various artists: Ad-Rock & Mike D's Alphabetical Jukebox (CDR compilation) (discs 1, 2)
*When: Homage Series Vol. 1: Sun Ra
*John Zorn/Simulacrum: Baphomet

Playlist, Week of 2020-08-02

Check out Daniel Barbiero's new release... sonic visions and meditations from several DC luminaries manipulating the same double bass recording... beautiful and mesmerizing... Also new: a radio composition from Anthony Braxton and James Fei, excerpting sections of the massive six-hour Sonic Genome concert in Berlin last year... just gorgeous... The listening's good out here, folks....

Playlist 2020-08-03:

*Arctic Monkeys: Humbug

*Daniel Barbiero: Electronic Remediations for Double Bass

*Beach Boys: Good Vibrations: Thirty Years Of The Beach Boys (disc 2)

*Anthony Braxton: Sonic Genome (2019-10-31 Berlin) (CDR)

*Clifford Brown: The Complete Blue Note and Pacific Jazz Recordings (disc 3)

*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: The Mathematics of War

*Alice Coltrane: World Galaxy

*Kris Davis: Good Citizen

*Miles Davis: Miles Davis at Carnegie Hall: The Complete Concert (discs 1, 2)

*Elton Dean Quartet: 2004-07-26 London (CDR)

*Death Ambient: Death Ambient

*Death Grips: The Money Store

*Death Grips: Year of the Snitch

*Deerhoof: Runners Four

*Deerhoof: To Be Surrounded by Beautiful, Curious, Breathing, Laughing Flesh Is Enough

*Duke Ellington: Duke Ellington (Giants of Jazz) (side 3)

*Fela: Stalemate

*Gang of Four: Entertainment

*Grateful Dead: Dave's Picks Vol. 11 (1972-11-17 Wichita KS) (disc 2)

*Keith Jarrett: Keith Jarrett At The Blue Note: The Complete Recordings (disc 3)

*Jethro Tull: Thick as a Brick

*Rahsaan Roland Kirk: Does Your House Have Lions: The Rahsaan Roland Kirk Anthology (disc 1)

*Machine Gun: Machine Gun

*Garry Martin Project (CDR compilation (discs 7, 9) (selections)

*Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66: Equinox

*MIMEO/John Tilbury: The Hands Of Caravaggio

*Thurston Moore: Spirit Counsel (disc 3)

*Hermeto Pascoal & Grupo: No Mundo Dos Sons (disc 2)

*Dudu Pukwana and Spirits Rejoice: 1980-06-01 Nyon Festival, France (CDR)

*Django Reinhardt: The Classic Early Recordings in Chronological Order (disc 1)

*Omar Rodriguez: Omar Rodriguez

*Sly and Robbie: Rhythm Killers (side 1)

*Rolling Stones: On Air (discs 1, 2)

*Squeeze: 1980-05-03 Bottom Line, NYC (CDR)

*Jack Stauber: selections (streaming)

*Talking Heads: The Name Of This Band Is Talking Heads (sides 3, 4)

*Cecil Taylor Big Band: 1995-07-03 NYC (CDR) (disc 3)

*Test: 2000-05-25 NYC (CDR)

*XTC: Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)

Playlist, Week of 2020-05-24

Fusion heaven, here... Forest of Feelings was one of those albums I never managed to get back in the '70s... I listened to friends' copies a lot, but even back then it was hard to come by... my brother generously gifted me a copy, and I have been digging it all over again... I lost track of David Sancious after his first two albums... there were guest appearances on Lenny White and Stanley Clarke albums, but nothing as mind-blowing as this, and after that I lost track... did he ever top his debut, though?... his guitar and keyboard playing are brilliant on Forest, and the band is crackerjack... After finishing Ted Gioia's book The Jazz Standards I've had a hankering for... well, jazz standards... love to hear them as played by Anthony Braxton, so I'll be working my way through his Standards Quartet discs again... there's also a fantastic youtube video of Braxton's more current quartet doing standards in London in January of this year, featuring Alexander Hawkins on piano... now that gets my blood going... will also be revisiting Bill Evans trio music and more Miles Davis in this vein... as well as acquainting myself in more depth with Keith Jarrett's standards trio (at least until I can't take the squawking any more)... 

