Playlist, Week of 2021-09-26

Happy to see that Daniel Barbiero posted an old piece from 2013 he wrote for the Nancy Havlik Dance Performance Group that I participated in... nice photo here... Jackie McLean's alto tone is as sharp as a knife, and his solos consistently cut through the chord changes with intensity and bleeding-edge logic... Daevid Allen's merger with Acid Mothers Temple yielded some wonderfully strange, wacked-out results... 

Playlist 2021-09-27:

*Joshua Abrams' Cloud Script: Cloud Script
*George Adams/Don Pullen: Don't Lose Control (side 1)
*Lotte Anker/Fred Frith: Edge Of The Light
*Area: Are(A)zione (side 1)
*Albert Ayler: Holy Ghost (disc 2)
*Daniel Barbiero: 2013-04-13 Pyramid Atlantic, Silver Spring MD "Allusions to Ores & Ethers"
*Beach Boys: Feel Flows: The Sunflower & Surf's Up Sessions 1969-1971 (disc 1-5 selections)
*Anthony Braxton's Sonic Genome Project: 2010-01-31 Vancouver (CDR) (disc 1)
*Anthony Braxton: 12 Comp (ZIM) 2017 (Comp. 419)
*Ornette Coleman Double Quartet: Free Jazz (side 2)
*Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young: Songs by Neil Young (CDR compilation)
*Deerhoof: Future Teenage Cave Artists
*Hamid Drake & Bindu: Blissful

*Duke Ellington: Primping for the Prom (side 1)

*Duke Ellington: The Private Collection, Vol. 5: The Suites "The Degas Suite"
*Scott Fields Ensemble: We Were the Phliks
*Gong: Acid Motherhood
*Mary Halvorson/John Dieterich: A Tangle of Stars
*Scotty Hard: Scotty Hard's Radical Reconstructive Surgery
*Billie Holiday: The Commodore Master Takes
*King Crimson: Starless (disc 13)
*Joëlle Léandre/Nicole Mitchell/Dylan van der Schiff: Before After
*Michael Mantler: Hide and Seek
*Jackie McLean: It's Time!
*Jackie McLean: Action
*Jackie McLean: Right Now!
*Joe Morris Quartet: Graffiti in Two Parts
*New Ting: 2021-09-11 Hell's Door, RVA (wav)
*PainKiller: Execution Ground (disc 2)
*Lee Perry: I Am the Upsetter (discs 3, 4)
*Lee "Scratch" Perry: Arkology (disc 1)
*Didier Petit/Alexandre Pierrepont: Passages: A Road Record (Woodstock-New York-Chicago-Los Angeles)
*Tyshawn Sorey: Unfiltered (disc 1)
*Sparks: Left Coast Angst: Live Radio Broadcast Recordings 1982-1983
*Sparks: Balls
*Larry Young: Of Love and Peace
*Larry Young: Contrasts
*Larry Young: Heaven on Earth
*Larry Young: Mother Ship
*John Zorn/Fred Frith: The Art of Memory

Reading List, Week of 2021-09-26

 

Reading List 2021-09-27:

*Wolfe, Gene. The Shadow of the Torturer (started)
*Atkinson, Kate. One Good Turn (started/finished)
*Rodkey, Geoff. Lights Out in Lincolnwood (started/finished)
*Badman, Keith. The Beach Boys: The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band: On Stage and In the Studio (reread/in progress)
*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)

Ronald Shannon Jackson on Drumming

 

Valerie Wilmer: How did it feel when you worked together with Ornette's son Denardo in his father's band?

Ronald Shannon Jackson: That was a challenge. It was a very interesting point in my life. Denardo plays from the spirit of joy. I had to learn another way of dialog--not learn--but I had to think differently, because in this country, drums can be a very ego instrument. Working with Ornette makes you feel you have to get rid of that and start thinking in terms of how you're going to make the music feel. (Valerie Wilmer, "Interview: Ronald Shannon Jackson," Down Beat August 1982, p. 68, emphasis in original)

Playlist, Week of 2021-09-19

Still absorbing the wealth of new materials from the Beach Boys... and listening to healthy doses of free jazz and reggae while I do so... 

