Playlist, Week of 2026-10-18

 

The Tone Poet edition of Andrew Hill's Compulsion sounds fantastic... John Gilmore's tenor sax and bass clarinet are clear and focused... in fact, "Premonition" has one of Gilmore's greatest bass clarinet solos ever... And damn, Pat Thomas is on fire, as always, with [Ahmed], but also with the Tony Oxley/Derek Bailey Quartet, and in duo with Tyshawn Sorey on Red Sulphur... and on that, Sorey fits perfectly into Thomas's universe... 

Playlist 2026-10-19:

*[Ahmed]: New Jazz Imagination
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: We Are on the Edge: A 50th Anniversary Celebration (discs 1, 2)
*Beatles: Rubber Soul (Special Edition) (disc 1)
*Anthony Braxton: The Complete Arista Recordings of Anthony Braxton (disc 1)
*Sam Byrd/Jimmy Ghaphery/Eric Helm: 2026-06-13 Richmond VA (CDR)
*Kris Davis Trio: Lost in Geneva
*Miles Davis: Collector's Items (side 4)
*Miles Davis Quintet: Miles in France 1963 & 1964: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8 (disc 5)
*Miles Davis: 1972-09-10 Ann Arbor (CDR)
*Deerhoof: Deerhoof and the Sound Sanctuary
*Deerhoof: Divine Schism
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Treasury Shows, Vol. 16 (disc 1)
*Duke Ellington: Rare Broadcast Recordings 1951
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Ellington Suites (sides 1, 2)
*Duke Ellington: …And His Mother Called Him Bill (side 2)
*Grateful Dead: 1983-09-11 Santa Fe, NM (CDR) (disc 3)
*Andrew Hill: Compulsion (sides 1, 2)
*Rob Mazurek/Exploding Star Orchestra: Dimensional Stardust
*Ikue Mori: Enchanted and Delighted
*OM: Willisau
*Tony Oxley/Derek Bailey Quartet: 1993-09 Crawley, England (CDR)
*Django Reinhardt: The Classic Early Recordings in Chronological Order (disc 2)
*Tyshawn Sorey/Pat Thomas: Red Sulphur
*Sun Ra & His Astro-Infinity Arkestra: Sign of the Myth (side 1)
*Sun Ra: At the Showcase: Live in Chicago 1976-1977 (disc 1)
*Cecil Taylor: Live at Fat Tuesday's, February 10, 1980: First Visit 
*Cecil Taylor Orchestra Humane: At Iridium 2004 (disc 9)
*David Torn/Tim Berne/Ches Smith: Sun Of Goldfinger "Spartan, Before It Hit"
*David Tudor et al.: Music from the Tudorfest (disc 3)
*UYA: 1995-03-23 The Day Before Tomorrow (wav)
*Various artists: Stax Singles Vol. 4: Rarities and the Best of the Rest (disc 5)
*Various artists: On Prestige: Recorded by Rudy Van Gelder (discs 1, 2)
*Dennis Wilson: Pacific Ocean Blue (disc 1)
*Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life: The EP
*Yes: Tales from Topographic Oceans (Super Deluxe Ed.) (disc 4) "Ritual"

Reading List, Week of 2026-10-18

Reading List 2026-10-19: 

*Schultz, Mark. Xenozoic (started)
*Vollmann, William T. Fathers and Crows (Seven Dreams: A Book of North American Landscapes, Vol. 2) (started)
*Barker, Nicola. Burley Cross Postbox Theft (started/finished)
*Brubaker, Ed, and Sean Phillips. Criminal, Vol. 7: Wrong Time, Wrong Place (started/finished)
*Brubaker, Ed, and Sean Phillips. Criminal, Vol. 8: My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies (started/finished)
*Bishop, John. Joyce's Book of the Dark, Finnegans Wake (reread/in progress)
*The Dhammapada: Verses on the Way (transl. Glenn Wallis) (in progress)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)
*Sun Ra. The Immeasurable Equation: The Collected Poetry and Prose (reread/in progress)
 

Playlist, Week of 2026-10-11

 

Aretha Franklin's not my favorite female soul singer by a long shot, but damn, this is a great album... Life goes on...

