Some Recent Purchases

 

 

Nice to have these on vinyl...
 

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)

Playlist, Week of 2026-03-22

 

More of same... but it's such good stuff!... After hearing Charles Mingus's "Cumbia and Jazz Fusion" on In Argentina,  I went back to the original version and was blown away all over again... this is my absolute favorite of late-period Mingus... its cinematic sweep and grandeur are unparalleled in his work, plus it swings deeply, Ellingtoniangly... Speaking of Ellington, In the Uncommon Market is a great Pablo compilation of '60s live material... And Sun Ra continues to rock my boat... in the early recordings, I find myself drawn to his marvelous piano playing throughout all the solos... he's doing way more than comping... it's just mesmerizing...

Playlist 2026-03-23:

*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1995-10 Umea, Sweden (CDR)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1998-08-14 Oakland CA (CDR)
*B-52s: Mesopotamia
*Tim Berne's Snakeoil: You've Been Watching Me "Small World in a Small Town"
*Anthony Braxton: For Trio (side 2)
*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (England) 1985 (disc 1)
*Anthony Braxton: Sextet (Istanbul) 1996 (disc 1)
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium R: Composition 162 - An Opera in Four Acts/Shala Fears for the Poor (disc 4)
*Nels Cline: The Inkling
*Nels Cline: Dirty Baby (disc 1)
*John Coltrane: The Olatunji Concert: The Last Live Recording
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: A Drum Is a Woman (side 1)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Such Sweet Thunder (side 1)
*Duke Ellington: In the Uncommon Market
*Jimmy Ghaphery/Sam Byrd: 2026-02-14 Richmond (wav)
*Grateful Dead: 1972-05-07 Wigan, England (CDR) "The Other One"
*Grateful Dead: 1973-06-30 Universal City CA (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1973-08-01 Jersey City NJ (CDR) (disc 2) "Dark Star"
*Guru Guru: UFO
*Julius Hemphill: The Boyé Multi-National Crusade for Harmony (disc 6)
*Joe Henderson: 1975-12-19 San Francisco (CDR) (disc 2)
*Impressions: The Fabulous Impressions
*Impressions: We're a Winner
*Ingrid Laubrock: Serpentines
*Charles Mingus: Cumbia Jazz Fusion (side 1)
*Roscoe Mitchell: Roscoe Mitchell and the Sound and Space Ensembles (side 1)
*Thelonious Monk: The Complete Prestige 10-Inch LP Collection (disc 1) 
*Muffins: Baker's Dozen (disc 8)
*Larry Ochs/Joe Morris/Charles Downs: Every Day → All The Way
*Evan Parker/Keith Rowe/Barry Guy/Eddie Prévost: Supersession
*Tomeka Reid/Kyoko Kitamura/Taylor Ho Bynum/Joe Morris: Geometry of Phenomena
*Sonny Rollins: Way Out West Plus
*Keith Rowe: The Room
*Sonny Stitt/Bud Powell/J.J. Johnson: Sonny Stitt Bud Powell J.J. Johnson
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Supersonic Jazz (21st Century Expanded Ed.) (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra: Secrets of the Sun (side 2)
*Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra: When Angels Speak of Love (side 1)
*Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra: Other Planes of There "Other Planes of There"
*Sun Ra: Heliocentric Worlds Vol. 3: The Lost Tapes
*Sun Ra and His Astro-Infinity Arkestra: Continuation (side 1)
*Sun Ra and His Inter-Galactic Research Arkestra: Nuits de la Fondation Maeght (side 12)
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-27 Detroit (CDR) (disc 1)
*Sun Ra: Somewhere Else
*Sun Ra: Other Shades (CDR compilation)
*Cecil Taylor: All the Notes (DVD)
*UYA: 1994-10-13 Hey, Turn That Fan Off, Will Ya? (wav)
*Various artists: Doob Doob O'Rama: Filmsongs from Bollywood
*Baby Face Willette: Face to Face
*Stevie Wonder and Wonderlove: 1973-03-04 Berkeley CA (CDR) (discs 1, 2)
*Yes: Tales from Topographic Oceans (Super Deluxe Ed.) (discs 7, 8)

Playlist, Week of 2026-02-15

The Ellington Era is an excellent three-record compilation of Duke Ellington's work on Columbia (and Okeh) that Columbia never deemed fit to release on CD, instead scattering its contents on various other compilations, some more obscure than others... lots of gold here, including the original 1937 versions of "Diminuendo in Blue" and "Crescendo in Blue," which are great even without the Paul Gonsalves tenor sax interlude added for Newport...  Wrapping up 1972 for "Dark Star," on to 1973... the two greatest years for that mammoth space ditty... I love the Sun Ra rehearsal recordings on releases like The Intergalactic Thing... it still amazes me how many of his compositions were diligently rehearsed that we rarely got to hear... 

Playlist 2026-02-16:

*[Ahmed]: Wood Blues
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1980-10-05 Atlanta (CDR) (disc 1)
*Beach Boys: We Gotta Groove: The Brother Studio Years (discs 1, 2, 3)
*Beatles: Anthology 4 (disc 1)
*Booker T. & the MGs: Time Is Tight (disc 2)
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium X (disc 1)
*Circle: 1971-03-04 Hamburg (CDR) "There Is No Greater Love"
*Gerald Cleaver/Brandon Lopez/Hprizm: In the Wilderness
*Nat King Cole: Just One of Those Things (and More)
*Kris Davis/Lutosławski Quartet: The Solastalgia Suite
*Deepstaria Enigmatica: The Eternal Now is the Heart of a New Tomorrow
*Walt Dickerson Quartet: Impressions of A Patch of Blue
*Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra: The Ellington Era, Vol. 1: 1927-1940 (sides 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: A Drum Is a Woman (side 1)
*Duke Ellington: The Private Collection, Vol. 7: Studio Sessions
*Duke Ellington: The Private Collection, Vol. 8: Studio Sessions
*Grateful Dead: Listen to the River: St. Louis '71 '72 '73 (disc 10)
*Grateful Dead: 1972-11-26 San Antonio (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1972-12-11 Winterland, SF (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1972-12-15 Long Beach, CA (CDR) "Jam > Dark Star"
*Hatfield and the North: The Rotters' Club (50th Anniversary Ed.) (side 2)
*Heldon: "Allez-Téia"
*Joe Henderson: Mode for Joe
*Bobby Hutcherson: Oblique
*Joëlle Léandre/Jérôme Bourdellon: Evidence
*Charles Mingus: Mingus in Argentina: The Buenos Aires Concerts (disc 2)
*New Ting: 2026-01-19 "According" (wav)
*Rova Saxophone Quartet/Kyle Bruckmann/Henry Kaiser: Steve Lacy's Saxophone Special Revisited
*Wayne Shorter: The All Seeing Eye
*Sinclair and the South: The Rotters' Club (50th Anniversary)
*Sparks: Live at the Record Plant 1974 (side 1)
*Sun Ra and His Astro Ihnfinity Arkestra: The Intergalactic Thing (side 1)
*Sun Ra: The Antique Blacks "The Antique Blacks Suite"
*Sun Ra: The Soul Vibrations of Man (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra: Strange Celestial Road (side 1)
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: Beyond the Purple Star Zone
*Craig Taborn: Dream Archives
*Cecil Taylor Feel Trio: Two Ts for a Lovely T (disc 3)
*Ben Webster: King of the Tenors
*Yes: Tales from Topographic Oceans (Super Deluxe Ed.) (discs 3, 4, 5, 6)
*John Zorn/Brian Marsella Trio: Calculus "The Ghost of Departed Quantities"

Playlist, Week of 2026-09-08

The stockpile of Duke Ellington's private recordings he amassed over the years continues to be an amazing source of fantastic music... case in point: the two late suites, The Degas Suite (1968) and The River (1970)... bits and pieces of these suites dribbled out in concert, but it's great to have these full run-throughs... On another end of the spectrum, Sun Ra's 37-minute suite "Out in Space" from the 1970 Berlin show on Black Myth/Out in Space is a tour de force, with Ra leading the way on wild Moog passages interspersed with full band blowouts... 

