With and Without

I think the thing that's always fascinated me about records is the play between understanding them as objects of solitary attention and as the focal point of social interaction.  (John Corbett, Vinyl Freak: Love Letters to a Dying Medium, p. 114)

Playlist, Week of 2017-12-24

Holiday greetings to all!... Really digging two of the free Anthony Braxton download offerings from the Tri-Centric Foundation... Creative Music Orchestra (NYC) 2011 is another brilliant large ensemble recording, while Trio (Knoxville) 2016 is a wonderfully innovative with Braxton, Taylor Ho Bynum, and vocalist Kyoko Kitamura, whose singing I have really enjoyed on Trillium J... at times it sounds like she may be incorporating parts of the opera here... Have also enjoyed working my way through the two live evenings of  the Art Ensemble of Chicago from the Empty Foxhole in Philadelphia... They were really on for these... I'm thinking after I do my spin through all my Threadgill recordings I may need to do a second round through all my Art Ensemble ones (and Braxton, and Muhal Richard Abrams)... AACM-related music has given me deep joy throughout the years...

Playlist 2017-12-25:

*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1976-03-14 Philadelphia (CDR) (discs 1, 2)
*Daniel Barbiero/Sam Byrd/Jimmy Ghaphery: 2017-12-02 Rhizome, Washington DC (wav)
*Anthony Braxton: Creative Music Orchestra (NYC) 2011
*Anthony Braxton: Trio (Knoxville) 2016
*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2015-05-14 Nashville (wav)
*Matt Mitchell: A Pouting Grimace
*Henry Threadgill & Make a Move: Everybody's Mouth's a Book
*Henry Threadgill Zooid: 2004-08-13 NYC (CDR)
*Henry Threadgill Zooid: 2007-05-17 NYC (CDR) (disc 1)
*Various artists: Anthology of Noise and Electronic Music vol. 4: Fourth a-chronology 1937-2005 (disc 1)
*Captain Beyond: Captain Beyond
*Bob Dylan: The 1966 Live Recordings (discs 23, 24)
*Mike Elder/Harry Forrest/Greg Jordan/Sam Byrd: 2017-11-17 (wav)
*Fred Frith: Gravity
*Guided By Voices: Earthquake Glue
*Science Faxtion: Living on Another Frequency
*Phil Spector: A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector
*Various artists: Chhalia (soundtrack)
*Various artists: Heeralaal Pannalaal (soundtrack)
*Various artists: Tum Haseen Main Jawan (soundtrack)

Reading List, Week of 2017-12-24

Reading List 2017-12-25:

*Anderson, Sherwood. Winesburg, Ohio (finished)
*Jackson, Holbrook. Anatomy of Bibliomania (in progress)
*Kernfeld, Barry. What to Listen For in Jazz (in progress)
*MacDonald, Ian. Revolution in the Head, 3rd ed. (reread/in progress)

Recordings

Recordings are like high-speed photographs, capturing fast, short-lived phenomena that would otherwise go unnoticed. --Bill Shoemaker, "Page One," Point of Departure, Issue 58 (2017-03)

Reading List, Week of 2017-12-17

It's been a lovely year living with Ron Silliman's massive The Alphabet. Easy to get carried away with it:

     The words dissolve from our memory/imagination almost as fast as we read them --  they leave no echo or shadow (syntax an attempt to compromise the present) -- those other sentences, they never existed (except when they do) (p. 974)

For a nice take on it, check out Daniel Green's review "Ron Silliman's The Alphabet."

Reading List 2017-12-18:

*Silliman, Ron. The Alphabet (finished)
*Anderson, Sherwood. Winesburg, Ohio (in progress)
*Jackson, Holbrook. Anatomy of Bibliomania (in progress)
*Kernfeld, Barry. What to Listen For in Jazz (in progress)
*MacDonald, Ian. Revolution in the Head, 3rd ed. (reread/in progress)

Playlist, Week of 2017-12-17

Daniel Barbiero's latest collaboration (with Ernesto Rodrigues and his son Guilherme) is a pair of meditiative ruminations on identity and essence for prepared (and manipulated) double bass, viola, and cello... this music is elusive but stunning in its natural beauty and slow development... read Dan's thoughts on the recording here... Continuing to plow through the Bob Dylan 1966 box... amazing how much variation there is from night to night of basically the same exact playlist...

