Playlist, Week of 2021-08-29

Thanks to my wife, I've been getting into the wild and wacky world of Sparks, and quite enjoying it... the Edgar Wright film was a nice little overview... More excellent Alexander Hawkins on Louis Moholo Moholo's 4 Blokes... More excellent Nels Cline on Music from the Early 21st Century... More excellent Ingrid Laubrock on Tom Rainey's latest Obbligato record... 

Playlist 2021-08-30:

*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (Standards) 2020 (disc 5 streaming)
*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2009-07-23 Nashville (wav) track 3 (moon landing)
*Connie Crothers/David Arner: Spontaneous Suite for Two Pianos (disc 1)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Togo Brava Suite (Storyville)
*Alexander Hawkins and Evan Parker: Leaps in Leicester
*Mars Volta: Amputechture
*Roscoe Mitchell/Jerzy Mazzoll/Sławek Janicki/Qba Janicki: Four Sure
*Louis Moholo Moholo Quartet: 4 Blokes
*David Murray/Milford Graves: Real Deal
*Bobby Previte/Jamie Saft/Nels Cline: Music from the Early 21st Century
*Tom Rainey Obbligato: Untucked in Hannover
*Roxy Music: Stranded
*Sparks: Komono My House
*Sparks: Propaganda
*Sparks: Indiscreet
*Sparks: Past Tense (The Best of Sparks) (discs 1, 2, 3)
*Sparks: A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip
*Sun Ra: The Eternal Myth Revealed, Vol. 1 (disc 6)
*Sun Ra: Lanquidity (45rpm version) (sides 5, 6, 7, 8)
*John Zorn/Simulacrum: Nostradamus: The Death of Satan

Reading List, Week of 2021-08-29

Reading List 2021-08-30:

*'Every Sound There Is:' The Beatles' Revolver and the Transformation of Rock and Roll (ed. Russell Reising) (started)
*Smith, Ali. Hotel World (started)
*Morgenstern, Erin. The Starless Sea (finished)
*Brennan, Matt. Kick It: A Social History of the Drum Kit (in progress)
*Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass (Comprehensive Readers Ed., ed. Blodgett and Bradley) (in progress)

Playlist, Week of 2021-08-22

More brilliant guitar work from Nels Cline... I wish my friend Garry were still around to hear this stuff... Totally digging the Braxton standards with Alexander Hawkins... Wish I could have grabbed the box set, but oh well... Still lots of Duke Ellington to listen to! ...the material John Zorn writes for Simulacrum is some of his best, and it's certainly the best playing I've heard from John Medeski... 

Playlist 2021-08-23:

*Jeff Albert's Instigation Quartet: The Tree on the Mound
*Chuck Berry: Cream of the Crop: Neglected Tracks 1960-70 (CDR compilation)
*Anthony Braxton: 12 Comp (ZIM) 2017 (Comp. 410, 412, 413)
*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (Standards) 2020 (disc 4 streaming)
*James Carter: JC on the Set
*James Carter: Conversin' with the Elders
*John Carter: Fields
*John Carter: Shadows on a Wall
*Nels Cline Singers: Share the Wealth
*Nat King Cole Trio: The Vintage Years (side 1)
*Miles Davis: The Complete In a Silent Way Sessions (disc 3) "The Ghetto Walk"
*Wild Bill Davis and Johnny Hodges: Con-Soul and Sax (side 1)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Works of Duke: Integrale Volume 16 (side 2)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Works of Duke: Integrale Volume 17 (sides 1, 2)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Works of Duke: Integrale Volume 22 (side 1)
*Duke Ellington: Ellington Fantasies [Midnight in Paris] (side 2)
*Duke Ellington: The Far East Suite
*Gilgamesh: Gilgamesh
*Gilgamesh: Another Fine Tune You've Got Me Into
*Guided By Voices: Live from Austin TX (disc 2)
*George Harrison: All Things Must Pass (disc 2)
*Jimi Hendrix Experience: 1969-01-11 Hamburg (CDR)
*Mars Volta: The Bedlam in Goliath
*Massive Attack: Blue Lines
*Nicole Mitchell: Engraved in the Wind
*News From Babel: Sirens & Silences/Work Resumed on the Tower
*News from Babel: Letters Home
*Andy Partridge: My Failed Songwriting Career, Vol 1
*Roxy Music: Roxy Music
*Roxy Music: For Your Pleasure
*Matthew Shipp: Piano Sutras
*Matthew Shipp String Trio: Symbolic Reality
*Simulacrum: Beyond Good and Evil
*Sparks: A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip
*Sun Ra: The Eternal Myth Revealed, Vol. 1 (disc 5)
*Sun Ra: Lanquidity (45rpm version) (sides 1, 2, 3, 4)
*Various artists: History of Electronic/Electroacoustic Music (CDR compilation) (disc 2)
*Various artists: The Wrecking Crew (disc 3)
*John Zorn/Simulacrum: Baphomet
*John Zorn: Chaos Magick

