Playlist, Week of 2026-08-02

 

 

 

I finally finished relistening to all the Grateful Dead versions of "Dark Star," along with reading the very helpful blog Every Dark Star... my main takeaway is that the best ones were from the period 1972-1974, when Bill Kreutzmann was the only drummer and they were still using "Dark Star" as an exploratory platform... when they returned to it after a long haitus, the magic was mostly gone, and they didn't seem to be inspired by it the way they were in the early '70s... even so, there are surprising nooks and crannies in most versions, even in the late '90s... I am looking forward to exploring other improvisational areas they created, especially in "Playing in the Band" and "The Other One"...

Playlist 2026-08-03:

*Ayumi Ishito: Roboquarians, Vol. 2
*Anthony Braxton: Creative Orchestra (Köln) 1978 "Comp. 51"
*Rodger Coleman/Sam Byrd: Unheard Voices
*Duke Ellington: Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band, 1940-1942 (disc 3)
*Duke Ellington: Duke Ellington Live! At the Newport Jazz Festival '59 (selections)
*Duke Ellington: The Far East Suite
*Aretha Franklin: Young, Gifted, and Black (side 2)
*Grateful Dead: 1994-03-16 Rosemont IL (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1994-03-30 Atlanta (CDR) "Dark Star"
*OM: Willisau
*OOIOO: The Horizon Spiral
*Ravi Shankar: Three Ragas "Raga Jog"
*Sun Ra: Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Strut) (disc 2)
*Sun Ra: On Jupiter (2025 remaster) (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-31 Detroit (CDR) (disc 5)
*Art Tatum: The One and Only (sides 1, 2, 3, 4)
*Cecil Taylor Orchestra Humane: At Iridium 2004 (disc 11)
*Henry Threadgill: Double Up, Plays Double Up Plus "Game Is Up"
*UYA: 1995-02-26 New Space Quiet Run (wav)
*UYA: 1995-03-08 Think Object (wav)
*Various artists: The Complete Stax-Volt Singles 1959-1968 (disc 2)
*Stevie Wonder: 1975-07-16 Bremen (CDR)
*Stevie Wonder: Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants (discs 1, 2) 

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 2025-03-16

The most well-known version of "Dark Star" has to be the first one the Grateful Dead released, on Live/Dead... and that really was the best version they'd played (that was recorded, anyway) up to that point... everything comes together... up to then, Bill Kreutzmann had kept himself to half-heartedly playing shakers, with only occasional tentative forays on the drum kit, until 1969-02-22, and that must have felt good, because here, a few days later, he plays the kit forcefully for part of the song, driving Garcia in a different way and adding a new dimension, which to my ears kicks it to the next level... "Dark Star" is becoming more and more of a full-group improvisatory exploration... This week my listening was focused, it seems, on "Dark Star," Duke Ellington, Roscoe Mitchell, Anthony Braxton, and Sun Ra... so what else is new?

Playlist 2025-03-17:

*[Ahmed]: Wood Blues

*[Ahmed]: Giant Beauty (disc 2)

*All Set: All Set

*Johann Sebastian Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier (Glenn Gould) (disc 1)

*Beatles: The Early Beatles (mono 2024) (side 1)

*Blue Notes: Blue Notes for Mongezi (disc 2)

*Hamiet Bluiett: Orchestra, Duo, & Septet (sides 1, 2)

*Anthony Braxton: Ninetet (Yoshi's) 1997, Vol. 3 (disc 2)

*Anthony Braxton Ensemble: 2006-06-10 Kerava, Finland (CDR)

*Anthony Braxton Sextet: 2006-08-12 Lisboa (CDR)

*Anthony Braxton Quartet: Standards (Brussels) 2006 (disc 1)

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

*Clear Frame: Clear Frame

*Gerald Cleaver & Violet Hour: Live At Firehouse 12

*John Coltrane: One Down, One Up: Live at the Half Note (disc 1)

*John Coltrane: First Meditations (For Quartet) (side 1)