*Tim Berne's Snakeoil: You've Been Watching Me
*Anthony Braxton: 4 Compositions (Ulrichsberg) 2005/Phonomanie VIII (discs 2, 4)
*Rodger Coleman: Real Gone "Real Gone"
*Rodger Coleman & Andrew Dickson: 2016-11-02 Nashville (mp3)
*John Coltrane: Meditations (side 1)
*Vince Guaraldi Trio: A Charlie Brown Christmas
*New Ting Ting Loft: 2017-11-27: "All That Remains" (wav)
*Ernesto Rodrigues/Guilherme Rodrigues/Daniel Barbiero: {the} nature {of things} likes to hide
*Henry Threadgill: Carry the Day
*Henry Threadgill: Makin' a Move
*Henry Threadgill & Make a Move: Where's Your Cup?
*Henry Threadgill & Make a Move: 1999-06-27 Warsaw, Poland (CDR)
*Henry Threadgill & Make a Move: 1999-07-09 The Hague (CDR)
*Various artists: That Devilin' Tune (Vol. 2, disc 4)
*Various artists: What to Listen For in Jazz
*Kamasi Washington: The Epic
*Beatles: With the Beatles (2009 mono remaster)
*Deerhoof: Mountain Moves
*Bob Dylan: The 1966 Live Recordings (discs 21, 22)
*Tlahoun Gèssèssè: Tlahoun Gèssèssè (Éthiopiques 17)
*Grateful Dead: 1973-09-11 Williamsburg, VA (CDR) (disc 1)
*Tito Puente: The Complete 78s: Vol. 1 1949-55 (disc 1)
*UYA: 1990-09-17 Middle East Restaurant, Cambridge MA (wav)
*Various artists: Ethiopiques 25: 1971-1975 Modern Roots
*Yes: 1972-09-10 Manchester, England (CDR)
*Yes: The Word Is Live (selections)

Playlist, Week of 2017-12-10

I used to think Henry Threadgill's Too Much Sugar for a Dime was overproduced.... Bill Laswell's productions of the '90s sometimes rubs me the wrong way... too bright... but today this sounds fine to me... except for "Better Wrapped/Better Unwrapped," which tries too hard to integrate the (African?) chants for my taste, the album is a fine vehicle for Threadgill's super-charged compositions... Very Very Circus is the band for all but two cuts, and I hear noted improvement over the previous LP... still (and this has held true for subsequent Very Very Circus recordings), I am not as fond of Brandon Ross's guitar tone as Threadgill seems to be... it's just me, it's just me... My favorite track on Threadgill's Song Out of My Trees is the title cut, featuring Amina Claudine Myers smoking on organ... Dave Burrell's Echo is a wonderful slab of fiery free jazz, with the stellar rhythm section of Alan Silva and Sunny Murray... bread 'n' butter...

Playlist 2017-12-11:

*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1976-03-12 Philadelphia (CDR) (disc 3)
*Daniel Barbiero/Sam Byrd/Jimmy Ghaphery: 2017-12-02 Rhizome, Washington DC (wav)
*Anthony Braxton: 4 Compositions (Ulrichsberg) 2005/Phonomanie VIII (disc 2)
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium J (disc 3)
*Anthony Braxton: Creative Music Orchestra (NYC) 2011
*Dave Burrell: Echo
*Steve Coleman and the Council of Balance: Genesis
*Duke Ellington: The Complete 1932-1940 Brunswick, Columbia and Master Recordings of Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra (disc 8)
*Billie Holiday: Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia 1933–1944 (disc 2)
*Matt Mitchell: A Pouting Grimace
*Tom Rainey Trio: 2017-09-09 Jazz Gallery, NYC (CDR) (disc 1)
*Ernesto Rodrigues/Guilherme Rodrigues/Daniel Barbiero: {The} Nature {of Things} Likes to Hide
*Tyshawn Sorey: The Inner Spectrum of Variables
*Henry Threadgill's Very Very Circus: 1990-08-30 Willisau, Switzerland (CDR)
*Henry Threadgill's Very Very Circus: 1992-01-30 London (CDR)
*Henry Threadgill: Too Much Sugar For A Dime
*Henry Threadgill: Song Out of My Trees
*John Zorn: Film Works VIII: 2002 Volume Three: Invitation to a Suicide
*John Zorn: The Gift
*Beatles: Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band (Super Deluxe Ed.) (disc 1)
*Scott Brookman: Smellicopter Two
*Bob Dylan: The 1966 Live Recordings (discs 18, 19, 20)
*Ozric Tentacles: Strangeitude (disc 2)
*Tito Puente: Tambó
*Tito Puente: Top Percussion
*Various artists: Anthology of Noise and Electronic Music vol. 3: Third a-chronology 1952-2004 (disc 2)
*Various artists: Ethiopiques 8: Swinging Addis 1969-1974
*Various artists: Ethiopiques 13: Ethiopian Groove: The Golden Seventies
*Yes: 1972-01-21 Amsterdam (CDR)
*Yes: 1972-03-17 San Bernardino, CA (CDR)
*Yes: 1972-08-13 Columbia MD (CDR)

