Playlist, Week of 2028-05-26

Ask Rufus: a sentimental favorite, especially "Close the Door"... and I love that Clare Fischer's excellent string arrangements on this LP were the inspiration for Prince's longtime association with Fischer, with Prince using his arrangements on everything from Parade to "Silly Game"...

Playlist 2024-05-27:

*Zoh Amba/Chris Corsano/Bill Orcutt: The Flower School

*Anthony Braxton: 10 Comp (Lorraine) 2022 (disc 7) (streaming)

*Peter Brötzmann/Paal Nilssen-Love: Chicken Shit Bingo

*Sonny Clark: The Complete Sonny Clark Blue Note Sessions (discs 4, 5)

*Ornette Coleman: Crisis

*Miles Davis: Chronicle: The Complete Prestige Recordings 1951–1956 (disc 6)

*Extra Large Unit: More Fun Please

*Michael Formanek: The Rub and Spare Change

*Fully Celebrated Orchestra: Sob Story

*Vinny Golia Quartet: Take Your Time

*Benny Goodman: Fletcher Henderson Arrangements (CDR compilation) (disc 1)

*Grateful Dead: 1970-02-05 Fillmore West, NYC (CDR)

*Grateful Dead: 1980-09-03 Springfield MA (Download Series Vol. 7) (discs 1, 2)

*Mary Halvorson: Cloudward

*High Llamas: Talahomi Way

*Ingrid Laubrock/Tom Rainey: Stir Crazy (CDR compilation) (discs 5, 6)

*George Lewis: Shadowgraph, 5 (Sextet)

*Rob Mazurek/Exploding Star Orchestra: Lightning Dreamers

*Magda Mayas' Filamental: Confluence

*Myra Melford's Snowy Egret: The Other Side of Air

*Myra Melford's Fire and Water Quintet: For the Love of Fire and Water

*Neighbours: Neighbours with Anthony Braxton

*Sean O'Hagan: Radum Calls, Radum Calls

*Ivo Perelman Quartet: Water Music

*Rasmussen/Flaherty/Rowden/Corsano: Crying in Space

*Tomeka Reid Quartet: 3+3

*Ned Rothenberg: Quintet for Clarinet and Strings

*Rufus featuring Chaka Khan: Ask Rufus

*Sun Ra: At the Showcase: Live in Chicago 1976-1977 (disc 1)

*Way Out Northwest: The White Spot

*Anna Webber/Matt Mitchell: Capacious Aeration

*Yong Yandsen/Christian Meaas Svendsen/Paal Nilssen-Love: Hungry Ghosts

Reading List, Week of 2027-05-26

Still plugging away....

Reading List 2024-05-27:

*Mendelson, Cheryl. Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House (in progress)
*Pynchon, Thomas. Gravity's Rainbow (reread/in progress)
*Riley, Tim. Tell Me Why: A Beatles Commentary (reread/in progress)
*Shakespeare, William. King Richard II (Arden 3rd ed., ed. Charles R. Forker) (reread/in progress)

 

Playing with Marshall Allen (Happy Birthday!)

I haven't really written about this experience much, but I will take the opportunity of Marshall Allen's 100th birthday today (here's to many more!) to say a little about the experience of playing with him, back in 2007 in Richmond. New Ting bandmate Tim Harding set it up, and Marshall Allen, Thomas Stanley, and Elliott Levin came down to RVA for two sets of improvisation. This was definitely one of the highlights of my musical life. We had some time to hang out a little beforehand, went out to eat, talked some, but didn't talk at all about the music we were going to play. I did get the chance to ask him about "The Shadow World" and how tricky that piece was, and he said, "well, it's in 7/4." All you need to know, I guess! And we sang the head to each other (the beginning of it, anyway). 

When the time came, we just started playing. And I have to say: it was a spiritual experience for me. When Marshall started soloing, and those rippling waves of energy and sonic exuberance hit my ears, I was electrified and transformed and almost damn near forgot -I- was actually playing drums with him! He split his time about half and half between alto sax and EVI, plus a smattering of flute. I was transported to other realms, seriously: that other, better world. We started off as a quartet, and here's a little rough video snippet of that (unfortunately, not much Marshall):

For the second set, we were joined by Thomas Stanley, another bass player, and a female vocalist. Not as transcendent as the first set, to me, but still pretty mind-blowing. And then it was over.

I did have the opportunity to play with Marshall one more time, this time up in DC in 2010, in a band called Marshall Allen and the Vertical Dogs, along with Danny Ray Thompson, Jimmy Ghaphery, Tim, and a DC bassist and second drummer. It was big fun, of course, but nothing will replace that first time.

I talked to Marshall a few years later when the Sun Ra Arkestra played the Richmond Folk Festival. I think he remembered me, but hey, I'll give him a pass if he didn't --- hell, he was 83 when we first played!