*Miles Davis: In Person Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk, Complete (disc 3)

*Miles Davis Quintet: 1967-11-07 Karlsruhe, Germany (CDR)

*Bob Dylan/Various artists: Theme Time Radio Hour S01 E24 "Time"

*Bob Dylan/Various artists: Theme Time Radio Hour S01 E25 "Guns"

*Duke Ellington: The Girls' Suite/The Perfume Suite (side 2)

*Duke Ellington/Ella Fitzgerald: Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book (disc 3) "Portrait of Ella Fitzgerald"

*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Ellington Indigos (sides 1, 2)

*Duke Ellington: His Piano and His Orchestra at the Bal Masque

*Duke Ellington's Spacemen: The Cosmic Scene

*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Live at Newport 1958 (discs 1, 2)

*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Jazz at the Plaza Vol. II (side 1)

*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Ellington Jazz Party in Stereo (side 1)

*Kate Gentile: Mannequins

*George: Leave It (side 2)

*George: Letters to George (side 2)

*Grateful Dead: Fillmore East 2-11-69 (disc 2) "Dark Star"

*Grateful Dead: 1969-02-14 Philadelphia (CDR) "Dark Star"

*Grateful Dead: 1969-02-15 Philadelphia (CDR) "Dark Star"

*Grateful Dead: 1969-02-21 Vellejo, CA (CDR) (disc 1)

*Grateful Dead: 1969-02-22 Vellejo, CA (CDR) "Mountains of the Moon > Dark Star"

*Grateful Dead: Live/Dead "Dark Star"

*Grateful Dead: The Complete Fillmore West 1969 (disc 4) "Dark Star"

*Grateful Dead: The Complete Fillmore West 1969 (disc 7) "Dark Star"

*Mary Halvorson: Reverse Blue

*Billie Holiday: The Complete Billie Holiday on Verve 1945-1959 (disc 1)

*Vijay Iyer: Compassion

*Jefferson Pilot: The Return of Troubled Youth Orchestra

*Jefferson Pilot: Sad Magazine

*Ned Lagin: Seastones (1975 versions)

*Lama + Chris Speed: Lamaçal

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

*Jimmie Lunceford: The Complete Jimmie Lunceford Decca Sessions (disc 4)

*Brian Marsella’s iMAGiNARiUM: Mediatas (discs 1, 2)

*Roscoe Mitchell: Songs in the Wind

*Roscoe Mitchell: 2012-03-10 London (CDR)

*Roscoe Mitchell/Brus Trio: After Fallen Leaves

*Roscoe Mitchell and the Note Factory: The Bad Guys

*Thelonious Monk: Piano Solos (side 1)

*Ikue Mori: Class Insecta

*New Ting: 2025-03-03: "Cleaning Out the Corners" (wav)

*NRBQ: Interstellar (side 1)

*Tony Oxley Quintet: The Baptised Traveller

*Zeena Parkins: Dam Against the Spring Tide

*Matana Roberts: Coin Coin Chapter Two: Mississippi Moonchile

*Matana Roberts: Coin Coin Chapter Five: In the Garden (sides 3, 4)

*Sonny Rollins: Worktime (side 1)

*Otis Rush: 1956-1958 Cobra Recordings

*Secret People: Secret People

*Ravi Shankar: The Sounds of India

*Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra: Other Planes of There (side 2)

*Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra: When Angels Speak of Love (sides 1, 2)

*Sun Ra: Heliocentric Worlds Vol. 3: The Lost Tapes

*Sun Ra: Spaceways [Outer Spaceways Inc.]