Reading List, Week of 2021-08-22

Reading List 2021-08-23:

*Brennan, Matt. Kick It: A Social History of the Drum Kit (started)
*Morgenstern, Erin. The Starless Sea (started)
*Moore, Lorrie. Collected Stories (finished)
*Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass (Comprehensive Readers Ed., ed. Blodgett and Bradley) (in progress)

Playlist, Week of 2021-08-15

This turned out to be Ascension week... of course I love the original two versions in all their glory, but I also really love what Rova has done with it in their electric versions, especially with the addition of Nels Cline on the Rova Channeling Coltrane version on Rogue Art... powerful interpretations of an already powerful piece... In the meanwhile, having a hard time staying away from Duke Ellington and Anthony Braxton... I'll get to Mingus in more depth at some point soon... 

Playlist 2021-08-16:

*Beatles: Magical Mystery Tour (2009 mono remaster) (side 2)
*Anthony Braxton: Saxophone Improvisations Series F (disc 2)
*Anthony Braxton: 12 Comp (ZIM) 2017 (Comp. 409)
*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (Standards) 2020 (discs 1, 2, 3 streaming)
*John Carter Octet: Dauwhe
*John Carter: Castles of Ghana
*Stanley Clarke: Stanley Clarke
*John Coltrane: Ascension (Edition II)
*Hamid Drake & Bindu: Reggaeology
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Works of Duke: Integrale Volume 16 (side 1)
*Duke Ellington: Ellington Fantasies [Midnight in Paris] (side 1)
*Duke Ellington: 1899-1974 (sides 8, 10)
*George Harrison: All Things Must Pass (disc 1)
*Joe Henderson: Mirror, Mirror
*King Crimson: Starless (disc 12)
*Love Supreme Electric: A Love Supreme and Meditations (discs 1, 2)
*Rob Mazurek/Exploding Star Orchestra: Dimensional Stardust
*Charles Mingus: A Modern Jazz Symposium Of Music And Poetry
*Charles Mingus: Mingus at Carnegie Hall (Deluxe ed.) (discs 1, 2)
*Roscoe Mitchell Quintet: Turn
*Muffins: Chronometers
*Pretty Things: S.F. Sorrow
*Rova :: Orkestrova: Electric Ascension
*Rova Channeling Coltrane: Electric Ascension
*Rova Saxophone Quartet/Kyle Bruckmann/Henry Kaiser: Steve Lacy's Saxophone Special Revisited
*Sirone Bang Ensemble: Configuration
*Sparks: Kimono My House
*Sparks: Propaganda
*Sparks: Indiscreet
*Sparks: Past Tense (The Best of Sparks) (disc 2)
*Charles Tolliver: Mosaic Select (disc 3)
*Chick Webb & Ella Fitzgerald: The Complete Chick Webb & Ella Fitzgerald Decca Sessions (1934-1941) (disc 3)
*Mary Lou Williams: Zodiac Suite
*World Saxophone Quartet featuring Jack DeJohnette: Selim Sivad: A Tribute to Miles Davis
*XTC: Black Sea (side 2)
*XTC: Apple Venus Volume 1 (sides 1, 2)
*XTC: Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2) (side 1)
*Neil Young: American Stars 'n' Bars

Reading List, week of 2021-08-15

Reading List 2021-08-16:

*Beaumont, Francis, and John Fletcher. The Scornful Lady (started/finished)
*Moore, Lorrie. Collected Stories (in progress)
*Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass (Comprehensive Readers Ed., ed. Blodgett and Bradley) (in progress)

Playlist, Week of 2021-08-08

Excellent reinterpretations of Duke Ellington themes from Matthew Shipp on To Duke... The new Prince album (recorded in 2010) is nice enough, if not the masterpiece some critics are calling it... definitely not the best thing he did in the 21st century... Sometimes some solo Anthony Braxton really hits the spot... McCoy Tyner really hit his stride on Cosmos and Extensions, both albums represented on the Mosaic Select set... I especially love the pieces with strings, and Wayne Shorter's work on Extensions is stellar... Alice Coltrane's harp fits in beautifully as well...

Playlist 2021-08-09:

