Playlist, Week of 2026-08-16

 

I hope the lineup of Kim Cass's Levs proves to be more than a one-off... I really enjoy Charlie Parker on tenor... he's not as comfortable with it, and so his playing is less fluid... but it's still monstrously swinging... The Cecil Taylor big band music is endlessly nourishing... "If music be the food of love, play on"... Still continuing to be blown away by the majestic Sun Ra release Somewhere Over the Rainbow... especially all the new John Gilmore solos... 

Playlist 2026-08-17:

*Art Ensemble: 1967/68 (disc 4) "Number 2 - Quartet Version Take 7"
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: Kabalaba (pt. 1)
*Beatles: Something New (side 2)
*Beatles: Yesterday and Today (sides 1, 2)
*Anthony Braxton/Richard Teitelbaum: Silence/Time Zones:  "Crossing (Dedicated To Roscoe Mitchell)"
*Kim Cass: Levs
*Frédéric Chopin: 24 Preludes Op. 28/Sonata No. 2, Op. 35/Polonaise, Op. 53 (Evgeny Kissin)
*Gerald Cleaver: Adjust
*John Coltrane: Giant Steps (side 2)
*Miles Davis: Complete Birth of the Cool
*Miles Davis: Collector's Items (side 2)
*Deerhoof: Future Teenage Cave Artists
*Deerhoof: Miracle-Level
*Duke Ellington: The Complete 1932-1940 Brunswick, Columbia and Master Recordings of Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra (disc 11)
*Duke Ellington: Live in Mexico "The Mexican Suite"
*Grateful Dead: 1981-05-01 Hampton VA (CDR) (disc 2)
*Charlie Haden: Liberation Music Orchestra (side 1)
*Ingrid Laubrock: Monochromes
*Ingrid Laubrock/Kris Davis: Blood Moon
*James Brandon Lewis: An Unruly Manifesto
*London Jazz Composers Orchestra featuring Anthony Braxton: 1988-03-25 Basel, Switzerland (CDR) (disc 2) "Unidentified Barry Guy Composition"
*Monstrance: Monstrance (disc 2)
*New Ting: 2027-07-27 "Horse for Au Pair" (wav)
*OM: It's About Time
*Tony Oxley Quintet: Angular Apron
*Charlie Parker: The Complete Savoy and Dial Studio Recordings 1944-1948 (disc 5)
*Soft Machine: Floating World Live
*Sun Ra and His Space Arkestra: What Planet Is This? (disc 1)
*Sun Ra: Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Strut) (disc 1)
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-31 Detroit (CDR) (disc 7)
*Sun Ra: Inside the Light World: Sun Ra Meets the OVC (side 1)
*Cecil Taylor: Fragments: The Complete 1969 Salle Pleyel Concerts (disc 1)
*Cecil Taylor Unit: 1979-03-15 WKCR, NYC (CDR) track 1
*Cecil Taylor Orchestra Humane: At Iridium 2004 (discs 13, 14)
*UYA: 1995-03-16 Touch Module (wav)
*Various artists: Stax Singles Vol. 4: Rarities and the Best of the Rest (disc 2)
*Stevie Wonder: 1979-12-18 Secret Life of Plants Tour, Pasadena CA (CDR) (disc 1)
*Robert Wyatt: Shleep 

Playlist, Week of 2026-07-26

 

Brilliant solo guitar work from Alex Ward on The Trade... Ward is also one of the best writers on the work of Cecil Taylor... I wonder what he's making of the Iridium set, which continues to blow me away... Still digging into Pat Thomas... ISM is the piano trio nugget of Ahmed (minus the sax)... Metaphor is a healthy dose of Thomas's acoustic piano work, and it's exhilarating... Another great Thomas performance is on Tony Oxley's Angular Apron...

Playlist 2026-07-27:

*Muhal Richard Abrams: Lifea Blinec (side 1)
*Booker T. & the MGs: Union Extended
*Anthony Braxton: Anthony Braxton (BYG) "[Comp. 6G] B-X0 NO-47A"
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium R: Composition 162: An Opera in Four Acts/Shala Fears for the Poor (disc 2)
*Sonny Clark: Cool Struttin'
*Miles Davis: 1966-05-21 Portland OR (CDR) (disc 2)
*Miles Davis: Big Fun (sides 2, 4)
*Duke Ellington: Rare Strayhorn: Billy Strayhorn with Duke Ellington 1941-1965
*Duke Ellington: Soul Call
*Aretha Franklin: Aretha Arrives (side 2)
*Aretha Franklin: Young, Gifted, and Black (side 1)
*Grateful Dead: 1993-06-23 Deep Creek IN (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1993-09-13 Philadelphia (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1993-09-22 New York City (CDR) "Estimated Prophet > Dark Star"
*Guided By Voices: Crawlspace of the Pantheon
*Kip Hanrahan: 1991 Stuttgart (CDR)
*Henry Now: Then Again (side 1)
*Susie Ibarra: Flower after Flower
*ISM: Metaphor
*Lost: Lost Tapes 1965-'66
*Ava Mendoza: Alive Alone, Alive Together
*Merzbow: Tauromachine (disc 1)
*Charles Mingus Quintet: 1975-05-07 Boston (CDR)
*Thelonious Monk Quartet: Misterioso
*Naked City: Absinthe
*Naked City: Leng Tch'e
*Pauline Oliveros: Reverberations: Tape & Electronic Music 1961-1970 (disc 6)
*Orthotonics: Wake Up You Must Remember
*Tony Oxley Quintet: Angular Apron
*Bud Powell: The Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 3: Bud!
*Soft Machine: Floating World Live
*Soojin Suh: Prism of Existence
*Sun Ra: East Two +5 (side 1)
*Sun Ra: Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Strut) (disc 1)
*Sun Ra: Sleeping Beauty (2026 remaster)
*Sun Ra: On Jupiter (2025 remaster)
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-31 Detroit (CDR) (disc 4)
*Cecil Taylor: Fragments: The Complete 1969 Salle Pleyel Concerts (disc 1)
*Cecil Taylor Orchestra Humane: At Iridium 2004 (disc 10)
*Pat Thomas & XT: Strata, Act (Joy Contemporary)* (disc 3)
*Various artists: Masters of the Venetian Baroque: Gabrieli, Monteverdi, and Vivaldi
*Various artists: A Bolus of Pop Chyme/7-Inchers of Pleasure (cassette compilation) (side B)
*Alex Ward: The Trade

Playlist, Week of 2026-07-12

I have been immersing myself in the mammoth new release of Cecil Taylor big band shows... 14 (!) hour-ish long sets... I can only handle one set an evening... amazing stuff, with Taylor melding with the group, leading it by not leading... And of course listening to this much Cecil engenders listening to more Cecil... Meanwhile the "Dark Star" listening is winding down... 

