Playlist, Week of 2019-12-28

Busy week...

Playlist 2019-12-29:

*Django Reinhardt: The Classic Early Recordings in Chronological Order (disc 2)
*Beatles: Hard Day's Night (2009 mono remaster)
*Beatles: Abbey Road (Anniversary Edition) (disc 1) (side 2)
*English Beat: Special Beat Service
*Henry Cow: Unrest (Cow Box Redux)
*Kinks: Something Else by the Kinks (Deluxe Edition) (disc 1)
*Kinks: Arthur, or, The Decline and Fall of the British Empire (50th anniversary remaster) (disc 1)
*Prince: 1999 (Super Deluxe Edition) (disc 1)
*Roxy Music: The Thrill of It All (disc 2)

Reading List, Week of 2019-12-28

Ellmann still rules...

Reading List 2019-12-29:

*Gabbert, Eliza. The Word Pretty (started)
*Piekut, Benjamin. Henry Cow: The World Is a Problem (started)
*Bowker, Gordon. James Joyce: A New Biography (finished)
*Rankin, Ian. Even Dogs in the Wild (finished)
*Deutsch, David. The Fabric of Reality: The Science of Parallel Universes and Its Implications (in progress)
*Schmidt, Arno. Bottom's Dream (trans. John E. Woods) (in progress)

Playlist, Week of 2019-12-21

Krimble!

Playlist 2019-12-22:

*Art Ensemble: 1967/68 (disc 2) "Trio (Oh Susanna)"
*Anthony Braxton: 4 (Ensemble) Compositions 1992 "Composition No. 163"
*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2019-11-25 Nashville (rough mix wav)
*Colla Parte: 2019-11-24 Rhizome, Washington DC (wav) (set 1)
*Duke Ellington: 1932-04-11 (Hartford, CT)
*Vince Guaraldi Trio: A Charlie Brown Christmas
*Alexander Hawkins: Iron into Wind (Pears from an Elm)
*Layers of Memory: 2019-12-07 RVA (wav)
*Matt Mitchell: Phalanx Ambassadors
*Django Reinhardt: The Classic Early Recordings in Chronological Order (disc 1)
*Spontaneous Music Ensemble: Low Profile
*Sun Ra Arkestra: Kosmos in Blue: A John Gilmore Anthology, Vol. 1
*Sun Ra Arkestra: Blues at Midnight: A John Gilmore Anthology, Vol. 2
*Three Body Problem: 2019-11-02 Washington DC (wav)
*June Tyson/Sun Ra: Saturnian Queen of the Sun Ra Arkestra
*Vector Trio: (quartet)
*Various artists: History of Electronic/Electroacoustic Music (CDR compilation) (disc 39)
*Area: 1975-08 Ferrara, Italy (CDR)
*Beach Boys: Ultimate Christmas
*Dark Carpet: Factory Side
*Bob Dylan/Various artists: Theme Time Radio Hour No. 34: Christmas & New Years (CDR) (disc 2)
*Gentle Giant: Free Hand
*George Jones: Anniversary: Ten Years of Hits
*Pink Floyd: Ummagumma: The High Resolution Remasters (boot CDR) (discs 3, 4)
*Rascals: Once Upon a Dream
*Squeeze: Sweets from a Stranger
*Phil Spector: A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector
*Various artists: You Better Believe It!

Reading List, Week of 2019-12-21

Reading List 2019-12-22:

*Rankin, Ian. Even Dogs in the Wild (started)
*Rankin, Ian. Saints of the Shadow Bible (finished)
*Bowker, Gordon. James Joyce: A New Biography (in progress)
*Deutsch, David. The Fabric of Reality: The Science of Parallel Universes and Its Implications (in progress)
*Schmidt, Arno. Bottom's Dream (trans. John E. Woods) (in progress)

Some New Sun Ra Compilations

June Tyson: Saturnian Queen of the Sun Ra Arkestra
Like all good universes, that of Sun Ra is ever-expanding. The new release featuring June Tyson is a treasure trove of classics and unreleased goodies. Her splendid voice was the guiding light of the Arkestra throughout the last 30 years of Ra's music. Her throaty, almost slinky vocal maneuvers gave life to Ra's cryptic lyrics like no other. Many of the high points of Ra's extended cosmo-dramas come from Tyson and Ra's call-and-response (or is it call-and-repeat?) declamations. This compilation focuses more on the songs, and ends up being a kind of "greatest hits" for this side of Ra's music. Key versions of several of these songs come from the soundtrack to the film Space Is the Place, but the real juice comes from hitherto-unreleased concerts, especially three tracks from Delft,  1971, as well as "Never Never Land" and "Lost Horizon," both from Columbus, Ohio, in 1985. The sound quality is excellent--here's hoping more from these shows can be released!





Kosmos In Blue: A John Gilmore Anthology, Vol. 1
Blues at Midnight: A John Gilmore Anthology, Vol. 2
I stayed away from these two Bandcamp compilations featuring John Gilmore when they first came out since I was deeply enmeshed in sorting out my list of Gilmore top solos. Both of these releases are excellent outings featuring Gilmore's work in the '50s and early '60s. As to be expected, there is some overlap with my list, but not as much as you'd expect. That just goes to show how wide-ranging and deep the extent of Gilmore's soloing is.

If you're already a hardcore Gilmore fan (and if you aren't....why not?), you already have classic tracks like "Kosmos in Blue" and "Search Light Blues" in your collection. The draw here is the spruced-up sound and the context. Besides the selections being spot on, the pacing and sequencing of the lineup works really well; both of these albums are solid romps through Ra's '50s-'60s catalog, with healthy doses of Gilmore solos along the way.

The real highlights for me, though, are the previously unreleased alternate takes and pieces that showed up as bonus tracks on recent reissues, of which there are several. Chief among these are "Motherhood" and "Chicago, Southside," both from the second volume. "Motherhood" is a lovely ballad with a typically penchant Gilmore solo, while "Chicago, Southside" is a blues romper with Gilmore wailing and conversing with the stars: a brilliant solo not to be missed! "Blues from Saturn" also features a great solo, a perfect encapsulation of Gilmore's lyricism and phrasing. "Motherhood" and "Blues from Saturn" first appeared on the Bandcamp release Transitions 3: Chicago to New York, while "Chicago, Southside" first showed up as a bonus track on Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow, which places it as a Choreographer's Workshop recording. To repeat: absolutely essential.

Sun Ra's legacy continues to be in good hands with the worthy efforts of Irwin Chusid and Michael D. Anderson...

Playlist, Week of 2019-12-15

Another fun session with Layers of Memory last weekend... I really enjoyed exploring the quiet nooks and crannies of musical thought with Gary Rouzer and Jimmy Ghaphery... Great sounds on the latest RAIC album... A fantastic performance (two sets!) from Colla Parte up in DC at Rhizome... So the music goes, split between absorbing new sounds, revisiting older ones, loving the tried-and-true, and being amazed at the brand new... and trying to make sense of it all...

