Playlist, Week of 2022-12-25

Love the dynamic energy and sheer power of Tony Williams's drumming on Emergency... but his singing? not so much... Garden features Cecil Taylor at some of his most romantically lyrical, and it's devastatingly beautiful... The new Mars Volta album is a bit poppier, but nice... 

Playlist 2022-12-26:

*Arctic Monkeys: Favourite Worst Nightmare

*Beach Boys: Friends (side 1)

*Beatles: Rubber Soul (2009 stereo remaster) (sides 1, 2)

*Beatles: Revolver (Super Deluxe 4 LP Edition 2022) (side 7)

*Marilyn Crispell/Gary Peacock/Paul Motian: Nothing Ever Was, Anyway (disc 1)

*Death Grips: The Money Store

*Deerhoof: Devil Kids

*Grateful Dead: 190-05-07 MIT (CDR) (selections)

*Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks: Crazy for Christmas

*Ingrid Laubrock: Contemporary Chaos Practices "Contemporary Chaos Practices Pt. 1 & 2"

*Mars Volta: The Mars Volta

*Matching Mole: Matching Mole’s Little Red Record (expanded ed.) (disc 1)

*Charles Mingus and His Quintet: My Favorite Quintet

*Charles Mingus: Mingus Plays Piano (Spontaneous Compositions and Improvisations)

*Roscoe Mitchell Sound Ensemble: 1980-12-27 Detroit (CDR)

*Sparks: Balls

*Specials: The Specials (sides 1, 2)

*Cecil Taylor: Jumpin' Pumpkins

*Cecil Taylor: Garden "Garden II"

*Tony Williams: Life Time

*Tony Williams Lifetime: Emergency!

 

Reading List, Week of 2022-12-25

Reading List 2022-12-26:

*Ríos, Julián. The House of Ulysses (transl. Nick Caistor) (finished)
*Jenkins, Todd S. I Know What I Know: The Music of Charles Mingus (in progress)
*Rosenbaum, Ron. The Shakespeare Wars (reread/in progress)
*Segar, E. C. The Complete E.C. Segar Popeye: Vol. 2 Sundays 1932-1934 (in progress)

 

Playlist, Week of 2022-12-18

Beautiful large-scale creative orchestral work from Bill Dixon... The Paul Bley Trios playing Annette Peacock is a timely reissue for me, since I have been exploring Bley's interpretations of her compositions... trying to get a handle on how her compositions work... Digging the bagpipes on Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe... The combination of Jimmy Lyons and David S. Ware on Dark to Themselves (not to mention Cecil Taylor himself and the ferocious drumming of Marc Edwards) is almost overwhelming... 

Playlist 2022-12-19:

*Muhal Richard Abrams Sextet: 1973-11-04 Berlin (CDR)
*Arctic Monkeys: Humbug
*Albert Ayler: Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe
*Daniel Barbiero/Ken Moore/Dave Vosh: Transparent Points on Four Axes
*Beach Boys: Sail on Sailor 1972 (Super Deluxe Ed.) (discs 3, 4)
*Beatles: Beatles for Sale (2009 stereo remaster) (sides 1, 2)
*Beatles: Revolver (Super Deluxe Edition 2022) (discs 2, 3) (selections)
*Beatles: Magical Mystery Tour (2009 stereo remaster) (sides 1, 2)
*Paul Bley: Paul Bley Trios Play Annette Peacock Revisited
*Anthony Braxton: 12 Comp (ZIM) 2017 (Comp. 420)
*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2022-11-26 Nashville (wav)
*Miles Davis: The Complete In a Silent Way Sessions (disc 3) "The Ghetto Walk"
*Miles Davis: The Cellar Door Sessions 1970 (disc 6) "Inamorata"
*Bill Dixon: 17 Musicians in Search of a Sound: Darfur
*Duke Ellington: Midnight in Paris
*Duke Ellington: All American in Jazz
*Trevor Dunn's Trio-Convulsant avec Folie à Quatre: Séances
*Fire! Orchestra: Exit!
*Grateful Dead: Dick's Picks 26 (1969-04-26/27) (disc 2)
*Grateful Dead: Dick's Picks 12 (1974-06-26 Providence RI/1974-06-28 Boston) (discs 2, 3)
*Guided By Voices: Scalping the Guru
*Alexander Hawkins: Iron into Wind (Pears from an Elm)
*Joe Henderson: The Complete Joe Henderson Blue Note Sessions (disc 2)
*Jimi Hendrix: Songs for Groovy Children (The Fillmore East Concerts) (disc 2)
*Lucas & Corey: Hectic in L​.​A. (streaming)
*Charles Mingus: Charles 'Baron' Mingus, West Coast, 1945-49
*Charles Mingus Groups: Debut Rarities Vol. 4
*Charles Mingus Jazz Workshop: 1956-07-05 Newport (CDR)
*Charles Mingus: Mingus at Monterey
*Rova Saxophone Quartet/Fred Frith/Henry Kaiser: 1987-09-18 San Francisco (CDR) (disc 3)
*Alexander von Schlippenbach: Monk's Casino (The Complete Works of Thelonious Monk) (disc 3)
*Sparks: Indiscreet (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra: Singles: The Definitive 45s Collection 1952-1991 (disc 2)
*Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra: 1981-05-02 New Orleans (CDR)
*Sun Ra Intergalactic Myth Research Arkestra: 1981-05-29 Washington DC (CDR) (discs 1, 2)
*Sun Ra Arkestra: 1983-10-22 Belfort, France (CDR) (discs 1, 2, 3)
*Cecil Taylor Unit: Dark to Themselves
*Cecil Taylor: Another Material Complex from Cecil Taylor's 1988-91 Music
*Cecil Taylor Feel Trio: Two Ts for a Lovely T (disc 3)
*Tad Thaddock: Things 12 (1984): Christmas Balls (selections) 

Reading List, Week of 2022-12-18

Reading List 2022-12-19:

*Jenkins, Todd S. I Know What I Know: The Music of Charles Mingus (started)
*Ríos, Julián. The House of Ulysses (transl. Nick Caistor) (started)
*Segar, E. C. The Complete E.C. Segar Popeye: Vol. 2 Sundays 1932-1934 (started)
*Crumb, R. The Book of Genesis (reread/finished)
*Rosenbaum, Ron. The Shakespeare Wars (reread/in progress)

 

Playlist, Week of 2022-12-11

 

I may be in the minority, but I actually prefer the original edited versions of the Mingus songs from the 1959 Columbia sessions to the complete ones featured here... I've never been able to pin down for sure whether it was Mingus's, or Teo Macero's, artistic decision to cut them, or if it was out of necessity to fit more songs on the LPs...  maybe it's because the edited versions are the ones I grew up... anyway, I think they make the songs tighter and more successful... but it appears that the "canonical" versions easily available these days are the longer ones... I am quite taken with the Mingus composition "New York Sketchbook"... recorded in the studio in 1958, as far as I can tell, the only other version is a scorching live one from Newport in 1956 (titled there as "Tourist in Manhattan")... I think it's a Mingus masterpiece, ranking up there with the Mingus Dynasty material... anybody know of any other versions?... The Globe Unity album Compositions is interesting and enjoyable, but I much prefer the more improvisational aspect of that orchestra... I understand why McCoy Tyner had to leave the Coltrane quartet, and I love Alice Coltrane's piano playing, so: fine... but I also sometimes wonder what it would have been like if Tyner had stuck around a little longer... his piano solos on Live in Seattle are enticing teasers of where he might have gone...