Playlist 2026-02-09: 

*Arctic Monkeys: Humbug
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: Kabalaba (pt. 2)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1980-06-28 NYC (CDR) (disc 2)
*Billy Bang: A Tribute to Stuff Smith
*Beatles: Anthology 2 (disc 1)
*Anthony Braxton: Nine Compositions (DVD) 2003 "Comp. 72H (Trio)"
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium J (disc 1)
*Clash: London Calling
*Kris Davis/Lutosławski Quartet: The Solastalgia Suite
*Duke Ellington: The Private Collection, Vol. 5: The Suites
*Duke Ellington: The Private Collection, Vol. 8: Studio Sessions
*Grateful Dead: 1972-11-13 Kansas City (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1972-11-19 Houston (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Mary Halvorson: About Ghosts
*Tim Harding/OJ Hunter/Fred McGann/Sam Byrd: 2026-01-17 RVA (CDR)
*Hatfield and the North: The Rotters' Club (50th Anniversary Ed.) (side 1)
*Heldon: Electronique Guerilla
*Charles Mingus: Changes Two (side 2)
*Charles Mingus: Mingus in Argentina: The Buenos Aires Concerts (disc 1)
*Roscoe Mitchell Septet: 1976-02-08 NYC (CDR) "2nd Improvisation"
*Chris Potter/Craig Taborn: 2025-04-08 Cully, Switzerland (CDR)
*Sonny Rollins: Worktime (side 1)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Supersonic Jazz (21st Century Expanded Ed.) (side 4)
*Sun Ra and His Astro Infinity Arkestra: Strange Strings (Expanded Edition) (side 1)
*Sun Ra and His Intergalactic Research Arkestra: Black Myth/Out in Space (disc 2)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Some Blues But Not the Kind That's Blue
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: Oblique Parallax
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Prophet (side 2)
*Sun Ra: Solo Works (CDR compilation)
*Craig Taborn: Dream Archives
*Cecil Taylor: Spring of Two Blue-J's (side 2)
*Cecil Taylor Unit: 1979-03-15 WKCR, NYC (CDR) track 6
*McCoy Tyner: Tender Moments
*UYA: 1994-07-17 Close the Vapor Lock (wav)
*Various artists: The Bottle Tapes: Selections from the Empty Bottle Jazz and Improvised Music Series 1996-2005 (disc 3)
*Ben Webster: The Big Tenor: The Complete Ben Webster on EmArcy (side 1)
*XTC: Nonsuch (sides 1, 2, 3, 4)

 

Sun Ra and the Blues

 

I like what Jason Weiss had to say about Sun Ra and Blue Delight: "What emerges time and again is 1001 ways of reading the blues" ("Sun Ra: The Living Future," Village Voice, 1989-07-04): a trait Ra shares with Duke Ellington.

Playlist, Week of 2025-12-21

 

I think I mentioned this before, but I love the way Duke Ellington's 20-minute "The Mexican Suite" is a condensed dry run for the album-length Latin American Suite... beautiful, compelling melodies and great Paul Gonsalves solos... that's all for now, from an Ellington-heavy week of heavenly listening...

Playlist 2025-12-22:

*B-52s: The B-52s
*Beethoven: The Early String Quartets (Juilliard String Quartet) (disc 1)
*Anthony Braxton: Creative Music Orchestra "Comp. 25" (selections)
*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (England) 1985 (disc 7)
*Patricia Brennan: 2025-08-22 Saalfelden (CDR)
*Peter Brötzmann Octet: The Complete Machine Gun Sessions "Machine Gun"
*Rodger Coleman: Journey to Brno (cassette) (sides A, B)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Such Sweet Thunder
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Three Suites
*Duke Ellington: Live in Mexico "The Mexican Suite"
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Latin American Suite
*Duke Ellington: The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse
*Duke Ellington: Togo Brava Suite (Blue Note) "Togo Brava Suite"
*Esquivel: Merry Xmas from the Space-Age Bachelor Pad
*Marcus Gilmore: Journey to the New
*Grateful Dead: Hundred Year Hall (1972-04-26 Frankfurt) (disc 2) "The Other One"
*Grateful Dead: 1972-08-21 Berkeley CA (CDR) (disc 2) "Dark Star"
*Joe Henderson with the Wynton Kelly Trio: Four!
*Jimi Hendrix: Pandora's Box (disc 2)
*Mars Volta: Frances the Mute
*Amina Claudine Myers: Solace of the Mind
*Ozric Tentacles: Strangeitude (disc 1)
*Pink Floyd: A Saucerful of Secrets
*Royal Blood: Royal Blood
*Sun Ra: The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, Vol. 1
*Sun Ra: The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, Vol. 2
*Sun Ra and His Astro Infinity Arkestra: Atlantis
*Sun Ra and His Astro Infinity Arkestra: My Brother the Wind, Vol. 2
*Henry Threadgill: Listen Ship
*UYA: 1994-05-22 Huge Debt Monkey (wav)
*Brian Wilson: At My Piano
*John Zorn/The Dreamers: A Dreamer's Christmas

Playlist, Week of 2025-12-07

Like most recent weeks, this one turned out to be a Duke Ellington one... Of the two versions of the Togo Brava Suite, the Storyville release is the most comprehensive, but both are worth checking out... on the plus side, Joe Benjamin is one of Duke's greatest bass players, and he adds so much... on the downside, the absence of Johnny Hodges and Jimmy Hamilton in the sax section is deeply felt... Nice to be reminded how exciting and vital Anthony Braxton's trio work with Dave Holland and Barry Altschul was back in the '70s... 