Playlist 2026-07-13:

*Anthony Braxton: Composition 98 (Studio) "Part 1"
*Anthony Braxton/ Italian Instabile Orchestra: Creative Orchestra (Bolzano) 2007
*Rosemary Clooney and Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Blue Rose
*John Coltrane: Offering: Live at Temple University (disc 1)
*Miles Davis: 1966-05-21 Portland OR (CDR) (disc 1)
*Dietrichs: Live Bahdu
*Antonín Dvořák: Symphony No. 7, etc. (BBC Philharmonic/Sinaisky)
*Edward Elgar: Symphony No. 1 (BBC Symphony Orchestra/Boult)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Treasury Shows, Vol. 13 (disc 2)
*Duke Ellington: Copenhagen 1964
*Fire! Orchestra: 2018-03-03 Geneva (CDR)
*Flight of the Conchords: The Distant Future
*Flying Sutra with Ayumi Ishito: Out Beyond Orbit
*Grateful Dead: 1978-04-24 Normal IL (CDR) (disc 3)
*Grateful Dead: 1992-03-20 Hamilton, ON (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1992-06-08 Richfield OH (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1992-06-18 Charlotte NC (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1992-06-22  Pittsburgh (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Neil Jendon/Mark Nagy: Cardew/Treatise, Vol. 7: Pages 161-193
*Matt Mitchell/Kate Gentile: Snark Horse (disc 2) "Thumbly"
*Muffins: Baker's Dozen (disc 12)
*Wayne Shorter: Speak No Evil
*Wadada Leo Smith: Najwa "Ornette Coleman´s Harmolodic Sonic Hierographic Forms: A Resonance Change In The Millennium"
*Sun Ra: East Two +7
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-31 Detroit (CDR) (disc 2)
*Cecil Taylor Quartet with Albert Ayler: Holy Ghost (disc 1) "Four"
*Cecil Taylor/Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1984-10-30 Paris (CDR) (track 1)
*Cecil Taylor & Günter Sommer: Riobec "Riobec 1"
*Cecil Taylor Orchestra Humane: At Iridium 2004 (discs 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
*Pat Thomas & XT: Strata, Act (Joy Contemporary)* (disc 2)
*David Tudor et al.: Music from the Tudorfest (disc 1)
*UYA: 1995-02-09 Slip Tight II (wav)
*UYA: 1995-02-12 Have You Signed Your Check? (wav)
*Various artists: Wavelength Infinity: A Sun Ra Tribute (disc 1) 

Playlist, Week of 2026-06-14

 

The new Cecil Taylor release Fragments is excellent... some of the best sounding performances I've heard from this particular Unit... lots of critics quibble, but I quite like the contributions of Sam Rivers... I'm still getting blown away by [Ahmed]... loving their takes on Monk... 

Playlist 2026-06-15:

*[Ahmed]: Giant Beauty (disc 1)
*[Ahmed]: Play Monk (disc 1)
*Art Ensemble: 1967/68 (disc 1) "Quartet No. 1"
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1978-03-09 NYC (CDR) (discs 1, 2)
*At the Drive-In: Vaya
*Ayumi Ishito: Roboquarians, Vol. 2
*Beatles: Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band (2009 mono remaster)
*Ornette Coleman Double Quartet: Free Jazz (side 1)
*Elvis Costello: This Year's Model (UK) (sides 1, 2)
*Elvis Costello: Taking Liberties (sides 1, 2)
*Egg: The Metronomical Society
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Jazz of the World War 2nd, Vol. 2: 1944/1945 (side 2)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: A Drum Is a Woman (side 2)
*Duke Ellington: …And His Mother Called Him Bill
*Grateful Dead: 1990-12-31 Oakland (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1991-04-01 Greensboro NC (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1991-06-14 Washington DC (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Alexander Hawkins/Sofia Jernberg: Musho
*Joe Henderson: Multiple (side 1)
*Henry Now: Then Again (side 2)
*Andrew Hill: One for One (side 3)
*Hyper Gal: Our Hyper
*Neil Jendon/Mark Nagy: Cardew/Treatise, Vol. 3: Pages 51-75
*James Brandon Lewis: An Unruly Manifesto
*Charles Mingus: Dizzy Atmosphere: Slugs' Vol. 1
*Roscoe Mitchell/Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble: Three Compositions "Quintet #1 for Eleven"
*Naked City: Grand Guignol
*New Ting Ting Loft: 2016-04-13 Musicircus, UR, Richmond (wav)
*New Ting: 2026-06-08 Carry It All (wav)
*Sonny Rollins Quartet with Don Cherry: Complete Live at the Village Gate 1962 (disc 2)
*Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra: When Sun Comes Out (side 1)
*Sun Ra: East Two +5 (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-29 Detroit (CDR) (disc 3)
*Sun Ra: Kingdom of Discipline (side 2)
*Cecil Taylor: Fragments: The Complete 1969 Salle Pleyel Concerts (discs 1, 2)
*Pat Thomas & XT: Strata, Act (Joy Contemporary)* (disc 3)
*UYA: 1995-01-25 I Have to Build My Own Martians (wav)
*Various artists: Variations #2: The Globe (Jon Leidecker) (CDR)
*Marta Warelis: Still Life with Lemons 

Cecil Taylor on Artistry and Time

...I mean the first time I saw Carmen Amaya dance, in 1955, it was as though everything stopped for me, I mean everything stopped. When you see that. Now that, to me, is the highest kind of compliment that can be paid to another artist, to make somebody else lose all sense of time, all sense of their own existence outside, like the perception of all their energies on that figure. That to me is the greatest. (Cecil Taylor, interview with Bill Smith, 1974-09-07)

This is absolutely what it was like for me every time I saw Cecil Taylor live. (And that Bill Smith interview is one of the best I've read with Mr. Taylor.)

 

Playlist, Week of 2026-04-05

 

For some reason last night I was in the mood for some piano... I started off with a bit of Geneviève Foccroulle playing the solo piano work of Anthony Braxton, in this case "Composition 31," an early piece that's abstract and opaque and quite beautiful... Then I moved on to Cecil Taylor's first album, Jazz Advance... he lays it out right from the get-go with his Cubist reworking of Monk's "Bemsha Swing"... this whole album sounds fresh and invigorating, pretty amazing for the 21st century... imagine how radical it must have sounded in 1956!... Finally, I ended with Duke Ellington and Money Jungle... I've always felt kind of lukewarm about this album, but it's growing on me, and last night it blew me away... Duke's playing is nothing less than sublime, soaked in the blues but also forward-thinking and exploratory... so, all in all, a wonderful evening of creative piano music... 