Playlist 2019-12-16:

*"A" Trio & AMM: AAMM
*Marshall Allen/Danny Ray Thompson/Jamie Saft/Trevor Dunn/Balazs Pandi/Roswell Rudd: Ceremonial Healing
*Art Ensemble: 1967/68 (disc 3) "Number 2 - Trio Version"
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: We Are on the Edge: A 50th Anniversary Celebration (discs 1, 2)
*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2019-11-25 Nashville (rough mix wav)
*Colla Parte: 2019-11-24 Rhizome, Washington DC (wav)
*Kris Davis: Duopoly
*Miles Davis: The Complete Studio Recordings of the Miles Davis Quintet 1965–1968 (disc 4) "Circle in the Round"
*Fire! Orchestra: Arrival
*Haste: A Broad Margin
*Illegal Crowns: The No-Nosed Puppet
*Irreversible Entanglements: Irreversible Entanglements
*Large Unit: Erta Ale (disc 2)
*Layers of Memory: 2019-12-07 RVA (wav)
*Chris Lightcap: SuperBigmouth
*NVS Trio: 2016-12-12 Rhizome, Washington DC (wav)
*RAIC: RAIC Presents Cinema Paradiso Volume 1: Häxan
*Tom Rainey Trio: Combobulated
*Django Reinhardt: The Classic Early Recordings in Chronological Order (disc 3)
*Archie Shepp: Mama Too Tight
*Spontaneous Music Ensemble: Biosystem
*Spontaneous Music Ensemble: Low Profile
*Sun Ra: Some Bonus Tracks (CDR compilation)
*Sun Ra: Lanquidity
*David Torn/Tim Berne/Ches Smith: Sun Of Goldfinger
*June Tyson/Sun Ra: Saturnian Queen of the Sun Ra Arkestra
*Various artists: History of Electronic/Electroacoustic Music (CDR compilation) (disc 38)
*Dark Carpet: Factory Side
*Bob Dylan/Various artists: Theme Time Radio Hour “Weather”
*Bob Dylan/Various artists: Theme Time Radio Hour "Drinking"
*Grateful Dead: 1973-08-01 Roosevelt Stadium, NJ (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Jefferson Pilot: Shadow Hobby
*Pink Floyd: Ummagumma: The High Resolution Remasters (boot CDR) (discs 1, 2)
*Residents: Not Available (pREServed Edition) (disc 1)
*Lewis Taylor: Lewis Taylor
*Various artists: Country & Western Hit Parade 1960: Dim Lights, Thick Smoke, and Hillbilly Music
*Various artists: Woodstock: Back to the Garden (50th Anniversary Collection) (selections)

Reading List, Week of 2019-12-15

Reading List 2019-12-16:

*Rankin, Ian. Saints of the Shadow Bible (started)
*Moeser, John V., and Rutledge M. Dennis. The Politics of Annexation (New Open Access Edition) (finished)
*Rankin, Ian. Standing in Another Man's Grave (finished)
*Bowker, Gordon. James Joyce: A New Biography (in progress)
*Deutsch, David. The Fabric of Reality: The Science of Parallel Universes and Its Implications (in progress)
*Schmidt, Arno. Bottom's Dream (trans. John E. Woods) (in progress)

Playlist, Week of 2019-12-08

Once again I find myself caught short with nothing to say.... enjoy the music! I will say the highlight of the last week has been absorbing the latest session with Rodger Coleman... as usual, he pulled out all the stops and, besides astounding me with his versatility and amazing sense of sound and space, really kept me on my toes and elicited some of my best playing...

Playlist 2019-12-09:

*"A" Trio & AMM: AAMM
*AMM: Laminal (disc 2) "The Great Hall (Part 1)"
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: We Are on the Edge: A 50th Anniversary Celebration (discs 1, 2)
*Tim Berne: Snakeoil
*Jaimie Branch: Fly or Die
*Anthony Braxton: 4 Compositions (Ulrichsberg) 2005 Phonomanie VIII (disc 4)
*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2019-11-25 Nashville (rough mix wav)
*Lowell Davidson Trio: Lowell Davidson Trio
*Miles Davis: Miles at the Fillmore (discs 3, 4)
*Duke Ellington Octet: Live at the Rainbow Grill
*Harriet Tubman: Ascension
*Alexander Hawkins: Unit[e] (discs 1, 2)
*Paal Nilssen-Love: New Brazilian Funk
*Mario Pavone Dialect Trio: Philosophy
*Django Reinhardt: The Classic Early Recordings in Chronological Order (discs 1, 2)
*Soft Machine: Seven
*Craig Taborn/Ikue Mori: Highsmith
*Cecil Taylor Big Band: 1995-07-03 NYC (CDR) (disc 3)
*Various artists: History of Electronic/Electroacoustic Music (CDR compilation) (disc 37)
*Dark Carpet: Factory Side
*De La Soul: Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump
*Bob Dylan/Various artists: Theme Time Radio Hour No. 34: Christmas & New Years (CDR)
*Shardik: Shardik
*Carla Thomas: The Memphis Princess: Early Recordings 1960-1962
*Various artists: Kan-Gu-Wa and Chop Chop: Exotic Blues & Rhythm vol. 3 & 4
*Various artists: Boom-a-Lay and Chug-a-Lug: Exotic Blues & Rhythm vol. 7 & 8
*Various artists: Country & Western Hit Parade 1959: Dim Lights, Thick Smoke, and Hillbilly Music
*Various artists: Fame Northern Soul

Reading List, Week of 2019-12-08

Reading List 2019-12-09:

*Rankin, Ian. Standing in Another Man's Grave (started)
*Williams, Ian. The Bad Doctor (started/finished)
*Rankin, Ian. Exit Music (finished)
*Bowker, Gordon. James Joyce: A New Biography (in progress)
*Deutsch, David. The Fabric of Reality: The Science of Parallel Universes and Its Implications (in progress)
*Schmidt, Arno. Bottom's Dream (trans. John E. Woods) (in progress)

Playlist, Week of 2019-12-01

Dark Carpet's Factory Side is now out on Bandcamp... see my review here.

Playlist 2019-12-02:

*Anthony Braxton: 9 Compositions (Iridium) 2006 (selections)
*John Coltrane: Live in Japan "Leo"
*Miles Davis: Miles at the Fillmore (disc 2)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Concert in the Virgin Islands
*Irreversible Entanglements: Irreversible Entanglements
*Matthew Shipp: Symbol Systems
*Tyshawn Sorey: Alloy "A Love Song"
*Beatles: Live at the BBC (discs 1, 2)
*Beatles: On Air: Live at the BBC Volume 2 (discs 1, 2)
*Beatles: Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band (Super Deluxe Ed.) (selections)
*Beatles: The Beatles (Super Deluxe Edition) (selections)
*Beatles: Abbey Road (selections)
*Various artists: Exotica
*Various artists: Country & Western Hit Parade 1958: Dim Lights, Thick Smoke, and Hillbilly Music

Reading List, Week of 2019-12-01

Reading List 2019-12-02:

*Rankin, Ian. Exit music (started)
*Rankin, Ian. The Naming of the Dead (finished)
*Bowker, Gordon. James Joyce: A New Biography (in progress)
*Deutsch, David. The Fabric of Reality: The Science of Parallel Universes and Its Implications (in progress)
*Schmidt, Arno. Bottom's Dream (trans. John E. Woods) (in progress)

Playlist, Week of 2019-11-24

The Kinks: great traveling music... Ear-blistering saxophone pyrotechnics from Mars Williams on Fake Music...