Playlist 2025-12-08:

*100 Gecs: 10,000 Gecs
*B-52s: Whammy!
*B-52s: Party Mix
*B-52s: Mesopotamia
*Beatles: Introducing the Beatles (side 2)
*Beatles Remixers Group: Tuned to a Natural E Vol. 6 (disc 1)
*Anthony Braxton Trio: 1974-12-08 Toronto (CDR) (disc 2) track 2
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium R: Composition 162 - An Opera in Four Acts/Shala Fears for the Poor (disc 3)
*Anthony Braxton: 9 Compositions (Iridium) 2006 (DVD)
*Deerhoof: The Magic
*Deerhoof: Future Teenage Cave Artists
*Deerhoof: Devil Kids (sides 1, 2)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Three Suites    
*Duke Ellington: Cool Rock
*Duke Ellington: Live in Mexico "The Mexican Suite"
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Conny Plank Session
*Duke Ellington: Togo Brava Suite (Blue Note) "Togo Brava Suite"
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Togo Brava Suite (Storyville) "Togo Brava Suite"
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Ellington Suites "The Uwis Suite"
*Grateful Dead: 1972-05-25 London (CDR) (disc 3) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1972-09-15 Boston (Enjoying the Ride, disc 11)
*Herbie Hancock: Sextant
*Tim Harding/OJ Hunter/Fred McGann/Sam Byrd: 2025-11-29 RVA (m4a)
*Heldon: Agneta Nilsson
*Jimi Hendrix Experience: Bold as Love: The Axis: Bold as Love Sessions (discs 3, 4)
*Freddie Hubbard: Breaking Point
*Bobby Hutcherson: Medina
*Insect Life: Insect Life
*John Lennon/Yoko Ono: Milk and Honey
*Rob Mazurek Sound Is Quintet: 2010-03-03 Italy? (CDR) (disc 1)
*Muffins: Baker's Dozen (disc 4)
*Camila Nebbia/Kit Downes/Andrew Lisle: Exhaust
*Tomeka Reid Quartet: Dance! Skip! Hop!
*Sparks: MADDER!
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Supersonic Jazz (21st Century Expanded Ed.) (disc 1)
*Sun Ra: The Creator of the Universe (The Lost Reel Collection, Vol. 1) (disc 1)
*Stevie Wonder: Talking Book
*Wrens: Half of What You See
*John Zorn/The Dreamers: A Dreamers Christmas

Playlist, Week of 2025-11-30

 

I like Future Teenage Cave Artists much better now than when it first came out... Deerhoof makes great driving music (as I was reminded of in August), and I need to go back and revisit all the albums after Breakup Song (which for me they still have yet to top, although Noble and Godlike in Ruin comes close)... The quality of Duke Ellington's later suites drops off considerably after The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse, not least because of the death of Johnny Hodges shortly before, but there's still some great moments to come...

Playlist 2025-12-01:

*Marshall Allen's Ghost Horizons: Live in Philadelphia
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1980-02-23 New Haven (CDR) (disc 1)
*Beatles: Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band (Super Deluxe Ed.) (disc 4)
*Beatles: Anthology 4 (discs 1, 2)
*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (England) 1985 (disc 2)
*Anthony Braxton: 9 Compositions (Iridium) 2006 (selections)
*Patricia Brennan: Of the Near and Far
*Kris Davis Trio: 2025-11-05 Vienna (CDR) (disc 2)
*Miles Davis Quintet: Miles in France 1963 & 1964: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8 (disc 4)
*Miles Davis: Dark Magus (disc 1)
*Deerhoof: Future Teenage Cave Artists
*Deerhoof: Noble and Godlike in Ruin
*Duke Ellington: Latin American Suite
*Duke Ellington: New Orleans Suite
*Duke Ellington: The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Ellington Suites "The Goutelas Suite"
*Fred Frith/Mariá Portugal: Matter
*Grateful Dead: 1970-09-19 Fillmore East NYC (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1972-05-11 Rotterdam (CDR) (disc 3) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1972-05-18 Munich (CDR) (disc 3) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1972-05-23 London (CDR) (disc 3) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1972-09-15 Boston (Enjoying the Ride, disc 10)
*Guided By Voices: It's Not Them. It Can't Be Them. It Is Them!
*Guided By Voices: La La Land
*Tim Harding/OJ Hunter/Fred McGann/Sam Byrd: 2025-11-21 RVA (m4a)
*Bobby Hutcherson: Spiral
*King Crimson: Lizard (Elemental Mixes)
*Fela Ransome-Kuti and the Africa '70 with Ginger Baker: Live! (sides 1, 2)
*Joëlle Léandre/Jérôme Bourdellon: Evidence
*Paul McCartney: Band on the Run (side 2)
*Camila Nebbia featuring Marilyn Crispell & Lesley Mok: A Reflection Distorts over Water
*News From Babel: Sirens & Silences/Work Resumed on the Tower
*News from Babel: Letters Home
*Nicole Mitchell & an_ARCHE NewMusic Ensemble: Arc Of O: For Improvisers, Chamber Orchestra & Electronics
*Joe Morris: Abstract Forest
*Muffins: Baker's Dozen (disc 3)
*New Ting: 2025-11-24 "I Got a Backyard in My Truck" (wav)
*Sifters: Sifters
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Supersonic Jazz (21st Century Expanded Ed.) (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra: The Magic City (remastered and expanded stereo version) (side 2)
*Sun Ra: Heliocentric Worlds Vol. 3: The Lost Tapes
*Sun Ra and His Astro-Infinity Arkestra: Continuation (side 2)
*Sun Ra: Intergalactic Research (The Lost Reels Collection Vol. 2) "Intergalactic Universe"
*UYA: 1994-04-21 Quaver Behavior (wav)
*UYA: 1994-04-27 Surfin' with Dick Dole! (wav)
*Various artists: That Devilin' Tune: A Jazz History (1927-1934) (Vol. II, discs 1, 3)

Playlist, Week of 2025-11-23

 

Craig Taborn channels Sun Ra on Trio of Bloom... powerful playing here from the whole trio... What a force of nature Globe Unity must have seemed back in 1967... this music is still forceful and powerful today, rivaling Sun Ra in sheer intensity (minus the synths, of course)... I am nearing the end of my consecutive sweep through Duke Ellington's suites... just a few more to go... but of course, I will be returning to many of these again and again for the rest of my life... 

Playlist 2025-11-24:

*Allied Chemical Brothers: Meet Mr. Beat
*Beatles Remixers Group: Tuned to a Natural E,Vol. 5
*Patricia Brennan: 2025-08-22 Saalfelden (CDR)
*Patricia Brennan: Of the Near and Far
*Rodger Coleman/Sam Byrd: Cosmologies (side 2)
*Kris Davis Trio: 2025-11-05 Vienna (CDR) (disc 1)
*Miles Davis: The Prestige 10-Inch LP Collection, Vol. 2 (LP 2: sides 1, 2; LP 5: side 1)
*Miles Davis: The Cellar Door Sessions 1970 (disc 5) "What I Say"
*Deerhoof: Future Teenage Cave Artists
*Bill Dixon: Bill Dixon in Italy, Vol. 2 (side 1)
*Bob Dylan: Oh Mercy
*Duke Ellington: Ellington Remembered (sides 1, 2)
*Duke Ellington: Latin American Suite
*Duke Ellington: New Orleans Suite
*Globe Unity Orchestra: Globe Unity ‘67 & ‘70 "Globe Unity '67"
*Grateful Dead: 1971-04-27 Fillmore East (Enjoying the Ride, disc 9)
*Grateful Dead: 1972-05-04 Paris (CDR) (disc 3) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: Europe '72 Vol. 2 (disc 2) "Dark Star > The Other One"
*Tim Harding/OJ Hunter/Fred McGann/Sam Byrd: Bassline Excerpts (CDR)
*Jimi Hendrix Experience: Axis: Bold as Love
*Bobby Hutcherson: Total Eclipse
*Thomas Morgan: Around You Is a Forest
*Muffins: Baker's Dozen (disc 2)
*New Ting: 2025-11-17 "Preservedly Gargle" (wav)
*Pink Floyd: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
*Plumb: Plumb (disc 1)
*Smokey Robinson & the Miracles: Ooo Baby: The Anthology (disc 1)
*Small Faces: Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake
*Ches Smith: Clone Row
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Supersonic Jazz (21st Century Expanded Ed.) (sides 3, 4)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Jazz in Silhouette (Expanded Edition) (sides 1, 4)
*Sun Ra and His Inter-Galactic Research Arkestra: Nuits de la Fondation Maeght (side 12)
*Sun Ra & His Intergalactic Research Arkestra: Berlin 1970 (youtube)
*Sun Ra: Lanquidity (45rpm version) (sides 1, 2, 3, 4)
*Sun Ra: Media Dreams (side 2)
*Henry Threadgill: Listen Ship
*Trio of Bloom: Trio of Bloom
*UYA: 1994-04-10 Bath Mat on Toast (wav)
*Various artists: That Devilin' Tune: A Jazz History (1927-1934) (Vol. II, disc 2)
*Various artists: Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues (A Musical Journey) (disc 2)

