Playlist, Week of 2026-03-01

I have really been enjoying the Music on Vinyl reissue of Hatfield and the North's classic album The Rotter's Club, certainly one of my favorite records of all time... thanks forever, Tom, for turning me on to this way back when... this new pressing is crystal clear, really putting the original Virgin vinyl to shame... also enjoyable is Sinclair and the South, Hatfield bassist Richard Sinclair's curated recreation of the album using fan-created selections... thanks, Jeff, for that gift!... my favorite tracks are the ones that don't try to exactly copy the instrumentation or arrangements of the original... the absolute best is Raymond Benson's solo piano version of "Fitter Stoke Has a Bath"... we certainly enjoyed it... In other listening, though, I am finding it hard to pull myself away from Sun Ra... one thing leads to another, and it's all so damn good... 

Playlist 2026-03-02:

*[Ahmed]: Sama'a [Audition] "Isma'a [Listen]"
*AMM: Ammmusic "After Rapidly Circling the Plaza"
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1985-03-29 Cambridge MA (CDR) (discs 1, 2)
*Beach Boys: We Gotta Groove: The Brother Studio Years (discs 1, 2, 3) (selections)
*Tim Berne's Snakeoil: Incidentals "Sideshow"
*Anthony Braxton: Tentet (New York) 1995
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium X (disc 3)
*Deerhoof: Miracle-Level
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: A Drum Is a Woman (side 1)
*Duke Ellington: The Private Collection, Vol. 10: Studio Sessions
*Exploding Star Orchestra: Stars Have Shapes "Three Blocks of Light"
*Gang of Four: Songs of the Free (side 1)
*Jimmy Ghaphery/Sam Byrd: 2026-02-14 Richmond (wav)
*Globe Unity: Jahrmarkt/Local Fair
*Grateful Dead: 1973-03-16 Long Island, NY (CDR) (disc 3) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1973-03-21 Utica, NY (CDR) (disc 3) "Dark Star"
*Jefferson Pilot: Spirit of '77
*Layers of Memory: 2019-12-07 RVA (wav)"Improvisation No. 2"
*Thelonious Monk: Bremen 1965 (discs 1, 2)
*Amina Claudine Myers: Solace of the Mind
*New Ting: 2025-12-01 "Gettin' with the Modern Boys" (wav)
*New Ting: 2026-02-23 "My Dear What Is That Plant?" (wav)
*Eddie Prévost et al.: The Secret Handshake With Danger, Vol. 2
*Roxy Music: Siren (side 2)
*Ravi Shankar: Live At Monterey 1967 "Raga Todi, Rupak Tal"
*Soft Machine: 1967-10 Paris (CDR)
*Sparks: In Outer Space (sides 1, 2)
*Bruce Springsteen: The Ties That Bind: The River Collection (disc 4)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Supersonic Jazz (21st Century Expanded Ed.) (disc 2)
*Sun Ra: Sound Sun Pleasure
*Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra: Other Planes of There "Other Planes of There"
*Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra: When Angels Speak of Love (side 1)
*Sun Ra: Spaceways (1968 film soundtrack)
*Sun Ra: Space Probe
*Sun Ra: Concert for the Comet Kohoutek
*Sun Ra and His Intergalactic Myth Science Arkestra: 1975-01-30 Cleveland (CDR)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Lost Arkestra, Pt. 1
*Sun Ra Arkestra: Reflections in Blue
*Sun Ra: Stray Voltage (disc 2)
*Cecil Taylor Quintet: 1965-07-02 Newport (CDR) "Tales (8 Whisps)"
*Cecil Taylor Workshop Ensemble: Legba Crossing
*Various artists: The Bottle Tapes: Selections from the Empty Bottle Jazz and Improvised Music Series 1996-2005 (discs 4, 5, 6)
*Yes: Tales from Topographic Oceans (Super Deluxe Ed.) (disc 2) 
 

Reading List, Week of 2026-03-01

Reading List 2026-03-02:

*Pynchon, Thomas. Shadow Ticket (reread/started)
*Leonard, Elmore. Last Stand at Saber River (started/finished)
*Tosches, Nick. Trinities (finished)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)
*Herriman, George. Krazy and Ignatz: Shed a Soft Mongolian Tear: The Komplete Kat Komics, Vol. 9: 1924 (in progress)
*Shakespeare, William. Measure for Measure (Arden 3rd series, ed. A.R. Braunmuller and Robert N. Watson) (reread/in progress)
*Stein, Gertrude. The Making of Americans (in progress)
 

Playlist, Week of 2026-02-22

 

I have really been enjoying Rodger Coleman's cassette release Journey to Brno... it's a compilation of various solo electronic pieces he put together from 2018 to 2024... Moog, other synthesizer sounds, lots of electronic settings I can't begin to understand, in a pleasing sonic brew... similar in many ways to the aural landscapes he'd come up with for many of our duo recordings... hearing it makes me itch to play... these are beautiful sounds, electronics with the human touch of selection and a sense of dynamics and structure... I really enjoyed the PBS documentary Sun Ra: Do the Impossible (streaming here), even though I am not the intended audience...  Not as much Duke Ellington this week, but lots of Ra... and man A Drum Is a Woman continues to intrigue me... 