Playlist 2022-12-12:

*Art Ensemble of Chicago: Urban Bushmen (side 1)

*Derek Bailey/George Lewis/John Zorn: Yankees

*Beach Boys: Sail on Sailor 1972 (Super Deluxe Ed.) (discs 1, 2, 5, 6)

*Anthony Braxton: 12 Comp (ZIM) 2017 (Comp. 414, 419)

*Taylor Ho Bynum: Enter the Plustet

*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2022-11-26 Nashville (wav)

*John Coltrane: Live in Seattle (disc 1) "Out of This World"

*Duke Ellington: The Girl's Suite/The Perfume Suite (sides 1, 2)

*Globe Unity: Compositions

*Grateful Dead: 1968-01-17 Carousel Ballroom, SF (CDR) (disc 2)

*Grateful Dead: Dick's Picks 26 (1969-04-26/27) (disc 1)

*Grateful Dead: 1973 Selections (CDR compilation)

*Grateful Dead: Dick's Picks 12 (1974-06-26 Providence RI) (disc 1)

*Mary Halvorson: Belladonna

*Lucas & Corey: Hectic in L​.​A. (streaming)

*Charles Mingus Duo & Trio with Spaulding Givens & Max Roach: Debut Rarities Vol. 2

*Charles Mingus Octet/Jimmy Knepper Quintet: Debut Rarities Vol. 1

*Charles Mingus: Chazz! (sides 1, 2)

*Charles Mingus Jazz Workshop: 1956-07-05 Newport (CDR)

*Charles Mingus: Nostalgia In Times Square/The Immortal 1959 Sessions (side 2)

*Roscoe Mitchell Sound Ensemble: 1980-12-27 Detroit (CDR)

*Roscoe Mitchell/David Wessel: Contact

*Roscoe Mitchell/Sandy Ewen/Damon Smith/Weasel Walter: A Railroad Spike Forms the Voice

*Rova Saxophone Quartet/Fred Frith/Henry Kaiser: 1987-09-18 San Francisco (CDR) (disc 2)

*Tyshawn Sorey: Alloy

*Sparks: Angst in My Pants

*Sparks: Lil' Beethoven (sides 1, 2)

*Sparks: A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip (side 1)

*Sun Ra: Singles: The Definitive 45s Collection 1952-1991 (disc 1)

*Sun Ra and His Astro Infinity Arkestra: My Brother the Wind Vol. II

*Sun Ra and His Blue Universe Arkestra: Universe in Blue (2022 remaster) (side 1)

*Cecil Taylor Unit: 1979-03-15 WKCR, NYC (CDR)

*Cecil Taylor Unit: 1981-11-07 Zurich (CDR)

*XTC: Drums and Wires

*John Zorn/Chaos Magick: Multiplicities: A Repository of Non-Existent Objects

Reading List, Week of 2022-12-11

Reading List 2022-12-12:

*Crumb, R. The Book of Genesis (reread/started)
*Barks, Carl. Uncle Scrooge: "Only a Poor Old Man" (reread/finished)
*Shakespeare, William. Troilus and Cressida (Arden 2nd ed., ed. Kenneth Palmer) (reread/finished)
*Thompson, Dave. No. 1 Songs in Heaven: The Sparks Story (finished)

 

Playlist, Week of 2022-12-04

 

Really been enjoying this new release from Lucas & Corey... I've randomly listened to their music over the years, and this is the strongest album yet from this Brooklyn duo... really nice, low-key, quirky pop tunes thematically arranged around the tension between the east coast and the west... the laconic singing sometimes vaguely reminds me of Stephen Malkmus, but not enough to sound influenced by him... nice  surf guitar solos, too... great job, guys! Keep it up from whatever coast you end up on... On Slobber Pup's Black Aces, Joe Morris puts on his John McLaughlin hat and rocks out, while Trevor Dunn channels Bill Laswell and Jamie Saft channels Larry Young channeling Mike Ratledge... powerful stuff... It was great to get together with Rodger Coleman over the holidays, and we were even able to make some noise together... it'd been a while, but it felt as comfortable as ever, and as usual his guitar playing knocked my socks off... still looking for them... Expect to see lots of Sun Ra, Charles Mingus, Grateful Dead, Cecil Taylor, and Anthony Braxton in my playlists in the coming weeks... on a kick...

Playlist 2022-12-05:

*Marshall Allen/Sam Byrd/Tim Harding/Elliott Levin/Thomas Stanley: 2007-12-13 Richmond VA (CDR) track 5
*Zoh Amba: O, Sun
*Kevin Ayers and the Whole World: Shooting at the Moon (side 1)
*Beatles: Revolver (Super Deluxe 4 LP Edition 2022) (sides 7, 8, 10)
*Beatles: The Beatles (sides 1, 2)
*Paul Bley: Paul Bley Trios Play Annette Peacock Revisited (streaming)
*Anthony Braxton: Creative Orchestra (Köln) 1978 "Composition 59"
*Anthony Braxton: 12 Comp (ZIM) 2017 (Comp. 418)
*Clash: London Calling (sides 1, 2)
*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2015-05-14 Nashville (wav) track 7
*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2022-11-26 Nashville (wav)
*John Coltrane: Ascension (Edition I)
*Duke Ellington: The Complete Duke Ellington, Vol. 2: 1928-1930 (side 3)
*Flying Zamboni Brothers: January (Brooklyn, Improv #3) (streaming)
*Flying Zamboni Brothers: The Zambonis Go Electric (streaming)
*Jimmy Giuffre: Free Fall
*Grateful Dead: Dark Star 1972 version 2 (finished, 10:18:22-11:42:37)
*Grateful Dead: Dave's Picks vol. 4 (1976-09-24 Williamsburg) (discs 2, 3)
*Vince Guaraldi Trio: A Charlie Brown Christmas
*Joe Henderson: The Complete Joe Henderson Blue Note Sessions (disc 1)
*Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks: Crazy for Christmas
*High Llamas: Can Cladders
*Andrew Hill: Passing Ships
*Ingrid Laubrock: 2009-08-01 The Stone, NYC (CDR)
*Led Zeppelin: Presence
*Lucas & Corey: Hectic in L​.​A. (streaming)
*Charles Mingus: Jazz Composers Workshop
*Charles Mingus: The Jazz Experiments of Charles Mingus
*Charles Mingus: A Modern Jazz Symposium of Music and Poetry
*David Murray: Low Class Conspiracy (side 1)
*New Loft: New Loft Plays Sun Ra (CDR)
*Rova Saxophone Quartet/Fred Frith/Henry Kaiser: 1987-09-18 San Francisco (CDR) (disc 1)
*Alexander von Schlippenbach: Monk's Casino (The Complete Works of Thelonious Monk) (disc 2)
*Slobber Pup: Black Aces "Accuser"
*Sparks: Kimono My House
*Sparks: Propaganda
*Sparks: Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins (side 2)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Super-Sonic Jazz
*Sun Ra and His Astro Infinity Arkestra: Sound Sun Pleasure!!
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Jazz in Silhouette (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra Arkestra: Living Sky
*Cecil Taylor Quintet: 1965-07-02 Newport (CDR) "Steps"
*Cecil Taylor: Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly!
*Cecil Taylor: One Material Complex from Cecil Taylor's 1988-91 Music
*Anna Webber: Clockwise

Reading List, Week of 2022-12-04

 

Reading List 2022-12-05:

*Barks, Carl. Uncle Scrooge: "Only a Poor Old Man" (reread/started)
*Rosenbaum, Ron. The Shakespeare Wars (reread/started)
*Thompson, Dave. No. 1 Songs in Heaven: The Sparks Story (started)
*Shakespeare, William. Troilus and Cressida (Arden 2nd ed., ed. Kenneth Palmer) (reread/in progress)

Playlist, Week of 2022-11-27

 

Short list this week... back to more regular listening next time!