Playlist 2019-11-25:

*Marshall Allen/Danny Ray Thompson/Jamie Saft/Trevor Dunn/Balazs Pandi/Roswell Rudd: Ceremonial Healing
*Boneshaker: Fake Music
*Borderlands Trio: Asteroidea
*Miles Davis: Miles at the Fillmore (disc 1)
*Miles Davis: 1970-08-18 Tanglewood (CDR) (discs 1, 2)
*Globe Unity Orchestra: Globe Unity ‘67 & ‘70 "Globe Unity '67"
*Harriet Tubman: Araminta
*Harriet Tubman: The Terror End of Beauty
*Alexander Hawkins Trio: Alexander Hawkins Trio
*Okkyung Lee/Christian Marclay: Amalgam
*Roscoe Mitchell: Conversations I
*New Ting: Five-Minute Cassette Edits (Sextet Version) (CDR compilation)
*New Ting: 2019-11-11 "Five-Minute Infinity" (wav)
*Larry Ochs/Nels Cline/Gerald Cleaver: What Is to Be Done "Shimmer Intend Spark Groove Defend"
*Cecil Taylor/Thurston Moore: 1997-10-04 NYC (CDR)
*Various artists: History of Electronic/Electroacoustic Music (CDR compilation) (disc 36)
*Dark Carpet: Factory Side
*Grateful Dead: Cornell 5.8.77 (disc 3)
*Jimi Hendrix Experience: Electric Ladyland (50th anniversary ed.) (disc 1)
*Kinks: The Anthology 1964-1971 (discs 1, 2, 3) (selections)
*Kinks: Face to Face (Deluxe Edition) (disc 1)
*Kinks: Something Else by the Kinks (Deluxe Edition) (disc 1)
*Kinks: The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society
*Kinks: Arthur, or, The Decline and Fall of the British Empire (50th anniversary remaster) (disc 1)
*Sheriff Jack: What Lovely Melodies!
*Sheriff Jack: Laugh Yourself Awake
*Lewis Taylor: The Lost Album
*Lewis Taylor: Beefheart's Trout Mask Replica Reborn
*Various artists: Katanga! and Ahbe Casabe: Exotic Blues & Rhythm vol. 1 & 2
*Various artists: Dave Godin's Deep Soul Treasures Vol. 5

Reading List, Week of 2019-11-24

...with its proper title...

Reading List 2019-11-25:

*Rankin, Ian. The Naming of the Dead (started)
*Rankin, Ian. Fleshmarket Alley (finished)
*Bowker, Gordon. James Joyce: A New Biography (in progress)
*Deutsch, David. The Fabric of Reality: The Science of Parallel Universes and Its Implications (in progress)
*Schmidt, Arno. Bottom's Dream (trans. John E. Woods) (in progress)

New Dark Carpet Album Coming Soon: Factory Side

I was happy to receive a pre-release recording of Dark Carpet's new CD Factory Side (no cover yet) (full disclosure: my brother's in the band). A worthy follow-up to their eponymous debut disc (pictured above), Factory Side is a thrusting slab of country-laced hard-driving rock. Basically guitar/bass/drums, with the odd piano or tambourine thrown in, the songs are propelled by grungy guitar, structural bass lines, and a strong backbeat, with Southern-fried unhinged (but channeled) lead vocals balanced by anthemic, often falsetto backing vocals. The rough and the ready. Monster grooves burning down to the soul. Any of these songs could unfold into a long jam you could drive down a backwoods road all night long to, with traces of Stones momentum and a Sonic Youth sense of scale, but they don't; instead, they ride out in 4- to 5-minute bursts. Keep rocking, guys!

Playlist, Week of 2019-11-17

Been on a bit of a Lewis Taylor kick lately... I am particularly quite taken with The Lost Album, with its Todd Rundgren/Beach Boys grandeur and its combination of neo-soul, '70s rock, and sweeping prog guitar... Digging through a lot of recent New Ting improvisations for a possible cassette release... Beautiful, relatively quiet (for him) playing by Mats Gusatsson on A Quietness of Water... Ingrid Laubrock and Tom Rainey always sound great in a quartet setting... There's not much that's cooler than the Duke Ellington version of "All My Loving"... Entire sound universes are contained within the 9-CD Iridium Anthony Braxton box set... as much as I've listened to it over the last 12 years, I feel like I've barely scratched the surface... infinitely rewarding, continually self-renewing, always inspiring...

Playlist 2019-11-18:

*"A" Trio & AMM: AAMM
*Marshall Allen/Danny Ray Thompson/Jamie Saft/Trevor Dunn/Balazs Pandi/Roswell Rudd: Ceremonial Healing
*Anthony Braxton: 9 Compositions (Iridium) 2006 (selections)
*Peter Brötzmann/Heather Leigh: Sparrow Nights
*Taylor Ho Bynum 9-Tette: The Ambiguity Manifesto
*Stephan Crump/Ingrid Laubrock/Cory Smythe: Channels
*Miles Davis: Tribute to Jack Johnson (side 2)
*Paul Dolden: L'Ivresse De La Vitesse (disc 2)
*Duke Ellington: The Reprise Studio Recordings (discs 3, 4)
*Peter Evans/Agusti Fernández/Mats Gustafsson: A Quietness Of Water
*Mary Halvorson Quartet: Paimon (Zorn/Book of Angels Vol. 32)
*Robert Landfermann/Ingrid Laubrock/Achim Kaufmann/Tom Rainey: Topaz
*Large Unit: Erta Ale (disc 1)
*Chris Lightcap: SuperBigmouth
*New Ting: 2019-07-08 "Backhand Volley" (wav)
*New Ting: 2019-07-29 "Tardy But Hardy" (wav)
*New Ting: 2019-09-09 "Peace in Transit" (wav)
*New Ting: 2019-09-16 "Simmertime Lubricity Challenge" (wav)
*New Ting: 2019-09-30 "Emulsify My Desires" (wav)
*New Ting: 2019-10-07 "We All Answered" (wav)
*New Ting: 2019-11-11 "Five-Minute Infinity" (wav)
*Craig Taborn: Junk Magic
*Cecil Taylor: Conquistador! (side 1)
*Cecil Taylor: 1997-10-03 NYC (CDR)
*Tri-Centric Vocal Ensemble: Anthony Braxton's Syntactical Ghost Trance Music : 2019-01-25 Brooklyn (CDR)
*Weather Report: Live in Tokyo
*John Zorn: The Hierophant
*Various artists: History of Electronic/Electroacoustic Music (CDR compilation) (disc 35)
*Dark Carpet: Factory Side
*Gentle Giant: Free Hand
*Grateful Dead: 1973-03-24 Philadelphia (CDR) (disc 3)
*Paul McCartney: Pure McCartney (Deluxe Ed.) (disc 1)
*Thurston Moore: 1997-10-03 NYC (CDR)
*Lewis Taylor: Lewis Taylor
*Lewis Taylor: The Lost Album
*Sheriff Jack: Everybody Twist
*Various artists: Latin Rhythms in Hi Fi
*Various artists: Country & Western Hit Parade 1957: Dim Lights, Thick Smoke, and Hillbilly Music
*Yes: Progeny: Highlights From Seventy-Two (disc 1)

Reading List, Week of 2019-11-17

Reading List 2019-11-18:

*Rankin, Ian. Fleshmarket Alley (started)
*Rankin, Ian. A Question of Blood (finished)
*Bowker, Gordon. James Joyce: A New Biography (in progress)
*Deutsch, David. The Fabric of Reality: The Science of Parallel Universes and Its Implications (in progress)
*Schmidt, Arno. Bottom's Dream (trans. John E. Woods) (in progress)

Playlist, Week of 2019-11-10

Fun deep listening with my brother over the weekend...