Playlist, Week of 2025-11-09

 

Duke Ellington's 1948 Carnegie Hall concert is a gem... the first documented recording of "Lush Life" (featuring its composer, Billy Strayhorn, on piano) and wonderful versions of "Reminiscing in Tempo" and "The Tattooed Bride" (also its premiere)... all this and Ben Webster too (although he's not featured nearly enough)... Profanation (Preparation for a Coming Darkness) is poppier than other Praxis records I've heard, and is weaker for it... Jumpin' and jivin' with Luis Russell... now I can't get "The New Call of the Freaks" out of my head... More to say on the new release of Sun Ra's Supersonic Jazz after I've absorbed it some more...

Playlist 2025-11-10:

*Marshall Allen: The Universe Oriki
*AMM: The Inexhaustible Document
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: The Paris Session "The Ninth Room"
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1979-11-25 Washington DC (CDR) (disc 1)
*Beatles Remixers Group: Tuned to a Natural E, Vol. 4
*Anthony Braxton: Composition No. 173 "Opening Music - Introduction"
*Jack DeJohnette New Directions: 1992-02-22 Charlottesville VA (CDR) (discs 1, 2)
*Bob Dylan/Various artists: Theme Time Radio Hour S01 E49 "Death and Taxes"
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Carnegie Hall, November 13, 1948 (discs 1, 2)
*Duke Ellington: Second Sacred Concert
*Ella Fitzgerald/Louis Armstrong: Porgy and Bess
*Grateful Dead: 1971-10-21 Chicago (CDR) "Dark Star > Sittin' on Top of the World > Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: Dick's Picks 2 (1971-10-31 Columbus OH) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1971-12-05 NYC (CDR) "Dark Star > Me and My Uncle > Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1972-04-14 Copenhagen (disc 3) "Dark Star"
*Barry Guy/Mats Gustafsson/Raymond Strid: Tarfala
*Joe Henderson: Mode for Joe
*Paul McCartney: Band on the Run (side 1)
*Roscoe Mitchell: One Head Four People
*Praxis: Profanation (Preparation for a Coming Darkness)
*Prince: Blast from the Past 7.0 (excerpts)
*Keith Rowe/John Tilbury: Duos for Doris (disc 1)
*Luis Russell 1929-1930 (disc 1)
*Tyshawn Sorey: The Inner Spectrum of Variables (disc 1)
*Tyshawn Sorey: Pillars (disc 3)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Supersonic Jazz (21st Century Expanded Ed.) (sides 1, 2, 3, 4)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Prophet
*Weather Report: 1980-11-14 London (CDR)

Playlist, Week of 2025-11-02

 

In my "Dark Star" listening, I am now up to 1972, the beginning of the golden age of Dark Stars... some intense listening coming up, and the Steppin' Out "Star" (1972-04-08 London) is one of the best ever... Duke Ellington's Paris, March 1964 has great live versions of several tunes from The Far East Suite... As I have said before, I have found that I quite love Sun Ra's LP Prophet... so glad they discovered that music... it's amazing what he could do with an instrument he was playing for the first time... 

Playlist 2025-11-03:

*Rashied Ali/Frank Lowe: Duo Exchange (side 1)
*Art Ensemble: 1967/68 (disc 5) "Congliptious/Old"
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1979-06-29 NYC (CDR) (disc 2)
*Beatles: Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band (Super Deluxe Ed.) (disc 2)
*Sonny Clark: The Complete Sonny Clark Blue Note Sessions (disc 3)
*Kenny Clarke/Andrew Cyrille/Milford Graves/Famoudou Don Moye: Pieces of Time (side 1)
*Rodger Coleman/Sam Byrd: Cosmologies (side 1)
*John Coltrane: Selflessness featuring My Favorite Things (side 2)
*D’Angelo and the Vanguard: 2015-06-14 Bonnaroo, Manchester, TN (CDR) (discs 1, 2)
*Miles Davis: In Concert (disc 2)
*Jack DeJohnette New Directions: In Europe (side 1)
*Duke Ellington: The Girls' Suite/The Perfume Suite (side 1)
*Duke Ellington: Paris, March 1964
*Duke Ellington: Soul Call
*Duke Ellington: The Far East Suite (side 2)
*Faust: The Faust Tapes
*George: "Do You Want to Go...Swimming?"
*Grateful Dead: 1971-12-15 Ann Arbor (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1972-03-23 Academy of Music, NYC (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: Steppin' Out with the Grateful Dead: England '72 (disc 4) "Dark Star"
*Tim Harding/OJ Hunter/Fred McGann/Sam Byrd: 2025-11-01 RVA (CDR)
*King Crimson: Lizard (Elemental Mixes)
*Muffins: Baker's Dozen (disc 1)
*Pere Ubu: Datapanik in the Year Zero (sides 1, 2)
*Pere Ubu: New Picnic Time (sides 1, 2)
*Wayne Shorter: The All Seeing Eye
*Sonic Youth: Goodbye 20th Century (disc 1)
*Sun Ra and His Intergalactic Research Arkestra: Paradiso Amsterdam 1970 (side 1)
*Sun Ra: Media Dreams (side 1)
*Sun Ra: On Jupiter (side 1)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Prophet (side 1)
*Sun Ra: Solo Works (CDR compilation)
*Sun Ra: Stray Voltage (discs 1, 2)
*Sun Ra Arkestra: Live at the Paradox
*Henry Threadgill: Listen Ship
*Trio of Bloom: Trio of Bloom
*UYA: 1994-03-13 Ideological Nipple (wav)
*UYA: 1994-03-24/27 Up Your Arkestra (wav)
*Various artists: Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues (A Musical Journey) (disc 1)
*Various artists: Stax Revue: Live in '65! (discs 1, 2)
*John Zorn: Prolegomena
*John Zorn/Brian Marsella Trio: Nocturnes

Playlist, Week of 2025-10-12

 

This trio recording from John Butcher is exhilarating.... I've never heard anyone else approach what he does with the sax... "Do You Want to Go...Swimming?", the new album from Richmond's own George (not to be confused with John Hollenbeck's group), is exhilarating in a different, rock-based way... Katie Condon's sultry overdubbed vocals are the main draw here, and her compositions are strengthened by the addition of a second guitarist... Who is that on the piano at the beginning of "The Mexican Suite"? Thelonious Monk? Sun Ra? Nope, it's Duke Ellington, and it's a brilliant intro to a superb late-career suite... 