Reading List, Week of 2017-12-10

Reading List 2017-12-11:

*Anderson, Sherwood. Winesburg, Ohio (started)
*Kernfeld, Barry. What to Listen For in Jazz (started)
*MacDonald, Ian. Revolution in the Head, 3rd ed. (reread/started)
*Kirkman, Robert, et al. The Walking Dead (issues 103-106) (started/finished)
*Shakespeare, William. Anthony and Cleopatra (ed.Terri Bourus, New Oxford Shakespeare, Critical Reference Ed.) (reread/started/finished)
*Skura, Meredith. "Is There a Shakespeare after the New New Bibliography?" in Elizabethan Theater: Essays in Honor of S. Schoenbaum, ed. Parker and Zitner (started/finished)
*Vaughan, Brian K., and Fiona Staples. Saga, Volume 7 (started/finished)
*Willingham, Bill, et al. Fables: The Deluxe Edition Book Fifteen (started/finished)
*Eco, Umberto. The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana (finished)
*Jackson, Holbrook. Anatomy of Bibliomania (in progress)
*Silliman, Ron. The Alphabet (in progress)

Gig Canceled Tonight

The New Ting Ting Loft gig for tonight is canceled. Snow it goes.....

Barbiero-Byrd-Ghaphery Live Set Recording

The recording of the Barbiero-Byrd-Ghaphery trio set at Rhizome last weekend is now up for free streaming and download at Rhizome's page on archive.org. Please check it out! 25 minutes of acoustic free improvisation.

New RAIC Cassette "Love Lingers Like Poison in the Veins"

Tip of the hat to Samuel Goff and RAIC, who have released a new cassette on Bandcamp. Check it out!

Barbiero/Byrd/Ghaphery Trio Photos

The recording of the trio set with Daniel Barbiero and Jimmy Ghaphery turned out great. The acoustics at Rhizome are wonderful--we were able to play quite quietly and still were able to capture a great amount of detail. I think the file will be showing on the Rhizome page at archive.org soon. In the meanwhile, here are some photos, courtesy of Jeff Surak. Enjoy!

Upcoming New Ting Ting Loft Gig

New Ting Ting Loft will be playing in RVA this weekend. It's been a while since we played in town, so I'm really looking forward to it! I am also really looking forward to seeing Trio 000 (great video of them here).

Here are details:

A night of instrumental experimentations featuring DC-based Trio OOO with locals New Ting Ting Loft and Ceremonial Scissors .

Saturday, December 9th
Doors at 8:30pm
Sounds at 9pm
$5-$10 sliding scale

Trio OOO performs Fire Music. The group was founded at DC's Goldleaf studios in 2010 by Aaron Martin (alto sax), Luke Stewart (bass) and Sam Lohman (drums).
https://www.facebook.com/pg/Trio-OOO-381946611934198/about/?ref=page_internal

New Ting Ting Loft play an aggressive blend of improvised music with a 20 year history of adventurous aesthetics. The members of New Loft have collaborated, recorded, or performed with a variety of musicians including Bern Nix, Gregg Ginn, John Medeski, the Technical Jed, Bio Ritmo, Ululating Mummies, UYA, Hotel X, Matt Heyner, Pat Best, Byard Lancaster, Ian Davis, and Jason Bivins.
https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22New+Ting+Ting+Loft%22

Ceremonial Scissors, a new band from Richmond, VA. Electroacoustic noise occult.
https://ceremonialscissors.bandcamp.com/releases
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq_SFvWanow&feature=youtu.be

...and there's a Facebook page for the event. Hope to see you there!