So again, happy birthday, Marshall, and know that the years and hours of music you've given us all, with and without Sun Ra, can never be surpassed. Peace.

Playlist, Week of 2024-05-19

Conference week... lots going on...

Playlist 2024-05-20:

*Lily Allen: No Shame

*Louis Armstrong: The Louis Armstrong Story Vol. 3: Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines (sides 1, 2)

*Roscoe Mitchell Sound Ensemble: Live in Detroit (side 1)

*Thelonious Monk Quartet: Misterioso

*Soft Machine: Breda Reactor (discs 1, 2)

*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Jazz in Silhouette (Expanded Edition) (side 1)

*Cecil Taylor Unit: Dark to Themselves

*Cecil Taylor Unit: Live at Fat Tuesday's February 9, 1980 First Visit

*UYA: 1993-01-21 Business Options (wav)

*UYA: 1993-01-24 G-Men (wav)

*XTC: Black Sea (side 1)

*XTC: Wasp Star (Apple Venus Vol. 2) (side 2)

*Ben Webster: Ben Webster and Associates

*Stevie Wonder: Stevie Wonder's Original Musiquarium 1 (side 2)

Reading List, Week of 2024-05-19

Always wonderful to return to this...

Reading List 2024-05-20:

*Mendelson, Cheryl. Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House (in progress)
*Pynchon, Thomas. Gravity's Rainbow (reread/in progress)
*Riley, Tim. Tell Me Why: A Beatles Commentary (reread/in progress)
*Shakespeare, William. King Richard II (Arden 3rd ed., ed. Charles R. Forker) (reread/in progress)

 

Playlist, Week of 2024-05-12

The Muhal Richard Abrams cassette I discovered is an audience recording from 1995, a quartet performance at Chapel Hill NC... with Patience Higgins on sax... it's a nice set, lots of great Muhal piano... Blue Rose is absolutely sublime... Ivie Anderson was Duke Ellington's best vocalist, bar none, but Rosemary Clooney sure gives her a run for her money here... what a shame she didn't record more with Duke... Billy Strayhorn's arrangements are the perfect setting for Clooney's understated vocals... all the more remarkable that she recorded them after the fact, in a different city... The new At the Showcase release of Sun Ra is wonderful, especially the 1977 show, which heavily features John Gilmore... The Dave Holland 2023 Pori set is the same band (playing some of the same material) that I saw at Big Ears, which means generous helpings of brilliant Kris Davis piano playing... All of my listening is just scratching the surface... All of this music demands to be heard, over and over! Keep listening!

Playlist 2024-05-13:

*Muhal Richard Abrams: 1995-07-22 Chapel Hill, NC (cassette)

*Lily Allen: Sheezus

*Beatles: Revolver (Super Deluxe 4 LP Edition 2022) (side 8)

*Bix Beiderbecke: Bix Restored: The Complete Recordings and Alternates, Vol. 1 (Feb. 1924-Sept. 1927) (disc 1)

*Anthony Braxton: Orchestra (Pisa) 1980

*Anthony Braxton: 10 Comp (Lorraine) 2022 (discs 5, 6) (streaming)

*Sonny Clark: The Complete Sonny Clark Blue Note Sessions (disc 3)

*Rosemary Clooney and Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Blue Rose

*Greg Cohen: Golden State

*Ornette Coleman: Ornette at 12

*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2009-07-23 Nashville (wav) track 6 "What You Said"

*John Coltrane: Live in Japan (disc 3) "Peace on Earth"

*Kris Davis: The Slightest Shift

*Kris Davis Trio: 2022-05-13 NYC (CDR)

*Kiku Day/Henry Kaiser: Zen Kaiju

*Dimitriadis/Dörner/Freedman/Parkins/Williams: BeingFive

*Bill Dixon: 17 Musicians in Search of a Sound: Darfur

*Bill Dixon: Tapestries for Small Orchestra (disc 2)

*George Duke: Faces in Reflection

*Grateful Dead: Road Trips Vol. 2 No. 2 (1968) (disc 2)

*Dave Holland New Quartet: 2023-07-13 Pori, Finland (CDR)

*Ned Lagin: Seastones (disc 1)

*Ingrid Laubrock/Tom Rainey: Stir Crazy (CDR compilation) (disc 4)

*Steve Lehman/Orchestre National de Jazz: Ex Machina

*Michael Mantler: Folly Seeing All This

*Rob Mazurek Exploding Star Orchestra: Galactic Parables: Vol. 1 (disc 1) "Free Agents of Sound"

*Butch Morris: Butch Morris Conducts Berlin Skyscraper (disc 1)

*Evan Parker/Electro-Acoustic Ensemble: The Eleventh Hour "Shadow Play"

*Leo Smith Creative Orchestra: Budding of a Rose "Harmonium/Mutumishi"

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

*Sun Ra and His Astro-Infinity Arkestra: Continuation (side 1)

*Sun Ra: Spaceways [Outer Spaceways Inc.]