Playlist 2021-09-20:

*Albert Ayler: Holy Ghost (disc 1)
*Beach Boys: Feel Flows: The Sunflower & Surf's Up Sessions 1969-1971 (disc 1, disc 2-5 selections)
*Beatles: Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band (Anniversary Ed.) (side 4)
*Anthony Braxton: 12 Comp (ZIM) 2017 (Comp. 418)
*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (Standards) 2020 (discs 7, 8 streaming)
*Chicago Trio: Velvet Songs (To Baba Fred Anderson) (discs 1, 2)
*Ornette Coleman Double Quartet: Free Jazz (side 1)
*Duke Ellington/John Coltrane: Duke Ellington & John Coltrane (side 2)
*Stan Getz: The Complete Roost Recordings (disc 1)
*Grant Green: Street of Dreams
*Grant Green: I Want to Hold Your Hand
*Indigo Trio: Anaya
*Shannon Jackson & the Decoding Society: Street Priest (side 1)
*Christina McBride Band: Vertical Vision
*John Medeski: Crawlspace
*Roscoe Mitchell/Sandy Ewen/Damon Smith/Weasel Walter: A Railroad Spike Forms the Voice
*New Ting: 2021-09-11 Hell's Door, RVA (wav)
*Larry Ochs/Miya Masaoka/Peggy Lee: Spiller Alley
*William Parker Double Quartet: Alphaville Suite
*Lee Perry: I Am the Upsetter (discs 1, 2)
*Quiet Sun: Mainstream
*RAIC: Lovers Never Leave
*Right Hemisphere: Right Hemisphere
*Sparks: Kimono My House
*Sparks: Propaganda
*Sun Ra: The Eternal Myth Revealed, Vol. 1 (disc 7)
*Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra: Other Planes of There "Other Planes of There"
*Sun Ra: Lanquidity (45rpm version) (side 7)
*Sun Ra: On Jupiter (side 2)
*Craig Taborn: 60 x Sixty (streaming)
*Dennis Wilson: Pacific Ocean Blue (disc 1)
*XTC: Skylarking (side 2)
*Larry Young: Into Somethin’
*John Zorn/Simulacrum: Nostradamus: The Death of Satan

Reading List, Week of 2021-09-19

Reading List 2021-09-20:

*Badman, Keith. The Beach Boys: The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band: On Stage and In the Studio (reread/started)
*Atkinson, Kate. Case Histories (started/finished)
*Brown, Craig. 150 Glimpses of the Beatles (started/finished)
*King, Stephen. Billy Summers (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)

New Ting: Live Video Available

New Ting played outside at Hell's Door in Richmond VA on September 11, 2021, and we were captured on video by Silver Persinger. The video's up on youtube. I'm not going to try to embed it; you can watch it here. Big fun!

Playlist, Week of 2021-09-12

A lot of my listening is exploring new stuff I'm not as familiar with... always trying to hear more... but it's also nice to visit old favorites that are imprinted in my brain (like the Beatles and the Beach Boys)... particularly this week two old favorites really did me in all over again: The Inner Mounting Flame and The Far East Suite... whoa... even though I know these albums intimately, both of them left me gobsmacked as the freshness of their sound and the ingenuity of new details revealed many new aspects I hadn't heard before... like all great jazz records, they always reward repeated listening... 

Playlist 2021-09-13:

*Beach Boys: Feel Flows: The Sunflower & Surf's Up Sessions 1969-1971 (discs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
*Beatles: Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band (Anniversary Ed.) (side 3)
*Jeff Beck: You Had It Coming
*Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young: Take My Hand (Fillmore East 1970-06) (discs 1, 2)
*Anthony Braxton Quartet: 1976-10-28 Graz, Austria (CDR) (track 3)
*Anthony Braxton: 12 Comp (ZIM) 2017 (Comp. 416)
*John Coltrane: Transition "Suite"
*Connie Crothers/David Arner: Spontaneous Suite for Two Pianos (disc 2)
*Dutch Jazz Orchestra: Portrait of a Silk Thread: Newly Discovered Works of Billy Strayhorn
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Works of Duke: Integrale Volume 22 (side 2)
*Duke Ellington: The Far East Suite
*Grant Green: Talkin' About!
*Mary Halvorson's Code Girl: Artlessly Falling
*Jimi Hendrix: Burning Desire "Ezy Ryder/MLK Jam"
*Joëlle Léandre and George Lewis: Transatlantic Visions
*Mahavishnu Orchestra: The Inner Mounting Flame
*Roscoe Mitchell/David Wessel: Contact "Schreeds"
*New Ting: 2021-09-11 Hell's Door, RVA (wav)
*Tony Oxley/Derek Bailey Quartet: 1993-09 Crawley, England (CDR)
*Tony Oxley Celebration Orchestra: The Enchanted Messenger
*Andy Partridge: My Failed Songwriting Career, Vol 1
*Didier Petit: D'Accord
*Robert Pollard: Standard Gargoyle Decisions
*Don Pullen: Mosaic Select (disc 1)
*Matthew Shipp: Un Piano
*Tyshawn Sorey: Unfiltered (discs 1, 2)
*Sparks: Balls
*Sparks: Hippopotamus
*Sun Ra: Lanquidity (45rpm version) (sides 1, 2, 3, 4)
*Charles Tolliver Big Band: Mosaic Select (disc 2)
*Various artists: Rough Guide to Salsa
*Various artists: WSAM: 2008 Start (CDR compilation)
*Neil Young: Oh Lonesome Me (CDR compilation)