Playlist 2020-05-25:

*Rashied Ali/Frank Lowe: Duo Exchange (side 1)

*AMM/MEV: Apogee (disc 2)

*Art Ensemble of Chicago: The Alternate Express (side 1)

*Anthony Braxton: 20 Standards (Quartet) 2003 (disc 1)

*Clifford Brown and Max Roach: Clifford Brown and Max Roach

*Chamber 4: City Of Light

*Gerald Cleaver/Uncle June: Be It As I See It

*Rodger Coleman: Real Gone 

*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2015-05-14 Nashville (wav) Track 7

*Alice Coltrane: Spiritual Eternal: The Complete Warner Bros. Studio Recordings (disc 2)

*Chick Corea: The Complete “Is” Sessions (disc 1)

*Marilyn Crispell/Eddie Prévost/Harrison Smith: 2012-11-07 London (CDR)

*Bill Dixon: Son of Sisyphus

*Michael Formanek Elusion Quartet: Time Like This

*Andrew Hill: From California with Love (side 1)

*Anna Högberg Attack: Lena

*Keith Jarrett: Sun Bear Concerts (disc 5)

*Henry Kaiser: 1980-05-03 Richmond Artists Workshop (CDR) (disc 2)

*Ingrid Laubrock/Tom Rainey: Stir Crazy: Episode 9

*Layers of Memory: 2019-12-07 RVA (wav)"No. 4"

*Sergio Mendes: Quiet Nights

*MIMEO/John Tilbury: The Hands Of Caravaggio

*Lee Morgan: The Procrastinator (side 3)

*New Ting: 2020-02-17 "Still Waitin' for Cantankeroid" (wav)

*New Ting: 2020-03-02 "Media Scan" (wav)

*Don Pullen/Milford Graves: In Concert at Yale University

*Flora Purim: Everyday, Everynight

*Matana Roberts: Coin Coin Chapter Three: River Run Thee

*Keith Rowe and John Tilbury: Duos for Doris (disc 2)

*David Sancious: Forest of Feelings (side 2)

*Susana Santos Silva: Life and Other Transient Storms

*Spontaneous Music Ensemble: Quintessence (disc 1)

*Sun Ra: Continuation (Saturn/Corbett vs. Dempsey) (disc 2)

*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: 1976-08-24 Châteauvallon, France (CDR) (disc 2)

*Sun Ra: Piano Recital, Teatro  La Fenice, Venezia

*Sun Ra: The Other Side of the Sun (side 2)

*Cecil Taylor: Silent Tongues (side 1)

*McCoy Tyner: Supertrios

*Mal Waldron: The Call (side 1)

*Tony Williams Lifetime: Turn It Over (side 1)

*Art Bears: The World As It Is Today

*Clash: Sandinista (side 5)

*Dark Carpet: Factory Side

*Grateful Dead: Dave's Picks Vol. 5 (1973-11-17 UCLA) (disc 1)

*Guided By Voices: Surrender Your Poppy Field

*Happy the Man: 1976-04-03 Baltimore (discs 1, 2)

*Paul McCartney: Pure McCartney (Deluxe Ed.) (disc 2)

*Roxy Music: Siren (side 2)

*Devadip Carlos Santana: Oneness: Silver Dreams - Golden Reality

Playlist, Week of 2019-11-17

Been on a bit of a Lewis Taylor kick lately... I am particularly quite taken with The Lost Album, with its Todd Rundgren/Beach Boys grandeur and its combination of neo-soul, '70s rock, and sweeping prog guitar... Digging through a lot of recent New Ting improvisations for a possible cassette release... Beautiful, relatively quiet (for him) playing by Mats Gusatsson on A Quietness of Water... Ingrid Laubrock and Tom Rainey always sound great in a quartet setting... There's not much that's cooler than the Duke Ellington version of "All My Loving"... Entire sound universes are contained within the 9-CD Iridium Anthony Braxton box set... as much as I've listened to it over the last 12 years, I feel like I've barely scratched the surface... infinitely rewarding, continually self-renewing, always inspiring...