*Sun Ra: Monorails & Satellites: Works for Solo Piano Vols. 1, 2, 3 (disc 2)

*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Thunder of the Gods (side 1)

*Sun Ra: Egypt 1971 (disc 3)

*Henry Threadgill's Zooid: Pop Start the Tape, StoP

*Mary Lou Williams Trio: Free Spirits

*John Zorn: New Masada Quartet Vol. 3

*John Zorn/Brian Marsella Trio: Ballades

Playlist, Week of 2025-03-02

 

Roscoe Mitchell's Solo [3] is becoming my favorite of his solo recordings (except for the original solo version of "Nonaah")... Solo [3] is one disc horn overdubs, one disc solo alto, and one disc percussion or solo sax... it is incredibly compelling... It's hard to get past some of the coy narration, but there are some musical gems scattered throughout A Drum Is a Woman, especially from Clark Terry... it's really too bad that no footage of the original televised show seems to exist... Such Sweet Thunder, on the other hand, is nothing but one magnificent gem of a masterpiece... The Dark Stars are getting interesting in a different way now that Tom Constanten has joined... he's certainly interesting, but his early shows are rough, and I am missing Pigpen on organ... I think that will change by the time we get to Live/Dead...

Playlist 2025-03-03:

*[Ahmed]: Giant Beauty (disc 1)
*All Set: All Set
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: Third Decade (side 2)
*Albert Ayler et al.: New York Eye and Ear Control (side 1)
*Beatles: Beatles for Sale (2009 mono remaster)
*Anthony Braxton with the Creative Jazz Orchestra: Composition No. 175, Composition No. 126 Trillium-Dialogues M (disc 1)
*Anthony Braxton + Duke Ellington: Concept Of Freedom (Dahinden/Kleeb/Polisoidis/Höldrich)
*Anthony Braxton/Italian Instabile Orchestra: Creative Orchestra (Bolzano) 2007 "Comp. 164 pt. 1"
*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2022-11-26 Nashville (wav) track 1
*John Coltrane: Evenings at the Village Gate "Africa"
*Cream: Best of Cream (side 2)
*Miles Davis Quintet: Live in Europe 1967: The Bootleg Series Vol. 1 (disc 3)
*Nick Dunston: Atlantic Extraction
*Bob Dylan: The Bootleg Series Vol. 1-3 (disc 1)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Treasury Shows, Vol. 11 (disc 1)
*Duke Ellington: Ellington at Newport 1956 (Complete) (discs 1, 2)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: A Drum Is a Woman
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Such Sweet Thunder (sides 1, 2)
*Duke Ellington: Money Jungle
*Grateful Dead: 1969-01-24 San Francisco (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1969-01-25 San Francisco (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1972-04-11 Newcastle (CDR) "Truckin'"
*Mary Halvorson Quintet: Saturn Sings
*Earl Hines: Giants of Jazz (disc 2)
*Jefferson Pilot: Shadow Hobby
*Jimmie Lunceford: The Complete Jimmie Lunceford Decca Sessions (disc 3)
*Charles Mingus: Let My Children Hear Music (side 2)
*Roscoe Mitchell & the Note Factory: Song for My Sister
*Roscoe Mitchell: Solo [3] (disc 1)
*Paul Motian: Tribute (side 1)
*New Ting: 2025-02-24 "Advance Remorse for Bell of the Cow" (wav)
*Painkiller: Samsara
*Evan Parker ElectroAcoustic Septet: Seven "Seven-2"
*Zeena Parkins: Dam against the Spring Tide
*Pete "La Roca" Sims: Basra
*Nino Rota: 8 ½ (OST)
*Nino Rota: Fellini's Amarcord (side 1)
*Hazel Scott Trio: Relaxed Piano Moods
*Tyshawn Sorey: The Inner Spectrum of Variables (disc 2) "Movement V + VI + Reprise"
*Tyshawn Sorey Trio: The Susceptible Now
*Sparks: Exotic Creatures of the Deep (sides 3, 4)
*Sun Ra: Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow (side 2)
*Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra: Secrets of the Sun (side 1)
*Sun Ra and His Astro Infinity Arkestra: Strange Strings (Expanded Edition) (side 1)
*Sun Ra and His Astro-Ihnfinity Arkestra: Sun Embassy (side 1)
*Sun Ra Arkestra: Live At Pit-Inn Tokyo, Japan, 8, 8, 1988 (side 1)
*Bettye Swann: The Money Recordings
*Tower of Power: 1974-12-31 Winterland, SF (CDR)
*Cecil Taylor Quintet: 1965-07-02 Newport (CDR)
*Various artists: Turn Me Loose White Man (disc 8)
*Various artists: Latin Rhythms in Hi Fi
*Various artists: Easy Rhythms for Your Cocktail Hour
*Various artists: Space Age Cocktail Lounge (disc 1)
*Various artists: Anthology of Noise and Electronic Music vol. 1: First a-chronology 1921-2001 (disc 2)
*Anna Webber: Shimmer Wince
*Anna Webber/Matt Mitchell: Capacious Aeration
*John Zorn/JACK Quartet: The Complete String Quartets (disc 2)