Playlist 2026-04-06:

*George Adams/Don Pullen: Don't Lose Control (side 1)
*AMM: The Crypt - 12th June 1968 (disc 1)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1977-07-27 NYC (CDR) (discs 1, 2, 3)
*Kevin Ayers and the Whole World: Shooting at the Moon (side 2)
*Anthony Braxton Quartet: 1976-10-28 Graz, Austria (CDR) "Four Winds"
*Anthony Braxton: 4 (Ensemble) Compositions 1992 "Comp. 163"
*Anthony Braxton: Piano Music (1968-2000)/Performed by Genevieve Foccroulle (disc 3)
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium X (disc 6)
*Dave Burrell: High Won - High Two (side 4)
*Nels Cline: Downpour
*Nels Cline Singers: The Giant Pin
*Nels Cline Singers: Initiate (disc 1)
*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2014-12-30 Nashville (track 1)
*John Coltrane: 1965-04-02 Half Note, NYC (CDR) "Creation"
*Deerhoof: Noble and Godlike in Ruin
*Bob Dylan: Fallen Angels
*Bob Dylan/Various artists: Theme Time Radio Hour S02 E51: "Hello"
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Such Sweet Thunder (sides 1, 2)
*Duke Ellington: 1899-1974 (side 3)
*Duke Ellington: Money Jungle
*Duke Ellington: The Reprise Studio Recordings (disc 1)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Latin American Suite
*Grateful Dead: 1973-10-25 Madison WI (CDR)  "Dark Star > Mind Left Body Jam > Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: Listen to the River: St. Louis '71 '72 '73 (disc 20) "Dark Star" (1973-10-30)
*Grateful Dead: 1973-11-11 Winterland (CDR)  "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1973-11-21 Denver CO (CDR)  "Dark Star Jam"
*Grateful Dead: 1978-04-10 Atlanta (CDR) (disc 1)
*Impressions: Check Out Your Mind!
*Impressions: Times Have Changed
*Ingrid Laubrock: Serpentines
*Ingrid Laubrock/Tom Rainey: Stir Crazy (CDR compilation) (disc 12)
*Allen Lowe: Jews and Roots: An Avant-Garde of Our Own (disc 2)
*Thelonious Monk: Brilliant Corners
*Roscoe Mitchell: Discussions (sides 1, 2, 3)
*Rascals: 1968-08-16 Hollywood Bowl (CDR)
*Max Roach: The Long March (side 1)
*Sonny Rollins: Saxophone Colossus
*Ches Smith: Clone Row
*Sparks: Sparks (side 1)
*Sparks: Balls (side 4)
*Sun Ra and His Astro-Ihnfinity Arkestra: Sun Embassy
*Sun Ra and His Astro Ihnfinity Arkestra: The Intergalactic Thing (side 4)
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-27 Detroit (CDR) (disc 3)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: In the Orbit of Ra (side 4)
*Cecil Taylor: Jazz Advance
*UYA: 1994-10-16 Elbow Movement (wav)
*Various artists: Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues (A Musical Journey) (disc 4)
*Various artists: Body and Soul (CDR compilation)
*Weather Report: Live in Tokyo (side 4)
*Yes: Tales from Topographic Oceans (Super Deluxe Ed.) (disc 9)

Dylan on Cecil Taylor

Of course I shouldn't have been surprised, but still it was nice to see...

It was mostly a jazz coffeehouse where Cecil Taylor played a lot. I played there with Cecil once. We played "The Water Is Wide," the old folk song. Cecil could play regular piano if he wanted to. (Bob Dylan, Chronicles, Vol. 1, Simon & Schuster 2004, p. 74)

 

Playlist, Week of 2024-12-15

I've read in several places that Cecil Taylor cites (in addition to Duke Ellington) Bud Powell and Horace Silver as major influences... Bud Powell I get, because of the melodic fast-run flourishes, but I'd been having trouble with Horace Silver... I wasn't really hearing Cecil in Song for my Father... but then I listened again to some of Silver's 1954 work with Miles Davis, and I got it, big time... especially "Blu 'n' Boogie'  and "I Remember April" ... I can hear a direct line from Silver to Taylor, primarily with Silver's jabbing percussive attack in his solos... just brilliant... I hope to check out some Silver with Art Blakey from around this time to see what else I can hear... 

Playlist 2024-12-16:

*Art Ensemble of Chicago: Kabalaba (pt. 2)
*Beach Boys: Friends (sides 1, 2)
*Beatles: Rubber Soul (2009 stereo remaster) (side 1)
*Beatles: The Beatles (side 3)
*Marion Brown: Afternoon of a Georgia Faun
*Miles Davis: The Prestige 10-Inch LP Collection, Vol. 2 (LP 1: side 1; LP 2: sides 1, 2)
*Miles Davis: Black Beauty: Miles Davis at Fillmore West (sides 3, 4)
*Miles Davis: Miles at the Fillmore: Miles Davis 1970: The Bootleg Series Vol. 3 (disc 2)
*Miles Davis: The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions (disc 1)
*Miles Davis: Dark Magus (discs 1, 2)
*Miles Davis: Agharta (disc 1)
*Miles Davis: 1975-06-11 NYC
*Miles Davis: Tutu
*Bob Dylan/Various artists: Theme Time Radio Hour S01 E11 "Flowers"
*Bob Dylan/Various artists: Theme Time Radio Hour S01 E12 "Cars"
*Bob Dylan/Various artists: Theme Time Radio Hour S01 E13 "Rich Man Poor Man"
*Duke Ellington: The Indispensable Duke Ellington (Volumes 5/6) - 1940 (side 1)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Treasury Shows, Vol. 9 (disc 2)
*Dave Fox Group: Gatewalk
*Robert Fripp: Love Cannot Bear: Soundscapes - Live in the USA
*Mary Halvorson Octet: 2018-11-12 Venice (CDR)
*Herbie Hancock: 2024-08-14 Hollywood (CDR) (discs 1, 2)
*Joe Henderson: Barcelona
*Henry Cow: Unrest
*Joseph Jarman: As If It Were the Seasons "As If It Were the Seasons/Song to Make the Sun Come Up"
*Jefferson Pilot: Recordeo
*Henry Mancini: Breakfast at Tiffany's (OST)
*Rob Mazurek/Exploding Star Orchestra: Live at the Adler Planetarium
*Jackie McLean: Jacknife
*Roscoe Mitchell: Composition/Improvisation Nos. 1, 2 & 3 "Movement III"
*Roscoe Mitchell with Ostravská Banda: Distant Radio Transmission
*David Murray Octet: Picasso
*Andy Partridge: My Failed Songwriting Career, Vol. 2
*Andy Partridge: My Failed Christmas Career, Vol. 1
*Annette Peacock: An Acrobat's Heart
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Live at Montreux (side 1)
*Sun Ra: Kingdom of Discipline (side 1)
*Sun Ra: Lights on a Satellite: Live at the Left Bank (disc 1)
*Sun Ra Arkestra under the Direction of Marshall Allen: Lights on a Satellite
*Cecil Taylor: Jazz Advance
*McCoy Tyner/Joe Henderson: Forces of Nature: Live at Slugs' (discs 1, 2)
*Various artists: That Devilin' Tune (Vol. I, disc 5)
*Various artists: Anthology of Noise and Electronic Music vol. 1: First a-chronology 1921-2001 (disc 1)
*John Zorn/Chaos Magick: Multiplicities: A Repository of Non-Existent Objects
*John Zorn: Multiplicities II

Playlist, Week of 2024-10-06

A beautifully relaxing solo guitar album from Henry Kaiser... Tyshawn Sorey's drumming on Vijay Iyer's Compassion is outstanding... primo piano trio stuff!... nice to hear a Stevie Wonder cover in this context... Every time I delve into Two T's for a Lovely T I am astounded by the rich interplay and vitality of all three players... Such Sweet Thunder is still floating my boat... It's fun listening to Bud Powell through a Cecil Taylor lens... I plan on doing the same with Horace Silver... Of course, Cecil is drenched with Duke Ellington...