Playlist 2019-11-11:

*AMM: An Unintended Legacy (disc 3)
*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (New Haven) 2014 (disc 1)
*Anthony Braxton: Sonic Genome 2019-10-31: Jazzfest Berlin 2019 (streaming)
*Rodger Coleman/Sam Byrd: Who Doesn't Fade? "Who Doesn't Fade?"
*Miles Davis: The Complete On The Corner Sessions (disc 1) "On The Corner (Unedited Master)"
*Eric Dolphy: Musical Prophet: The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions (disc 2)
*Herbie Hancock: Sextant
*Robert Landfermann/Ingrid Laubrock/Achim Kaufmann/Tom Rainey: Topaz
*Charles Mingus: Passions of a Man: The Complete Atlantic Recordings 1956-1961 (discs 1, 2)
*New Ting: 2019-10-28 "Improv Impact Assessment Buddy" (wav)
*Wayne Shorter: Schizophrenia
*Three Body Problem: 2019-11-02 Washington DC (wav)
*John Zorn/Insurrection: Salem 1692
*Various artists: History of Electronic/Electroacoustic Music (CDR compilation) (disc 34)
*Area: 1975-08 Ferrara, Italy (CDR)
*Gentle Giant: Free Hand (selections)
*Grateful Dead: 1973-03-24 Philadelphia (CDR) (discs 1, 2)
*Henry Cow: Legend
*Kalyanji–Anandji: Bombay the Hard Way: Guns, Cars, & Sitars
*Kinks: Arthur, or, The Decline and Fall of the British Empire (50th anniversary remaster) (discs 1, 2)
*Lata Mangeshkar: Lata … As Never Before (discs 1, 2)
*Rallizes Dénudés: France Demo Tapes
*Sheriff Jack: Let's Be Nonchalant
*Sleepwalker: For This Time Only, Never Again
*Lewis Taylor: Lewis Taylor
*Lewis Taylor: Lewis II
*Lewis Taylor: The Lost Album
*Various artists: Country & Western Hit Parade 1955: Dim Lights, Thick Smoke, and Hillbilly Music
*Various artists: Country & Western Hit Parade 1956: Dim Lights, Thick Smoke, and Hillbilly Music
*Various artists: Squattin' and Sloppin' (CDR compilation)
*Various artists: Bollywood Funk

Reading List, Week of 2019-11-10

Reading List 2019-11-11:

*Deutsch, David. The Fabric of Reality: The Science of Parallel Universes and Its Implications (started)
*Rankin, Ian. A Question of Blood (started)
*Creeley, Robert. Selected Poems, 1945-2005 (finished)
*Ellmann, Lucy. Man or Mango? : A Lament (finished)
*Bowker, Gordon. James Joyce: A New Biography (in progress)
*Schmidt, Arno. Bottom's Dream (trans. John E. Woods) (in progress)

Braxton's Sonic Genome in Berlin on YouTube

                     Alexander Hawkins in the green

Here's an experience that's not to be missed: a 6-hour video capturing the live stream of the performance of Anthony Braxton's Sonic Genome project at Jazzfest Berlin 2019 on October 31. I have listened to the whole thing once, and dipped in on some of the visuals... it's pretty damn amazing. The space it took place in, the Gropius Bau Museum, is a gorgeous space, lots of rotundas, open staircases, balconies, and some kind of plant structure in the middle of one of the halls. It must have been exhilarating to walk around and get immersed in Braxton's music. Here were some of the highlights for me:

0:00:00 - 0:15:00:  Braxton's opening, conducting what looks like the whole ensemble.
2:35:22 - 2:36:02: Close-up of Ingrid Laubrock soloing on soprano sax.
3:45:00-ish - The singers and the great orchestral riff that follows the singing, eventually joined by a sax trio including Braxton and James Fei.
3:58:00 - The whole orchestra breaks into this vocalizing/chanting section that's truly mesmerizing, and it looks like they're having a blast doing it!
4:29:30: A sweet quartet: flute/trombone/bassoon/tenor sax, in front of the plant structure... then joined by Alexander Hawkins at 4:30:35 playing melodica and piano from up within the structure! Great piano at 4:32:22. Augmented by Cymin Samawatie on vocals. (It thrills me to no end that Hawkins will be joining Braxton for a standards quartet tour in January. Oh, to be in Poland or London then...)

Playlist, Week of 2019-11-03

Fun to go back and revisit the music specifically commissioned for the 2012 Sonic Circuits Festival restrooms... I would love to hear any of this music any time I go to the stalls... In the process of populating the Magic Jukebox 2, I've enjoying digging up sonic nuggets... of course, when I think about it, most of my listening is digging for sonic nuggets anyway, so that process isn't really any different... but it has been fun to go through all the discs again and pull out old faves... my collection is in a constant state of flux, with my to-listen piles continually being swapped out with my to-be-filed piles... come to think of it, that's the way my book piles are too... so I spend a lot of time schlepping piles of things around: CDs, albums, books, comic books, papers, dishes, emails...

Playlist 2019-11-04:

*Ask the Trees: The Heart's Message Cannot Be Delivered in Words
*Anthony Braxton/William Parker/Milford Graves: 2007-03-16 Rome (CDR) (disc 2)
*John Coltrane: Live in Japan "Peace on Earth"
*Miles Davis: In a Silent Way (side 2)
*Paul Dolden: L'Ivresse De La Vitesse (disc 1)
*Duke Ellington: The Reprise Studio Recordings (disc 2)
*Steve Lacy Quintet with Derek Bailey: 1976-10-17 Paris (CDR)
*Chris Lightcap: SuperBigmouth
*New Ting: 2019-10-17 Shockoe Denim, RVA (wav)
*Tony Oxley: Ichnos
*Tyshawn Sorey: Pillars (disc 1)
*Masayuki Takayanagi New Direction Unit: April Is the Cruellest Month
*McCoy Tyner: Sahara
*Various artists: Music for Restrooms
*Johann Sebastian Bach: Concertos for Piano and Orchestra (Glenn Gould) (discs 1, 2)
*Mahler: Symphony No. 5 (Solti, Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
*Digital Underground: Sex Packets
*DJ Spooky: The Gift
*Bob Dylan: The 1966 Live Recordings (disc 16)
*Al Green: Green Is Blues
*Howlin' Wolf:  Smokestack Lightning: The Complete Chess Masters 1951-1960 (disc 4)
*Led Zeppelin: In Through the Out Door
*Lucas & Corey: Don't Know a Soul (Flat Fix)
*Paul McCartney: Flowers in the Dirt (Deluxe Ed.) (disc 1)
*National Health: Of Queues and Cures (side 1)
*Prince: 1981-03-22 Ritz NYC (CDR)
*Santana: Welcome
*Various artists: Country & Western Hit Parade 1953: Dim Lights, Thick Smoke, and Hillbilly Music
*Various artists: Country & Western Hit Parade 1954: Dim Lights, Thick Smoke, and Hillbilly Music
*Various artists: Katanga! and Ahbe Casabe: Exotic Blues & Rhythm vol. 1 & 2

Reading List, Week of 2019-11-03

Now to wait several more years for the third volume!