Playlist, Week of 2017-12-03

After digging Scott Brookman's new EP Smellicopter 2 so much, I went to his Bandcamp page and discovered For Those Who Like POP, an older album of his that had somehow eluded me... it's brilliant, and while I love all the vocal tracks, what especially struck me were the wonderful instrumentals... Back in Henry Threadgill land, Flute Force 4 was a flute quartet... Flutistry has a couple of interesting Threadgill compositions... I was never quite as taken with Very Very Circus as I was with the Sextett, and Spirit of Nuff...Nuff reminded me of why: the guitars sound abrasive and misfitting, there may be just too much tuba (I like tuba as well as the next person, but...), and the compositions aren't as strong... I'm hoping to be disabused by my opinions with the next few Very Very Circus recordings coming up... In the meanwhile, have also been going the nostalgia route with some scattered Yes live recordings... I was quite the Yeshead "back in the day," as the kidz used to say...

Playlist 2017-12-04:

*Pepper Adams: Pepper Adams Plays Charlie Mingus
*Louis Armstrong: From the Original Okehs Vol. 5 1931/32
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1976-03-12 Philadelphia (CDR) (disc 2)
*Daniel Barbiero/Sam Byrd/Jimmy Ghaphery: 2017-12-02 Rhizome, Washington DC (wav)
*Paul Chambers: Bass on Top
*Flute Force 4: Flutistry
*Roy Haynes/Phineas Newborn/Paul Chambers: We Three
*Steve Lehman Octet: Travail, Transformation, and Flow
*Roscoe Mitchell Trio: No Side Effects (disc 2)
*Oliver Nelson: Blues and the Abstract Truth
*New Ting Ting Loft: 2017-11-06 "Affordable Alternatives" (wav)
*New Ting Ting Loft: 2017-11-20 "Fluid Dispersal" (wav)
*Henry Threadgill Sextett: Rag, Bush and All
*Henry Threadgill Very Very Circus: Spirit of Nuff...Nuff
*Dave Slusser: Delight at the End of the Tunnel
*Tyshawn Sorey: The Inner Spectrum of Variables
*Tyshawn Sorey: Verisimilitude
*Various artists: Anthology of Noise and Electronic Music vol. 3: Third a-chronology 1952-2004 (disc 1)
*Iannis Xenakis: Electronic Music
*Mahmoud Ahmed & Imperial Bodyguard Band: Ethiopiques 26 1972-74
*Beatles: Rubber Soul (2009 mono remaster)
*Scott Brookman: For Those Who Like POP
*Scott Brookman: Smellicopter Two
*Clash: Sandinista! (disc 2)
*Cramps: Songs the Lord Taught Us
*Bob Dylan: The 1966 Live Recordings (discs 15, 16, 17)
*Alèmayèhu Eshèté: Ethiopiques 22: More Vintage!
*Jackie Mittoo: Last Train to Skaville
*Todd Rundgren: White Knight
*Edgar Winter: Entrance
*Wire: Chairs Missing
*Yes: 1971-05-09 Rome (CDR)
*Yes: 1971-07-24 Yale, New Haven CT (CDR)
*Yes: 1973-11-18 Bristol, UK (CDR)
*Yes: 1975-05-10 London (CDR)

Reading List, Week of 2017-12-03

Reading List 2017-12-04:

*Eco, Umberto. The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana (started)
*Mizuki, Shigeru. Onwards Towards Our Noble Deaths (started/finished)
*Lopez, Jeremy. Constructing the Canon of Early Modern Drama (finished)
*Shakespeare, William. Othello (ed. Gary Taylor, New Oxford Shakespeare, Critical Reference Ed.) (reread/finished)
*Jackson, Holbrook. Anatomy of Bibliomania (in progress)
*Silliman, Ron. The Alphabet (in progress)