Playlist 2022-11-28:

*Miles Davis: That's What Happened 1982-1985 (discs 1, 2)
*Necks: Mindset

Reading List, Week of 2022-11-27

Reading List 2022-11-28:

*Bevington, David. "Determining the Indeterminate: The Oxford Shakespeare." Shakespeare Quarterly, Vol. 38, No. 4 (Winter, 1987) (started/finished)
*Rabelais, François. The Histories of Gargantua and Pantagruel (transl. J.M. Cohen) (finished)
*Shakespeare, William. Troilus and Cressida (Arden 2nd ed., ed. Kenneth Palmer) (reread/in progress)

 

Playlist, Week of 2022-11-20

Good stuff....

Playlist 2022-11-21:

*Zoh Amba: Bhakti (streaming)

*Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavilion

*Art Ensemble: 1967/68 (disc 2) "Trio (Oh Susanna)"

*Art Ensemble of Chicago: Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City: Live at Iridium "Erika"

*Beatles: Revolver (Super Deluxe 4 LP Edition 2022) (side 3)

*Jeff Beck: Blow by Blow

*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (Moscow) 2008

*Anthony Braxton: 12 Comp (ZIM) 2017 (Comp. 416)

*Boston Spaceships: Camera Found the Raygun

*Circus Devils: Ataxia

*Elvis Costello and the Attractions: Armed Forces (sides 1, 2)

*Tadd Dameron: 1947-1949

*Deerhoof: Devil Kids

*Trevor Dunn's Trio-Convulsant avec Folie à Quatre: Séances

*Duke Ellington: Midnight in Paris (sides 1, 2)

*Fẹla and Afrika 70: Zombie (sides 1, 2)

*Chad Fowler: Alien Skin (streaming)

*Grateful Dead: 1968-01-17 Carousel Ballroom, SF (CDR) (disc 1)

*Grateful Dead: Dave's Picks vol. 4 (1976-09-24 Williamsburg) (disc 1)

*Grateful Dead: 1981-12-31 Oakland "Dark Star"

*Grateful Dead: 1984-07-13 Berkeley "Dark Star"

*Andrew Hill: Dance with Death

*Jefferson Pilot: The Return of Troubled Youth Orchestra

*Mars Volta: Live

*Merzbow/Keiji Haino/Balázs Pándi: An Untroublesome Defencelessness

*Ikue Mori: Tracing the Magic

*David Murray/Milford Graves: Real Deal

*Yoko Ono: Plastic Ono Band

*Santana: Borboletta (selections)

*Sparks: Big Beat (sides 1, 2)

*Sparks: Whomp That Sucker

*Sun Ra: The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra (sides 1, 2)

*Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra: When Angels Speak of Love

*Sun Ra: Monorails & Satellites, Vol. 1

*Sun Ra: Oblique Parallax

*Sun Ra: Celestial Love

*Sun Ra Arkestra: Living Sky

*Craig Taborn: Shadow Plays

*Cecil Taylor Unit: 1976-04-15 Ann Arbor (CDR)

*Cecil Taylor: 1987-03-06 Rome (CDR)

*Various artists: Bollywood "Music From the Third Floor" (CDR compilation) (discs 17, 19)

*Leon Ware: Musical Massage

*Stevie Wonder: Innervisions

*Neil Young: Olden Days (CDR compilation)

*John Zorn/Chaos Magick: Multiplicities: A Repository of Non-Existent Objects

 

Reading List, Week of 2022-11-20

Reading List 2022-11-21:

*Rabelais, François. The Histories of Gargantua and Pantagruel (transl. J.M. Cohen) (started)
*Shakespeare, William. Troilus and Cressida (Arden 2nd ed., ed. Kenneth Palmer) (reread/started)
*Choi, Susan. My Education (finished)
*Green, Daniel. American Postmodern Fiction (finished)
*Hergé. Tintin in America (finished)
*Jackson, MacDonald P. Defining Shakespeare: Pericles as Test Case (finished)

 

New Jefferson Pilot Album: The Return of Troubled Youth Orchestra

 

The Troubled Youth Orchestra is back with a vengeance. On The Return of Troubled Youth Orchestra,  Jefferson Pilot's new release, the TYO is presented as a collaborator, or alter ego, of the artist. Making its first appearance on a single track of The Optimist Field, here the TYO is featured, in a big way, with a two-minute prelude and a fourteen-minute extravaganza. Strange percussive effects, offbeat and sinuous saxophone lines, and dissonant harmonica effects all swirl together in a mélange of effort. These conflicting textures evoke a jagged landscape of sonic possibilities and disorienting psychedelia.

That psychedelic underpinning extends to the whole album. After "Intro," the songs settle into the slightly more familiar territory of slow majesty that informs much of Jefferson Pilot's recent work--songs that, with their Ringo-esque drumming, Robert Wyatt-influenced vocals, and mellotron textures, evoke a Canterbury-like feel that also shares a lot with the pianistic sensibility of Dennis Wilson and structural modularity of Smile-era Brian Wilson. A strong release for Jefferson Pilot that rivals his earlier releases in its ingenuity, flow, and experimentation.

(Full disclosure: Jefferson Pilot's my brother.)

New Ting RVA October 2022

 

Nice photo from Randy Reus of Fred and me at the latest New Ting gig...

Rodger Coleman's Sun Ra Sundays Is Out!

Today is the official launch of Rodger Coleman's Sun Ra Sundays, published by the Digital Press at the University of North Dakota. Press announcement here. Download it free or order a print copy here. It's great to see this come to fruition!

And do check out publisher William Caraher's excellent overview of recent Sun Ra scholarship here.

Playlist, Week of 2022-11-13

Always inspired by Rashied Ali's brilliant drumming on Live in Japan... and Tony Oxley's on Two Ts for a Lovely T... 

Playlist 2022-11-14:

*Muhal Richard Abrams Sextet: 1973-11-04 Berlin (CDR)
*Animal Collective: Strawberry Jam
*Beatles: Revolver (Super Deluxe 4 LP Edition 2022) (sides 4, 10)
*Beatles: Abbey Road (Anniversary Edition) (disc 1)
*Paul Bley: Open, to Love
*Paul Bley: Annette
*Anthony Braxton: The Montreux/Berlin Concerts (side 4)
*Anthony Braxton/Robert Schumann String Quartet: Anthony Braxton · Robert Schumann String Quartet
*Anthony Braxton: 12 Comp (ZIM) 2017 (Comp. 415)
*Caravan: If I Could Do It All Over Again, I'd Do It All Over You
*John Coltrane Quartet: Crescent (side 1)
*John Coltrane: Live in Japan (disc 1) "Peace on Earth"
*Death Ambient: Drunken Forest
*Trevor Dunn's Trio-Convulsant avec Folie à Quatre: Séances
*Sheila E: Sheila E (selections)
*Gang of Four: Another Day/Another Dollar
*Gang of Four: Songs of the Free
*Grateful Dead: Dick's Picks 22 (1968-02/23-24 Lake Tahoe) (disc 2)
*Grateful Dead: Dark Star 1972 version 2 (in progress, 8:20:09-10:18:22)
*Hatfield and the North: Hatwise Choice
*Jefferson Pilot: The Return of Troubled Youth Orchestra
*Allen Lowe: Jews & Roots: An Avant Garde of Our Own: Disconnected Works: 1980-2018 (disc 7)
*Michael Mantler: Concertos
*Charles Mingus: Mingus at Carnegie Hall (Deluxe ed.) (disc 1)
*Sly and the Family Stone: Higher! (disc 4)
*Tyshawn Sorey: Unfiltered (disc 2)
*Sparks: Exotic Creatures of the Deep (sides 3, 4)
*Sun Ra and His Blue Universe Arkestra: Universe in Blue (2022 remaster) (side 2)
*Sun Ra: Cosmos
*Sun Ra: Celestial Love
*Sun Ra Arkestra: Living Sky
*Cecil Taylor: 1983-07-27 Genoa (CDR)
*Cecil Taylor Feel Trio: 2 Ts for a Lovely T (disc 1)
*UYA: 1992-005-06 Viva Bogus Vegas! (wav)
*Various artists: Do It Again! The Songs of Brian Wilson
*Neil Young: Twisted Road (CDR compilation)
*John Zorn/Brian Marsella Trio: Buer (Book of Angels Vol. 31)

