Playlist, Week of 2025-08-03

 

 

More of same... and yet so different!

 

Playlist 2025-08-04:

*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1978-10-14 Philadelphia (CDR) (disc 2)
*Derek Bailey: Aida
*Beatles: With the Beatles (2009 stereo remaster) (sides 1, 2)
*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (England) 1985 (discs 1, 2, 3)
*Anthony Braxton: 4 Compositions (Ulrichsberg) 2005 Phonomanie VIII (disc 4)
*Anthony Braxton: 9 Compositions (Iridium) 2006 (selections)
*Ornette Coleman: 1966-02-18 Paris (CDR)
*Lol Coxhill: Digswell Duets
*Miles Davis: Bitches Brew (UltraDisc One-Step) (sides 3, 4)
*Bob Dylan/Various artists: Theme Time Radio Hour S01 E44 "Texas"
*Duke Ellington: The Indispensable Duke Ellington and the Small Groups (Volumes 9/10) 1940-1946 (side 1)
*Duke Ellington: His Piano and His Orchestra at the Bal Masque (side 1)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Festival Session (side 2)
*Duke Ellington: The Girls' Suite/The Perfume Suite
*Duke Ellington: Afro-Bossa
*Duke Ellington: The Great Paris Concert (disc 2)
*Duke Ellington: The Symphonic Ellington
*Grateful Dead: 1969-06-05 Fillmore West, SF (Enjoying the Ride, disc 1)
*Grateful Dead: 1970-02-14 Fillmore East, NYC (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1970-03-24 Dania FL (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Jimi Hendrix: At the Beeb
*Muffins: Baker's Dozen (discs 10, 11)
*Sam Rivers: Contours
*Santana: Moonflower (disc 2)
*Horace Silver Quintet: The Cape Verdean Blues
*Small Faces: Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake
*Steely Dan: Aja
*Sun Ra: Exotica (side 6)
*Sun Ra: Uncharted Passages (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra: Stray Voltage (side 3)
*Sun Ra: 1977-07-08 WKCR-FM, NYC (CDR)
*Cecil Taylor Workshop Ensemble: Melancholy "Sphere No. 2"
*John Zorn: The Interpretation of Dreams

Reading List, Week of 2025-08-03

Reading List 2025-08-04:

*Shakespeare, William. King Lear (Arden 2nd series, ed. Kenneth Muir) (reread/started)
*Melville, Herman. Moby-Dick, or, the Whale (reread/finished)
*Everett, Walter. The Beatles as Musicians: The Quarry Men through Rubber Soul (reread/in progress)
*Lambert, Eddie. Duke Ellington: A Listener's Guide (reread/selections)
*MacDonald, Ian. Revolution in the Head, 3rd ed. (reread/in progress)
*Pollack, Allan W. Notes on … Series (reread/in progress)
*Riley, Tim. Tell Me Why: A Beatles Commentary (reread/in progress)
 

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

Reading List, Week of 2025-07-27

Reading List 2025-07-28:

*Ware, Chris. The Acme Novelty Library (finished)
*Everett, Walter. The Beatles as Musicians: The Quarry Men through Rubber Soul (reread/in progress)
*Lambert, Eddie. Duke Ellington: A Listener's Guide (reread/selections)
*MacDonald, Ian. Revolution in the Head, 3rd ed. (reread/in progress)
*Melville, Herman. Moby-Dick, or, the Whale (reread/in progress)
*Pollack, Allan W. Notes on … Series (reread/in progress)
*Riley, Tim. Tell Me Why: A Beatles Commentary (reread/in progress)
 

Playlist, Week of 2025-07-20

Wonderful music on the two albums of big band cover tunes Duke Ellington recorded for Reprise, which appeared in the albums Will the Big Bands Ever Come Back? and Recollections of the Big Band Era... another master class in the art of arranging, as Ellington and Billy Strayhorn rework the hits of others (like Fletcher Henderson and Cab Calloway) in their own image... I don't know much about the Chicago improvisation group the Hallowed Plant, but there's nice playing on their self-titled release... Amazing how Anthony Braxton just fits right in to the techno-wizardry of Wolf Eyes...

Playlist 2025-07-21:

*Art Bears: Revisited (disc 2)
*Beatles: Magical Mystery Tour (2009 stereo remaster) (sides 1, 2)
*Beatles: Everyday Chemistry (boot CDR)
*Alban Berg: Violin Concerto (BBC Symphony Orchestra)
*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (England) 1985 (discs 4, 5, 6)
*Anthony Braxton  & the Wesleyan Tri-Centric Orchestra: 2011-04-25 Middletown, CT (CDR) (disc 
*Clash: Sound System Extras (disc 1)
*Betty Davis: They Say I'm Different
*Bob Dylan/Various artists: Theme Time Radio Hour S01 E42 "Shoes"
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Three Suites "The Nutcracker Suite"
*Duke Ellington: The Reprise Studio Recordings (disc 1)
*Gentle Giant: 1971-12-12 BBC (CDR)
*Grateful Dead: 1969-12-04 San Francisco (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: Dave's Picks Vol. 19 (1970-01-23 Honolulu) (disc 2) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1970-02-02 St. Louis (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1970-02-05 Fillmore West, SF (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1972-05-16 Luxembourg "The Other One"
*Hallowed Plant: The Hallowed Plant
*Jimi Hendrix: Rainbow Bridge
*Andrew Hill: Compulsion
*Son House: The Legendary Son House Father of Folk Blues
*Bobby Hutcherson: Dialogue
*Roscoe Mitchell and the Note Factory: The Bad Guys
*Muffins: Baker's Dozen (disc 7)
*Charlie Parker: Live Bird Is the Best Bird (CDR compilation) (disc 2)
*Zeena Parkins/Wobbly: Triplicates
*Santana: Moonflower (disc 1)
*Sparks: No. 1 in Heaven (40th Anniversary Ed.) (sides 1, 2)
*Steely Dan: Katy Lied
*Steely Dan: The Royal Scam
*Sun Ra and His Inter-Galactic Research Arkestra: Nuits de la Fondation Maeght (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra: Sleeping Beauty (side 2)
*Sun Ra: Stray Voltage (side 2)
*Sun Ra: Kingdom of Discipline (side 1)
*UYA: 1993-12-05 Bulge Manipulator (wav)
*Muddy Waters: The Best of Muddy Waters
*Wolf Eyes/Anthony Braxton: Live at Pioneer Works, Red Hook, NY, October 26th 2023
*Stevie Wonder: Music of My Mind (side 1)
*Yes: 1974-11-20 NYC (disc 1) "Gates of Delirium"
*Frank Zappa: Cheaper than Cheep (discs 1, 2)