Playlist 2025-10-13:

*Art Ensemble: 1967/68 (disc 1) "Quartet No. 1"
*Beatles: The Beatles (sides 1, 2)
*Beatles: Yellow Submarine Songtrack
*Beethoven: String Quartets (Pavel Haas Quartet)
*Tim Berne's Snakeoil: Shadow Man "Socket"
*Anthony Braxton Trio: 1979-11-19 Firenze (CDR) (disc 1)
*James Brown: Sex Machine (sides 1, 2)
*John Butcher: The Very Fabric
*John Butcher/Phil Durrant/Mark Wastell: Around the Square, Above the Hill
*Rodger Coleman/Sam Byrd: The Mathematics of War "New Landscape"
*Sylvie Courvoisier/Mary Halvorson: Bone Bells
*Miles Davis: The Complete On the Corner Sessions (disc 1) "Helen Butte/Mr. Freedom X  (Unedited Master)"
*Deerhoof: To Be Surrounded by Beautiful, Curious, Breathing, Laughing Flesh Is Enough
*Duke Ellington: The Indispensable Duke Ellington and the Small Groups (Vol. 9/10) 1940-1946 (side 2)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Live Sessions 1943/1945 (sides 1, 2)
*Duke Ellington: Duke Ellington's Concert of Sacred Music
*Duke Ellington/Ella Fitzgerald: Ella at Duke's Place
*Duke Ellington: Live in Mexico "The Mexican Suite"
*Tomas Fujiwara: Pith
*George: "Do You Want to Go...Swimming?"
*Grateful Dead: 1971-07-31 Yale Bowl (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1971-10-21 Chicago (CDR) "Dark Star > Sittin' on Top of the World > Dark Star"
*Al Green: The Belle Album
*Tim Harding/OJ Hunter/Fred McGann/Sam Byrd: 2025-10-04 RVA (CDR)
*Tim Harding/OJ Hunter/Fred McGann/Sam Byrd: 2025-10-10 RVA (CDR)
*Alexander Hawkins: Song Unconditional
*Julius Hemphill: The Boyé Multi-National Crusade for Harmony (disc 5)
*Fletcher Henderson: A Study in Frustration (side 3)
*Jimi Hendrix Experience: Electric Ladyland
*Mothers of Invention: We're Only in It for the Money
*New Ting: 2025-10-06 "Lofty News" (wav)
*Zeena Parkins: Pan-Acousticon
*Mario Pavone: Arc Trio
*Paula Sanchez: Pressure Sensitive
*Horace Silver: Song for My Father
*Slobber Pup: Black Aces "Accuser"
*Sparks: MADDER!
*Stereolab: Instant Holograms on Metal Film
*Sun Ra and His Intergalactic Research Arkestra: Paradiso Amsterdam 1970 (side 2)
*Sun Ra: Kingdom of Discipline (side 1)
*Sun Ra: Stray Voltage (side 3)
*Sun Ra: Uncharted Passages (side 2)
*Sun Ra Arkestra under the Direction of Marshall Allen: Lights on a Satellite (side 2)
*Lewis Taylor: Numb
*Henry Threadgill Ensemble Double Up: Old Locks and Irregular Verbs "Part One"
*McCoy Tyner: Tender Moments
*Weather Report: 1975-11-06 Berlin (CDR)
*John Zorn/Brian Marsella Trio: Calculus "Parabolas"
*John Zorn/Chaos Magick: Through the Looking Glass

Playlist, Week of 2025-07-20

Wonderful music on the two albums of big band cover tunes Duke Ellington recorded for Reprise, which appeared in the albums Will the Big Bands Ever Come Back? and Recollections of the Big Band Era... another master class in the art of arranging, as Ellington and Billy Strayhorn rework the hits of others (like Fletcher Henderson and Cab Calloway) in their own image... I don't know much about the Chicago improvisation group the Hallowed Plant, but there's nice playing on their self-titled release... Amazing how Anthony Braxton just fits right in to the techno-wizardry of Wolf Eyes...

Playlist 2025-07-21:

*Art Bears: Revisited (disc 2)
*Beatles: Magical Mystery Tour (2009 stereo remaster) (sides 1, 2)
*Beatles: Everyday Chemistry (boot CDR)
*Alban Berg: Violin Concerto (BBC Symphony Orchestra)
*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (England) 1985 (discs 4, 5, 6)
*Anthony Braxton  & the Wesleyan Tri-Centric Orchestra: 2011-04-25 Middletown, CT (CDR) (disc 1)
*Clash: Sound System Extras (disc 1)
*Betty Davis: They Say I'm Different
*Bob Dylan/Various artists: Theme Time Radio Hour S01 E42 "Shoes"
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Three Suites "The Nutcracker Suite"
*Duke Ellington: The Reprise Studio Recordings (disc 1)
*Gentle Giant: 1971-12-12 BBC (CDR)
*Grateful Dead: 1969-12-04 San Francisco (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: Dave's Picks Vol. 19 (1970-01-23 Honolulu) (disc 2) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1970-02-02 St. Louis (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1970-02-05 Fillmore West, SF (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1972-05-16 Luxembourg "The Other One"
*Hallowed Plant: The Hallowed Plant
*Jimi Hendrix: Rainbow Bridge
*Andrew Hill: Compulsion
*Son House: The Legendary Son House Father of Folk Blues
*Bobby Hutcherson: Dialogue
*Roscoe Mitchell and the Note Factory: The Bad Guys
*Muffins: Baker's Dozen (disc 7)
*Charlie Parker: Live Bird Is the Best Bird (CDR compilation) (disc 2)
*Zeena Parkins/Wobbly: Triplicates
*Santana: Moonflower (disc 1)
*Sparks: No. 1 in Heaven (40th Anniversary Ed.) (sides 1, 2)
*Steely Dan: Katy Lied
*Steely Dan: The Royal Scam
*Sun Ra and His Inter-Galactic Research Arkestra: Nuits de la Fondation Maeght (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra: Sleeping Beauty (side 2)
*Sun Ra: Stray Voltage (side 2)
*Sun Ra: Kingdom of Discipline (side 1)
*UYA: 1993-12-05 Bulge Manipulator (wav)
*Muddy Waters: The Best of Muddy Waters
*Wolf Eyes/Anthony Braxton: Live at Pioneer Works, Red Hook, NY, October 26th 2023
*Stevie Wonder: Music of My Mind (side 1)
*Yes: 1974-11-20 NYC (disc 1) "Gates of Delirium"
*Frank Zappa: Cheaper than Cheep (discs 1, 2)

Playlist, week of 2025-06-08

Once again I find myself shocked by a return to an album I'd... well, not dismissed, but was not overly impressed with, only to discover upon relistening that I was an idiot... case in point: Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins... I am not usually a fan of artificial superstar gatherings, and I'd stupidly slotted this album in that category when I first heard it, oh, 20 years ago... maybe this is the exception that proves the rule but damn this is so fine... Coleman Hawkins fits into the reduced Duke Ellington orchestra as if he'd always been there... as Eddie Lambert points out, the band was already primed by having two superior tenor saxists already on board in the past (Ben Webster and Paul Gonsalves)... and Hawkins had been at it since the 1920s with Fletcher Henderson, but by 1962 his tone is golden and fits in perfectly with Ellington's deceptively easy swing... his solo on "Mood Indigo" alone makes this an indisputable masterpiece... this just makes me think I need to listen to music more (as if I needed any prompting)... what else am I missing?