Reading List 2019-11-04:

*Ellmann, Lucy. Man or Mango? : A Lament (started)
*Schmidt, Arno. Bottom's Dream (trans. John E. Woods) (started)
*Rankin, Ian. Resurrection Men (started/finished)
*Kirby, Jack, and Stan Lee: The Essential Thor, Vol. 3 (finished)
*Pullman, Philip. The Secret Commonwealth (finished)
*Bowker, Gordon. James Joyce: A New Biography (in progress)
*Creeley, Robert. Selected Poems, 1945-2005 (in progress)

Video of New Ting at Shockoe Denim

New Ting at Shockoe Denim, 2019-10-17. Full audio here. Thanks, Katie, for the video!

Review of Ask the Trees

Really nice words from Daniel Barbiero in his AMN review of the new Ask the Trees release (along with RAIC and Stephen Vitiello/Molly Berg)... thanks, Dan!

Playlist, Week of 2019-10-27

The new 2019 remaster of Arthur sounds bloody fantastic... we didn't get the big 4-disc box, just the 2-CD version... haven't gotten to the second disc yet, but the album proper sounds brilliant... The Slaughterhouse was a digital-only Prince release that deserves more attention... some great grooves there... Continue to really be inspired by Chris Cutler's drumming with Henry Cow, particularly on Unrest...

Playlist 2019-10-28:

*"A" Trio & AMM: AAMM
*Lotte Anker/Sylvie Courvoisier/Ikue Mori: Alien Huddle
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: We Are on the Edge: A 50th Anniversary Celebration (disc 1)
*Ask the Trees: The Heart's Message Cannot Be Delivered in Words
*Eric Dolphy: Musical Prophet: The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions (discs 1, 2, 3)
*Duke Ellington: Swing 1930-1938
*Jimmy Giuffre 3: 1961 (discs 1, 2)
*Mats Gustafsson/Craig Taborn: Ljubljana
*Barry Guy/Marilyn Crispell/Paul Lytton: Ithaca
*Herbie Hancock: Sextant
*Alexander Hawkins: Song Singular
*Alexander Hawkins Ensemble: Step Wide, Step Deep
*Steve Lehman Trio + Craig Taborn: The People I Love
*Mat Maneri Quartet: Blue Decco
*Larry Ochs/Nels Cline/Gerald Cleaver: What Is to Be Done "Outcries Rousing"
*Ivo Perelman/Mat Maneri/Joe Morris/Gerald Cleaver: Breaking Point
*Sun Ra: 1982-06-24 Mannheim, Germany (CDR) (discs 2, 3)
*Craig Taborn: Daylight Ghosts
*David Torn/Tim Berne/Ches Smith: Sun Of Goldfinger
*Henry Cow: Unrest
*Henry Cow: BBC Sessions 1971-1977 (disc 2)
*Henry Cow/Slapp Happy: In Praise of Learning
*Henry Cow: Concerts (disc 1)
*Howlin' Wolf:  Smokestack Lightning: The Complete Chess Masters 1951-1960 (disc 3)
*Kinks: Arthur, or, The Decline and Fall of the British Empire (50th anniversary remaster) (disc 1)
*Ned Lagin, Phil Lesh, & Friends: 1975-06-06 San Rafael CA (CDR)
*Prince: 1980-03-06 Atlanta (CDR)
*Prince: Work It 2.0 Vol. 7 (disc 29)
*Prince: The Slaughterhouse
*Various artists: Country & Western Hit Parade 1951: Dim Lights, Thick Smoke, and Hillbilly Music
*Various artists: Ten-Cent Soul (CDR compilation)

Reading List, Week of 2019-10-27

Reading List 2019-10-28:

*Pullman, Philip. The Secret Commonwealth (started)
*Ellmann, Lucy. Ducks, Newburyport (finished)
*Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar (ed. Henry Norman Hudson) (reread/started/finished)
*Bowker, Gordon. James Joyce: A New Biography (in progress)
*Creeley, Robert. Selected Poems, 1945-2005 (in progress)
*Kirby, Jack, and Stan Lee: The Essential Thor, Vol. 3 (in progress)

Ask the Trees: New Release on Bandcamp: The Heart's Message Cannot Be Delivered in Words

photo by Randy Reus

I am pleased to be a part of this new release: The Heart's Message Cannot Be Delivered in Words. This was a project put together by RAIC saxophonist Erik Schroeder, under the group name Ask the Trees. It was wonderful to play this free nature-inspired post-Coltrane jazz with Erik and two other members of New Ting, Jimmy Ghaphery and Fred McGann.

Photos from the Latest New Ting Gig

Well, from before the gig. It was great playing at Shockoe Denim; it's a wonderful space.

Fred prepares:

Tommy prepares:

Jimmy and Sam are prepared:

Playlist, Week of 2019-10-20

I continue on my Henry Cow travels... hard to say which studio album is my favorite... luckily,  no one is asking me to choose...

Playlist 2019-10-21:

*Anthony Braxton: 3 Compositions of New Jazz "Comp. 6E"
*Anthony Braxton: Quintet (Tristano) 2014 (streaming) (disc 2)
*Taylor Ho Bynum 9-Tette: The Ambiguity Manifesto
*Mary Halvorson Octet: 2018-11-12 Venice (CDR)
*Matt Mitchell: A Pouting Grimace
*Roscoe Mitchell: Nonaah (discs 1, 2)
*Roscoe Mitchell Quartet: In Walked Buckner
*Matthew Shipp Chamber Ensemble: The Gospel According to Matthew & Michael
*Sun Ra: 1982-06-24 Mannheim, Germany (CDR) (disc 1)
*Craig Taborn: Avenging Angel
*Dan Weiss: Starebaby
*John Zorn: Tractatus Musico-Philosophicus
*Henry Cow: Concerts (disc 2)
*Henry Cow: Western Culture
*Henry Cow: Stockholm & Göteborg
*Lewis Taylor: Beefheart's Trout Mask Replica Reborn
*Various artists: Cocktail Mix Vol. 2: Martini Madness

Reading List, Week of 2019-10-20

Reading List 2019-10-21:

*Bowker, Gordon. James Joyce: A New Biography (started)
*Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar (ed. Henry Norman Hudson) (reread/started)
*Creeley, Robert. Selected Poems, 1945-2005 (in progress)
*Ellmann, Lucy. Ducks, Newburyport (in progress)
*Kirby, Jack, and Stan Lee: The Essential Thor, Vol. 3 (in progress)

New Ting Gig This Week

New Ting is playing this Thursday at Shockoe Denim. We'll be opening up for Pascal Niggenkemper. We go on first, hopefully at 8 sharp. Details here. Should be fun!