Playlist 2019-11-18:

*"A" Trio & AMM: AAMM
*Marshall Allen/Danny Ray Thompson/Jamie Saft/Trevor Dunn/Balazs Pandi/Roswell Rudd: Ceremonial Healing
*Anthony Braxton: 9 Compositions (Iridium) 2006 (selections)
*Peter Brötzmann/Heather Leigh: Sparrow Nights
*Taylor Ho Bynum 9-Tette: The Ambiguity Manifesto
*Stephan Crump/Ingrid Laubrock/Cory Smythe: Channels
*Miles Davis: Tribute to Jack Johnson (side 2)
*Paul Dolden: L'Ivresse De La Vitesse (disc 2)
*Duke Ellington: The Reprise Studio Recordings (discs 3, 4)
*Peter Evans/Agusti Fernández/Mats Gustafsson: A Quietness Of Water
*Mary Halvorson Quartet: Paimon (Zorn/Book of Angels Vol. 32)
*Robert Landfermann/Ingrid Laubrock/Achim Kaufmann/Tom Rainey: Topaz
*Large Unit: Erta Ale (disc 1)
*Chris Lightcap: SuperBigmouth
*New Ting: 2019-07-08 "Backhand Volley" (wav)
*New Ting: 2019-07-29 "Tardy But Hardy" (wav)
*New Ting: 2019-09-09 "Peace in Transit" (wav)
*New Ting: 2019-09-16 "Simmertime Lubricity Challenge" (wav)
*New Ting: 2019-09-30 "Emulsify My Desires" (wav)
*New Ting: 2019-10-07 "We All Answered" (wav)
*New Ting: 2019-11-11 "Five-Minute Infinity" (wav)
*Craig Taborn: Junk Magic
*Cecil Taylor: Conquistador! (side 1)
*Cecil Taylor: 1997-10-03 NYC (CDR)
*Tri-Centric Vocal Ensemble: Anthony Braxton's Syntactical Ghost Trance Music : 2019-01-25 Brooklyn (CDR)
*Weather Report: Live in Tokyo
*John Zorn: The Hierophant
*Various artists: History of Electronic/Electroacoustic Music (CDR compilation) (disc 35)
*Dark Carpet: Factory Side
*Gentle Giant: Free Hand
*Grateful Dead: 1973-03-24 Philadelphia (CDR) (disc 3)
*Paul McCartney: Pure McCartney (Deluxe Ed.) (disc 1)
*Thurston Moore: 1997-10-03 NYC (CDR)
*Lewis Taylor: Lewis Taylor
*Lewis Taylor: The Lost Album
*Sheriff Jack: Everybody Twist
*Various artists: Latin Rhythms in Hi Fi
*Various artists: Country & Western Hit Parade 1957: Dim Lights, Thick Smoke, and Hillbilly Music
*Yes: Progeny: Highlights From Seventy-Two (disc 1)

Braxton's Sonic Genome in Berlin on YouTube

                     Alexander Hawkins in the green

Here's an experience that's not to be missed: a 6-hour video capturing the live stream of the performance of Anthony Braxton's Sonic Genome project at Jazzfest Berlin 2019 on October 31. I have listened to the whole thing once, and dipped in on some of the visuals... it's pretty damn amazing. The space it took place in, the Gropius Bau Museum, is a gorgeous space, lots of rotundas, open staircases, balconies, and some kind of plant structure in the middle of one of the halls. It must have been exhilarating to walk around and get immersed in Braxton's music. Here were some of the highlights for me:

0:00:00 - 0:15:00:  Braxton's opening, conducting what looks like the whole ensemble.
2:35:22 - 2:36:02: Close-up of Ingrid Laubrock soloing on soprano sax.
3:45:00-ish - The singers and the great orchestral riff that follows the singing, eventually joined by a sax trio including Braxton and James Fei.
3:58:00 - The whole orchestra breaks into this vocalizing/chanting section that's truly mesmerizing, and it looks like they're having a blast doing it!
4:29:30: A sweet quartet: flute/trombone/bassoon/tenor sax, in front of the plant structure... then joined by Alexander Hawkins at 4:30:35 playing melodica and piano from up within the structure! Great piano at 4:32:22. Augmented by Cymin Samawatie on vocals. (It thrills me to no end that Hawkins will be joining Braxton for a standards quartet tour in January. Oh, to be in Poland or London then...)

Playlist, Week of 2019-07-21

Outside of his recording with Wolf Eyes, Quartet (New Haven) 2014 is the most "rock"-ish thing Anthony Braxton has done...  not surprisingly, he is perfectly at home with the rock-edged drumming of Greg Saunier and the sonic effects Nels Cline gets from electric guitar.. as it always seems to be with him, Braxton brings out the best of whoever he's improvising with... he and Taylor Ho Bynum already have an established relationship, and it shows, as they often seem to think and respond as one...  I've always loved Saunier's drumming in Deerhoof and I just knew he had it in him to be a wonderful totally free player, and he doesn't disappoint here... with the cutting-edge precision of Chris Cutler and the sense of dynamic structure and drama of Robert Wyatt, his drumming is quite inventive here with all the twists and turns the music takes (and it's worth noting that many of those twists and turns are instigated by him as much as anybody)... the music is very fluid, but not meandering, always with a purpose, like the flow of a particularly feisty river... Cline supplies more than just rock guitar, of course... there are lots of electronic, keyboard-like sounds as well as lower-register passages that fill in some of the bass spectrum as well... Braxton is clearly inspired by all this and he turns in some amazing playing on an array of reeds, including wonderful passages on bass and contrabass saxophones... again, no surprise but just beautiful in this context... this is really an amazing set of recordings... take this band on the road and bring them to Richmond, Mr. Braxton!

Playlist 2019-07-22:

*Daniel Barbiero and Cristiano Bocci: 2019-06-22 Rhizome, Washington DC (wav)
*Paul Bley: Ballads
*Anthony Braxton: Creative Music Orchestra (NYC) 2011
*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (New Haven) 2014 (discs 1, 2, 3, 4)
*Pete Christlieb/Warne Marsh Quintet: Apogee
*Decoy with Joe McPhee: Spontaneous Combustion (disc 2)
*Adam Lion/Matt Nelson: 2019-07-13 Gamelan Raga Kusuma, University of Richmond (wav)
*New Ting: 2019-07-08 "Backhand Volley" (wav)
*RAIC: The Heart's Message Cannot be Delivered in Words (wav rough mix)
*RAIC: 2019-07-13 Gamelan Raga Kusuma, University of Richmond (wav)
*Schlippenbach Trio: First Recordings
*Harvey Sorgen/Joe Fonda/Marilyn Crispell:  Dreamstruck
*Beatles: With the Beatles (2009 stereo remaster)
*James Brown: The Singles, Vol. 4: 1966-1967 (discs 1, 2)
*Gentle Giant: In a Glass House
*Grateful Dead: Dick's Picks 2 (1971-10-31 Columbus OH)
*John Lee Hooker: Hooker (discs 1, 2, 3)
*Jefferson Pilot: Shadow Hobby
*King Crimson: Heavy ConstruKction (disc 3)
*Little Richard: Specialty Sessions (disc 1)
*Paul McCartney: Beautiful Junk (CDR compilation) (discs 4, 5)
*Esperanza Spalding: Radio Music Society
*Sunn O))) & Boris: Altar
*Various artists: Exotica for Monty (CDR) (disc 1)
*Various artists: Fame Northern Soul
*Various artists: Powerpop Explosion Volume 2 (CDR compilation) (discs 1, 2)
*Various artists: Top Shelf 8/8/88
*Junior Wells' Chicago Blues Band: Hoodoo Man Blues