*Sun Ra: College Tour Vol. 1:  The Complete Nothing Is… (disc 2)

*Sun Ra: Cosmo Earth Fantasy: Sub Underground Series Vol. 1 & 2 (Art Yard) “Cosmo-Earth Fantasy”

*Sun Ra: At the Showcase: Live in Chicago 1976-1977 (disc 1)

*Sun Ra: Disco 3000 (Complete Milan Concert 1978) (disc 1)

*Thollem/Wimberly/Cline: Radical Empathy

*Two Much: Reut Regev/Igal Foni: Never Enough

*UYA: 1992-12-30 Cord (wav)

*UYA: 1993-01-03 Denny, Kenny, 'n' Me (wav)

*UYA: 1993-01-10 Menudo Space Station (wav)

*Stevie Wonder: Innervisions (sides 1, 2)

*Yong Yandsen/Christian Meaas Svendsen/Paal Nilssen-Love: Hungry Ghosts

Reading List, Week of 2024-05-12

Reading List 2024-05-13:

*Pynchon, Thomas. Gravity's Rainbow (reread/started)
*Griffith, Bill. Three Rocks: The Story of Ernie Bushmiller, the Man Who Created Nancy (started/finished)
*Sorrentino, Gilbert. A Strange Commonplace (reread/finished)
*Mendelson, Cheryl. Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House (in progress)
*Riley, Tim. Tell Me Why: A Beatles Commentary (reread/in progress)
*Shakespeare, William. King Richard II (Arden 3rd ed., ed. Charles R. Forker) (reread/in progress)

Playlist, Week of 2024-05-05

Winding down my Muhal Richard Abrams binge... but then I found a cassette copy of a concert I'd forgotten about, so there will be more, and of course, I won't ever stop listening to this great man's great music... I still feel like I don't have a handle on his solo playing... 

Playlist 2024-05-06:

*Muhal Richard Abrams: The Visibility of Thought

*Beatles: Beatles VI (side 2)

*Paul Bley: Annette

*Anthony Braxton: 10 Comp (Lorraine) 2022 (disc 4) (streaming) 

*Centipede: Septober Energy (disc 1) "Part 2"

*Bill Dixon: Tapestries for Small Orchestra (disc 1)

*Dave Douglas: Five

*Forebrace: Steeped

*Kate Gentile: Find Letter X (disc 2)

*Grateful Dead: Road Trips Vol. 2 No. 2 (1968) (disc 1)

*Grateful Dead: 1970-09-17 Fillmore East (CDR) "Dark Star"

*Happy the Man: "Better Late…" (side 1)

*Haters: Tractor 2023

*Jimi Hendrix Experience: San Francisco 1968

*Kaluza/Roder: Am Frankfurter Tor

*Michael Mantler: The Jazz Composer's Orchestra Update

*Myra Melford's Fire and Water Quintet: Hear the Light Singing

*Merzbow: 1930

*Matt Mitchell/Kate Gentile: Snark Horse (disc 6) "Glue Cube|Inkblot Terrain|Clock Levitation|Cat Secrets|Bludgement"

*Roscoe Mitchell and Muhal Richard Abrams: Duets and Solos

*Ivo Perelman: The Art of the Improv Trio Vol. 6

*Prince/New Power Generation: The War

*Matana Roberts: Coin Coin Chapter Two: Mississippi Moonchile

*Rolling Stones: The Rolling Stones (side 1)

*Sharp/Lopez/Kaiser/Amendola: Minus X: A Tribute to the Music of Iannis Xenakis (disc 1)

*Matthew Shipp Trio: Root of Things

*Catherine Sikora/Susan Alcorn: Filament

*Sun & Steel: Off the Hook! Live at Motvind

*Sun Ra: Calling Planet Earth (side 1)

*Sun Ra: In Some Far Place: Roma '77 (disc 2)

*Sun Ra: At the Showcase: Live in Chicago 1976-1977 (discs 1, 2)

*Cecil Taylor: Double Holy House

*Kit Watkins: Labyrinth (side 1)

*Brian Wilson: At My Piano

*Various artists: WSAM: Plunderzombie (CDR compilation)

*Otomo Yoshihide/Paal Nilssen-Love: 19th of May 2016 

Reading List, Week of 2024-05-05

Reading List 2024-05-06:

*Riley, Tim. Tell Me Why: A Beatles Commentary (reread/started)
*Shakespeare, William. King Richard II (Arden 3rd ed., ed. Charles R. Forker) (reread/started)
*Sorrentino, Gilbert. A Strange Commonplace (reread/started)
*Macdonald, Ross. Black Money (reread/started/finished)
*Chast, Roz. Childproof (reread/finished)
*Empson, William. Essays on Shakespeare (finished)
*Roth, Philip. American Pastoral (finished)
*Mendelson, Cheryl. Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House (in progress)