Playlist, Week of 2019-10-13

In thinking about Ginger Baker's legacy, I say ignore"Toad" and focus on the live version of "Spoonful" from Wheels of Fire... blues-based free-jazz/rock improv at its finest... Another great (if not the greatest) free rock improv band was Henry Cow... even more than the improvisations on Unrest and Concerts, the various live concerts that came out as part of the 40th anniversary box set really solidify their position as top-notch, exciting, and challenging improvisers... "A Fireside Chat with Lucifer," from the album of the same name, is one my favorite lengthy guided improvs from Sun Ra... Ra's '80s work often gets overlooked, but there's a lot of gold there, especially in the Black Saint and A&M albums...

Playlist 2019-10-14:

*Boneshaker: Fake Music
*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (New Haven) 2014 (discs 1, 3)
*Anthony Braxton: Quintet (Tristano) 2014 (streaming) (disc 1)
*Taylor Ho Bynum 9-Tette: The Ambiguity Manifesto
*Gerald Cleaver/William Parker/Craig Taborn: Farmers By Nature (discs 1, 2)
*Kris Davis: Diatom Ribbons
*Miles Davis: Miles Davis at Newport 1955-1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4 (disc 4)
*Duke Ellington: The Reprise Studio Recordings (disc 1)
*Mary Halvorson Octet: 2018-11-12 Venice (CDR)
*Ingrid Laubrock: Serpentines
*Charles Mingus: Jazz in Detroit/Strata Concert Gallery/46 Selden (discs 4, 5)
*New Ting: 2019-10-07 "We All Answered" (wav)
*Ches Smith: The Bell
*Harvey Sorgen/Joe Fonda/Marilyn Crispell:  Dreamstruck
*Sun Ra: A Fireside Chat with Lucifer (side 1)
*Cecil Taylor Feel Trio: Two Ts for a Lovely T (disc 4)
*Weather Report: Weather Report
*James Brown: The Singles, Vol.  10: 1975-1979 (disc 2)
*James Brown: The Singles, Vol.  11: 1979-1981 (discs 1, 2)
*Cold Blood: Live at the Record Plant, Sausalto CA Jul 2, 1974 (CDR)
*Cream: Wheels of Fire (disc 2)
*Danger Mouse: The Grey Album
*Digital Underground: Sons of the P
*Bob Dylan: The 1966 Live Recordings (disc 13)
*Earth Wind & Fire: Open Our Eyes
*Gentle Giant: Acquiring the Taste
*Gentle Giant: Three Friends
*Henry Cow: Trondheim (discs 1, 2)
*Howlin' Wolf:  Smokestack Lightning: The Complete Chess Masters 1951-1960 (disc 2)
*Led Zeppelin: Presence
*Todd Rundgren: Faithful
*Various artists: History of Electronic/Electroacoustic Music (CDR compilation) (disc 33)

Reading List, Week of 2019-10-13

Reading List 2019-10-14:

*Kirby, Jack, and Stan Lee: The Essential Thor, Vol. 3 (started)
*Creeley, Robert. Selected Poems, 1945-2005 (in progress)
*Ellmann, Lucy. Ducks, Newburyport (in progress)

Playlist, Week of 2019-10-06

Synth-drenched excursions into a quieter side of Rodger Coleman with his new release Modular Meditations v​.​1... nice... I enjoy the 1973 guitar-band Miles Davis music from the Newport Jazz Festival release, and goodness knows we need more official releases from 1973-75, but damn if the real gems of this box aren't the two sets from the classic quintet from 1966 and 1967 ... check out how much they sped up "Gingerbread Boy" from one year to the next... Tony Williams: geez... I'm glad they keep coming up with these Coltrane discoveries... loving it all, but tapping more from the Stellar Regions vein would really float my boat... let's have more "lost"albums from 1966-67, please!... Finally, wonderful to hear ex-UYA bandmate Steven Forrey guesting on the new Vector Trio release...

Playlist 2019-10-07:

*"A" Trio & AMM: AAMM
*John Abrercrombie/Dave Holland/Jack DeJohnette: Gateway
*John Abrecrombie/Marc Johnson/Peter Erskine: John Abrecrombie/Marc Johnson/Peter Erskine
*Anthony Braxton/Tomas Fujiwara/Tom Rainey: Trio (New Haven) 2013 (discs 1, 2)
*Don Cherry/Ed Blackwell: El Corazón
*Rodger Coleman: Modular Meditations v​.​1
*John Coltrane: Blue World
*Miles Davis: Miles Davis at Newport 1955-1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4 (discs 1, 2, 3)
*Duke Ellington: 1932-04-11 (Hartford, CT)
*Kip Hanrahan: Coup de Tête
*John McLaughlin: Devotion
*Charles Mingus: Jazz in Detroit/Strata Concert Gallery/46 Selden (discs 1, 2, 3)
*Roscoe Mitchell and the CMS Orchestra: Untitled (on Creative Music Studio Archive Selections Vol. 1, disc 2)
*New Ting: 2019-09-30 "Emulsify My Desires" (wav)
*Gary Peacock: Guamba
*Barre Phillips: Mountainscapes
*RAIC: Chance Operations (disc 2)
*Gary Rouzer: Sei Solo - Violoncello Allein
*Sun Ra and His Intergalactic Myth Science Arkestra: 1975-01-30 Cleveland (CDR)
*Masayuki Takayanagi New Direction Unit: April Is the Cruellest Month
*Vector Trio: (quartet)
*Al Bowlly: Al Bowlly ...Remembers
*James Brown: The Singles, Vol.  10: 1975-1979 (disc 1)
*Cream: Wheels of Fire (disc 1)
*Flying Lotus: Los Angeles
*Flying Lotus: Until the Quiet Comes
*Grateful Dead: 1977-06-09 Winterland (CDR) (disc 1)
*Henry Cow: Hamburg
*Denise LaSalle: Trapped by a Thing Called Love
*Denise LaSalle: On the Loose
*Prince: The Versace Experience: Prelude 2 Gold
*Monty Python: Tiny Black Round Things (boot CDR)
*Todd Rundgren: Initiation
*Various artists: American Pop (disc 5)
*Various artists: Country & Western Hit Parade 195o: Dim Lights, Thick Smoke, and Hillbilly Music
*Various artists: Bachelor's Guide to the Galaxy: Cocktail Mix

Reading List, Week of 2019-10-06

Reading List 2019-10-07:

*Epstein, Edmund Lloyd. A Guide Through Finnegans Wake (finished)
*Joyce, James. Finnegans Wake (ed. Rose/O'Hanlon) (reread/finished)
*Kitcher, Philip. Joyce's Kaleidoscope: An Invitation to Finnegans Wake (finished)
*Creeley, Robert. Selected Poems, 1945-2005 (in progress)
*Ellmann, Lucy. Ducks, Newburyport (in progress)