Playlist 2024-10-07:

*[Ahmed]: Giant Beauty (discs 4, 5)

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

*Johann Sebastian Bach: The Sonatas and Partitas for Unaccompanied Violin (Sergio Luca) (disc 1)

*Beatles: Hard Day's Night (2009 stereo remaster) (sides 1, 2)

*Beatles: 1962-1966 (2023 Edition) (side 5)

*Beyonce: Lemonade

*Peter Brötzmann Octet: The Complete Machine Gun Sessions "Machine Gun"

*Sonny Clark: The Complete Sonny Clark Blue Note Sessions (disc 2)

*Stephan Crump: Slow Water

*Bill Dixon: Bill Dixon in Italy, Vol. 1 (sides 1, 2)

*Dave Douglas: Spirit Moves

*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Such Sweet Thunder (side 1)

*Duke Ellington: The Far East Suite (sides 1, 2)

*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Featuring Paul Gonsalves (side 1)

*Joseph Haydn: Complete Symphonies, Vol. 3: Nos. 82, 88, 95 (Heidelberger Sinfoniker)

*Henry Cow: Glastonbury and Elsewhere

*Freddie Hubbard: Hub Cap

*Vijay Iyer: Compassion

*Henry Kaiser: Everything Forever

*Layers of Memory: 2019-12-07 RVA (wav)"Improvisation No. 4"

*Rob Mazurek/Exploding Star Orchestra Featuring Roscoe Mitchell: Matter Anti-Matter (disc 1)

*Roscoe Mitchell: Duets with Tyshawn Sorey and Special Guest Hugh Ragin

*Roscoe Mitchell: Not Yet: Six Compositions

*New Ting: 2024-08-27 Richmond VA "Dated a Rockefeller: Live at Scuffletown" (wav)

*New Ting: 2024-09-30 "It's Raining, Understood" (wav)

*Charlie Parker: Live and Private Recordings in Chronological Order (discs 6, 7, 8)

*Polyorchard: Ink (disc 2)

*Bud Powell: The Genius of Bud Powell (side 1)

*Tyshawn Sorey: Alloy "Movement"

*Tyshawn Sorey: The Off-Off Broadway Guide to Synergism (disc 2)

*Sparks: A Woofer in Tweeter's Clothing (sides 1, 2)

*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Bad and Beautiful

*Sun Ra: Exotica (discs 1, 2)

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

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

*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: 1989-08-11 Cambridge MA (CDR) (disc 3)

*Sun Ra Sextet: At the Village Vanguard

*Masayuki Takayanagi New Direction Unit: April Is the Cruellest Month

*Cecil Taylor Orchestra of Two Continents: 1984-10-20 Rubigen, Switzerland (CDR) (disc 2)

*Cecil Taylor Feel Trio: Two Ts for a Lovely T (disc 5)

*YoshimiOizumikiYoshiduO: To the Forest to Live a Truer Life

*John Zorn/Insurrection: Salem 1692

 

Playlist, Week of 2024-08-25

Primo Gilmore on Taking a Chance on Chances, especially side 2... I was a little disappointed when Prophet first came out, but I have to say it's growing on me... There's not enough large-ensemble Cecil Taylor in the world... Anyway, this week, it was mostly Sun Ra, Cecil, and Prince... 

Playlist 2024-08-28:

*Area: Maledetti (Maudits) (sides 1, 2)
*Borderlands Trio: Rewilder (disc 1)
*John Carter Octet: Dauwhe
*John Carter: Castles of Ghana
*Grateful Dead: 1973-03-26 Baltimore (CDR) "Truckin'"
*Mary Halvorson: 2009-06-28 NYC (CDR)
*Billy Hart: Enchance (side 1)
*Rob Mazurek Exploding Star Orchestra: Galactic Parables: Vol. 1 (disc 2)
*New Ting: 2024-08-19 Richmond VA (wav)
*Prince: 1981-12-20 Houston (CDR)
*Prince: 2009-07-18 Montreux Jazz Festival (CDR) (disc 2)
*Prince: Small Club Jams (CDR compilation)
*Ravi Shankar: The Sounds of India
*Matthew Shipp Trio: The Trio Plays Ware
*Sun Ra and His Blue Universe Arkestra: Universe in Blue
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Taking a Chance on Chances
*Sun Ra: Of Mythic Worlds
*Sun Ra: Ra to the Rescue
*Sun Ra Arkestra: 1986-02-06 Toronto (CDR) (disc 4)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Prophet
*Sun Ra Arkestra: 1986-10-11 Washington DC (CDR) (discs 1, 2, 3)
*Horace Tapscott: The Dark Tree 1 & 2 (disc 2)
*Cecil Taylor: 1983-07-27 Genoa (wav)
*Cecil Taylor/Music from Two Continents: 1984-10-27 Belfort, France (wav)
*Cecil Taylor and the Sound Vision Orchestra: 2002-06-21 Knitting Factory NYC (CDR) (disc 3)
*Cecil Taylor/Tony Oxley: 2003-11-07 Berlin (wav)
*Cecil Taylor/Tony Oxley: 2008-02-24 Vienna (CDR) (discs 1, 2)
*Henry Threadgill Zooid: Poof

Playlist, Week of 2024-08-11

Lots of affinities between Matana Roberts' Coin Coin series and John Carter's 5-album series Roots and Folklore: Episodes in the Development of American Folk Music... Miles Davis played some of the hottest trumpet of his life on the 1969 Newport Jazz Festival (as heard on Bitches Brew Live)... Wayne Shorter was a no-show (stuck in traffic), so Miles led a quartet as the only horn... On a Cecil Taylor kick while reading the new Philip Freeman biography (well, I am often on a Cecil kick anyway, so what's new?)... On a Sun Ra kick, too, well, just because... 