Playlist 2026-02-23:

*Art Ensemble of Chicago: People in Sorrow (sides 1, 2)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1980-10-05 Atlanta (CDR) (disc 1) "Moornoats"
*B-52s: Whammy!
*Beach Boys: We Gotta Groove: The Brother Studio Years (discs 1, 2, 3) (selections)
*Beatles: Help! (2009 mono remaster)
*Beatles: Mono Masters (disc 2)
*Tim Berne's Snakeoil: Shadow Man "Cornered (Duck)"
*Tim Berne's Snakeoil: Incidentals "Sideshow"
*Anthony Braxton: This Time… (side 2)
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium X (disc 2)
*Clifford Brown/Max Roach: Clifford Brown and Max Roach
*Rodger Coleman: Journey to Brno (cassette) (sides A, B)
*Miles Davis: The Complete On the Corner Sessions (disc 1) "On the Corner (Unedited Master)"
*Death Grips: The Money Store
*Deerhoof: Miracle-Level (sides 1, 2)
*Walt Dickerson Quartet: Impressions of A Patch of Blue
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: A Drum Is a Woman (side 2)
*Duke Ellington: The Private Collection, Vol. 9: Studio Sessions New York 1968
*Grateful Dead: 1969-12-04 San Francisco (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1973-02-22 Champaign-Urbana, IL (CDR) (disc 2) "Dark Star > Eyes of the World"
*Grateful Dead: Dick's Picks 28 (1973-02-26 Salt Lake City) "Dark Star"
*Gulph of Berlin: Gulph of Berlin
*Hatfield and the North: The Rotters' Club (50th Anniversary Ed.) (sides 1, 4)
*Peter Kowald: 1981-12-03 Köln (CDR)
*Brandon Lopez: Nada Sagrada
*Thomas Morgan: Around You Is a Forest
*Muffins: Baker's Dozen (disc 7)
*New Ting: 2026-02-16 "Apparently Prevalent Barnyard" (wav)
*Okuden: Every Dog Has Its Day but It Doesn't Matter because Fat Cat Is Getting Fatter (disc 1)
*Eddie Prévost et al.: The Secret Handshake With Danger, Vol. 1
*Sergei Rachmaninov: David Helfgott Plays Rachmaninov
*Tomeka Reid Quartet: Dance! Skip! Hop!
*Sensational Guitars of Dan & Dale: Batman and Robin
*Sonny Sharrock: Black Woman
*Sinclair and the South: The Rotters' Club (50th Anniversary)
*Sun Ra: Jazz by Sun Ra, Vol. 1 [Sun Song] (side 2)
*Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra: When Sun Comes Out (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra: Secrets of the Sun "Flight to Mars"
*Sun Ra and His Astro Ihnfinity Arkestra: The Intergalactic Thing (side 2)
*Sun Ra: Discipline 27-II
*Sun Ra: Crystal Spears (Remastered)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Some Blues But Not the Kind That's Blue
*Sun Ra: Strange Celestial Road (side 2)
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-26 Detroit (CDR) (disc 1)
*Sun Ra: Stray Voltage (disc 1)
*Craig Taborn: Dream Archives
*UYA: Improvisations 4 (1990-1992) (CDR compilation) "Black Drone"
*UYA: 1994-07-21 Want a Bag? (wav)
*UYA: 1994-07-25/26 The Dancing Shadow of Your Smell (wav)
*Wrens: Half of What You See
*Yes: Tales from Topographic Oceans (Super Deluxe Ed.) (disc 1)

Reading List, Week of 2026-02-22

Reading List 2026-02-23:

*Herriman, George. Krazy and Ignatz: Shed a Soft Mongolian Tear: The Komplete Kat Komics, Vol. 9: 1924 (started)
*Shakespeare, William. Measure for Measure (Arden 3rd series, ed. A.R. Braunmuller and Robert N. Watson) (reread/started)
*Tosches, Nick. Trinities (started)
*Garber, Marjorie. “The Winter's Tale” in Shakespeare After All (reread/started/finished)
*Martin, George R.R. and Raya Golden. Starport (started/finished)
*Herriman, George. Krazy and Ignatz: Inna Yott on the Muddy Geranium: The Komplete Kat Komics, Vol. 8: 1923 (finished)
*Shakespeare, William. The Winter's Tale (Arden 3rd series, ed. John Pitcher) (reread/finished)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)
*Stein, Gertrude. The Making of Americans (in progress)
 