Finnegans Wake Re-Re-Read

Well, maybe not the "best" book, but still.... Finnegans Wake is quite an experience. Reading it twice in a row (after having read it once back in the '80s) was something I never dreamed I'd ever do, and I definitely feel like my brain has been put through the ringer. I loved it. And I didn't even obsess over minutiae or layered meanings of individual words... my copy is astonishingly clean of annotations. I just let it wash all over me. Listening to Patrick Horgan's recording while reading it was definitely a plus... you need both your eyes and your ears for this... I find that reading it aloud to myself is often too distracting because I run into too many words I can't pronounce, and it impedes the flow... I also got a lot out of both Epstein and Kitcher's books... I especially liked Kitcher's approach to teasing out how what he terms the "Joycean virtues" ("kindness, understanding, tolerance, acceptance, and forgiveness" --p. 250) are expressed in the Wake. I also appreciated Kitcher's perception of the dreamer (the reader? whoever is "narrating" the novel) and the dreamer's "dreamwork":

The dreamer is an aging man for whom there arises a cluster of overlapping issues about individuality and conformity, about public life and private life, about creativity and intimate relationships, and about the existence and value of enduring love. (Kitcher, p. 57)

Playlist, Week of 2019-09-29

I don't know how I managed to miss this juicy item from almost a year ago, but a Duke Ellington aircheck from 1932 has surfaced (well, it's been known to collectors for a while, but it's recently been cleaned up and remixed, by Steve Lasker)... it's the oldest surviving Ellington radio broadcast!... read about it and stream it here... the next two oldest, from 1936, can be found here... well, it's all just gorgeous...

Playlist 2019-09-30:

*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (New Haven) 2014 (disc 4)
*Rosemary Cloony and Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Blue Rose
*Duke Ellington: 1932-04-11 (Hartford, CT)
*Duke Ellington: 1936-05-09 Chicago (streaming)
*Duke Ellington: 1936-05-26 Chicago (streaming)
*Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath: Travelling Somewhere
*New Ting: 2019-09-16 "Simmertime Lubricity Challenge" (wav)
*Tom Rainey: Obbligato
*Tom Rainey Obbligato: Float Upstream
*James Blood Ulmer: Odyssey
*Vector Trio: (quartet)
*Dr. Dog: Critical Equation
*Mike Elder/Greg Jordan/Harry Forrest/Sam Byrd: 2019-09-21 (wav)
*Gentle Giant: The Power and the Glory
*Laneville-Johnson Union Brass/Lapsey Band: Country Brass Bands
*Matching Mole: March
*Upsetters: Return of the Super Ape
*Frank Zappa/Mothers of Invention: Absolutely Free
*Frank Zappa: Waka/Jawaka - Hot Rats

Reading List, Week of 2019-09-29

Reading List 2019-09-30:

*Ellmann, Lucy. Ducks, Newburyport (started)
*Kirby, Jack, and Stan Lee: The Essential Thor, Vol. 2 (finished)
*Stephenson, Neal. Seveneves (finished)
*Creeley, Robert. Selected Poems, 1945-2005 (in progress)
*Epstein, Edmund Lloyd. A Guide Through Finnegans Wake (in progress)
*Joyce, James. Finnegans Wake (ed. Rose/O'Hanlon) (reread/in progress)
*Kitcher, Philip. Joyce's Kaleidoscope: An Invitation to Finnegans Wake (in progress)

Playlist, Week of 2019-09-22

Muhal Richard Abrams's 1-OQA + 19 is an amazing classic from 1977 that still has the power to astound and delight.. the front line horn section of Anthony Braxton and Henry Threadgill can't be beat... as much as I enjoy Threadgill's compositional prowess, especially on his last few albums, I do enjoy going back to the heady Black Saint days when he was soloing his butt off...

Playlist 2019-09-23:

*"A" Trio & AMM: AAMM
*Muhal Richard Abrams: 1-OQA + 19
*Anthony Braxton: The Artistry of Anthony Braxton (CDR)
*Duke Ellington/Ella Fitzgerald: Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book (discs 1, 2, 3)
*Herbie Hancock Headhunters: 1974-10-16 Kansas City (CDR) (disc 2)
*Fletcher Henderson: 1925-1929 (JSP)
*Vijay Iyer/Craig Taborn: The Transitory Poems
*Joseph Jarman: Song For
*Joseph Jarman: As If It Were the Seasons
*Large Unit: Fluku
*Steve Miller Trio/Lol Coxhill: Miller's Tale (sides 3, 4)
*Matt Mitchell: Phalanx Ambassadors
*New Ting: 2019-09-09 "Peace in Transit" (wav)
*Evan Parker/Trance Map +: Crepuscule in Nickelsdorf
*RAIC: Chance Operations (disc 1)
*Tom Rainey Obbligato: Float Upstream
*Sara Serpa: Close Up
*Wayne Shorter: Emanon (discs 1, 2)
*Tyshawn Sorey: Pillars (disc 1)
*Sun Ra: Featuring Pharoah Sanders & Black Harold
*James Blood Ulmer: Black Rock
*Kevin Ayers: The BBC Sessions 1970-1976 (discs 1, 2)
*Big Star: Complete Third (disc 3)
*James Brown: The Singles, Vol.  8: 1972-1973 (disc 2)
*James Brown: The Singles, Vol.  9: 1973-1975 (discs 1, 2)
*Flying Lotus: Flamagra
*Gentle Giant: Free Hand
*Mothers of Invention: Freak Out!
*Pere Ubu: Lady from Shanghai
*Ramones: Ramones Mania
*Esperanza Spalding: 12 Little Spells
*Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band: Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ, September 19, 1978 (discs 2, 3)

Reading List, Week of 2019-09-22

Getting very near the end...

Reading List 2019-09-23:

*Creeley, Robert. Selected Poems, 1945-2005 (in progress)
*Epstein, Edmund Lloyd. A Guide Through Finnegans Wake (in progress)
*Joyce, James. Finnegans Wake (ed. Rose/O'Hanlon) (reread/in progress)
*Kirby, Jack, and Stan Lee: The Essential Thor, Vol. 2 (in progress)
*Kitcher, Philip. Joyce's Kaleidoscope: An Invitation to Finnegans Wake (in progress)
*Stephenson, Neal. Seveneves (in progress)

Playlist, Week of 2019-09-15

Excellent new 2-CD set from RAIC... the plan: gather together a bunch of musicians from different bands and backgrounds all day in a studio, put all their names in a hat, draw names for impromptu improvs... the plan works brilliantly, and there is an overall feel and consistency to the entire set, in spite of the random variations and combinations of players... (full disclosure: I was invited to participate, but the timing didn't work out for me... my loss!!!)... Some excellent playing from Craig Taborn on The People I Love... I am also really digging the tight drum work of Damion Reid...