Playlist, Week of 2025-02-16

Kris Davis's rhythmic impulse and impeccable sense of timing is on full display on Rob Mazurek's Desert Encrypt Vol. 1... plus some of Mazurek's best playing... Two interesting things to note about the "Dark Star"-related jams by Mickey Hart & the Hartbeats in 1968: they are all effectively guitar-bass duets (whether it's Phil Lesh or Jack Casady on bass), and these jams are the first time, however sparingly, that someone (probably Bill Kreutzmann) plays full drum kit in the song... before, with the Dead, and with most of the Hartbeats versions, the percussion accompaniment up to this time was mostly shaker, gong, and guiro... A month's worth of new improvisations from New Ting here... it's good to be playing again... plus, a new solo release from Jimmy Ghaphery: Fife Studies...

Playlist 2025-02-17:

*Johann Sebastian Bach: Violin Concertos (Alina Ibragimova/BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra)
*Johann Christian Bach: Six Favorite Overtures (Christopher Hogwood/Academy of Ancient Music)
*Beatles: The Beatles' Second Album (mono 2024) (sides 1, 2)
*Beatles: Something New (mono 2024) (sides 1, 2)
*Black Host: Life in the Sugar Candle Mines
*Anthony Braxton: Composition 95 (For Two Pianos)
*Anthony Braxton: 2 Compositions (Ensemble) 1989/1991
*Anthony Braxton/Fred Simmons Trio: 9 Standards (Quartet) 1993 (disc 1)
*Patricia Brennan Septet: Breaking Stretch
*Dustin Carlson: Air Ceremony
*Patsy Cline: The Patsy Cline Collection (disc 3)
*John Coltrane: The Mastery of John Coltrane, Vol. IV: "Trane's Modes" (side 3)
*Miles Davis: 1969-05/06? Village Gate, NYC (CDR)
*Miles Davis: Black Beauty: Miles Davis at Fillmore West (side 2)
*J Dilla: Donuts
*Nick Dunston: Colla Voce
*Duke Ellington: 1949 NYC "The Tattooed Bride"
*Duke Ellington: The Complete Capitol Recordings of Duke Ellington (discs 2, 3, 4)
*Kate Gentile: Find Letter X (disc 1)
*George: Letters to George (side 2)
*Grateful Dead: 1968-09-02 Sultan WA (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1968-10-12 San Francisco (CDR) "Dark Star > St. Stephen > The Eleven"
*Grateful Dead: 1968-10-13 San Francisco (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: Sunshine Daydream (Veneta, Oregon 8/27/72) (disc 2) "Playing in the Band"
*Mary Halvorson: Cloudward
*Mickey Hart & the Hartbeats: 1968-10-08 San Francisco (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Mickey Hart & the Hartbeats: 1968-10-10 San Francisco (CDR) "Dark Star Jam"
*Mickey Hart & the Hartbeats: 1968-10-30 San Francisco (CDR) "Dark Star Jam"
*Henry Cow: In Praise of Learning (Cow Box Redux)
*Allen Lowe and the Constant Sorrow Orchestra: Louis Armstrong's America, Vol. 2 (disc 1)
*Rob Mazurek: Desert Encrypts Vol. 1
*Charles Mingus: The Complete Debut Recordings (discs 5, 6)
*Roscoe Mitchell/Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble: Three Compositions "Quintet #9 for Eleven"
*Ikue Mori: One Hundred Aspects of the Moon
*New Ting: 2025-02-10 "Farberware" (wav)
*Opeth: The Last Will and Testament
*Plymouth: Plymouth "Manomet"
*Matana Roberts: Coin Coin Chapter Five: In the Garden (sides 1, 2)
*Santana: Lotus (side 1)
*Devadip Carlos Santana/Turiya Alice Coltrane: Illuminations
*Soft Machine: Høvikodden 1971 (disc 2)
*Sun Ra: Saturn Research: Rarities and Oddities (CDR compilation) (disc 2)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Music from Tomorrow's World
*Sun Ra: The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra (side 1)
*Sun Ra: Astro Black (side 2)
*Sun Ra: At the Showcase: Live in Chicago 1976-1977 (disc 1)
*Sun Ra: Lanquidity (45rpm version) (sides 1, 2)
*Joe Tex: From the Roots… …Came the Rapper
*McCoy Tyner/Joe Henderson: Forces of Nature: Live at Slugs' (disc 2)
*UYA: 1993-03-02 And the Fritos? Sure (wav)
*UYA: 1993-07-17 Dik-Plexiglass Ass 95 Remix (side A) (wav)
*Various artists: Turn Me Loose White Man (disc 4)
*Various artists: Hallucinations: Psychedelic Pop Nuggets from the WEA Vaults
*Weird of Mouth: Weird of Mouth
*Mary Lou Williams Trio: Free Spirits
*Tony Williams Lifetime: (Turn It Over) (side 1)
*Yes: Yesterdays (side 2) "America"
*Lester Young: The Aladdin Sessions (side 3)