 

Reading List, Week of 2022-11-13

Reading List 2022-11-14:

*Choi, Susan. My Education (started)
*Green, Daniel. American Postmodern Fiction (started)
*Hergé. Tintin in America (started)
*Jackson, MacDonald P. Defining Shakespeare: Pericles as Test Case (started)
*Barton, Anne. "Shakespeare and Jonson," in Essays, Mainly Shakespearian (started/finished)
*Hergé. Tintin in the Congo (1931 version) (started/finished)
*Kirwan, Peter. Shakespeare and the Idea of Apocrypha (finished)
*Shakespeare, William. King Richard III (Arden 3rd ed., ed. James R. Siemon) (reread/finished)

Jazz Thoughts

In his excellent new article on Charles Mingus and Cecil Taylor's 1965 television appearance on Jazz: The Experimenters, Ethan Iverson states: "Those eager to condemn Ralph Ellison, Albert Murray, Stanley Crouch, and Wynton Marsalis as hopelessly conservative may want to stop and learn more about what they were trying to conserve."

I don't have any problem with what they were trying to conserve; I love the music they champion. What I take exception to is not what they were trying to conserve, but that they chose to do it at the expense of the music of iconoclasts like Cecil Taylor, Sun Ra, and late Miles Davis. "Jazz," as problematic as the term is, is nothing if not inclusive. So, yeah, I guess I'm eager to condemn Marsalis and Crouch for their lack of tolerance. Yeah, I am intolerant of their intolerance.

Playlist, Week of 2022-11-06

 

Another brilliant studio album from the Sun Ra Arkestra... Living Sky captures some of the same peaceful late-night intensity of Sleeping Beauty and On Jupiter... current favorite track: "Marshall's Groove"... Am also enjoying the new remastered vinyl release of Ra's Universe in Blue, featuring #26 on my list of favorite John Gilmore solos... you can smell the smoke coming out of this groove... the CD version also includes, as a bonus track, #27 from my list... I mean, this is unbelievable stuff... 

Playlist 2022-11-07:

*Ask the Trees: Subjugation of a Ghost
*Beach Boys: Smiley Smile (sides 1, 2)
*Beatles: Revolver (Super Deluxe 4 LP Edition 2022) (sides 1, 2, 7, 8)
*Beatles: Revolver (Super Deluxe Edition 2022) (discs 2, 3)
*Jeff Beck: Blow by Blow
*Anthony Braxton: Sextet (Parker) 1993 (disc 11)
*Anthony Braxton: Trio (NYC) 2011
*Anthony Braxton: 12 Comp (ZIM) 2017 (Comp. 414)
*Ornette Coleman: The Music of Ornette Coleman: Forms & Sounds "Forms and Sounds"
*Trevor Dunn's Trio-Convulsant avec Folie à Quatre: Séances
*Fred Frith/Phil Minton: 1981-01-11 RAW, Richmond VA (CDR)
*Fred Frith: 1982-06-19 RAW, Richmond VA (CDR)
*Gang of Four: Solid Gold (sides 1, 2)
*Grateful Dead: Dick's Picks 22 (1968-02/23-24 Lake Tahoe) (disc 1)
*Grateful Dead: 1970-02-13 Fillmore East (disc 3)
*Grateful Dead: Wembley Empire Pool, London, England 4/8/72 (side 7)
*Jefferson Pilot: The Return of Troubled Youth Orchestra
*Radu Malfatti/Keith Rowe: Φ (disc 1)
*Charles Mingus: Let My Children Hear Music (side 1)
*Prince: The Black Album (side 1)
*Prince: Chaos and Disorder
*Alexander von Schlippenbach: Monk's Casino (The Complete Works of Thelonious Monk) (disc 1)
*Wadada Leo Smith/Peter Kowald/Bobby Naughton: 1981-10-07 RAW, Richmond VA (CDR)
*Tyshawn Sorey: Unfiltered (disc 1)
*Sparks: Angst in My Pants
*Sparks: Terminal Jive
*Spirit: Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus
*Sun Ra: Heliocentric Worlds Vol. 3: The Lost Tapes "Intercosmosis"
*Sun Ra and His Blue Universe Arkestra: Universe in Blue (2022 remaster) (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra Arkestra: Living Sky
*Cecil Taylor Unit: 1977-06-15 Munich (CDR) (discs 1, 2)
*Cecil Taylor Unit: 1979-03-15 WKCR, NYC (CDR)
*This Heat: This Heat
*Titan to Tachyons: Cactides
*Titan to Tachyons: Vonals
*UYA: 1992-04-28/05-03: So Nice To Be Here (wav)
*Various artists: Bollywood "Music From the Third Floor" (CDR compilation) (disc 18)
*Anna Webber: Simple
*XTC: Nonsuch (side 2)
*Larry Young: Lawrence of Newark
*John Zorn/Jamie Saft Trio: Astaroth: Book of Angels, Vol. 1
*John Zorn/Chaos Magick: Multiplicities: A Repository of Non-Existent Objects

Reading List, Week of 2022-11-06

Reading List 2022-11-07:

*Kirwan, Peter. Shakespeare and the Idea of Apocrypha (started)
*Beard, Mary. Women & Power (finished)
*Whitehead, Colson. Sag Harbor (finished)
*Kirby, Jack, and Stan Lee. Essential Fantastic Four Vol. 5 (reread/finished)
*Shakespeare, William. King Richard III (Arden 3rd ed., ed. James R. Siemon) (reread/in progress)

 

Playlist, Week of 2022-10-30

Ringo, baby! In glorious mono... I missed out on the mono vinyl in 2009, so I'm glad to be able to get it in this box... sounds great...

Playlist 2022-10-31:

*Beatles: Revolver (Super Deluxe 4 LP Edition 2022) (sides 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
*Anthony Braxton: Sextet (Parker) 1993 (disc 10)
*Anthony Braxton: Nine Compositions (Hill) 2000
*Anthony Braxton: 12 Comp (ZIM) 2017 (Comp. 412)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: A Drum Is a Woman
*Grateful Dead: 1972-05-24 London (CDR) (discs 1, 2, 3)
*Grateful Dead: Dick's Picks 1 (1973-12-19 Tampa) (disc 1)
*Grateful Dead: Dark Star 1972 version 2 (in progress, 5:48:40-8:20:09)
*Barry Guy/Blue Shroud Band: Tensegrity (Small Formations) (disc 4)
*Jimi Hendrix: Songs for Groovy Children (The Fillmore East Concerts) (disc 1)
*Andrew Hill: The Complete Blue Note Andrew Hill Sessions (1963-66) (disc 3)
*Ikue Mori: One Hundred Aspects of the Moon
*Ikue Mori/Brian Marsella/Sae Hashimoto: Archipelago X
*New Loft: Pieces 45 (2003): Following Sounds
*New Ting: 2022-10-15 Battery Show, RVA (wav)
*NRBQ: High Noon: A 50-Year Retrospective (selections)
*Charlie Parker: The Complete Legendary Rockland Palace Concert 1952 (disc 2)
*Annette Peacock: An Acrobat's Heart
*Prince and the Revolution: 1986-08-25 Paris (CDR)
*Sun Ra: Continuation (Saturn/Corbett vs. Dempsey 2CD) (disc 2)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Discipline 99 (Out Beyond the Kingdom Of)
*Cecil Taylor Unit: One Too Many Salty Swift and Not Goodbye (discs 1, 2)
*Cecil Taylor Unit: 1980-12-17 Blues Alley, DC (CDR)
*Various artists: Bollywood "Music From the Third Floor" (CDR compilation) (disc 17)
*John Zorn: Taboo & Exile