Playlist 2019-09-16:

*Rodger Coleman: Modular Meditations v​.​1
*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2018-11-19 Nashville track 4 (rough mix wav & re-edit)
*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2018-11-20 Nashville tracks 1, 2 (rough mix wav & re-edit)
*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2019-05-02 Nashville (rough mix wav)
*Bill Connors: Of Mist and Melting
*Fire! Orchestra: Arrival
*Herbie Hancock: Mwandishi: The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings (discs 1, 2)
*Herbie Hancock Headhunters: 1974-10-16 Kansas City (CDR) (disc 1)
*Steve Lehman Trio + Craig Taborn: The People I Love
*Steve Miller Trio/Lol Coxhill: Miller's Tale (sides 1, 2)
*New Ting: 2019-09-09 "Peace in Transit" (wav)
*Evan Parker: Set
*Andrea Parkins: Faulty (Broken Orbit)
*RAIC: Chance Operations (discs 1, 2)
*Tyshawn Sorey: Pillars (discs 2, 3)
*McCoy Tyner: Mosaic Select (disc 3)
*180 Gs: Commercial Album
*At the Drive-In: Relationship of Command
*Jeff Beck: Wired
*James Brown: The Singles, Vol.  8: 1972-1973 (disc 1)
*Deerhoof: Live Koalamagic
*Deerhoof: Live Session EP
*Gaylads: Fire and Rain
*Jefferson Pilot: Shadow Hobby
*Klaatu: Klaatu/Hope
*National Health: Of Queues and Cures
*National Health: D.S. Al Coda
*Mohammed Rafi: The Rough Guide To Bollywood Legends: Mohd. Rafi
*Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band: Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ, September 19, 1978 (disc 1)
*Frank Zappa: Lumpy Gravy Primordial
*Frank Zappa: Nostalgia (boot CDR)

Reading List, Week of 2019-09-15

Reading List 2019-09-16:

*Creeley, Robert. Selected Poems, 1945-2005 (started)
*Mullen, Harryette. Sleeping with the Dictionary (finished)
*Epstein, Edmund Lloyd. A Guide Through Finnegans Wake (in progress)
*Joyce, James. Finnegans Wake (ed. Rose/O'Hanlon) (reread/in progress)
*Kirby, Jack, and Stan Lee: The Essential Thor, Vol. 2 (in progress)
*Kitcher, Philip. Joyce's Kaleidoscope: An Invitation to Finnegans Wake (in progress)
*Stephenson, Neal. Seveneves (in progress)

Playlist, Week of 2019-09-08

Busy time... hope to be back to more commentary next week!

Playlist 2019-09-09:

*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2018-11-19 Nashville track 4 (rough mix wav & re-edit)
*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2018-11-20 Nashville tracks 1, 2 (rough mix wav & re-edit)
*Herbie Hancock: Mwandishi: The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings (discs 1, 2)
*Mat Maneri Quartet: Blue Decco
*Roscoe Mitchell Trio: No Side Effects (discs 1, 2)
*Roscoe Mitchell: Bells for the South Side (discs 1, 2)
*New Ting: 2019-07-29 "Tardy But Hardy" (wav)
*RAIC: Chance Operations (discs 1, 2)
*Muffins: Air Fiction
*National Health: National Health
*Various artists: Country & Western Hit Parade 1952: Dim Lights, Thick Smoke, and Hillbilly Music

Reading List, Week of 2019-09-08

Reading List 2019-09-09:

*Kirby, Jack, and Stan Lee: The Essential Thor, Vol. 2 (started)
*Stephenson, Neal. Seveneves (started)
*Ducornet, Rikki. Netsuke (finished)
*Rankin, Ian. The Falls (finished)
*Epstein, Edmund Lloyd. A Guide Through Finnegans Wake (in progress)
*Joyce, James. Finnegans Wake (ed. Rose/O'Hanlon) (reread/in progress)
*Kitcher, Philip. Joyce's Kaleidoscope: An Invitation to Finnegans Wake (in progress)
*Mullen, Harryette. Sleeping with the Dictionary (in progress)

Playlist, Week of 2019-09-01

Nashville travels....

Playlist 2019-09-02:

*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (New Haven) 2014 (disc 2)
*Norman Connors: Dance of Magic (side 1)
*Layers of Memory: (More) Layers of Memory
*Buster Williams: Pinnacle
*Sleepwalker: For This Time Only, Never Again
*Various artists: Music for a Bachelor's Den in Hi-Fi
*Various artists: Exotica
*Various artists: Bachelor's Guide to the Galaxy: Cocktail Mix

Reading List, Week of 2019-09-01

Reading List 2019-09-02:

*Rankin, Ian. The Falls (started)
*Mullen, Harryette. Sleeping with the Dictionary (started)
*Macdonald, Ross. The Way Some People Die (reread/started/finished)
*Harryman, Carla. Baby (finished)
*Macdonald, Ross. The Drowning Pool (reread/finished)
*Epstein, Edmund Lloyd. A Guide Through Finnegans Wake (in progress)
*Joyce, James. Finnegans Wake (ed. Rose/O'Hanlon) (reread/in progress)
*Kitcher, Philip. Joyce's Kaleidoscope: An Invitation to Finnegans Wake (in progress)

Playlist, Week of 2019-08-25

Great playing from Ingrid Laubrock on Close Up... intimate, abstract, sedate... Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi band sound really opened up and became increasingly spaced out with the addition of Patrick Gleason on synthesizer... We're lucky to have so much live Matching Mole available... they were consistently excellent, offering tantalizing glimpses of possible directions Robert Wyatt's inventive drumming could have taken, before his accident...

Playlist 2019-08-26:

*Muhal Richard Abrams/Fred Anderson: 1979-05-20 Verona, Italy (CDR) (disc 2)
*Herbie Hancock: 1973-03-20 Detroit (CDR) (discs 1, 2)
*Herbie Hancock Headhunters: 1974-10-16 Kansas City (CDR) (disc 1)
*Jimmy Lyons Quartet: 1980-09-25 Rome (CDR) (disc 2)
*Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath: Bremen to Bridgwater (discs 1, 2)
*Charles Mingus: Changes Two
*Roscoe Mitchell Quartet: Live at “A Space” 1975
*Roscoe Mitchell's Cards For Orchestra Project: 2009-08-30 Sant'Anna Arresi, Italy (CDR)
*Roscoe Mitchell: 2011-02-17 Roulette, NYC (CDR)
*Sara Serpa: Close Up
*Tyshawn Sorey: Verisimilitude
*Lennie Tristano & Warne Marsh: Intuition
*McCoy Tyner: Mosaic Select (disc 2)
*Beatles: selections
*Bob Dylan: Blood on the Tracks
*Henry Kaiser: Re-Marrying for Money
*Ned Lagin: Seastones
*Matching Mole: On the Radio
*Neutral Milk Hotel: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
*OOIOO: Armonico Hewa
*Pere Ubu: 390° of Simulated Stereo, Ubu Live Volume One
*Public Enemy: It Takes a Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back
*Tito Puente: The Complete 78s: Vol. 1 (disc 1)
*Tito Puente: The Complete 78s: Vol. 2 (discs 1, 2)
*Santana: Abraxas (30th Anniversary Expanded Edition)

Reading List, Week of 2019-08-25

Reading List 2019-08-26:

*Macdonald, Ross. The Drowning Pool (reread/started)
*Burns, Charles. Sugar Skull (started/finished)
*Heffley, Mike. "'O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing': Anthony Braxton's Speculative Musics" (Journal of the Society for American Music, 2:2, 2008) (started/finished)
*Rankin, Ian. A Good Hanging and Other Stories (finished)
*Epstein, Edmund Lloyd. A Guide Through Finnegans Wake (in progress)
*Harryman, Carla. Baby (in progress)
*Joyce, James. Finnegans Wake (ed. Rose/O'Hanlon) (reread/in progress)
*Kitcher, Philip. Joyce's Kaleidoscope: An Invitation to Finnegans Wake (in progress)