Playlist 2025-06-09:

*[Ahmed]: Wood Blues
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1978-10-07 Chicago (CDR) (disc 2)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1978-10-14 Philadelphia (CDR) (disc 1)
*Artifacts: …And Then There’s This
*Tim Berne's Snakeoil: Tim Berne's Snakeoil (The Tower Tapes #1) (disc 1)
*Blondie: Blondie Singles Collection: 1977-1982 (disc 2)
*Blood Incantation: Absolute Elsewhere
*James Brown: Messing with the Blues (disc 2)
*John Butcher/Eddie Prévost: Interworks
*John Coltrane: 1966-07-02 Newport (CDR) "Leo"
*Elvis Costello & the Attractions: Get Happy (sides 1, 2)
*Kris Davis Trio: 2025-03-29 Big Ears, Knoxville TN (CDR)
*Bob Dylan/Various artists: Theme Time Radio Hour S01 E40 "Laughter"
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Festival Session (side 2)
*Duke Ellington: The Girl's Suite/The Perfume Suite (side 2)
*Duke Ellington: Midnight in Paris
*Duke Ellington: Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins
*Duke Ellington: The Private Collection: Vol. 10, Studio Sessions New York & Chicago 1965, 1966, 1971 "Harlem"
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Concert in the Virgin Islands (side 1)
*Michael Fornanek Elusion Quartet: Time Like This
*Grateful Dead: 1969-06-14 Monterey (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1969-08-30 San Francisco (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1969-09-01 Prairieville, LA (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Judith Hill: Back in Time
*Darius Jones: Legend of e'Boi (The Hypervigilant Eye)
*Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five: Louis Jordan's Greatest Hits (side 1)
*Allen Lowe and the Constant Sorrow Orchestra: Louis Armstrong's America, Vol. 2 (disc 1)
*Warne Marsh: Music for Prancing
*Muffins: Bandwidth
*Muffins: Double Negative
*New Ting: 2025-06-02 "Dire Frill" (wav)
*Ivo Perelman: The Art of the Improv Trio, Vol. 3
*Roxy Music: Country Life
*Masahiko Satoh/Otomo Yoshihide/Roger Turner: Sea
*Slobber Pup: Black Aces "Accuser"
*Wadada Leo Smith: 2025-03-30 Big Ears, Knoxville TN (CDR)
*Sparks: MAD!
*Bruce Springsteen: The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle
*Sun Ra and His Astro Infinity Arkestra: Holiday for Soul Dance
*Sun Ra Arkestra: ca. 1969-1970 Slugs', NYC (CDR) (disc 2)
*Sun Ra: Nuits de la Fondation Maeght (disc 1)
*Sun Ra: Kingdom of Discipline (side 2)
*Sun Ra: Haverford College, Jan. 25, 1980
*Henry Threadgill: Song Out of My Trees
*Various artists: Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues (A Musical Journey) (discs 1, 2, 3, 4)
*Various artists: Anthology of Noise and Electronic Music vol. 3: Third a-chronology 1952-2004 (disc 2)
*Wolf Eyes/Anthony Braxton: Live at Pioneer Works, Red Hook, NY, October 26th 2023
*Yes: Relayer (2016 remaster) (disc 1) "Gates of Delirium"

Playlist, Week of 2025-06-01

 Well, I was way off base on Duke Ellington's "The Queen's Suite"... I wasn't taken with it at first, but after a few more listenings I can hear that it's beautiful, a masterful work of arranging and a unique combination of swing and mystery... Not much else to say this evening... if we were sitting somewhere pleasant, sharing a beer, I'm sure I'd have plenty to say about everything I've listened to this week... but when it comes to adding something in writing, I tend to freeze up... maybe it's the physicality of typing... 

Playlist 2025-06-02:

*[Ahmed]: Giant Beauty (disc 3)

*Air: Air Lore (side 2)

*Marshall Allen: 2009-07-06 London (CDR)

*Marshall Allen: New Dawn

*Marshall Allen's Ghost Horizons: Live in Philadelphia

*Jeff Beck Group: 1972-06-29 London (CDR)

*Dave Burrell: High Won - High Two (side 2)

*Nels Cline: Consentrik Quartet

*Deerhoof: Noble and Godlike in Ruin

*Paul Dunmall/Matthew Shipp/Joe Morris/Gerald Cleaver: The Bright Awakening

*Bob Dylan/Various artists: Theme Time Radio Hour S01 E39 "Tears"

*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Ellington Suites "The Queen's Suite"

*Duke Ellington: The Girl's Suite/The Perfume Suite (side 1)

*Duke Ellington: Anatomy of a Murder

*Duke Ellington: All American in Jazz

*Duke Ellington: Midnight in Paris

*Duke Ellington: Live at the Berlin Jazz Festival 1969-1973

*Grateful Dead: 1969-08-21 Seattle (CDR) "Dark Star"

*Grateful Dead: 1969-08-23 St. Helens, OR (CDR) "Dark Star"

*Grateful Dead: Dick's Picks 4 (1970-02-13 Fillmore East) (disc 2) "That's It for the Other One"

*Mickey Hart & the Hartbeats: 1969-08-28 (CDR) "Dark Star Jam"

*Andrew Hill Sextet Plus 10: A Beautiful Day, Revisited (disc 1)

*Charles Mingus: Rarities 1946-1977 (discs 1, 2)

*Ikue Mori: Myrninerest

*Ikue Mori: Of Ghosts and Goblins

*Office Ladies: Malcolm Knew (disc 2)

*Annette Peacock: An Acrobat's Heart

*Phantom Orchard: Hit Parade of Tears

*Tom Rainey Trio: 2016-07-01 NYC (CDR) track 3

*Smokey Robinson & the Miracles: Ooo Baby: The Anthology (disc 2)

*Ravi Shankar: Master of Sitar

*Sparks: MAD! (sides 1, 2)

*Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra: We Travel the Spaceways

*Sun Ra and His Inter-Galactic Research Arkestra: Nuits de la Fondation Maeght (sides 9, 10, 11, 12)

*Sun Ra and His Intergalactic Research Arkestra: Paradiso Amsterdam 1970 (side 3)

*Sun Ra and His Intergalactic Solar Arkestra: Space Is the Place: Music from the Original Soundtrack (disc 2)

*UYA: 1993-11-03 Kiss Your Meatshop, Swami (wav)

*Muddy Waters: The Anthology (disc 1)

*Anna Webber: Third Floor People

*John Zorn/Brian Marsella Trio: Ou Phrontis

Playlist, Week of 2025-05-25

All American in Jazz is definitely one of the most underrated albums in the Ellington canon... maybe because there are no original Ellington-Strayhorn tunes, and the songs that are adapted are pretty mediocre ones from a failed Broadway musical... go figure: it's a fantastic record, with the band in top-notch form playing imaginative, driving arrangements and featuring great solos from Paul Gonsalves, Johnny Hodges, and Harold "Shorty" Baker, and great piano work from both Ellington and Strayhorn... 