*Joshua Abrams Quartet: Unknown Known
*Jeff Beck Group: Jeff Beck Group
*Anthony Braxton: Saxophone Improvisations Series F (disc 1)
*Anthony Braxton: 12 Comp (ZIM) 2017 (Comp. 402, 408)
*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2019-05-02 Nashville (rough mix wav) "No. 5"
*Duke Ellington: 1899-1974 (side 9)
*Tomas Fujiwara: 7 Poets Trio
*Guided By Voices: Live from Austin TX (disc 1)
*Mary Halvorson/John Dieterich: A Tangle of Stars
*Jimi Hendrix Experience: Winterland (disc 4)
*Hypercolor: Hypercolor
*Susie Ibarra: Folkloriko
*Henry Kaiser: Requia and Other Improvisations for Guitar Solo
*Massacre: Love Me Tender
*Evan Parker/Matthew Shipp: Rex, Wrecks, & XXX (disc 2)
*Andy Partridge: My Failed Songwriting Career, Vol 1
*Pere Ubu: By Order of Mayor Pawlicki (Live in Jarocin) (disc 1)
*Robert Pollard: Motel of Fools
*Prince: Welcome 2 America
*Matana Roberts: Coin Coin Chapter One: Les Gens de Couleur Libres
*Matana Roberts: Coin Coin Chapter Two: Mississippi Moonchile
*Matana Roberts: Coin Coin Chapter Three: River Run Thee
*Matthew Shipp Trio: To Duke
*Wadada Leo Smith: Ten Freedom Summers (discs 2, 3)
*Sparks: Past Tense (The Best of Sparks) (discs 1, 2, 3)
*Sparks: A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip
*Karlheinz Stockhausen: Historic First Recordings Of The Klavierstücke I-VIII & XI (David Tudor)
*Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra: Other Planes of There "Other Planes of There"
*Craig Taborn/Vadim Neselovskyi: Da'at
*Cecil Taylor Trio and Quintet: Love for Sale
*Tiger Trio: Unleashed
*McCoy Tyner: Mosaic Select (discs 1, 2)
*UYA: 1992-04-05/18: Delay (wav)
*UYA: 1992-04-18/21: Business Button (wav)
*Various artists: The Wrecking Crew (discs 1, 2)
*Various artists: Ad-Rock & Mike D's Alphabetical Jukebox (CDR compilation) (discs 37, 38, 39)

Reading List, Week of 2021-08-08

Reading List 2021-08-09:

*Moore, Lorrie. Collected Stories (started)
*Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass (Comprehensive Readers Ed., ed. Blodgett and Bradley) (started)
*Atkinson, Kate. A God in Ruins (finished)
*Brooks, Cleanth and Robert Penn Warren. Understanding Poetry (rev. ed.) (finished)

Playlist, Week of 2021-08-01

The Duke at Fargo is one of the greatest live recordings of all time... it's a miracle that it even exists... unlike the several airshots that exist from the Blanton-Webster version of the band, Fargo captures the band while they're stretching out and getting loose (while being tight at the same time!)... it's a joy to hear...   Beyond this playlist, a log of my weekly listening, I also have the Magic Jukebox, which I listen to mostly during my daily walks and while dishwashing... I usually just put it on shuffle, but lately I have alternated between two massive playlists I put together, one for "late" (post-1947) Duke Ellington and one for Guided By Voices and associated Robert Pollard projects... Keeps me going...

Playlist 2021-08-02:

*Beatles: The Beatles (2009 mono remaster) (sides 3, 4)
*Blue Cheer: Vincebus Eruptum
*Taylor Ho Bynum/John Hébert/Gerald Cleaver: Book of Three
*Curlew: Live in Berlin
*Miles Davis: Bitches Brew (side 3)
*Duke Ellington: The Duke at Fargo, 1940: Special 60th Anniversary Edition (disc 1)
*Duke Ellington: Piano in the Foreground
*Duke Ellington: 1899-1974 (sides 7, 8)
*Globe Unity Orchestra: Globe Unity - 50 Years
*Guided By Voices: Styles We Paid For
*Guided By Voices: Earth Man Blues
*Mars Volta: Tremulant
*Mr. Bungle: The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo
*Roscoe Mitchell Creative Orchestra: Sketches from Bamboo (side 2)
*Roscoe Mitchell & the Note Factory: Song for My Sister
*Lawrence D. “Butch” Morris: Testament: A Conduction Collection (disc 4)
*New Ting: 2021-07-26 "Insert Tab Space Here" (wav)
*Evan Parker/Matthew Shipp: Rex, Wrecks, & XXX (disc 1)
*Andy Partridge: My Failed Songwriting Career, Vol 1
*Prince: Welcome 2 America
*Wadada Leo Smith: Ten Freedom Summers (disc 1)
*This Heat: Made Available: John Peel Sessions
*Charles Tolliver: Mosaic Select (discs 1, 2)
*McCoy Tyner: Mosaic Select (disc 3)
*Various artists: Ad-Rock & Mike D's Alphabetical Jukebox (CDR compilation) (discs 34, 35, 36)
*Various artists: Miniatures
*Chick Webb & Ella Fitzgerald: The Complete Chick Webb & Ella Fitzgerald Decca Sessions (1934-1941) (disc 2)
*XTC: Nonsuch (side 4)

Reading List, Week of 2021-08-01

Reading List 2021-08-02:

*Atkinson, Kate. A God in Ruins (started)
*Atkinson, Kate. Life after Life (started/finished)
*Kepnes, Caroline. You (finished)
*Brooks, Cleanth and Robert Penn Warren. Understanding Poetry (rev. ed.) (in progress)