Playlist 2026-10-12:

*[Ahmed]: Giant Beauty (disc 1)
*And Big Band: 2026-08-28 RVA (wav)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: Nice Guys (side 2)
*Beatles: Something New (sides 1, 2)
*Beatles: Beatles VI (sides 1, 2)
*Beatles: Rubber Soul (Special Edition) (disc 2)
*Anthony Braxton: 4 (Ensemble) Compositions 1992 "Comp. 96"
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium R: Composition 162 - An Opera in Four Acts/Shala Fears for the Poor (disc 3)
*Gerald Cleaver: Adjust
*Nels Cline: The Inkling
*John Coltrane: Giant Steps (side 1)
*Cream: Wheels of Fire (Super Deluxe Ed.) (disc 5)
*Duke Ellington: Blues in Orbit (sides 1, 2)
*Duke Ellington: The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse (side 1)
*Aretha Franklin: Young, Gifted, and Black (side 1)
*Fire! Orchestra: Echoes (disc 2)
*Goal Weight: Keep Telling Yourself That
*Alexander Hawkins/Sofia Jernberg: Musho
*Noah Howard: Patterns/Message to South Africa
*Paul McCartney: The Boys of Dungeon Lane
*Myra Melford's Fire and Water Quintet: Hear the Light Singing
*Rob Mazurek Exploding Star Orchestra: Galactic Parables: Vol. 1 (disc 2)
*Ava Mendoza: Alive Alone, Alive Together
*OOIOO: Gold & Green
*Prince: Timeless
*Prince: Calabama EP
*Rova/Nels Cline Singers: The Celestial Septet
*Michael Sarian: The Sea, the Space, and Egypt, Vol. 1
*Sun Ra: Jazz by Sun Ra, Vol. 1 [Sun Song] (side 1)
*Sun Ra: The Universe Sent Me (The Lost Reel Collection, Vol. 5)
*Sun Ra: Do the Impossible: Original Soundtrack to the Documentary (discs 1, 2)
*Sun Ra: Elliptical Orbits
*Cecil Taylor Orchestra Humane: At Iridium 2004 (disc 3)
*UYA: 1995-03-02 Wet Bottom Slap (wav)
*Various artists: Stax Singles Vol. 4: Rarities and the Best of the Rest (disc 4)
*Dionne Warwick: Make Way for Dionne Warwick (sides 1, 2)
*Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life (disc 1)
*Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life: The EP
*XTC: Apple Venus, Vol. 1 (side 2) 

Reading List, Week of 2026-10-11

Did I understand it any more than the other times? Maybe a little, but mostly: nah. Still fun to read? Hell, yeah, and I'll do it again... again!

Reading List 2026-10-12: 

*Bishop, John. Joyce's Book of the Dark, Finnegans Wake (reread/started)
*The Dhammapada: Verses on the Way (transl. Glenn Wallis) (started)
*Harrow, Alix E. A Spindle Splintered (started/finished)
*Harrow, Alix E. A Mirror Mended (started/finished)
*Joyce, James. Finnegans Wake (reread/finished)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)
*Sun Ra. The Immeasurable Equation: The Collected Poetry and Prose (reread/in progress)
 

Playlist, Week of 2026-10-04

Well, the new Stevie Wonder EP came out of the blue, and it's, uh, wonder-ful (sorry)... truly, balm for the soul... I can't help but wonder why on earth he didn't put these four songs on the original LP instead of the relatively lackluster ones he chose for the bonus 7-inch, but oh well... I'm certainly glad to have these now... he just sounds so damn good... 

Playlist 2026-10-05:

*Burt Bacharach: Reach Out (side 1)
*Beach Boys: Spirit of America (sides 1, 2)
*Beatles: Beatles '65 (sides 1, 2)
*Daniel Carter: Open Question, Vol. 1
*John Coltrane: The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings (disc 3)
*Deerhoof: Divine Schism
*Bob Dylan: New Morning
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Three Suites "The Nutcracker Suite"
*Duke Ellington: All American in Jazz
*Duke Ellington: Blues in Orbit (sides 1, 2)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Ellington Suites (side 1)
*Duke Ellington: The Seattle Concert "Harlem Suite"
*Duke Ellington: In the Uncommon Market
*Duke Ellington: …And His Mother Called Him Bill (side 1)
*Fire! Orchestra: Echoes (disc 1)
*Aretha Franklin: Young, Gifted, and Black (side 1)
*Grateful Dead: 1983-09-11 Santa Fe, NM (CDR) (disc 2)
*Andrew Hill: Compulsion (sides 1, 2)
*ILLnillaVice: Soundcloud selections (streaming)
*New Ting: 2024-08-04 "Merely a Rather Uninteresting Symbol" (wav)
*OOIOO: Armonico Hewa
*Otomo Yoshihide's New Jazz Quintet: Hat and Beard
*Sun Ra: 1980-03-28 Rome (CDR) (disc 2)
*Weather Report: Heavy Weather
*Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life: The EP

Reading List, Week of 2026-10-04

...and again...

Reading List 2026-10-05:

*Sun Ra. The Immeasurable Equation: The Collected Poetry and Prose (reread/started)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)
*Joyce, James. Finnegans Wake (reread/in progress)
 

Some Recent Purchases

 

 

Nice to have these on vinyl...