Playlist 2024-08-12:

*Louis Armstrong: The Complete Louis Armstrong Decca Sessions (1935-1946) (discs 1, 2)
*Horacee Arnold: Tales of the Exonerated Flea
*Art Ensemble: 1967/68 (disc 1) "Quartet No. 2"
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City: Live at Iridium (disc 1) "On the Mountain"
*Beatles: Past Masters (2009 stereo remaster) (side 1)
*Beatles: Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band (2009 stereo remaster) (side 1)
*Gus Bodenheim: Slouching Towards Bodenheim (discs 1, 2)
*Anthony Braxton/Joe Morris: Four Improvisations (Duo) 2007 (disc 2)
*Anthony Braxton/Eugene Chadbourne: Duo (Improv) 2017 (disc 1)
*John Carter: Dance of the Love Ghosts
*John Carter: Fields
*Sonny Clark: The Complete Sonny Clark Blue Note Sessions (disc 1)
*Rodger Coleman: Guitar Experiments
*Miles Davis: Bitches Brew Live
*Bob Dylan: The Witmark Demos: 1962-1964 (disc 2)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Works of Duke: Integrale Vol. 16 (side 2)
*Duke Ellington: Centenary Celebration 1999: Vol. 3: The Great Bands of the 1940s
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Treasury Shows, Vol. 8 (disc 1)
*Grateful Dead: Road Trips Vol. 4 No. 3 (1973-12-06 Cleveland) (bonus disc) "Dark Star > Eyes of the World"
*Joe Henderson: An Evening with Joe Henderson
*Arve Henriksen: Towards Language
*Roscoe Mitchell Discussions Orchestra: Discussions
*Gerry Mulligan/Lee Konitz: Revelation (side 1)
*Elvis Presley: The Complete Elvis Presley Masters (discs 1, 2)
*Matana Roberts: Coin Coin Chapter Five: In the Garden (sides 1, 2)
*Ravi Shankar: India's Master Musician
*Ravi Shankar: Three Ragas "Raga Jog"
* 夢遊病者 [Sleepwalker]: 5772
*Sonic Youth: Washing Machine "The Diamond Sea"
*Sparks: Propaganda
*Sparks: Balls
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: In the Orbit of Ra (side 1)
*Sun Ra: Disco 3000 (Complete Milan Concert 1978) (disc 2)
*Sun Ra: Inside the Light World: Sun Ra Meets the OVC (side 1)
*Sun Ra: 1985-10-27 Hamburg (CDR) (disc 1, 2)
*Sun Ra Arkestra: Reflections in Blue
*Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of John Gilmore: 1992-12-30 Northampton MA (CDR) (disc 1)
*Cecil Taylor: In Transition [Jazz Advance] (side 1)
*Cecil Taylor: The Complete Candid Recordings of Cecil Taylor and Buell Neidlinger (disc 1)
*Cecil Taylor with Albert Ayler: 1962-11-16 Copenhagen (Holy Ghost disc 1)
*Cecil Taylor: Rotterdam 1967-07-01 (CDR)
*Cecil Taylor: For Olim
*Cecil Taylor Ensemble: Always a Pleasure
*Various artists: Little Club Jazz: Small Groups in the '30s (side 1)
*Neil Young with Crazy Horse: Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
*Neil Young: On the Beach
*John Zorn: Insurrection

Cecil Taylor: Memories and Some Resources

 

Six years after his death, I find myself listening to Cecil Taylor as much as I ever have. I was lucky enough to see him several times. The first time was one of the greatest concerts of my life: the Unit at Blues Alley in Washington DC in 1980, for two sets of incredibly dense and unrelenting energy. Cecil Taylor, Jimmy Lyons, William Parker, Rashid Bakr. Blues Alley was a fairly small club, with no stage, and our table (me and my brother and our bemused but patient girlfriends) was directly in front, right in front of Cecil. The piano was angled so we could see his fingers and the piano keys from the angle of his right shoulder. This was almost too much to bear; I get chills thinking about it even now.

Afterwards we were lucky enough to talk to both Cecil and Jimmy Lyons (and yes, this white fanboy got their autographs on my copy of Spring of Two Blue-J's). They were both gentlemen, if a bit reticent and wary (I mean, after all, they had just exploded the cosmos for two hours), but they put up with us for a few minutes. What would I say to him now? Thanks again, for blowing my mind all these years?

Here's a random list of various resources and writing about Cecil Taylor that I have found useful over the years. It's hard to write about music, and it's especially difficult to write about the titanic maelstrom and towering achievements of a giant like Taylor, so I really appreciate it when I come across writing that manages to capture some of his intensity and originality in print. This list is not meant to be exhaustive by any means; this is just some of my favorite writing about Taylor: useful places to explore.

Gary Giddins has long been a champion of Taylor's, and his writing is always impeccably astute. The essays and reviews in Visions of Jazz (especially pp. 455-467) and Weather Bird are always enlightening, and, like any good music writing, send you back to the music.

Richard Cook and Brian Morton, in their exemplary Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD (my favorite edition is the 5th, the last to include an in-depth and indispensable index) always provide excellent reviews and critical assessments.

I love Ekkehard Jost's relatively early (1974) take on Cecil's music, in his book Free Jazz, with his description of Taylor's emphasis on "a kind of playing whose dynamic impetus arose not from off-beat phrasing but from combining the parameters of time, intensity and pitch, thereby creating a new music quality, energy"(p. 69).

Musician Alex Ward has done some amazing detailed analysis of Taylor's work, both on his blog and in three extended compilations on YouTube. There's a lifetime of listening in his analyses alone!

After Taylor's death, there were naturally a lot of testaments, tributes, and career summaries on the web. Some of the best included:

 

--Alexander Hawkins: "The Unit Structures of Cecil Taylor" (the Wire)

--Taylor Ho Bynum:  "Visceral and Cathartic Joy: An Appreciation of Cecil Taylor" (Point of Departure) with reminiscences of his playing in Cecil's large ensembles.

--Adam Shatz: "The World of Cecil Taylor" (the New York Review of Books)

--David Grundy: " '...And Not Goodbye': Cecil Taylor" Part 1 and Part 2 (from his blog Streams of Expression) --includes an invaluable extended analysis of Taylor's poetry

--the Free Jazz Collective blog ran an excellent three-part "tribute to Cecil Taylor's music through his discography": Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

I am looking forward to Phil Freeman's upcoming biography of Taylor, due out later this year. I also read somewhere that Ben Young was working on a Taylor book, but I have heard no more about that.

Playlist, Week of 2023-10-15

Of all the many incredible recordings the Art Ensemble of Chicago made in Paris in 1969-1970, "The Ninth Room" is my absolute favorite... anchored by a mighty Malachi Favors bass line and punctuated by sparse and thoughtfully integrated bells and little percussion instruments, the melody line is stated and deconstructed by the three horns... and what a melody it is...the saxes and trumpet play at the same time without stepping on each others' toes, allowing a lot of space for the percussion punctautions and for each other... plus it swings heavily and masterfully... Respiration is a Cecil Taylor solo masterpiece that stands well with Silent Tongues and Indent... 