Reading List, Week of 2021-09-12

 

Reading List 2021-09-13:

*King, Stephen. Billy Summers (started)
*Smith, Ali. There but for the (started/finished)
*'Every Sound There Is': The Beatles' Revolver and the Transformation of Rock and Roll (ed. Russell Reising) (finished)
*Smith, Ali. The First Person (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)

New Ting: Gig This Saturday 2011-09-11

This will be the first gig for New Ting since before the pandemic... our last show was at Shockoe Denim in January 2020. This Saturday, Sept. 11. Outdoors, at Hells Door, downtown RVA. Show starts at 5 pm. New Ting will be a quartet this evening: Tommy Birchett, Jimmy Ghaphery, Fred McGann, and Sam Byrd (me). A fun lineup, a fun venue, hope the weather's fun too!

 

Playlist, Week of 2021-09-05

Big listening of the week (and for many weeks to come!): the new Beach Boys box set Feel Flows... early highlights: all of the unreleased Dennis Wilson compositions... some great live stuff, including a killer 1973 "Surf's Up" with Carl Wilson nailing it beautifully... a wonderful Brian Wilson composition ("Won't You Tell Me")... and so much more... too bad about the cover... but very rarely do latter-day Beach Boys compilations have decent art... in fact, can't think of any off the top of my head... but it ain't about the cover....

Playlist 2021-09-06:

*Marshall Allen/Matthew Shipp/Joe Morris: Night Logic
*Beach Boys: Feel Flows: The Sunflower & Surf's Up Sessions 1969-1971 (discs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
*Beatles: Revolver (2009 stereo remaster) (sides 1, 2)
*Beatles: Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band (Anniversary Ed.) (side 1)
*Anthony Braxton & the Wesleyan Tri-Centric Orchestra: 2011-04-25 Middletown, CT (CDR) (disc 1)
*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (New Haven) 2014 (discs 1, 2)
*Anthony Braxton: 12 Comp (ZIM) 2017 (Comp. 414, 415)
*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (Standards) 2020 (disc 6 streaming)
*De La Soul: Stakes Is High
*Michel Edelin Trio: Kuntu
*Duke Ellington & His Orchestra: Up in Duke's Workshop
*Buddy Holly: The Buddy Holly Collection (disc 2)
*I.P.Y.: IPY
*Medeski Martin & Wood: 2004-11-04 Seattle (CDR)
*Nicole Mitchell Black Earth Ensemble/Ensemble Laborintus: Moments Of Fatherhood
*MMM Quartet: Oakland/Lisboa
*Moving Gelatine Plates: Moving Gelatine Plates
*PainKiller: Guts of a Virgin
*Jaco Pastorius: Jaco
*Roxy Music: Country Life
*DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist: Brainfreeze
*Sparks: Two Hands One Mouth: Live in Europe (disc 1)
*Tarbaby: Fanon
*Charles Tolliver Big Band: Mosaic Select (disc 1)
*Various artists: The Wrecking Crew (disc 4)
*Chick Webb & Ella Fitzgerald: The Complete Chick Webb & Ella Fitzgerald Decca Sessions (1934-1941) (disc 4)
*Amy Winehouse: Back to Black (side 1)

Reading List, Week of 2021-09-05

Reading List 2021-09-06:

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

Ringo

In most accounts, Ringo has been characterized as an average drummer with severe technical limitations. I would counter that such a characterization demonstrates a very narrow understanding of what constitutes good drumming technique--one that takes into account only speed and intricacy without acknowledging timbre and tempo management as vital aspects of drumming performance practice. (Steven Bauer, "Ringo Round Revolver: Rhythm, Timbre, and Tempo in Rock Drumming," in 'Every Sound There Is:' The Beatles' Revolver and the Transformation of Rock and Roll, ed. Russell Reising, Ashgate 2002, p. 179)