 

Reading List, Week of 2022-10-30

 

Reading List 2022-10-31:

*Beard, Mary. Women & Power (started)
*Kirby, Jack, and Stan Lee. Essential Fantastic Four Vol. 5 (reread/started)
*Whitehead, Colson. Sag Harbor (started)
*Coviello, Peter. Vineland Reread (finished)
*Homes, A. M. The Safety of Objects (finished)
*Kirby, Jack. Jimmy Olsen Vol. 1 (finished)
*Kirby, Jack, and Stan Lee. Essential Fantastic Four Vol. 4 (reread/finished)
*Shakespeare, William. King Richard III (Arden 3rd ed., ed. James R. Siemon) (reread/in progress)

Questlove on Ringo's Drumming on Revolver

Ringo’s work here [on "Tomorrow Never Knows"] is, like in a million other places on this album and the rest, amazing. It seems like every few years there’s a misguided debate about technical ability and rock-and-roll drumming, or a reductive Greatest Rock Drummers list, and usually that debate or that list ends up undervaluing Ringo. From one drummer to another, I can say that he does one of the hardest things imaginable, which is to put a human stamp on drumming, to innovate in subtle ways that don’t detract from the song but enhance it, and to define and maintain the groove. Nice work, Ringo. Better than nice work. Songs like these pushed rock forward, which is why they meant so much to audiences of the future. (Questlove, "Evolver," in Revolver Super Deluxe Ed. book, 2022)

Ringo's Drumming on Revolver

 ...the Memphis influence is most prominent in Ringo Starr’s drumming, where the backbeat is as rock-solid as anything this side of Al Jackson, Jr., the great Stax session drummer. There’s long been a jokey idea that Ringo Starr is a second-rate drummer, one that probably originated with his affable willingness to serve as the source of comic relief in early press conferences and films like A Hard Day’s Night and Help! This notion is stupid, to put it mildly. Ringo Starr is a great drummer, and in 1966 he was at the top of his craft. (Jack Hamilton, "The Beatles’ Revolver Was Their Avant-Garde R&B Album," Slate 2022-10-28)

Hamilton goes on to say, "To my ears the most audacious drum performance on Revolver is “She Said She Said,” which finds Ringo holding down a murderous groove while simultaneously providing an onslaught of cascading, over-the-bar drum fills. There was simply no one else playing drums quite like this in pop music." Right on, Jack!

Playlist, Week of 2022-03-23

Listening has been all over the place, like my brain... Expect a review of the new Jefferson Pilot soon...

Playlist 2022-10-24:

*Paul Bley: Ballads
*Borderlands Trio: Wandersphere (disc 1)
*Anthony Braxton: Sextet (Parker) 1993 (disc 9)
*Anthony Braxton Ghost Trance Ensemble: 2000-08-01 Lisbon (CDR)
*Anthony Braxton Sextet + 1: 2007-05-26 Moers (CDR)
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium E (disc 4) "Act 4, Part 1"
*Anthony Braxton: 12 Comp (ZIM) 2017 (Comp. 409, 410)
*Captain Beyond: Captain Beyond
*Circus Devils: Sgt. Disco
*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2015-05-14 Nashville (wav) track 4
*Kris Davis Infrasound: Save Your Breath
*Miles Davis: 1987-09-27 Boston (CDR) (disc 2)
*Death Ambient: Death Ambient
*Death Ambient: Synaesthesia
*Deerhoof: Devil Kids (side 1)
*Grateful Dead: 1968-01-17 SF (selections)
*Grateful Dead: 1972-05-23 London (CDR) (discs 1, 2, 3)
*Barry Guy/Blue Shroud Band: Tensegrity (Small Formations) (disc 3)
*Jimi Hendrix Experience: Live at the Isle of Fehmarn
*Andrew Hill-Joe Henderson Quartet: 1988-03-25 Paris (CDR) (disc 2)
*Andrew Hill: Time Lines
*Andrew Hill Quintet: 2006-10-29 San Francisco (CDR)
*Jefferson Pilot: The Return of Troubled Youth Orchestra
*Lovely Little Girls: Glamorous Piles & Puffy Saddlebags
*Matt Mitchell/Kate Gentile: Snark Horse (disc 5)
*New Loft: Pieces 39 (2003): With Pat Lawrence
*New Ting: 2022-10-15 Battery Show, RVA (wav)
*Charlie Parker: The Complete Birth of the Bebop
*Charlie Parker: The Complete Legendary Rockland Palace Concert 1952 (disc 1)
*Sparks: Exotic Creatures of the Deep (sides 3, 4)
*Cecil Taylor Quintet: 1965-07-02 Newport (CDR)
*Cecil Taylor Unit: 1978-06-10 Köln (CDR)
*Cecil Taylor and the Sound Vision Orchestra: 2002-06-20 Knitting Factory, NYC (CDR) (disc 2)
*Titan to Tachyons: Vonals
*John Zorn: Calculus
*John Zorn: Bagatelles Vol. 3: Trigger 

Reading List, Week of 2022-03-23

Reading List 2022-10-24:

*Coviello, Peter. Vineland Reread (started)
*Homes, A. M. The Safety of Objects (started)
*Kirby, Jack. Jimmy Olsen Vol. 1 (started)
*Kirby, Jack, and Stan Lee. Essential Fantastic Four Vol. 4 (reread/started)
*Whitehead, Colson. Apex Hides the Hurt (started/finished)
*Shakespeare, William. King Henry VI Part 3 (Riverside, ed. G. Blakemore Evans) (reread/finished)
*Whitehead, Colson. The Intuitionist (finished)
*Shakespeare, William. King Richard III (Arden 3rd ed., ed. James R. Siemon) (reread/in progress)

Playlist, Week of 2022-10-16

Cecil Taylor's 3 Phasis never ceases to send chills down my spine when I hear it... the two New World albums are in many ways the pinnacle of his small-group recordings... I say this and then think of the Blue Notes... well, and this version of the Unit is tight and compact, with those amazing clusters of melodies... So, so much good music... 

Playlist 2022-10-17:

*Muhal Richard Abrams: The Visibility of Thought

*Anthony Braxton: Sextet (Parker) 1993 (disc 8)

*Anthony Braxton: Solo (NYC) 2002

*Anthony Braxton: 12 Comp (ZIM) 2017 (Comp. 409)

*Mary Halvorson: Belladonna

*Andrew Hill-Joe Henderson Quartet: 1988-03-25 Paris (CDR) (disc 1)

*Tim Hodgkinson: Onsets

*Clifford Jordan & John Gilmore: Blowing in from Chicago

*Fela Anikulapo Kuti/Egypt 80: Live in Amsterdam (sides 1, 2)

*Made in Chicago: 2015-07-11 Rotterdam (CDR) track 5

*Matt Mitchell/Kate Gentile: Snark Horse (disc 4)

*Jason Moran: Black Stars

*New Ting: 2022-10-15 Battery Show, RVA (wav)

*Sun Ra: The Eternal Myth Revealed, Vol. 1 (disc 14)

*Sun Ra: The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra (sides 1, 2)

*Sun Ra: Ra to the Rescue!