Playlist 2023-10-16:

*Art Ensemble of Chicago: The Paris Session "The Ninth Room"
*Beatles: Abbey Road (Anniversary Edition) (disc 2)
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium E (disc 3) "Act 3, Part 2"
*Anthony Braxton: Tentet (Paris) 2001
*Anthony Braxton's Sonic Genome Project: 2010-01-31 Vancouver (CDR) (discs 1, 2)
*Sonny Clark: Cool Struttin'
*John Coltrane: Live in Paris (side 2)
*Marilyn Crispell/Gary Peacock/Paul Motian: Nothing Ever Was, Anyway (disc 2)
*George Duke: A Brazilian Love Affair
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Treasury Shows, Vol. 5 (disc 1)
*Grateful Dead: 1972-04-08 London (CDR) (disc 3)
*Grateful Dead: 1972-04-14 Copenhagen (discs 1, 2, 3, 4)
*Grant Green: Idle Moments
*Ingrid Laubrock: Dreamt Twice, Twice Dreamt (disc 1)
*Ingrid Laubrock: The Last Quiet Place
*Ingrid Laubrock: Monochromes
*Charles Mingus: Right Now
*Charles Mingus: 1968 Peabody MA (CDR)
*Roscoe Mitchell with Ostravská Banda: Distant Radio Transmission (side 2)
*New Ting: 2023-10-10 "The Heavy Box" (wav)
*Charlie Parker: Bird at the Roost, the Savoy Years: The Complete Royal Roost Performances, Vol. One (side 1)
*Charlie Parker: Bird: The Complete Charlie Parker on Verve (disc 5)
*Annette Peacock: An Acrobat's Heart
*Pere Ubu: Live at the Longhorn April 1, 1978 (sides 1, 2, 3)
*Sam RIvers: The Quest (side 1)
*Matana Roberts: Coin Coin Chapter Five: In the Garden
*Knoel Scott featuring Marshall Allen: Celestial
*Sun Ra: ESP Radio Tribute Highlights (CDR compilation) (disc 4)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Jazz in Silhouette (Expanded Edition) (side 1)
*Sun Ra: Disco 3000 (Complete Milan Concert 1978) (disc 1)
*Ches Smith: Interpret It Well
*Sparks: A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip (sides 2, 3, 4)
*Taylor Swift: My Perfect 10 (Vol. 21) (CDR compilation)
*Cecil Taylor: Unit Structures (Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series) (side 2)
*Cecil Taylor: Conquistador! "Conquistador"
*Cecil Taylor: Respiration
*Cecil Taylor: 3 Phasis (side 1)
*Cecil Taylor/Tony Oxley: 2007-10-11 Modena, Italy (CDR) (discs 1, 2)
*Henry Threadgill Zooid: Poof
*Lennie Tristano: Lennie Tristano
*XTC: The Big Express (Surround Sound Series) (disc 1)
*Larry Young: Mothership
*John Zorn/Chaos Magick: 2023-09-02 San Francisco (CDR)
*John Zorn: Bagatelles Vol. 1: Mary Halvorson Quartet
*John Zorn: Bagatelles Vol. 2: Michael Nicolas/Erik Friedlander
*John Zorn: Bagatelles Vol. 16: Sam Eastmond
*John Zorn/Incerto: Full Fathom Five

"Urgent, Dynamic Chains of Impulses:" Cecil Taylor's Early Drummers

I love the tension that arises from the contrast of Denis Charles's straight-ahead, solid-as-a-rock swing with Cecil Taylor's manic Ellingtonianisms, all florid soloing, block chord comping, and drummer-like jumping all over the place rhythmically. For a great example, check out the performance of "Johnny Come Lately" on the At Newport album. As interesting and compelling as Cecil's early music is (and it is all almost infinitely fascinating and rewarding), it's clear that he needed a different drummer to fully realize his vision... and Sunny Murray more than fit the bill. As Ekkehard Jost puts it: "He is probably the first drummer in jazz who was able--while largely negating metre--to develop urgent, dynamic chains of impulses, and in this way gave Taylor's music the support it needed" (Jost, Free Jazz, Universal Edition, 1974, p. 72). Next stops Into the Hot and the Café Montmartre!

Playlist, Week of 2023-07-02

Always nice to return to Area... what a strange, wonderful, incredibly tight band they were... Nice to hear Alex Ward on the new Pere Ubu record... his clarinet fits in nicely... Still coming to terms with Cecil Taylor's Hard Driving Jazz, his only session with John Coltrane... Cecil's "comping," if you can call it that, is so dark and brooding... hearing Coltrane soar over that dark piano accompaniment is strangely satisfying... one can only imagine how it would have worked if Cecil's original choice for trumpet, Ted Curson, had been present... instead we get the fusty and uninteresting Kenny Dorham... who is fine in the right context, but this ain't it... still, I am happy this album exists, if only to highlight how much Cecil needed Jimmy Lyons and Sunny Murray in 1957... 

Playlist 2023-07-03:

*Area: Arbeit Macht Frei
*Area: Are(A)zione (side 1)
*Anthony Braxton/Richard Teitelbaum: Silence/Time Zones: "Crossing (Dedicated To Roscoe Mitchell)"
*Anthony Braxton: Creative Orchestra (Köln) 1978 "Comp. 59"
*Anthony Braxton: Solo (Kent) 1979
*Anthony Braxton: 12 Duets (DCWM) 2012 (disc 10)
*Anthony Braxton: Quintet (Tristano) 2014 (discs 6, 7)
*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2018-11-19 Nashville (rough mix wav)
*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2019-11-25 Nashville (rough mix wav)
*Miles Davis: The Cellar Door Sessions 1970 (disc 5) "What I Say"
*Deerhoof: Devil Kids
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: 1952-11-25 Birdland, NYC (CDR)
*Grateful Dead: 1972-09-27 Jersey City, NJ (Dick's Picks 11) "Dark Star"
*Grant Green: Street of Dreams
*Lionel Hampton: The Complete Lionel Hampton Victor Sessions 1937-1941 (disc 2)
*Buddy Holly: The New Complete Buddy Holly v2.0 (disc 4)
*Freddie Hubbard: The Body and the Soul
*Freddie Hubbard: Breaking Point
*Bobby Hutcherson: Components
*Ingrid Laubrock: Dreamt Twice, Twice Dreamt (disc 1) "Drilling"
*Roscoe Mitchell: Roscoe Mitchell Orchestra and Space Trio at the Fault Zone Festival
*Pere Ubu: Trouble on Big Beat Street
*Sparks: The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte (sides 1, 2)
*Steely Dan: The Second Arrangement (Roger Nichols cassette & DAT) (CDR compilation)
*Sun Ra: Exotica (discs 1, 2)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: In the Orbit of Ra (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra: When Sun Comes Out (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra and His Astro-Infinity Arkestra: Continuation (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra Arkestra: Nothing Is… Completed & Revisited
*Sun Ra and His Astro Ihnfinity Arkestra: The Intergalactic Thing (side 4)
*Sun Ra: Discipline Variations: A Compilation 1970-1972 (CDR compilation) (disc 1)
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Ultra 21st Century Arkestra: 1990-06-27 Lugano, Switzerland (disc 1)
*Art Tatum: The Art Tatum Solo Masterpieces Vol. 7
*Art Tatum: The Art Tatum Solo Masterpieces Vol. 8
*Cecil Taylor Quintet: Hard Driving Jazz
*Cecil Taylor: Mixed [Into the Hot]
*Cecil Taylor: Unit Structures "Unit Structures/As of a Now/Section"
*Cecil Taylor Ensemble: Almeda
*Henry Threadgill Ensemble: The Other One
*Charles Tolliver Big Band: Mosaic Select (disc 3)
*Lennie Tristano: Personal Recordings 1946-1970 (disc 3)
*John Zorn/Yamantaka Eye: NaniNani II

