Playlist, Week of 2021-02-21

I was unaware of Noël Akchoté's coverage of many, many Anthony Braxton compositions until I read about it on the Free Jazz Collective blog ... really nice acoustic guitar treatments... Another fine album of treatments and reimagining is Earl Hines's coverage of Duke Ellington... I am loving all the late Ellington I have been digging into, but my favorite period remains 1938-1942... no Paul Gonsalves, but you do have Ben Webster, Barney Bigard, Rex Stewart, and Cootie Williams... Cootie of course rejoined later after he quit in 1940... 

Playlist 2021-02-22:

*Noël Akchoté: Compositions 6 - 36 (Plays Anthony Braxton)
*Noël Akchoté: Compositions 40 - 48 (Plays Anthony Braxton)
*Noël Akchoté: Compositions 52 - 69 (Plays Anthony Braxton)
*Derek Bailey/John Zorn/William Parker: Harras
*Anthony Braxton: Willisau (Quartet) 1991 (disc 2)"No. 23c +32 +105b (+30)"
*Anthony Braxton/Eugene Chadbourne: Duo (Improv) 2017 (disc 2)
*Dave Burrell: Echo
*John Coltrane: Fearless Leader (disc 2)
*Miles Davis: The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965 (disc 4)
*Duke Ellington: Duke Ellington 1938 (side 4)
*Duke Ellington: Duke Ellington Volume III (side 1)
*Duke Ellington: Duke 56/62 Vol. 1 (side 4)
*Duke Ellington: Paris, March 1964
*Duke Ellington: The Reprise Studio Recordings (disc 4)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Harlem
*Duke Ellington: In the Uncommon Market
*Duke Ellington: New Orleans Suite
*Duke Ellington: Togo Brava Suite
*Grateful Dead: Dave's Picks Vol. 37 (1978-04-15 Williamsburg VA) (disc 1)
*Jimi Hendrix: Songs for Groovy Children (The Fillmore East Concerts) (disc 1)
*Earl Hines: Earl Hines Plays Duke Ellington (side 4)
*Johnny Hodges and His Orchestra: Hodge Podge (side 2)
*Ingrid Laubrock/Tom Rainey: Stir Crazy (CDR compilation) (disc 9)
*Love Supreme Electric: A Love Supreme and Meditations (disc 1)
*Rolling Stones: Their Satanic Majesties Request (side 2)
*Matthew Shipp Trio: Harmonic Disorder
*Matthew Shipp/Joe Morris: Broken Partials
*Soft Machine: Live at Henie Onstad Art Centre 1971 (disc 2)
*Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra: We Travel the Spaceways
*Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra: Interstellar Low Ways
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Bad and Beautiful
*Sun Ra: Egypt 1971 (disc 4)
*Cecil Taylor European Orchestra: Alms/Tiergarten (Spree) (disc 2)
*Cecil Taylor: 1998-12-05 Yoshi's, Oakland (CDR) (disc 1)
*Various artists: Rough Guide to Bollywood Gold
*Various artists: Ad-Rock & Mike D's Alphabetical Jukebox (CDR compilation) (disc 25)

Reading List, Week of 2021-02-21

Reading List, Week of 2021-02-22:

*Giuliano, Geoffrey and Brenda Giuliano. The Lost Beatles Interviews (started)
*Robinson, Kim Stanley. Red Mars (started)
*Bloom, Harold. “King John,” in Shakespeare: Invention of the Human (reread/started/finished)
*Rovelli, Carlo. Seven Brief Lessons on Physics (transl. Simon Carnell and Erica Segre) (started/finished)
*Rodenburg, Patsy. Speaking Shakespeare (finished)
*Shakespeare, William. King John (Arden complete, ed. E.A.J. Honigmann) (reread/finished)
*Lambert, Eddie. Duke Ellington: A Listener's Guide (reread/in progress)

Playlist, Week of 2021-02-14

The more I listen to We Are on the Edge, the more I think it's one of the Art Ensemble's--and Roscoe Mitchell's--finest records ever... the wonderful string textures, strengthened and overlaid by Tomeka Reid's cello, are just stirring and beautiful... It's too bad Dizzy Gillespie didn't record more with Duke Ellington... his muted trumpet solos on Jazz Party are just the ticket, and way, way more interesting than the trumpet grandstanding often done by other Ellington players in that time period... Cat Anderson, I'm looking at you... when Cootie Wiliams finally returned, it was a relief... Clark Terry was no slouch either... Just to add to the fun, I'm on a small Jimi Hendrix tear as well these days... and why not... just check the searing solo on "Stars that Play with Laughing Sam's Dice"... love the original mono mix, but also dig the amped-up guitar on South Saturn Delta... now -that's- psychedelic... Mitch Mitchell was a much better drummer in the studio than he ever was live, and this B-side proves it... Meanwhile in Miles Davis land, the classic quintet is ripping apart the space-time continuum at the Plugged Nickel... 