Playlist 2025-05-26:

*[Ahmed]: Giant Beauty (disc 2)
*Air: Air Lore (side 1)
*Art Bears: Revisited (disc 2)
*Art Ensemble: 1967/68 (disc 4) "Quintet"
*Daniel Barbiero/Sam Byrd/Jimmy Ghaphery: 2017-12-02 Rhizome DC (CDR)
*Black Host: Life in the Sugar Candle Mines
*Anthony Braxton: Creative Music Orchestra (NYC) 2011
*James Brown: Messing with the Blues (disc 1)
*Dave Burrell: High Won - High Two (side 1)
*Deerhoof: Noble and Godlike in Ruin
*Bob Dylan/Various artists: Theme Time Radio Hour S01 E38 "Luck"
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Ellington Suites "The Queen's Suite"
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: A Drum Is a Woman (side 2)
*Duke Ellington: His Piano and His Orchestra at the Bal Masque
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Festival Session (side 2)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Suite Thursday - Controversial Suite - Harlem Suite (side 1)
*Duke Ellington: Piano in the Foreground
*Duke Ellington: All American in Jazz
*Grateful Dead: 1969-08-03 San Francisco (CDR) (disc 2)
*Grateful Dead: 1969-08-16 Woodstock (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1972-05-13 Lille, France (CDR) (disc 2) "The Other One"
*Grateful Dead: 1973-09-12 Williamsburg VA (CDR) (disc 2)
*Andrew Hill Sextet Plus 10: A Beautiful Day, Revisited (disc 2)
*Masayo Koketsu/Nava Dunkelman/Tim Berne: Poiēsis
*Brandon Lopez: Nada Sagrada
*Warne Marsh/Sal Mosca Quartet: Volume 2
*Ikue Mori/Brian Marsella/Sae Hashimoto: Archipelago X
*Ikue Mori/Steve Noble: Prediction and Warning
*Ikue Mori: Of Ghosts and Goblins
*Colin Moulding: The Hardest Battle
*New Ting: 2025-05-19 "Sigh Lonesome Hound (for Zeus)" (wav)
*Office Ladies: Malcolm Knew (disc 1)
*Elliott Sharp/Scott Fields: Réimsí Géara
*Sly and the Family Stone: Fresh
*Sun Ra: Sound Sun Pleasure (selections)
*Sun Ra: Jazz by Sun Ra, Vol. 1 [Sun Song]
*Sun Ra Arkestra: ca. 1969-1970 Slugs', NYC (CDR) (disc 1)
*Sun Ra Arkestra: 1969-07-03 Newport Jazz Festival (CDR)
*Sun Ra and His Inter-Galactic Research Arkestra: Nuits de la Fondation Maeght, Vol. 1 " The Cosmic Explorer"
*Sun Ra and His Inter-Galactic Research Arkestra: Nuits de la Fondation Maeght (sides 5, 6, 7, 8)
*Sun Ra: Piano Recital, Teatro La Fenice, Venezia
*Sun Ra: Uncharted Passages
*UYA: 1993-10-31 Reality Radio (wav)
*Various artists: Really the Blues? A Blues History 1893-1959 Vol. 1 (1893-1929) (disc 3)
*Various artists: Pennies from Heaven: 48 Original Recordings Featured in the BBC TV Serial (disc 2)
*Frank Zappa: Apostrophe (50th Anniversary Ed.) (disc 5)

Playlist, Week of 2025-05-18

The new album from Deerhoof, Noble and Godlike in Ruin, is a gas... easily the strongest release they've had since the live-in-the-studio Devil Kids... this album finds them as progressive, strong, and playful as ever, and it ends with a four-minute section of totally out playing that I knew they've always had in them... Revisiting Sly and the Family Stone's Small Talk, I found a lot more to like than I had previously absorbed... some great grooves there... Warmer weather gets me feeling funky, but damn: between Duke Ellington and Sun Ra, I don't know... this new Nuits box set has me humming... more on that at some point... still trying to come to terms with "Princess Blue"... And the "Dark Star" listening journey continues... still waiting for the cowbell and guiro to go away!

Playlist 2025-05-19:

*Marshall Allen: 2009-07-06 London (CDR)

*Art Bears: Revisited (disc 1)

*Art Ensemble of Chicago: Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City: Live at Iridium (disc 1) "On the Mountain"

*Chet Baker: My Funny Valentine

*Tim Berne's Snakeoil: The Deceptive 4 (Live) (disc 1) "Deception"

*Tim Berne/Tom Rainey/Gregg Belisle-Chi: Yikes Too (disc 2)

*Paul Bley Quintet: Barrage

*Anthony Braxton: 12 Comp (ZIM) 2017 (Comp. 411)

*John Butcher/Eddie Prévost: Interworks

*Frédéric Chopin: Favourite Piano Works (Vladimir Ashkenazy) (disc 2)

*Nels Cline: Consentrik Quartet

*Miles Davis: Kind of Blue (side 1)

*Miles Davis: In Concert (side 4)

*Miles Davis Septet: 1974-01-26 Willimantic, CT (CDR) (disc 1)

*Deerhoof: Noble and Godlike in Ruin

*Dietrichs: No Bahdu

*Bob Dylan: No Direction Home: The Soundtrack (disc 2)

*Bob Dylan/Various artists: Theme Time Radio Hour S01 E37 "Musical Instruments"

*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Live at Newport 1958 (disc 1) "Princess Blue"

*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Newport 1958 "Princess Blue"

*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Festival Session (side 2)

*Duke Ellington: Piano in the Foreground

*Duke Ellington: The Girl's Suite/The Perfume Suite "The Girl's Suite"

*Duke Ellington and Count Basie: First Time! The Count Meets the Duke

*Duke Ellington/Ray Brown: This One's for Blanton

*Grateful Dead: 1969-06-21 Fillmore East, NYC (CDR) "Dark Star"

*Grateful Dead: 1969-06-22 Central Park, NYC (CDR) "Dark Star > The Other One"

*Grateful Dead: 1969-06-27 Santa Rosa CA (CDR) "Dark Star"

*Grateful Dead: 1969-07-05 Chicago (CDR) "Dark Star"

*Grateful Dead: 1969-07-07 Atlanta (CDR) "Dark Star"

*Grateful Dead: 1969-07-12 Queens, NY (CDR) "Dark Star"

*Hallowed Plant: The Hallowed Plant

*Andrew Hill Sextet Plus 10: A Beautiful Day, Revisited (disc 1)

*Allen Lowe and the Constant Sorrow Orchestra: Louis Armstrong's America, Vol. 1 (disc 2)

*Warne Marsh: Music for Prancing

*Ikue Mori: Myrninerest

*Sal Mosca/Warne Marsh Quartet: Volume 1

*Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 21 & 23 (Clifford Curzon/BBC)

*New Ting: 2025-05-12 "Safety First Consignment Auto Sales" (wav)

*Larry Ochs/Nels Cline/Gerald Cleaver: What Is to Be Done "Shimmer Intend Spark Groove Defend"

*Mario Pavone/Dialect Trio +1: Blue Vertical

*Phantom Orchard: Hit Parade of Tears

*Tito Puente: Tito Puente (CDR compilation)

*Sly and the Family Stone: Small Talk

*Sparks: The Rest of Sparks (side 1)

*Sun Ra and His Inter-Galactic Research Arkestra: Nuits de la Fondation Maeght, Vol. 1 "Shadow World"

*Sun Ra and His Inter-Galactic Research Arkestra: Nuits de la Fondation Maeght (sides 1, 2, 3, 4)

*Sun Ra: Calling Planet Earth

*Sun Ra: Other Shades (CDR compilation)

*Cecil Taylor: Unit Structures "Unit Structure/As of a Now/Section"

*Ululating Mummies: 1987-07-25  New Horizons, Richmond VA (CDR)

*UYA: 1993-10-27 Exodus Determination Button (wav)

*Various artists: Really the Blues? A Blues History 1893-1959 Vol. 1 (1893-1929) (discs 1, 2)

*Frank Zappa: Apostrophe (50th Anniversary Ed.) (disc 4)

*John Zorn/Brian Marsella Trio: Ou Phrontis

Playlist, Week of 2025-04-27

Hot Summer Dance is extremely well-recorded and gives a good hint at just how powerful this band must have been from the dance floor... Sun Song is still one of my all-time favorite Sun Ra records... that's all for now...

