Playlist, Week of 2026-08-02

 

 

 

I finally finished relistening to all the Grateful Dead versions of "Dark Star," along with reading the very helpful blog Every Dark Star... my main takeaway is that the best ones were from the period 1972-1974, when Bill Kreutzmann was the only drummer and they were still using "Dark Star" as an exploratory platform... when they returned to it after a long haitus, the magic was mostly gone, and they didn't seem to be inspired by it the way they were in the early '70s... even so, there are surprising nooks and crannies in most versions, even in the late '90s... I am looking forward to exploring other improvisational areas they created, especially in "Playing in the Band" and "The Other One"...

Playlist 2026-08-03:

*Ayumi Ishito: Roboquarians, Vol. 2
*Anthony Braxton: Creative Orchestra (Köln) 1978 "Comp. 51"
*Rodger Coleman/Sam Byrd: Unheard Voices
*Duke Ellington: Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band, 1940-1942 (disc 3)
*Duke Ellington: Duke Ellington Live! At the Newport Jazz Festival '59 (selections)
*Duke Ellington: The Far East Suite
*Aretha Franklin: Young, Gifted, and Black (side 2)
*Grateful Dead: 1994-03-16 Rosemont IL (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1994-03-30 Atlanta (CDR) "Dark Star"
*OM: Willisau
*OOIOO: The Horizon Spiral
*Ravi Shankar: Three Ragas "Raga Jog"
*Sun Ra: Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Strut) (disc 2)
*Sun Ra: On Jupiter (2025 remaster) (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-31 Detroit (CDR) (disc 5)
*Art Tatum: The One and Only (sides 1, 2, 3, 4)
*Cecil Taylor Orchestra Humane: At Iridium 2004 (disc 11)
*Henry Threadgill: Double Up, Plays Double Up Plus "Game Is Up"
*UYA: 1995-02-26 New Space Quiet Run (wav)
*UYA: 1995-03-08 Think Object (wav)
*Various artists: The Complete Stax-Volt Singles 1959-1968 (disc 2)
*Stevie Wonder: 1975-07-16 Bremen (CDR)
*Stevie Wonder: Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants (discs 1, 2) 

Reading List, Week of 2026-08-02

Reading List 2026-08-03:

*Tynion IV, James, et al. The Nice House on the Lake, Vol. 2 (started/finished)
*Christgau, Robert. Is It Still Good to Ya? Fifty Years of Rock Criticism, 1967-2017 (finished)
*Kirby, Jack. Jack Kirby's Mister Miracle (reread/finished)
*Barker, Nicola. Darkmans (in progress)
*Birkerts, Sven. American Energies: Essays on Fiction (in progress)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)
 

Razzjock

 

Not sure if I totally agree with this statement (I can think of exceptions to each side of the argument), but it does make me think:

...it points to a major difference between rock and jazz. Rock works best when it focuses and directs the desires of listeners, while the pleasures of jazz center on its capacity to encourage free intellectual and emotional play.  (Michael Jarrett, "Jazz Reissues," Pulse! 1993-09)

Playlist, Week of 2026-07-26

 

Brilliant solo guitar work from Alex Ward on The Trade... Ward is also one of the best writers on the work of Cecil Taylor... I wonder what he's making of the Iridium set, which continues to blow me away... Still digging into Pat Thomas... ISM is the piano trio nugget of Ahmed (minus the sax)... Metaphor is a healthy dose of Thomas's acoustic piano work, and it's exhilarating... Another great Thomas performance is on Tony Oxley's Angular Apron...

Playlist 2026-07-27:

*Muhal Richard Abrams: Lifea Blinec (side 1)
*Booker T. & the MGs: Union Extended
*Anthony Braxton: Anthony Braxton (BYG) "[Comp. 6G] B-X0 NO-47A"
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium R: Composition 162: An Opera in Four Acts/Shala Fears for the Poor (disc 2)
*Sonny Clark: Cool Struttin'
*Miles Davis: 1966-05-21 Portland OR (CDR) (disc 2)
*Miles Davis: Big Fun (sides 2, 4)
*Duke Ellington: Rare Strayhorn: Billy Strayhorn with Duke Ellington 1941-1965
*Duke Ellington: Soul Call
*Aretha Franklin: Aretha Arrives (side 2)
*Aretha Franklin: Young, Gifted, and Black (side 1)
*Grateful Dead: 1993-06-23 Deep Creek IN (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1993-09-13 Philadelphia (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1993-09-22 New York City (CDR) "Estimated Prophet > Dark Star"
*Guided By Voices: Crawlspace of the Pantheon
*Kip Hanrahan: 1991 Stuttgart (CDR)
*Henry Now: Then Again (side 1)
*Susie Ibarra: Flower after Flower
*ISM: Metaphor
*Lost: Lost Tapes 1965-'66
*Ava Mendoza: Alive Alone, Alive Together
*Merzbow: Tauromachine (disc 1)
*Charles Mingus Quintet: 1975-05-07 Boston (CDR)
*Thelonious Monk Quartet: Misterioso
*Naked City: Absinthe
*Naked City: Leng Tch'e
*Pauline Oliveros: Reverberations: Tape & Electronic Music 1961-1970 (disc 6)
*Orthotonics: Wake Up You Must Remember
*Tony Oxley Quintet: Angular Apron
*Bud Powell: The Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 3: Bud!
*Soft Machine: Floating World Live
*Soojin Suh: Prism of Existence
*Sun Ra: East Two +5 (side 1)
*Sun Ra: Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Strut) (disc 1)
*Sun Ra: Sleeping Beauty (2026 remaster)
*Sun Ra: On Jupiter (2025 remaster)
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-31 Detroit (CDR) (disc 4)
*Cecil Taylor: Fragments: The Complete 1969 Salle Pleyel Concerts (disc 1)
*Cecil Taylor Orchestra Humane: At Iridium 2004 (disc 10)
*Pat Thomas & XT: Strata, Act (Joy Contemporary)* (disc 3)
*Various artists: Masters of the Venetian Baroque: Gabrieli, Monteverdi, and Vivaldi
*Various artists: A Bolus of Pop Chyme/7-Inchers of Pleasure (cassette compilation) (side B)
*Alex Ward: The Trade