Playlist 2021-02-15:

*AMM: The Crypt: 12th June 1968, the Complete Session (disc 2)"Neither Bill Nor Axe Would Shorten Its Existence"
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: We Are on the Edge: A 50th Anniversary Celebration (disc 1)
*Beatles: Hard Day's Night (2009 stereo remaster) (side 2)
*Anthony Braxton/Eugene Chadbourne: Duo (Improv) 2017 (disc 1)
*Peter Brötzmann Octet: The Complete Machine Gun Sessions "Machine Gun"
*Miles Davis: The Prestige 10-Inch LP Collection, Vol. 2 (LP 2 sides 1, 2)
*Miles Davis: The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965 (discs 2b, 3)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Works of Duke: Integrale Volume 3 (side 1)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Ellington Jazz Party in Stereo
*Duke Ellington: Duke Ellington Live! At the Newport Jazz Festival '59
*Duke Ellington: The Reprise Studio Recordings (disc 3)
*Duke Ellington: Standards: Live at the Salle Pleyel
*Duke Ellington: In Concert: Piano Solo and Orchestra
*Duke Ellington/Ray Brown: This One's for Blanton
*Duke Ellington: Duke's Big 4
*Farmers By Nature: Love and Ghosts (disc 1) "Love and Ghosts"
*Jimi Hendrix: First Rays of the New Rising Sun
*Jimi Hendrix: Rainbow Bridge
*Jimi Hendrix: South Saturn Delta
*High Llamas: Damby Delight
*Johnny Hodges and His Orchestra: Hodge Podge (side 1)
*MGs: The MGs
*Sonny Rollins: Rollins in Holland (disc 2)
*Soft Machine: Live at Henie Onstad Art Centre 1971 (disc 1)
*Sun Ra: Egypt 1971 (disc 3)
*Sun Ra Arkestra: Swirling
*Cecil Taylor: Conquistador! “With (Exit)”
*Various artists: Rough Guide to Psychedelic Bollywood (disc 2: R.D. Burman)

Reading List, Week of 2021-02-14

Reading List, Week of 2021-02-15:

*Shakespeare, William. King John (Arden complete, ed. E.A.J. Honigmann) (reread/started)
*Dunn, Sarah. The Arrangement (finished)
*Lambert, Eddie. Duke Ellington: A Listener's Guide (reread/in progress)
*Rodenburg, Patsy. Speaking Shakespeare (in progress)

Playlist, Week of 2021-02-07

Was unable to get the vinyl version of Sun Ra's Egypt 1971, but was finally able to snag the CD box set, and it's a must-have... no real surprises in the two discs of unreleased material, but lots of great music, especially another long moog solo piece... well, one surprise is the beautifully played short piece with John Gilmore on flute... sound is excellent throughout... I do need to absorb it more, may have more to say then... excellent, informative liner notes from Paul Griffiths... On the Ellington front, it's amazing how even the most crappily-presented, undocumented release of live performances from god knows when will contain nuggets of astonishing beauty and swing... case in point: "Taffy Twist" on A Jazz Hour with Duke Ellington... well, in this case, with help from Timner, you can narrow it down to sometime in the early 1960s, probably 1962, but still... More deep beauty and unexpected grandeur from the Second Sacred Concert (from the Centennial release)...

Playlist 2021-02-08:

*"A" Trio & AMM: AAMM
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: The Alternate Express (side 2)
*Billy Bang Quintet: Rainbow Gladiator
*Billy Bang: Outline No. 12 (side 1)
*Billy Bang: A Tribute to Stuff Smith
*Daniel Barbiero/Cristiano Bocci: Now/Here
*Béla Bartók: String Quartet No. 4 (Alban Berg Quartett)
*Booker T. & the MGs: McLemore Avenue
*Booker T. & the MGs: Union Extended
*James Brown: 1969-07-06 Newport Jazz Festival (CDR)
*Taylor Ho Bynum 9-Tette: The Ambiguity Manifesto
*Chicago: Chicago III
*John Coltrane: John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman (side 2)
*John Coltrane: The Mastery of John Coltrane / Vol. III: Jupiter Variation (side 1)
*Jerome Cooper: For the People (side 1)
*Miles Davis: In Person Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk, Complete (disc 2)
*Miles Davis: The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965 (discs 1, 2a)
*Jack DeJohnette: Special Edition (side 1)
*Duke Ellington: Selections (CDR compilation)
*Duke Ellington: Duke Ellington (Giants of Jazz) (side 3)
*Duke Ellington: A Jazz Hour with Duke Ellington, Vol. 2: Jump for Joy
*Duke Ellington: The Centennial Edition: The Complete RCA-Victor Recordings (disc 19)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Yale Concert
*Duke Ellington: The Intimate Ellington
*Duke Ellington: The Pianist
*Brian Eno: Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) (side 1)
*Herbie Hancock: The Prisoner (side 1)
*Julius Hemphill Quartet: Flat-Out Jump Suite
*Jimi Hendrix: Message from Nine to the Universe
*William Parker: Conversations
*Parliament: Trombipulation (side 1)
*Sonny Rollins: Rollins in Holland (disc 1)
*Wayne Shorter: Night Dreamer (side 2)
*Tyshawn Sorey: Verisimilitude "Algid November"
*Sun Ra: Egypt 1971 (discs 1, 2, 3, 4)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: The Outer Darkness
*Sun Ra & His Arkestra: The Cymbals​/​Symbols Sessions (New York, 1973) (side 2)
*Keith Tippett's Ark: Frames (Music For An Imaginary Film) (disc 2)
*Various artists: Rough Guide to Psychedelic Bollywood (disc 1)
*Various artists: Rough Guide to Salsa