*Cecil Taylor Unit: Akisakila Vol. 2

*Cecil Taylor: 3 Phasis (side 1)

*Cecil Taylor and the Sound Vision Orchestra: 2002-06-20 Knitting Factory, NYC (CDR) (disc 1)

*Titan to Tachyons: Cactides

*John Zorn: Music Romance, Vol. 1: Music for Children

*John Zorn: Valentine's Day

*John Zorn: In the Hall of Mirrors

*John Zorn: Flaga: Book of Angels Vol. 27 

Reading List, Week of 2022-10-16

Reading List 2022-10-17:

*Shakespeare, William. King Henry VI Part 3 (Riverside, ed. G. Blakemore Evans) (reread/started)
*Shakespeare, William. King Richard III (Arden 3rd ed., ed. James R. Siemon) (reread/started)
*Whitehead, Colson. The Intuitionist (started)
*Shakespeare, William. King Henry VI Part 2 (Riverside, ed. G. Blakemore Evans) (reread/started/finished)
*Garber, Marjorie. “Henry VI Part 2” in Shakespeare After All (reread/started/finished)
*Garber, Marjorie. “Henry VI Part 3,” in Shakespeare After All (reread/started/finished)
*Pynchon, Thomas. Mason & Dixon (reread/finished)

New Ting Gig Tonight

This evening will be a rare duo set, just me and Fred! Should be interesting; I'll break out the usual: Chinese cymbals, coffee cans, bells.

 

Playlist, Week of 2022-10-09

Playlist 2022-10-10:

*AMM: Ammmusic "After Rapidly Circling the Plaza"
*Tim Berne's Snakeoil: The Deceptive 4 (Live) "Hemphill"
*Anthony Braxton: Sextet (Parker) 1993 (disc 7)
*Grateful Dead: 1968 "Dark Star" (rehearsal) (CDR)
*Grateful Dead: 1968-02-14 Portland, OR (CDR) (discs 1, 2)
*Barry Guy/Blue Shroud Band: Tensegrity (Small Formations) (disc 2)
*Rob Mazurek Quartet: Father's Wing
*Modest Mouse: The Lonesome Crowded West
*Jefferson Pilot: The Return of Troubled Youth Orchestra
*Sun Ra: The Eternal Myth Revealed, Vol. 1 (discs 12, 13)
*Cecil Taylor: Spring of Two Blue-J's (side 2)
*Cecil Taylor/Bill Dixon/Tony Oxley: Cecil Taylor/Bill Dixon/Tony Oxley
*Lewis Taylor: Numb
*Titan to Tachyons: Vonals
*XTC: English Settlement (side 1)

Reading List, Week of 2022-10-09

Reading List 2022-10-10:

*Warren, Michael J. "Repunctuation as Interpretation in Editions of Shakespeare." English Literary Renaissance 7:2 (1977) (started/finished)

*Shakespeare, William. King Henry VI Part 3 (Arden 3rd series, ed. John D. Cox and Eric Rasmussen) (reread/finished)

*Pynchon, Thomas. Mason & Dixon (reread/in progress)

 

Playlist, Week of 2022-10-02

The new vinyl reissue of Sun Ra's The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra, with all-analog mastering, sounds fantastic, easily the best I've heard this record... Been digging Pigpen's organ playing on the 1968 Dead shows... More Anthony Braxton and Cecil Taylor (and plenty more where that came from!)... 

Playlist 2022-10-03:

*Boris: Pink

*Anthony Braxton: Willisau (Quartet) 1991 (disc 2) "No. 23C + 32 + 105B (+ 30)"

*Anthony Braxton: Sextet (Parker) 1993 (disc 6)

*Anthony Braxton + Italian Instabile Orchestra: Creative Orchestra (Bolzano) 2007

*Anthony Braxton/Tomas Fujiwara/Tom Rainey: Trio (New Haven) 2013 (disc 4)

*Anthony Braxton: 12 Comp (ZIM) 2017 (Comp. 408)

*Elvis Costello & the Attractions: Trust (sides 1, 2)

*Kris Davis: Rye Eclipse

*Marti Epstein: Marti's Greatest Hits (cassette compilation) (side B)

*Marti Epstein: Nebraska Impromptu

*Grateful Dead: 1968-01-20 Eureka, CA (CDR)

*Grateful Dead: Road Trips Vol. 2 No. 2 Bonus Disc

*Grateful Dead: 1968-02-03 Portland, OR (CDR)

*Grateful Dead: Dark Star 1972 version 2 (in progress, 3:18:12-5:48:40)

*Barry Guy/Blue Shroud Band: Tensegrity (Small Formations) (disc 1)

*Mars Volta: The Bedlam in Goliath

*Matt Mitchell/Kate Gentile: Snark Horse (disc 3)

*Nurse With Wound: Huffin' Rag Blues

*Nurse With Wound/Graham Bowers: Rupture

*Prince: The Flesh (boot CDR)

*Nino Rota: Fellini's Amarcord (sides 3, 4)

*Sun Ra: The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra (sides 1, 2)

*Sun Ra: Ellingtonia, Vol. 1 

*Cecil Taylor Quintet: 1965-07-02 Newport (CDR)

*Cecil Taylor Unit: Akisakila Vol. 1

*Cecil Taylor/Thurston Moore: 1997-10-04 Cooler, NYC (CDR) (disc 3)

*Cecil Taylor European Quintet: 1997-11-16 Wuppertal, Germany (CDR)

*Cecil Taylor: 2002-05-16 Rome (CDR)

*Cecil Taylor/Tony Oxley: ....... Being Astral and All Registers – Power of Two......

*Titan to Tachyons: Cactides

*Work: See

*XTC: English Settlement (side 4)

*John Zorn/Brian Marsella Trio: Buer (Book of Angels Vol. 31)

*John Zorn: The Hierophant

*John Zorn: Perchance to Dream 

Reading List, Week of 2022-10-02

Reading List 2022-10-03:

*Kirby, Jack, and Stan Lee. Essential Fantastic Four Vol. 3 (reread/finished)
*Pynchon, Thomas. Mason & Dixon (reread/in progress)
*Shakespeare, William. King Henry VI Part 3 (Arden 3rd series, ed. John D. Cox and Eric Rasmussen) (reread/in progress)

 

Titan to Tachyons at Gallery 5 in Richmond 2022-10-02

Excellent show last night at Gallery 5: Titan to Tachyons. I was disappointed that Kenny Grohowski wasn't on drums, but whoever the sub was did just fine. Super-powerful show!

Playlist, Week of 2022-09-25

Still enjoying my sporadic deep dives into the music of Anthony Braxton and Cecil Taylor (with a soupçon of the Grateful Dead as well!)... also getting into the five volumes of John Carter's "Roots and Folklore: Episodes in the Development of American Folk Music" series... Hard to think of what to call all this great music... "jazz" is in so many ways inadequate, but for shorthand it has to make do... 

Playlist 2022-09-26:

*AMM: Laminal (disc 2) "The Great Hall, Part 2"
*Borderlands Trio: Asteroidea
*Anthony Braxton: Quintet (Basel) 1977 "Comp. 69J"
*Anthony Braxton: Composition 98 "Part 2"
*Anthony Braxton: Sextet (Parker) 1993 (disc 5)
*Anthony Braxton + Italian Instabile Orchestra: Creative Orchestra (Bolzano) 2007
*Anthony Braxton Zim Sextet: 2017-06-03 Moers (CDR)
*Anthony Braxton: 12 Comp (ZIM) 2017 (Comp. 402)
*Brötzmann/Leigh: Sparrow Nights
*John Carter Octet: Dauwhe
*John Carter: Castles of Ghana
*John Carter: Dance of the Love Ghosts
*John Carter: Fields
*John Carter: Shadows on a Wall
*John Coltrane: Meditations "Love/Consequences/Serenity"
*Elvis Costello & the Attractions: Get Happy (sides 1, 2)
*Kris Davis/Ingrid Laubrock/Tom Rainey: 2011-10-22 Cormons, Italy (CDR)
*J Dilla: Donuts
*Marti Epstein: Marti's Greatest Hits (cassette compilation) (side A)
*Grateful Dead: 1970-06-24 Port Chester, NY (late show) (CDR) (selections)
*Grateful Dead: Dark Star 1972 version 2 (in progress, 2:03:36-3:18:12)
*Guided By Voices: Tremblers and Goggles by Rank
*Barry Guy: The Blue Shroud
*Herbie Hancock: Speak Like a Child
*Alexander Hawkins and Evan Parker: Leaps in Leicester
*Rob Mazuerk Quartet: Father's Wing
*Matt Mitchell/Kate Gentile: Snark Horse (disc 2)
*Muffins: Open City (selections)
*Annette Peacock: An Acrobat's Heart
*Prince: The Black Album (side 2)
*Sly and the Family Stone: The Essential Sly & the Family Stone (discs 1, 2)
*Stereolab: Dots and Loops
*Sun Ra: The Eternal Myth Revealed, Vol. 1 (disc 11)
*Sun Ra: Discipline 27-II
*Cecil Taylor: In Transition (side 1)
*Cecil Taylor: Praxis
*Cecil Taylor: The Great Concert of Cecil Taylor (side 1)
*Cecil Taylor Unit Core Ensemble: 1974-03-12 Carnegie Hall, NYC (CDR) (disc 2)
*Cecil Taylor Unit: The Unreleased 1976-77 Compositions (Alex Ward youtube compilation)
*David Torn/Tim Berne/Ches Smith: Sun Of Goldfinger "Spartan, Before It Hit"
*Various artists: Central Avenue Sounds (selections)
*Various artists: Masters of the Modern Piano 1955-1966 (side 2)
*John Zorn/Simulacrum: Spinoza