Reading List, Week of 2026-07-26

Reading List 2026-07-27:

*Barker, Nicola. Darkmans (started)
*Birkerts, Sven. American Energies: Essays on Fiction (started)
*Kirby, Jack. Jack Kirby's Mister Miracle (reread/started)
*Barker, Nicola. Clear: A Transparent Novel (started/finished)
*Barnes, Julian. The Sense of an Ending (started/finished)
*Brubaker, Ed, and Sean Phillips. Criminal, Vol. 1: Coward (started/finished)
*Brubaker, Ed, and Sean Phillips. Criminal, Vol. 2: Lawless (started/finished)
*Brubaker, Ed, and Sean Phillips. Criminal, Vol. 3: The Dead and the Dying (started/finished)
*Tynion IV, James, et al. The Nice House on the Lake, Vol. 1 (started/finished)
*Barker, Nicola. Wide Open (finished)
*Schoenbaum, S. Internal Evidence and Elizabethan Dramatic Authorship (finished)
*Christgau, Robert. Is It Still Good to Ya? Fifty Years of Rock Criticism, 1967-2017 (in progress)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)
 

Playlist, Week of 2026-07-19

The new reissue of Sun Ra's Somewhere Over the Rainbow on Strut is marvelous... a generous fleshing out of material from the same 1977 gig used for the original Saturn LP... the additional material includes a few original compositions, some great band improvisations, and lots of John Gilmore... just a typical show for the Arkestra from Bloomington, Indiana: but what a show! ...nice liner notes from Chris Cutler as well...

Playlist 2026-07-20:

*Beatles: Meet the Beatles (Capitol CD stereo)
*Beatles: The Beatles' Second Album (Capitol CD mono)
*Beatles: Something New (Capitol CD)
*Beatles: Abbey Road (Anniversary Edition) (Blu-ray) (selections)
*John Butcher/Gino Robair/Matthew Sperry: 12 Milagritos
*Sonny Clark: The Complete Sonny Clark Blue Note Sessions (disc 4)
*Gerald Cleaver: Adjust
*Cream: Wheels of Fire (Super Deluxe Ed.) (disc 4)
*Earth Wind and Fire: All 'n All
*Earth Wind and Fire: Faces (selections)
*Duke Ellington: The Indispensable Duke Ellington and the Small Groups (Vol. 9/10) 1940-1946 (side 1)
*Aretha Franklin: Aretha Arrives (side 1)
*Jimmy Ghaphery: Fog
*Grateful Dead: 1981-05-01 Hampton VA (CDR) (disc 1)
*Grateful Dead: 1992-12-12 Oakland (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1993-03-17 Landover MD (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: Dick's Picks 27 (1992-12-16 Oakland) (disc 3) "Dark Star"
*Alexander Hawkins: No Nation But Imagination
*Ingrid Laubrock: Contemporary Chaos Practices
*Naked City: Radio
*New Ting: 2026-02-23 "My Dear What Is That Plant?" (wav)
*New Ting: 2026-05-04 "Watering Can Holler" (wav)
*New Ting: 2026-07-13 "Funnelphonic" (wav)
*Nurse With Wound: Spiral Insana
*Panda Bear: Person Pitch
*Pauline Oliveros: Reverberations: Tape & Electronic Music 1961-1970 (disc 5)
*Sparks: Introducing Sparks (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra: Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Strut) (discs 1, 2)
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-31 Detroit (CDR) (disc 3)
*Cecil Taylor Orchestra Humane: At Iridium 2004 (discs 8, 9)
*David Tudor et al.: Music from the Tudorfest (disc 2)
*UYA: 1995-02-16 No Guitar (wav)
*Various artists: The Complete Stax-Volt Singles 1959-1968 (disc 1)
*Various artists: Wavelength Infinity: A Sun Ra Tribute (disc 2)
*Weather Report: Mr. Gone

Reading List, Week of 2026-07-19

Reading List 2026-07-20:

*Barker, Nicola. Wide Open (started)
*Schoenbaum, S. Internal Evidence and Elizabethan Dramatic Authorship (started)
*Smith, Ali. Glyph (started/finished)
*Brainard, Joe. The Complete C Comics (finished)
*Ellroy, James. Red Sheet (finished)
*Kirby, Jack. Jack Kirby's Forever People (reread/finished)
*Styan, J. L. The Shakespeare Revolution: Criticism and Performance in the Twentieth Century (finished)
*Christgau, Robert. Is It Still Good to Ya? Fifty Years of Rock Criticism, 1967-2017 (in progress)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)