Reading List, Week of 2025-07-20

I have started a reading project I've been wanting to do for some time: a consecutive romp through every song in the Beatles catalogue, as covered by four sources: Alan W. Pollacks' classic Notes on ... Series (only available on the web), Tim Riley's Tell Me Why, Walter Everett's The Beatles as Musicians, and Ian MacDonald's Revolution in Your Head (3rd ed.)... Spurred on by reading John & Paul as well as the works of saki (from the days of rmb)... Yes, I am still obsessed... As Ian Leslie demonstrates in John & Paul, there's still plenty to say about this music... now, just waiting for Lewisohn... 

Reading List 2025-07-21:

*Everett, Walter. The Beatles as Musicians: The Quarry Men through Rubber Soul (reread/started)
*MacDonald, Ian. Revolution in the Head, 3rd ed. (reread/started)
*Melville, Herman. Moby-Dick, or, the Whale (reread/started)
*Pollack, Allan W. Notes on … Series (reread/started)
*Riley, Tim. Tell Me Why: A Beatles Commentary (reread/started)
*Ware, Chris. The Acme Novelty Library (started)
*Ditko, Steve, John Romita, and Stan Lee. Essential Spider-Man, Vol. 2 (reread/finished)
*Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing (Arden 2nd ed., ed. A.R. Humphreys) (reread/finished)
*Sorrentino, Gilbert. Gold Fools (reread/finished)
*Lambert, Eddie. Duke Ellington: A Listener's Guide (reread/selections)

Playlist, Week of 2025-07-13

Stray Voltage is an excellent collection of primarily solo keyboard (mostly synth and organ), both studio and live, with a few random instruments thrown in occasionally on the live tracks... excellent liner notes from Brian Kehew detailing the instruments and what context could be provided (most of the recording details are vague)... I personally can't get enough of this stuff... Pat Thomas and Alex Ward (on clarinet) feature prominently on the Locals recording of Anthony Braxton compositions... they approach them with a combo dance/harmolodic take that is a delightful groove... In "Dark Star" territory, nearing the end of Tom Constanten's stint with the Dead... I like his playing but I have to say I don't think he added that much overall, and he's often buried in the mix... things will pick up in 1972 and '73!... 

Playlist 2025-07-14:

*AcidMothersGuruGuru: Guru Guru Fest 2010
*Beatles: The Beatles' Second Album (mono 2024) (sides 1, 2)
*Beatles: Something New (mono 2024) (sides 1, 2)
*Anthony Braxton/Richard Teitelbaum: Silence/Time Zones "Behmoth Dreams"
*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (England) 1985 (discs 1, 2, 3)
*Gerald Cleaver: 22/23
*Creative Construction Company: Creative Construction Company Vol. II "No More White Gloves, Pt. 2"
*Duke Ellington and His Award Winners: Blues in Orbit (side 2)
*Duke Ellington: The Girls' Suite/The Perfume Suite (sides 1, 2)
*Duke Ellington: Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins
*Duke Ellington/John Coltrane: Duke Ellington & John Coltrane
*Grateful Dead: 1969-12-30 Boston (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1970-01-02 Fillmore East (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1970-01-17 Corvallis OR (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Al Green: The Belle Album
*Hemphill Stringtet: Plays the Music of Julius Hemphill
*Andrew Hill: Andrew!
*Freddie Hubbard: Breaking Point
*John Lennon: Rock 'n' Roll (sides 1, 2)
*Locals: Play the Music of Anthony Braxton
*Masayo Koketsu/Nava Dunkelman/Tim Berne: Poiēsis
*Charles Mingus: Rarities 1946-1977 (disc 1)
*Muffins: Baker's Dozen (disc 6)
*New Ting: 2025-06-23 "Warbling Bunting" (wav)
*Charlie Parker: Live Bird Is the Best Bird (CDR compilation) (disc 1)
*Mario Pavone/Dialect Trio +1: Blue Vertical
*Satoku Fujii/Myra Melford: Under the Water
*Ravi Shankar: Three Ragas
*Elliott Sharp/Scott Fields: Réimsí Géara
*Tyshawn Sorey: The Inner Spectrum of Variables (disc 2) "Movement V + VI + Reprise"
*Sparks: MAD! (sides 1, 2)
*Steely Dan: Countdown to Ecstasy
*Sun Ra: Exotica (sides 3, 4, 5, 6)
*Sun Ra: Stray Voltage (sides 1, 3, 4)
*Cecil Taylor Big Band: 1995-07-03 NYC (CDR) (disc 1)
*UYA: 1993-12-02 It's Butter Now Isn't It? (wav)
*Various artists: WSAM: Misc. (cassette compilation) (side B)
*John Zorn: Interzone