Reading List, Week of 2021-02-07

It took about a year, but finally finished this massive tome... pandemic fever dreams... truly mindbending and just plain fun... an amazing compendium of scores of quotes from hundreds of authors, beautifully rendered prose, and astounding digressions... as for many people, I'm sure, my favorite sections were the ones focused on "love melancholy" and jealousy...

Reading List, Week of 2021-02-08:

*Dunn, Sarah. The Arrangement (started)
*Lambert, Eddie. Duke Ellington: A Listener's Guide (reread/started)
*Rodenburg, Patsy. Speaking Shakespeare (started)
*Burton, Robert. The Anatomy of Melancholy (finished)
*Parker, William. Conversations (finished)
*Silva, Daniel. The Kill Artist (finished)

Playlist, Week of 2021-01-31

I need to dig into these more, but Duke Ellington's sacred concerts, while really corny and, well, religious (not my cup of tea), have lots of fantastic musical passages... there's a great part in the first sacred concert where Paul Gonsalves is cranking it, really swinging, while the chorus yells out all the books of the Bible... strange and curious... Gonsalves... even in the most mundane settings, where you'd think the Orchestra would be phoning it in (god, yet another medley), whenever Gonsalves solos, sparks are flying... same with Johnny Hodges... so much still to explore... Still being blown away by the latest Art Ensemble... especially the instrumental chamber music passages... Tomeka Reid adds so much texture... 

Playlist 2021-02-01:

*Art Ensemble of Chicago: We Are on the Edge: A 50th Anniversary Celebration (disc 2)
*Daniel Barbiero/Cristiano Bocci: Now/Here
*Béla Bartók: String Quartet Nos. 1, 2, 3 (Alban Berg Quartett)
*Beatles: With the Beatles (2009 stereo remaster) (side 1)
*Beatles: Beatles for Sale (2009 stereo remaster) (sides 1, 2)
*John Coltrane: Fearless Leader (disc 1)
*Miles Davis: Chronicle: The Complete Prestige Recordings 1951-1956 (disc 7)
*Miles Davis: Quiet Nights
*Miles Davis: Directions (side 2)
*Miles Davis: 1970-07-21 Ann Arbor (CDR)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Mood Indigo (side 4)
*Duke Ellington: The Great Chicago Concerts (discs 1, 2)
*Duke Ellington: Duke 56/62 Vol. 1 (side 1)
*Duke Ellington: At the Alhambra
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Festival Session
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra featuring Mahalia Jackson: Black, Brown, and Beige
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Live at the Blue Note (discs 1, 2)
*Duke Ellington: The Reprise Studio Recordings (discs 1, 2)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Live in Mexico
*Duke Ellington: The Centennial Edition: The Complete RCA-Victor Recordings (disc 18)
*Duke Ellington Small Bands: Intimacy of the Blues
*Globe Unity Orchestra: Pearls (“Every Single One of Us Is a Pearl”)
*Drew Gress: The Irrational Numbers
*Jimi Hendrix/Larry Young: Record Plant NYC 1969 (CDR)
*Jimi Hendrix: The Record Plant NYC 3/25/1969 (CDR)
*Jimi Hendrix: West Coast Seattle Boy (deluxe ed.) (disc 3)
*Elvin Jones : The Prime Element (sides 1, 2)
*Junk Magic: Compass Confusion
*MC5: Kick Out the Jams
*Jackie McLean: Right Now! (side 2)
*Charlie Parker: Bird in Paris (side 1)
*Karlheinz Stockhausen: Historic First Recordings Of The Klavierstücke I-VIII & XI (David Tudor)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Super-Sonic Jazz
*Sun Ra and His Astro Infinity Arkestra: Sound Sun Pleasure!!
*Keith Tippett's Ark: Frames (Music For An Imaginary Film) (disc 1)
*Various artists: Ad-Rock & Mike D's Alphabetical Jukebox (CDR compilation) (disc 24)

Reading List, Week of 2021-01-31

Reading List, Week of 2021-02-01:

*Silva, Daniel. The Kill Artist (started)
*Rankin, Ian. The Impossible Dead (started/finished)
*Rankin, Ian. The Complaints (finished)
*Burton, Robert. The Anatomy of Melancholy (in progress)
*Parker, William. Conversations (in progress)