Playlist, Week of 2023-03-05

I find myself drawn to early Cecil Taylor... Jazz Advance, Looking Ahead!, Love for Sale, and all the absolutely killer Candid recordings... Sunny Murray was necessary, but it's wonderful to hear what Cecil was doing with the solid underpinning of a straight beat from Dennis Charles... later on, we get a small glimpse of how Cecil's playing to a "beat" had developed when Ronald Shannon Jackson occasionally threw in his stomping marches... It's not a pattern, but as I work my way chronologically through Charles Mingus's discography, I find myself missing his early stuff and looking forward to getting back to it... I'm talking the Debut recordings, the early Jazz Workshop sides, and the giant 1950s albums, from East Coasting and Tijuana Moods to Mingus Dynasty... all in good time... Okay, it really isn't a pattern, but I am also finding that what's floating my boat with Sun Ra these days is his piano playing on all the early Saturns... Mary Halvorson's Amaryllis deserves all the attention it's gotten since it came out last year... I think I am more intrigued by her compositions than by her playing... looking forward to seeing her at Big Ears this year... 

Playlist 2023-03-06:

*Zoh Amba: 2023-01-24 Vienna (CDR)
*Derek Bailey/Pat Metheny/Gregg Bendian/Paul Wertico: The Sign Of 4 (discs 2, 3)
*Anthony Braxton: 1969-10-25 Paris (CDR)
*Anthony Braxton: 12 Duets (DCWM) 2012 (discs 1, 2)
*John Coltrane: Live in Japan (disc 1) "Afro Blue"
*Dreams: Dreams
*Firesign Theater: Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him
*Mary Halvorson: Amaryllis
*Layers of Memory: 2019-12-07 RVA (wav)"No. 3"
*James Brandon Lewis: An UnRuly Manifesto
*James Brandon Lewis Red Lily Quintet: Jesup Wagon
*Mat Maneri: Pentagon
*Charles Mingus: Revenge! (discs 1, 2)
*Charles Mingus: The Great Concert of Charles Mingus (side 1)
*Prince: 50 Essential Bootlegs Listening Companion (CDR) (discs 1, 2, 3, 4)
*Wadada Leo Smith: String Quartets Nos. 1-12 (discs 1, 2)
*Soft Machine: BBC Radio 1969-1971 (disc 1)
*Mike Sopko/Bill Laswell/Thomas Pridgen: Sopko Laswell Pridgen (selections)
*Sparks: Indiscreet (sides 1, 2)
*Sparks: Big Beat (side 1)
*Sparks: Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins (sides 1, 2)
*Sparks: Lil' Beethoven (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra: Ellingtonia, Vol. 2
*Sun Ra: Solo Piano at WKCR, 1977
*Sun Ra: Solo Piano, Vol. 1
*Sun Ra: Lanquidity (45rpm version) (sides 2, 3, 4)
*Sun Ra and His Intergalactic Solar Arkestra: 1990-05-05 Santa Cruz CA (CDR) (discs 1, 2)
*Sun Ra Arkestra: Living Sky (side 2)
*Cecil Taylor: The Complete Candid Recordings of Cecil Taylor and Buell Neidlinger (disc 1)
*Cecil Taylor: Indent
*Cecil Taylor Unit: 1975-07-25 Antibes (CDR)
*Cecil Taylor Unit: 1976-07-14 Bremen (CDR)
*Cecil Taylor: 1976-07-25 Antibes (CDR)

Playlist, Week of 2023-02-19

 

The Charles Mingus 1964 European tour shows with Eric Dolphy and Jaki Byard are simply fantastic, but also very intense, and I find that I need to spread out my listening of them... My favorite piece from this era is "Meditations" (on whatever...)... Exciting to see a new Sun Ra compilation of Ellington tunes out on Bandcamp (review here)... The large ensemble works of Cecil Taylor from the early 2000s are amazing... Great to dig into more live Ben Webster with the Duke from 1943, At the Hurricane... Rediscovering the sublime jams out of the "Weather Report Suite" from 1974 Grateful Dead shows... 

Playlist 2023-02-20:

*Zoh Amba: O, Sun
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: The Sixth Decade: From Paris to Paris (Live at Sons D’Hiver) (disc 1)
*Beach Boys: All Summer Long
*Beach Boys: Pet Sounds
*Beatles: Revolver (Super Deluxe 4 LP Edition 2022) (sides 7, 8)
*Anthony Braxton: 1085-11-25 Huddersfield "Comp. 100" (streaming)
*Billy Cobham-George Duke Band: "Live" on Tour in Europe
*Miles Davis: The Complete On the Corner Sessions "Calypso Frelimo"
*George Duke: The Aura Will Prevail (selections)
*Duke Ellington: At the Hurricane
*Grateful Dead: Dick's Picks 12 "Weather Report Suite > Jam"
*Grateful Dead: 1974-06-18 Louisville KY (CDR) "Weather Report Suite > The Other One"
*Mary Halvorson: Amaryllis
*Henry Cow: Glastonbury and Elsewhere
*High Llamas: Hawaii (disc 2)
*Andrew Hill: Mosaic Select (disc 3)
*Mars Volta: The Mars Volta
*Charles Mingus: The Jazz Workshop Concerts 1964-65 (discs 1, 3, 4)
*New Ting: 2019-09-30 "Emulsify My Desires" (wav)
*Omar Rodriguez-López: Old Money
*Wayne Shorter: Odyssey of Iska
*Sun Ra: Ellingtonia, Vol. 2
*Sun Ra and His Myth-Science Arkestra: The Nubians of Plutonia
*Sun Ra Arkestra: 1989-05-22 Northampton, MA (CDR) (discs 1, 2)
*Craig Taborn: Shadow Plays
*Cecil Taylor: Mixed [Into the Hot]
*Cecil Taylor: 1983-07-27 Genoa (CDR)
*Cecil Taylor/Paul Lovens: Regalia
*Cecil Taylor Workshop Ensemble: Melancholy "Sphere No. 3"
*Cecil Taylor Orchestra Humane (Ubuntu): 2004-03-28 (CDR) (disc 2)
*Cecil Taylor Orchestra Humane (Ubuntu): 2005-12-14 (CDR) (disc 1)
*Henry Threadgill Zooid: Poof
*UYA: 1992-05-12 Despair Flower Love God (wav)
*UYA: 1992-05-17 Discoloration Scheme (wav)c
*Various artists: The T.A.M.I. Show (CDR) (disc 1)
*Various artists: Bombay the Hard Way: Guns, Cars, & Sitars
*Iannis Xenakis: Orchestra Works & Chamber Music
*John Zorn: Spillane

Playlist, Week of 2023-02-05

My Charles Mingus, Cecil Taylor, and Sun Ra journeys continue... From this distance, the Mingus 1962 Town Hall concert, supposedly a fiasco, sounds pretty damn solid to me... I don't mind the slight roughness around the edges... Mingus's solo piano album is beautiful... I've always dug his piano playing, and this album is the best example of it... Meanwhile, Cecil's all over the place on the 1973 Town Hall recording... what a treat... Indent continues to stun me... And to conclude our piano etude, Sun Ra's guiding piano on the title track of Other Planes of There is equally stunning, if not as extrovertly expressionist...  