Playlist, Week of 2026-02-15

The Ellington Era is an excellent three-record compilation of Duke Ellington's work on Columbia (and Okeh) that Columbia never deemed fit to release on CD, instead scattering its contents on various other compilations, some more obscure than others... lots of gold here, including the original 1937 versions of "Diminuendo in Blue" and "Crescendo in Blue," which are great even without the Paul Gonsalves tenor sax interlude added for Newport...  Wrapping up 1972 for "Dark Star," on to 1973... the two greatest years for that mammoth space ditty... I love the Sun Ra rehearsal recordings on releases like The Intergalactic Thing... it still amazes me how many of his compositions were diligently rehearsed that we rarely got to hear... 

Playlist 2026-02-16:

*[Ahmed]: Wood Blues
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1980-10-05 Atlanta (CDR) (disc 1)
*Beach Boys: We Gotta Groove: The Brother Studio Years (discs 1, 2, 3)
*Beatles: Anthology 4 (disc 1)
*Booker T. & the MGs: Time Is Tight (disc 2)
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium X (disc 1)
*Circle: 1971-03-04 Hamburg (CDR) "There Is No Greater Love"
*Gerald Cleaver/Brandon Lopez/Hprizm: In the Wilderness
*Nat King Cole: Just One of Those Things (and More)
*Kris Davis/Lutosławski Quartet: The Solastalgia Suite
*Deepstaria Enigmatica: The Eternal Now is the Heart of a New Tomorrow
*Walt Dickerson Quartet: Impressions of A Patch of Blue
*Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra: The Ellington Era, Vol. 1: 1927-1940 (sides 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: A Drum Is a Woman (side 1)
*Duke Ellington: The Private Collection, Vol. 7: Studio Sessions
*Duke Ellington: The Private Collection, Vol. 8: Studio Sessions
*Grateful Dead: Listen to the River: St. Louis '71 '72 '73 (disc 10)
*Grateful Dead: 1972-11-26 San Antonio (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1972-12-11 Winterland, SF (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1972-12-15 Long Beach, CA (CDR) "Jam > Dark Star"
*Hatfield and the North: The Rotters' Club (50th Anniversary Ed.) (side 2)
*Heldon: "Allez-Téia"
*Joe Henderson: Mode for Joe
*Bobby Hutcherson: Oblique
*Joëlle Léandre/Jérôme Bourdellon: Evidence
*Charles Mingus: Mingus in Argentina: The Buenos Aires Concerts (disc 2)
*New Ting: 2026-01-19 "According" (wav)
*Rova Saxophone Quartet/Kyle Bruckmann/Henry Kaiser: Steve Lacy's Saxophone Special Revisited
*Wayne Shorter: The All Seeing Eye
*Sinclair and the South: The Rotters' Club (50th Anniversary)
*Sparks: Live at the Record Plant 1974 (side 1)
*Sun Ra and His Astro Ihnfinity Arkestra: The Intergalactic Thing (side 1)
*Sun Ra: The Antique Blacks "The Antique Blacks Suite"
*Sun Ra: The Soul Vibrations of Man (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra: Strange Celestial Road (side 1)
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: Beyond the Purple Star Zone
*Craig Taborn: Dream Archives
*Cecil Taylor Feel Trio: Two Ts for a Lovely T (disc 3)
*Ben Webster: King of the Tenors
*Yes: Tales from Topographic Oceans (Super Deluxe Ed.) (discs 3, 4, 5, 6)
*John Zorn/Brian Marsella Trio: Calculus "The Ghost of Departed Quantities"

Reading List, Week of 2026-02-15

 

Reading List 2026-02-16:

*Harrow, Alix E. The Everlasting (started/finished)
*Tan Twan Eng.  The Garden of Evening Mists (started/finished)
*Vickers, Brian. "Returning to Shakespeare: An Autobiographical Preface" and "Rites of Passage in Shakespeare's Prose," in Returning to Shakespeare (started/finished)
*Leonard, Elmore. Tishomingo Blues (finished)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)
*Herriman, George. Krazy and Ignatz: Inna Yott on the Muddy Geranium: The Komplete Kat Komics, Vol. 8: 1923 (in progress)
*Shakespeare, William. The Winter's Tale (Arden 3rd series, ed. John Pitcher) (reread/in progress)
*Stein, Gertrude. The Making of Americans (in progress)

Reading At or It

"The Making of Americans" is a very important thing and everybody ought to be reading at or it -- Gertrude Stein, Everybody's Autobiography (1937), quoted in Steven Myer, "Introduction," The Making of Americans p. xiv (Dalkey Archive, 1995)