Playlist, Week of 2022-02-27

Deeply lovely abrasive and soothing sounds from NVS Trio... Allan Holdsworth with Tony Williams is floating my guitar boat these days... John Clark, the guitarist who took Holdsworth's place in Bruford, is no slouch either... amazing player on the live sets... Still deep in Blue Note territory... The Beatles were amazing in Sweden in 1963... great to hear them live without so much screaming (on both the radio and TV shows)... 

Playlist 2022-02-28:

*AMM: The Crypt - 12th June 1968 (disc 2)
*AMM: An Unintended Legacy (disc 2)
*Art Ensemble: 1967/68 (disc 5) "Congliptious/Old"
*Beatles: Live Before America (boot CDR) (disc 1)
*Tommy Bolin: The Best of Tommy Bolin (CDR compilation)
*Anthony Braxton with Dave Douglas: Six Standards (Quintet) 1996
*Anthony Braxton/Joe Morris: Four Improvisations (Duo) 2007 (discs 2, 3, 4)
*Rob Brown Quartet: From Here to Hear
*Bruford: 1979-07-19 Falls Church, VA (CDR)
*Bruford: 1980-06-15 Georgetown, DC (CDR)
*Burial: Antidawn
*Kris Davis: Diatom Ribbons
*Miles Davis: The Complete On the Corner Sessions (disc 6) (original side 1)
*Miles Davis: Panthalassa: The Music of Miles Davis 1969-1974
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Treasury Shows, Vol. 2 (disc 1)
*Herbie Hancock: Takin' Off
*Andrew Hill-Joe Henderson Quartet: 1988-03-25 Paris (CDR) (disc 1)
*Andrew Hill Quintet: 2006-04-07 Geneva (CDR)
*Freddie Hubbard: Ready for Freddie
*Bobby Hutcherson: Dialogue
*Mat Maneri: Sustain
*Hank Mobley: The Complete Hank Mobley Blue Note Sessions 1963-70 (disc 7)
*Paul Motian Trio: Sound of Love
*NVS Trio: Doubled Up and Beautiful
*Pere Ubu: New Picnic Time (sides 1, 2)
*Lee 'Scratch' Perry & the Upsetters: Return of the Super Ape
*Tom Rainey Trio: 2011-05-06 Firehouse 12, New Haven, CT (CDR) "track 3"
*Max Roach + Dizzy Gillespie: Paris 1989 (disc 1)
*Matthew Shipp/Roscoe Mitchell: 2-Z
*Matthew Shipp Trio/Nicole Mitchell: All Things Are
*Sparks: Kimono My House (sides 1, 2)
*Sparks: Hippopotamus
*Horace Tapscott: The Dark Tree 1 & 2 (discs 1, 2)
*Cecil Taylor: The Complete, Legendary, Live Return Concert at the Town Hall NYC November 4, 1973
*Cecil Taylor Unit: 1976-04-15 Ann Arbor (CDR)
*Henry Threadgill 14 Or 15 Kestra AGG: Dirt... And More Dirt
*Various artists: The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz (sides 6, 9, 11)
*Various artists: WSAM: Over and Over (cassette compilation) (side A)
*Wadada Leo Smith: Najwa
*New Tony Williams Lifetime: Live at the Village Gate 

Reading List, Week of 2022-02-27

Reading List 2022-02-21:

Kate Atkinson knocks another one out of the park!

*Chinen, Nate. Playing Changes (started)
*Kirby, Jack et al. X-Men: Children of the Atom, Vol. 1 1963-1966 (started)
*Mailer, Norman. Harlot's Ghost (started)
*Nabokov, Vladimir. The Eye (transl. Vladimir and Dmitri Nabokov) (reread/started/finished)
*Atkinson, Kate. Transcription (finished)
*Shades of Laura: Vladimir Nabokov's Last Novel The Original of Laura, ed. Yuri Leving (finished)
*Booth, Stephen. Shakespeare's Sonnets (ed. with analytic commentary by Booth) (in progress)
*Shakespeare, William. Sonnets (1609 Quarto) (reread/in progress)
*Shakespeare, William. Sonnets (ed. Helen Vendler) (reread/in progress)
*Winn, John C. Way Beyond Compare: The Beatles' Recorded Legacy, Vol. 1: 1957-1965 (in progress)

Improvisation and Meditation

Great writing about improvisation, from Taylor Ho Bynum's excellent essay on the new Cecil Taylor release from 1973. The context is Cecil, but the notion is universal:

There is an element of improvisation, especially when so expertly realized, that is akin to meditation. You are aware of all the thoughts floating through your head but continually letting them go to connect to the present moment, as a performer and a listener. Thoughts, fears, anxieties all inevitably arise—the brain does work at a furious pace—and by welcoming them, accepting them, articulating them, we can let them go. We can work out the puzzles of our own minds, embrace the unknowable together until it’s transformed into a creativity that needs no definition. (Taylor Ho Bynum, "Forty-Four Thoughts for Cecil Taylor," The Baffler (2022-02-22)