Reading List, Week of 2022-09-25

 

Reading List 2022-09-26:

*Kirby, Jack, and Stan Lee. Essential Fantastic Four Vol. 3 (reread/started)
*Shakespeare, William. King Henry VI Part 3 (Arden 3rd series, ed. John D. Cox and Eric Rasmussen) (reread/started)
*Kirby, Jack, and Stan Lee. Essential Fantastic Four Vol. 2 (reread/finished)
*Shakespeare, William. King Henry VI Part 2 (Arden 3rd series, ed. Ronald Knowles) (reread/finished)
*Pynchon, Thomas. Mason & Dixon (reread/in progress)

Ringo in Richmond

Whoo-hoo! I saw my favorite drummer last night, and it was wonderful (and I say this in spite of all the AWB and Men at Work covers). Just breathing his air, yeah yeah yeah. He sounded great on drums, although I could have wished to hear him by himself rather than always doubling with Greg Bissonette (who also sounded great, to be fair). He opened up, standing down front, with a killer version of "Matchbox" followed by "It Don't Come Easy," then... "What Goes On"!!! What a thrill to hear him sing that! A hidden Beatles gem, and easily my favorite Ringo Beatle vocal. After he moved back to the drums, the highlights for me were "Boys" and "I Wanna Be Your Man"... yeah, the oldies. Also, it was surreal to hear Ringo playing drums on "Free Ride," of all things. I'm so thankful I got to see him. Big fun!

Playlist, Week of 2022-09-18

 

Recuperation time...

Playlist 2022-09-19:

*Daniel Barbiero/Gary Rouzer/Chris Videll: Indigo over Red on Grey

*Beach Boys: Today! (2012 mono remaster)

*Beach Boys: Friends (side 1)

*Beach Boys: Feel Flows: The Sunflower & Surf's Up Sessions 1969-1971 (disc 5)

*Beatles: With the Beatles (2009 mono remaster)

*Beatles: Rubber Soul (2009 stereo remaster) (side 1)

*Tim Berne's Snakeoil: You've Been Watching Me "Small World in a Small Town"

*Anthony Braxton: Sextet (Parker) 1993 (disc 4)

*Anthony Braxton + Italian Instabile Orchestra: Creative Orchestra (Bolzano) 2007

*Anthony Braxton/Tomas Fujiwara/Tom Rainey: Trio (New Haven) 2013 (disc 3)

*Anthony Braxton Diamond Curtain Wall Sextet: 2015-02-21 Tuscaloosa, AL (excerpt) (CDR)

*Anthony Braxton Falling River Music Trio: 2015-02-23 Tuscaloosa, AL (CDR)

*Marilyn Crispell/Gary Peacock/Paul Motian: Nothing Ever Was, Anyway (disc 2)

*Kris Davis: Diatom Ribbons

*Deerhoof: Devil Kids (side 1)

*Duke Ellington: Duke 56/62 Vol. 1 (side 1)

*Grateful Dead: 1970-06-24 Port Chester, NY (late show) (CDR)

*Grateful Dead: Dark Star 1972 version 2 (in progress, 1:22:00-2:03:36)

*Grateful Dead: Steppin' Out with the Grateful Dead: England '72 (disc 4) "Dark Star"

*Barry Guy New Orchestra: Oort-Entropy

*Andrew Hill Big Band: 2003-05-24 Bath (CDR)

*M.I.A.: Kala

*Matt Mitchell/Kate Gentile: Snark Horse (disc 1)

*N.E.R.D.: No One Ever Really Dies

*Nurse With Wound/Graham Bowers: Mutation ...The Lunatics Are Running the Asylum…

*Sean O'Hagan: Radum Calls, Radum Calls

*Prince: Crystal Ball (disc 1)

*Sparks: Propaganda (side 1)

*Cecil Taylor Unit: 1973-12-28 NYC (CDR)

*Cecil Taylor Unit Core Ensemble: 1974-03-12 Carnegie Hall, NYC (CDR) (disc 1)

*Cecil Taylor Big Band: 1995-07-03 NYC (CDR) (disc 3) Track 2

*Cecil Taylor Quartet featuring Anthony Braxton: 2007-07-08 London (CDR)

*Cecil Taylor/Anthony Braxton/William Parker: 2007-10-12 Bologna (CDR)

*Cecil Taylor Quartet featuring Anthony Braxton: 2007-10-13 Reggio Emilia, Italy (CDR)

*Trio M: 2009-07-01 NYC (CDR) (disc 2)

Reading List, Week of 2022-09-18

Reading List 2022-09-19:

*Pynchon, Thomas. Mason & Dixon (reread/started)
*McDonald, Russ. Shakespeare's Late Style (finished)
*Kirby, Jack, and Stan Lee. Essential Fantastic Four Vol. 2 (reread/in progress)
*Shakespeare, William. King Henry VI Part 2 (Arden 3rd series, ed. Ronald Knowles) (reread/in progress)

 

Playlist, Week of 2022-09-11

I love Cecil Taylor's music from all decades of his life, but I find myself drawn to the '50s and 60's, especially Unit Structures and Conquistador!... hell, that's not even true, I love it all... I love the boundary-breaking versions of standards on his first albums, I love the early solo work of the '70s, I love the Unit with Ronald Shannon Jackson, I love the '80s quartet with Jimmy Lyons, I love the duos with Tony Oxley in the 2000s.... this is some major work that requires years of study... pleasurable, life-sustaining, pulsating study... I haven't come to the terms yet with the fact that he's no longer with us... 

