Playlist, Week of 2023-11-05

I listen to a lot of AACM-related stuff, as a cursory glance at any of my Playlists will show... there may be a lot more than usual these days since I'm reading Paul Steinbeck's book Sound Experiments: The Music of the AACM, which contains detailed analyses of several key AACM recordings... I thought his book on the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Message to Our Folks, was excellent, and this one is also a lot of fun... The music of the AACM is a rich and enduring legacy of boundary-demolishing and life-affirming music... 

Playlist 2023-11-06:

*Muhal Richard Abrams: Levels and Degrees of Light
*Air: Air Time
*Derek Bailey/Pat Metheny/Gregg Bendian/Paul Wertico: The Sign Of 4 (disc 1)
*Anthony Braxton: Knitting Factory (Piano/Quartet) 1994, Vol. 2 (disc 1)
*Coheed and Cambria: The Second Stage Turbine Blade
*Colla Parte: Periplus
*John Coltrane: One Down, One Up: Live at the Half Note (disc 2)
*Miles Davis: The Cellar Door Sessions 1970 (disc 6) "Directions"
*Silke Eberhard/Céline Voccia: Wild Knots
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Treasury Shows, Vol. 5 (disc 2)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: A Drum Is a Woman (side 1)
*Kate Gentile: Mannequins
*Grateful Dead: 1972-05-04 Paris (CDR) (discs 3, 4)
*Grateful Dead: 1972-05-07 Wigan, England (disc 1)
*Julius Hemphill: One Atmosphere
*Julius Hemphill: The Boyé Multi-National Crusade for Harmony (disc 6)
*Dave Holland: Emerald Tears (side 1)
*Freddie Hubbard: Red Clay
*Jefferson Pilot: Sad Magazine
*Ingrid Laubrock: 2017-06-05 Moers (CDR) "Vogelfrei"
*Ingrid Laubrock: Monochromes
*James Brandon Lewis Trio: 2023-05-24 Vienna (CDR) (disc 1)
*Metaphysical Animation: Metaphysical Animation
*Roscoe Mitchell Sextet: Sound
*Prince & the New Power Generation: Diamonds and Pearls (Super Deluxe Ed.) (discs 1, 3, 4)
*Ravi Shankar: Master of Sitar "Raag Bihag"
*Tyshawn Sorey: Verisimilitude "Obsidian"
*Sparks: Propaganda (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra: Space Is the Place (Blue Thumb) (sides 1, 2)
*Art Tatum: The Art Tatum Solo Masterpieces Vol. 3
*Cecil Taylor: Unit Structures "Unit Structure/As of a Now/Section"
*Cecil Taylor Orchestra Humane (Ubuntu): 2005-12-18 (CDR) (disc 2)
*Alex Ward: Gated
*XTC: The Big Express (Surround Sound Series) (disc 4)

Playlist, Week of 2023-10-22

Been a while since I listened to Joseph Jarman's As If It Were the Seasons, and it struck me all over again how wonderful "Song for Christopher" is... it starts off with a tranquil flute evocation, soon joined by the brilliant free brushwork of Thurman Barker, an interlude with vocalist Sherry Scott, and then a wild, intense free form full-throated large ensemble blowout that gets cut short abruptly by more wordless operatic vocalizing over a bed of exotic percussion and koto... just beautiful... 

Playlist 2023-10-23:

*AACM Great Black Music Ensemble: Umbria Jazz 2009, Perugia, Italy (CDR) (disc 1)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: The Paris Session "The Ninth Room"
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1980-08-03 Seattle (CDR)
*Anthony Braxton: Two Compositions (Orchestra) 1995
*Anthony Braxton: 4 Compositions (Ulrichsberg) 2005 Phonomanie VIII (disc 4)
*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (FRM) 2007 (disc 1)
*Anthony Braxton/Taylor Ho Bynum: Duo (Amherst) 2010
*Circle: 1971-03-03 Hamburg (CDR) "Comp. 6A"
*John Coltrane: The Prestige Recordings (disc 2)
*John Coltrane: 1963-11-04 Stuttgart (disc 1)
*Kris Davis: Diatom Ribbons Live at the Village Vanguard (disc 1)
*Missy Elliott: Respect M.E.
*Brian Eno: Another Green World (sides 1, 2)
*ESG: A South Bronx Story
*Jerry Garcia/Merl Saunders: 1971-05-11 San Francisco (CDR)
*Jerry Garcia Band: 1993-11-12 NYC (CDR) (disc 1)
*Grateful Dead: Fillmore West 1969: The Complete Recordings (disc 4)
*Grateful Dead: 1972-04-17 Copenhagen (discs 1, 2)
*Julius Hemphill: The Boyé Multi-National Crusade for Harmony (discs 3, 4)
*Joseph Jarman: As If It Were the Seasons "Song for Christopher"
*Jefferson Pilot: Sad Magazine
*Ingrid Laubrock: Dreamt Twice, Twice Dreamt (disc 2)
*Ingrid Laubrock: Monochromes
*Charles Mingus: The Jazz Workshop Concerts 1964-65 (disc 5)
*Tyler Mitchell featuring Marshall Allen: Dancing Shadows
*Tyler Mitchell Octet: Sun Ra's Journey featuring Marshall Allen
*New Ting: 2023-07-30 the Wharf, Richmond VA (wav)
*Annette Peacock: Live in Paris
*Picchio dal Pozzo: Picchio dal Pozzo
*Ravi Shankar/Ali Akhbar Khan: Ragas
*Matthew Shipp Trio: Root of Things
*Matana Roberts: Coin Coin Chapter Five: In the Garden
*Sparks: The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte (sides 1, 2)
*Speaker Music: Black Nationalist Sonic Weaponry (disc 2)
*Squeeze: Argybargy
*Squeeze: Singles: 45s and Under (sides 1, 2)
*Lennie Tristano: The New Tristano
*Various artists: The Rough Guide to Salsa Dance
*Various artists: The Rough Guide to Salsa Dance (2nd ed.)
*XTC: The Big Express (Surround Sound Series) (disc 3)
*XTC: Skylarking (sides 1, 2)
*XTC: Nonsuch (side 1)
*John Zorn's Cobra: 2023-09-03 San Francisco (CDR)

Playlist, Week of 2015-06-07

Roscoe Mitchell fans should be in hog heaven with the release of this album; hell, AACM fans in general have much to rejoice over; to me, this is the capstone of the organization's 50th anniversary. It highlights the primacy of Muhal Richard Abrams as the key innovative leader and performer of the amazing confluence of artists that has given us so much beautiful music over the years. Muhal rules on this recording! The other players are no slouches either, of course: improvisation and interaction of the highest order.

Playlist 2015-06-08:

*Anton Webern: Chamber Music for Strings (Schoenberg Quartet)
*Rodger Coleman & Sam Byrd: Aphelion
*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2015-05-14/15 Nashville (wav)
*John Coltrane: The Prestige Recordings (disc 14)
*Miles Davis: Miles Davis in Stockholm 1960 Complete (discs 2, 3)
*Jack DeJohnette: Made in Chicago
*Last Exit: Last Exit
*Last Exit: Cassette Recordings ‘87
*Ingrid Laubrock Anti-House: 2011-08-06 Lisbon (CDR)
*New Ting Ting Loft: 2015-03-23 “The Scent of Inevitability” (wav)
*New Ting Ting Loft: 2015-04-13 “Honestly, Back and Forth” (wav)
*New Loft: 2015-05-02  “Noise Facts” RVA Noise Fest IV, Richmond VA (wav)
*Sun Ra: Purple Night “Of Invisible Them”
*Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band: Lick My Decals Off, Baby
*Captain Beefheart: The Spotlight Kid
*Buttfinger: Fucked by the Fickle Finger of Farmville (track 1)
*Deerhoof: La Isla Bonita
*Edan: Beauty and the Beat
*High Llamas: Snowbug
*Junior Kimbrough & the Soul Blues Boys: All Night Long
*Bob Marley: Uprising Live! (disc 1)
*UYA: Z (Blue)