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

 

Reading List, Week of 2022-02-20

Reading List 2022-02-21:

*Atkinson, Kate. Transcription (started)
*Shades of Laura: Vladimir Nabokov's Last Novel The Original of Laura, ed. Yuri Leving (started)
*Nabokov, Vladimir. The Original of Laura (reread/started/finished)
*Pynchon, Thomas. Against the Day (reread/finished)
*Shakespeare, William. The Comedy of Errors (Arden 3rd series, ed. Kent Cartwright) (reread/finished)
*Booth, Stephen. Shakespeare's Sonnets (ed. with analytic commentary by Booth) (in progress)
*Shakespeare, William. Sonnets (1609 Quarto) (reread/in progress)
*Shakespeare, William. Sonnets (ed. Helen Vendler) (reread/in progress)
*Winn, John C. Way Beyond Compare: The Beatles' Recorded Legacy, Vol. 1: 1957-1965 (in progress)

Playlist, Week of 2022-02-13

Happy Valentine's Day!

Playlist 2022-02-14:

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

*AMM: Laminal (disc 3)

*Art Ensemble of Chicago: Sirius Calling

*Beach Boys: SMiLE (soniclovenoize reconstruction) (disc 2)

*Anthony Braxton: Composition No. 96

*Anthony Braxton/Joe Morris: Four Improvisations (Duo) 2007 (discs 1, 2, 3)

*Anthony Braxton: 12 Comp (ZIM) 2017 (Comp. 409)

*Burial: Antidawn

*Otis Clay: Trying to Live My Life Without You

*Betty Davis: They Say I'm Different

*Duke Ellington: The Centennial Collection (DVD)

*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Treasury Shows, Vol. 1 (disc 2)

*Duke Ellington: Midnight in Paris

*Family: The Family (sides 1, 2)

*Joe Henderson: The Complete Joe Henderson Blue Note Sessions (disc 4)

*Andrew Hill: Mosaic Select (disc 3)

*Minutemen: 3-Way Tie (For Last)

*Roscoe Mitchell & the Note Factory: Song for My Sister

*Roscoe Mitchell: Dots/For Percussion and Woodwinds

*Hank Mobley: The Complete Hank Mobley Blue Note Sessions 1963-70 (disc 3)

*Mozart: The 5 Violin Concertos (Izhak Perlman/Wiener Philharmoniker) (discs 1, 2)

*Pretty Things: S.F. Sorrow (sides 1, 2)

*Prince & the Revolution: "Mountains (extended version)"/"Alexa de Paris" (side 1)

*Prince: Live Rarities (side 1)

*Prince: Small Club 1988 (disc 1)

*Prince: Welcome 2 America

*Roxy Music: Siren (sides 1, 2)

*Todd Rundgren: A Wizard, A True Star (side 1)

*Sparks: Indiscreet (sides 1, 2)

*Sparks: The Rest of Sparks (sides 1, 2)

*Supremes: 50th Anniversary: The Singles Collection 1961–1969 (disc 2)

*Cecil Taylor: Cecil Taylor Unit (side 1)

*Cecil Taylor Big Band: 1995-07-03 NYC (CDR) (disc 2) Track 1

*Henry Threadgill Ensemble Double Up: Old Locks and Irregular Verbs

*Keith Tippett Tapestry Orchestra: Live at Le Mans (disc 1)

*Various artists: The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz (side 3)

*Various artists: WSAM: A Jackson on the Tape (cassette compilation) (side B)

*Miroslav Vitous: Infinite Search

*Yes: Tales from Topographic Oceans (2016 remaster) (disc 2) "Ritual" 

 

Reading List, Week of 2022-02-13

Reading List 2022-02-14:

*Duffy, Damian and John Jennings. Parable of the Sower (started/finished)
*King, Stephen. The Colorado Kid (started/finished)
*Wyatt, Robert and Alfie Benge. Side by Side: Selected Lyrics (started/finished)
*Booth, Stephen. Shakespeare's Sonnets (ed. with analytic commentary by Booth) (in progress)
*Pynchon, Thomas. Against the Day (reread/in progress)
*Shakespeare, William. The Comedy of Errors (Arden 3rd series, ed. Kent Cartwright) (reread/in progress)
*Shakespeare, William. Sonnets (1609 Quarto) (reread/in progress)
*Shakespeare, William. Sonnets (ed. Helen Vendler) (reread/in progress)
*Winn, John C. Way Beyond Compare: The Beatles' Recorded Legacy, Vol. 1: 1957-1965 (in progress)