Playlist 2025-04-28:

*Air: Open Air Suit (sides 1, 2)

*Marshall Allen: New Dawn

*Louis Armstrong and His All-Stars: Satch Plays Fats

*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1978-10-05 Washington DC (CDR) (discs 1, 2)

*Johann Sebastian Bach: Concertos for Piano And Orchestra Nos. 1–5 & 7 (Gould/Bernstein) (disc 1)

*Beatles: The Alternate Anthology Part 2 (disc 2)

*Beatles: The Alternate Anthology Part 3 (discs 1, 2)

*Anthony Braxton: Trillium R: Composition 162 - An Opera in Four Acts/Shala Fears for the Poor (disc 2)

*Anthony Braxton's Sonic Genome Project: 2010-01-31 Vancouver (CDR) (disc 2)

*Anthony Braxton: 12 Comp (ZIM) 2017 (Comp. 415)

*Gerald Cleaver: 22/23

*Gerald Cleaver: The Process

*Patsy Cline: Imagine That: The Lost Recordings 1954-1963 (disc 1)

*Sylvie Courvoisier: 2025-03-29 Big Ears, Knoxville TN (CDR)

*Kris Davis Trio: 2025-03-29 Big Ears, Knoxville TN (CDR)

*Miles Davis: In Concert (side 3)

*Bob Dylan/Various artists: Theme Time Radio Hour S01 E33 "Countdown"

*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Three Suites "Peer Gynt Suites Nos. 1 and 2"

*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Three Suites "Suite Thursday"

*Duke Ellington: Unknown Session

*Duke Ellington: Hot Summer Dance

*Ella Fitzgerald/Louis Armstrong: The Complete Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong on Verve (disc 2)

*Michael Formanek Quartet: Pre-Apocalyptic

*Michael Formanek Quartet: Other Zones

*Grateful Dead: 1969-05-10 Pasadena CA (CDR) "Dark Star"

*Grateful Dead: 1969-05-23 Hollywood FL (CDR) "Dark Star"

*Darius Jones: fLuXkit Vancouver (i̶t̶s̶ suite but sacred)

*Darius Jones: Legend of e'Boi (The Hypervigilant Eye)

*New Ting: 2025-04-21 "Dappled Dappers" (wav)

*Evan Parker Electro-Acoustic Ensemble: Warszawa 2019

*Pere Ubu: The Tenement Year (sides 1, 2)

*Ivo Perelman: The Art of the Improv Trio, Vol. 5

*Ravi Shankar/Ali Akhbar Khan: Ragas

*Wadada Leo Smith: Big Ears, Knoxville TN (CDR)

*Sun Ra: Jazz by Sun Ra, Vol. 1 [Sun Song] (sides 1, 2)

*Sun Ra: Uncharted Passages

*Sun Ra Arkestra under the Direction of Marshall Allen: Lights on a Satellite (side 4)

*Henry Threadgill Sextet: Just the Facts and Pass the Bucket (side 1)

*UYA: 1993-10-24 The Foot Finder (wav)

*Vandermark 5: Beat Reader

*Weather Report: Tale Spinnin' (side 1)

Playlist, Week of 2025-04-20

I barely go for Christmas music at Christmas time, much less the rest of the year, but damn if Ellington and Strayhorn's version of the Nutcracker cuts through all that crap and swings mightily... I can take that all year round... "Princess Blue" is a relatively minor piece, pleasant enough while it's on, but I'm having a hard time getting a melodic handle on it...  A solid free jazz session from New Ting, with Fred McGann back on keyboard (it's been a while)... Meanwhile, the "Dark Stars" are getting longer... 

Playlist 2025-04-21:

*[Ahmed]: Giant Beauty (disc 5)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1977-01-28 Philadelphia (CDR)
*Johann Sebastian Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier (Glenn Gould) (disc 3)
*Beatles: Revolver (Super Deluxe 4 LP Edition 2022) (side 7)
*Beatles: The Alternate Anthology Part 1 (disc 2)
*Beatles: The Alternate Anthology Part 2 (disc 1)
*Anthony Braxton: The Complete Arista Recordings of Anthony Braxton (disc 4) "Opus 76 (Version 2)"
*Gerald Cleaver: 22/23
*Gerald Cleaver: The Process
*John Coltrane: 1966-07-02 Newport (CDR) "Leo"
*Sylvie Courvoisier: 2025-03-29 Big Ears, Knoxville TN (CDR)
*Miles Davis Quintet: Miles in France 1963 & 1964: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8 (disc 2)
*Bob Dylan/Various artists: Theme Time Radio Hour S01 E32 "Moon"
*Duke Ellington: 1938 (side 3)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Newport 1958 "Princess Blue"
*Duke Ellington: Anatomy of a Murder
*Duke Ellington: Les Girls! The Girls Suite & Toot Suite Premieres (1958-1963)
*Duke Ellington: Duke Ellington Live! At the Newport Jazz Festival '59 "Idiom '59"
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Three Suites "The Nutcracker Suite"
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Three Suites "Peer Gynt Suites Nos. 1 and 2"
*Michael Formanek Quartet: Pre-Apocalyptic
*Michael Formanek Quartet: Other Zones
*Gang of Four: Solid Gold (side 2)
*Gentle Giant: Sampler (CDR compilation)
*Gentle Giant: Interview
*Grateful Dead: 1969-04-22 Boston (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1969-04-23 Boston (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: Dick's Picks 26 (1969-04-26/27) (disc 2) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1969-05-07 San Francisco (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Darius Jones: fLuXkit Vancouver (i̶t̶s̶ suite but sacred)
*Darius Jones: Legend of e'Boi (The Hypervigilant Eye)
*Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin II
*Brandon Lopez: Nada Sagrada
*New Ting: 2025-04-14 "Heat Pad" (wav)
*Zeena Parkins/Wobbly: Triplicates
*Ivo Perelman: The Art of the Improv Trio, Vol. 3
*Ivo Perelman: The Art of the Improv Trio, Vol. 5
*Ivo Perelman: The Art of the Improv Trio, Vol. 6
*Wadada Leo Smith: Big Ears, Knoxville TN (CDR)
*Sun Ra: Disco 3000 (Complete Milan Concert 1978) (discs 1, 2)
*Sun Ra: Uncharted Passages
*Cecil Taylor Workshop Ensemble: Melancholy "Sphere No. 1"
*Various artists: Anthology of Noise and Electronic Music vol. 2: Second a-chronology 1936-2003 (disc 2)
*Frank Zappa: Apostrophe (50th Anniversary Ed.) (disc 3)