Playlist 2023-02-06:

*Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E flat, "Eroica" (Toscanini/NBC Symphony Orchestra)
*James Brown: The James Brown Story: Ain't That a Groove 1966-69
*Kris Davis: Lifespan
*Grateful Dead: Dark Star Comp 1 (1967-1969) (CDR compilation)
*Charles Mingus: The Complete Town Hall Concert
*Charles Mingus: Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus
*Charles Mingus: Mingus Plays Piano (Spontaneous Compositions and Improvisations)
*Charles Mingus Sextet: Cornell 1964 (disc 1)
*New Ting: 2019-09-16 "Simmertime Lubricity Challenge" (wav)
*Miles Okazaki: Trickster
*Tony Oxley Celebration Orchestra: The Enchanted Messenger
*Charlie Parker Quintet: Complete Live at Birdland (disc 2)
*Ivo Perelman/Mat Maneri/Joe Morris/Gerald Cleaver: Breaking Point
*Tom Rainey Obbligato: Untucked in Hannover
*Alexander von Schlippenbach: The Living Music
*Soft Machine: Facelift: France & Holland (disc 2)
*Mike Sopko/Bill Laswell/Thomas Pridgen: Sopko Laswell Pridgen
*Tyshawn Sorey Trio: Mesmerism
*Sparks: Kimono My House
*Sparks: Indiscreet
*Sparks: Introducing Sparks
*Sparks: Interior Design
*Sparks: Hello Young Lovers (sides 3, 4)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: To Those of Earth... and Other Worlds (Gilles Peterson) (discs 1, 2)
*Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra: Other Planes of There
*Sun Ra Arkestra: 1985-11-30 Berkeley (CDR) (disc 1)
*Sun Ra: Solo Works (CDR compilation)
*Cecil Taylor: The Complete, Legendary, Live Return Concert at the Town Hall NYC November 4, 1973 "Spring of Two Blue-Js Pts. 1 & 2"
*Cecil Taylor: Indent
*Cecil Taylor: 3 Phasis
*Cecil Taylor: In East-Berlin (disc 1)
*Cecil Taylor: Erzulie Maketh Scent
*Cecil Taylor Feel Trio: Two Ts for a Lovely T (disc 5)
*Thundercat: Thundercat (CDR compilation)
*World Saxophone Quartet: Rhythm and Blues

Playlist, Week of 2023-01-29

Still getting a handle on Cecil Taylor... I've been listening to him for almost 50 years (!) and his music still rewards repeated listening, and also continues to mystify... I'm so glad I got to see him multiple times, and even was able to talk to him (and Jimmy Lyons!) once... it was more like, make a fool of myself and mumble while he looked at me askance... but still... no matter where you dip in his vast discography there are treasures and inspirational puzzles... how on earth was he able to sustain his vision with such power and uncompromising effort, for so many years?... it occurs to me that many of the artists I most admire, like Sun Ra and Anthony Braxton, have done that... All three of them have a huge legacy of recorded sound that takes years to process and understand... I'm still working on it, not there yet... and of course there is no end: the journey is all... so much more to say on Mr. Taylor... in due time... for now, my listening, while still all over the place, is focusing on Cecil Taylor, Sun Ra, and Charles Mingus... keeping me going...

Playlist 2023-01-30:

*Susan Alcorn/Leila Bordreuil/Ingrid Laubrock: Bird Meets Wire

*Anthony Braxton: Nine Compositions (DVD) 2003 "Comp. 328 (12tet)"

*Terri Lyne Carrington: New Standards, Vol. 1

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

*Kris Davis: Aeriol Piano

*Duke Ellington: …And His Mother Called Him Bill

*Satoku Fujii: Hyaku: One Hundred Dreams

*Joe Henderson: The Complete Joe Henderson Blue Note Sessions (disc 3)

*Jimi Hendrix: Songs for Groovy Children (The Fillmore East Concerts) (disc 4)

*Henry Kaiser Band: Heart's Desire

*Mat Maneri: Pentagon

*Charles Mingus & the Jazz Workshop All Stars: The Complete Birdland Broadcasts 1961-62 (FM) (discs 1, 2, 3)

*Charles Mingus: The Complete Town Hall Concert

*Andrew Oliver/David Horniblow: The Complete Morton Project

*Charlie Parker Quintet: Complete Live at Birdland (disc 2)

*Greg Saunier/Mary Halvorson/Ron Miles: New American Songbooks, Vol. 1

*Arnold Schoenberg: Das Klavierwerk (Peter Serkin)

*Arnold Schoenberg: String Trio, Op. 45/String Quartet, Op. 10 (Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center) (CDR)

*Tyshawn Sorey: The Off-Off Broadway Guide to Synergism (disc 3)

*Sun Ra: Exotica (discs 1, 2)

*Sun Ra: Some Bonus Tracks (CDR compilation)

*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: 1985-09-27/28 Philadelphia (CDR) (discs 1, 2)

*Sun Ra Arkestra: 1985-10-25 Innsbruck, Austria (CDR)

*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Prophet

*Cecil Taylor: The Complete, Legendary, Live Return Concert at the Town Hall NYC November 4, 1973 

"Autumn/Parade"

*Cecil Taylor: Indent

*Cecil Taylor: Mysteries: Untitled

*Cecil Taylor: 3 Phasis 

*Cecil Taylor Unit: 1978-06-10 Köln (CDR)

*Cecil Taylor Orchestra Humane (Ubuntu): 2004-03-28 (CDR) (disc 1)

*Henry Threadgill Zooid: Tomorrow Sunny/The Revelry, Spp

*UYA: Improvisations 4 (1990-1992): Blister Ethic "Black Drone" 

*Various artists: The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of (disc 2)

*Anton Webern: Complete Webern - Boulez (disc 6)

*Tony Williams: Spring

*Stevie Wonder: At the Close of a Century (disc 4)

*John Zorn: Tzadik Radio Hour 

*John Zorn: Bagatelles Vol. 12: Cleric

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!