Playlist 2022-09-12:

*Muhal Richard Abrams: The Visibility of Thought
*Alco Frisbass: Le Bateleur
*Souren Baronian: The Middle Eastern Soul of Carlee Records (disc 2)
*Beach Boys: Today! (2012 mono remaster)
*Anthony Braxton: Sextet (Parker) 1993 (disc 3)
*Anthony Braxton/Tomas Fujiwara/Tom Rainey: Trio (New Haven) 2013 (disc 2)
*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (New Haven) 2014 (disc 1)
*Bill Bruford: Feels Good to Me
*Donald Byrd: Royal Flush
*Chemical Brothers: Dig Your Own Hole
*Rodger Coleman/Sam Byrd: Imaginary Vinyl
*Don Covay: Super Dude I
*Marilyn Crispell/Gary Peacock/Paul Motian: Nothing Ever Was, Anyway (disc 1)
*Globe Unity: Compositions
*Grateful Dead: Birth of the Dead (disc 2)
*Grateful Dead: The Grateful Dead
*Grateful Dead: 1968-05-18 Santa Clara County Fairgrounds (streaming)
*Grateful Dead: Dark Star 1972 version 2 (started, 0-1:22:00))
*Jefferson Pilot: The Optimist Field
*London Jazz Composers Orchestra featuring Anthony Braxton: 1988-03-25 Basel (CDR) (disc 1) track 4
*Garry Martin Project (CDR compilation) (disc 5)
*Nazz: Nazz Nazz
*Annette Peacock: An Acrobat's Heart
*Prince: Sign O’ the Times (Super Deluxe Edition) (disc 6)
*Sparks: Balls (side 3)
*Sparks: Exotic Creatures of the Deep (sides 1, 2, 3, 4)
*Sparks: A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip (side 2)
*Cecil Taylor Quintet: 1965-07-02 Newport (CDR)
*Cecil Taylor: Unit Structures
*Cecil Taylor: 1971-07-24 Town Hall, NYC (CDR)
*Cecil Taylor Ensemble: Gottingen (disc 2) (streaming)
*Trio M: 2009-07-01 NYC (CDR) (disc 1)
*UYA: 1992-04-21/28: Put Ed On (wav)
*Various artists: Shoeshine (cassette compilation) (side A)
*Various artists: Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era 1965-1968 (side 3)
*Violet: Violet Ray Gas and the Playback Singers
*John Zorn: Fencing 1978 (John Zorn's Olympiad Vol. 2)

 

Reading List, Week of 2022-09-11

Reading List 2022-09-12:

*Kirby, Jack, and Stan Lee. Essential Fantastic Four Vol. 2 (reread/started)
*Shakespeare, William. King Henry VI Part 2 (Arden 3rd series, ed. Ronald Knowles) (reread/started)
*Kirby, Jack, and Stan Lee. Essential Fantastic Four Vol. 1 (reread/finished)
*Shakespeare, William. King Henry VI Part 1 (Arden 3rd series, ed. Edward Burns) (reread/finished)
*McDonald, Russ. Shakespeare's Late Style (in progress)

 

Playlist, Week of 2022-09-04

These days I seem to be bookending my listening with lots of Anthony Braxton and Cecil Taylor... so be it... these are deep wells, and I feel like I've barely skimmed the surface... I'll have more to say about this at some point when I have more time... 

Playlist 2022-09-05:

*Marshall Allen/Sam Byrd/Tim Harding/Elliott Levin/Thomas Stanley: 2007-12-13 Richmond VA (CDR) track 2
*AMM: Indústria
*Art Ensemble: 1967/68 (disc 2) "Trio (Oh Susanna)"
*Beach Boys: Feel Flows: The Sunflower & Surf's Up Sessions 1969-1971 (disc 4)
*Paul Bley/Gary Peacock/Paul Motian: Not Two, Not One
*Anthony Braxton/John Lindberg: Six Duets (1982)
*Anthony Braxton: Sextet (Parker) 1993 (disc 2)
*Anthony Braxton/Tomas Fujiwara/Tom Rainey: Trio (New Haven) 2013 (disc 1)
*John Carter: Dance of the Love Ghosts
*John Coltrane: Live in Japan (disc 1) "Afro Blue"
*Tadd Dameron: 1947-1949
*Miles Davis: In Concert (disc 2)
*Duke Ellington: Duke 56/62 Vol. 1 (sides 1, 2)
*Giorgio Gaslini/Anthony Braxton: Four Pieces
*Barry Guy/London Jazz Composers Orchestra: Portraits (discs 1, 2)
*Barry Guy/London Jazz Composers Orchestra: Study II, Stringer
*Barry Guy New Orchestra: Radio Rondo
*Barry Guy New Orchestra & Elliott Sharp: 2009-11-06 Berlin (CDR)
*Andrew Hill: 2001-08-14 Saalfelden (CDR)
*Andrew Hill Quintet: 2006-04-07 Geneva (CDR)
*Ingrid Laubrock + Kris Davis: Blood Moon
*Muffins: <185>
*Prince: The Flesh (boot CDR)
*Prince: Sign O’ the Times (Super Deluxe Edition) (discs 4, 5)
*Sonic Youth: Daydream Nation (Deluxe Edition) (disc 2)
*Cecil Taylor: The World of Cecil Taylor
*Cecil Taylor: Rotterdam 1967-07-01 (CDR)
*Cecil Taylor Workshop Ensemble: Melancholy
*Cecil Taylor Feel Trio: 2 Ts for a Lovely T (disc 6)
*Cecil Taylor Ensemble: Gottingen (disc 1) (streaming)
*David Torn/Tim Berne/Ches Smith: Sun Of Goldfinger "Soften the Blow"
*Mary Lou Williams: 1944-1945
*Work: Rubber Cage
*Robert Wyatt: Comicopera 

Reading List, Week of 2022-09-04

Reading List 2022-09-05:

*Kirby, Jack, and Stan Lee. Essential Fantastic Four Vol. 1 (reread/started)
*McDonald, Russ. Shakespeare's Late Style (started)
*King, Stephen. Elevation (started/finished)
*Mucedorus (finished)
*Shakespeare, William. King Henry VI Part 1 (Arden 3rd series, ed. Edward Burns) (reread/in progress)

 

Playlist, Week of 2022-08-28

Always a pleasure... This week, Braxton, Cecil Taylor, the Muffins, and National Health kept me going...

Playlist 2022-08-29:

*Art Ensemble of Chicago: Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City: Live at Iridium "Song for My Sister"
*Beach Boys: Smiley Smile (side 2)
*Beach Boys: Friends (side 2)
*Beatles: Past Masters (2009 stereo remaster) (side 4)
*Paul Bley: Open, to Love
*Anthony Braxton: Seven Compositions (Trio) 1989
*Anthony Braxton: Sextet (Parker) 1993 (disc 1)
*Anthony Braxton with the Creative Jazz Orchestra: Composition No. 175, Composition No. 126 Trillium-Dialogues M (disc 2)
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium J (disc 1)
*Donald Byrd: Royal Flush
*Kris Davis: Capricorn Climber
*Kris Davis Infrasound: Save Your Breath
*Miles Davis: In Concert (disc 1)
*Herbie Hancock: Maiden Voyage
*Herbie Hancock: Speak Like a Child
*Andrew Hill Big Band: 2003-05-24 Bath (CDR)
*Tim Hodgkinson: Onsets
*Lightnin' Hopkins: Lightnin' and the Blues: Complete Herald Recordings
*Keith Jarrett: Byablue
*Keith Jarrett: Bop-Be
*Paul Motian: Tribute (side 1)
*Muffins: Manna/Mirage
*Muffins: <185> (sides 1, 2)
*Muffins: Open City
*National Health: Playtime
*Nurse With Wound: Flawed Existence (disc 4)
*Prince: Miscellaneous (CDR compilation)
*Steely Dan: Can't Buy a Thrill
*Karlheinz Stockhausen: Historic First Recordings of the Klavierstücke I-VIII & XI (David Tudor)
*Cecil Taylor: Love for Sale
*Cecil Taylor/Buell Neidlinger: New York City R&B
*Cecil Taylor: Student Studies "Amplitude"
*Cecil Taylor: The Complete, Legendary, Live Return Concert at the Town Hall NYC November 4, 1973
*Cecil Taylor Workshop Ensemble: Legba Crossing
*Cecil Taylor Feel Trio: 2 Ts for a Lovely T (disc 1)
*Thee Oh Sees: A Weird Exits
*Trio M: 2008-01-31 NYC (CDR) (disc 2)
*Trio M: 2009-10-31 Tampere, Finland (CDR)
*Velvet Underground: White Light/White Heat
*Work: Live in Japan