Playlist, Week of 2025-02-09

 

So, I have embarked on a listening run though of every "Dark Star" I can get my hands on... they may not all show up in the playlist, but they're getting heard, and it's already fascinating how the band expanded the tune from its humble (and fast-paced) beginning on the single, exploding it from the inside out as sections grow and morph, and it gets longer and longer... I am not tired of Pigpen's organ riff yet, and of course the Jerry/Phil interplay is outstanding... I am also reworking my way through Eddie Lambert's excellent book Duke Ellington: A Listener's Guide and listening to more Duke, especially the later suites (while skipping over Jimmy Grissom)... Really been enjoying the new Allen Lowe sets... some fine piano playing, especially from Loren Schoenberg, plus avant-garde banjo!... RIP Mike Ratledge... so glad I got to see him with Soft Machine on the tour backing Jimi Hendrix...

Playlist 2025-02-10:

*[Ahmed]: Giant Beauty (disc 5)
*Art Ensemble: 1967/68 (disc 2) "Trio (Oh Susanna)"
*Blue Notes: Legacy: Live in South Afrika 1964
*Borderlands Trio: Asteroidea
*Anthony Braxton: Ninetet (Yoshi's) 1997, Vol. 4 (discs 1, 2)
*Peter Brötzmann Octet: The Complete Machine Gun Sessions "Machine Gun"
*James Brown: The CD of JB (Sex Machine & Other Soul Classics)
*Patsy Cline: The Patsy Cline Collection (disc 2)
*Miles Davis Quintet: Miles in France 1963 & 1964: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8 (discs 4, 5, 6)
*Duke Ellington: Ellington Uptown
*Duke Ellington: The Complete Capitol Recordings of Duke Ellington (disc 1)
*Duke Ellington: The Great Paris Concert (disc 2) "A Tone Parallel to Harlem (Harlem Suite)"
*Erroll Garner: Erroll Garner
*George: Letters to George (side 1)
*Grateful Dead: So Many Roads (1965–1995) (disc 1)
*Grateful Dead: Dark Star Comp 1 (1967-1969) (CDR compilation)
*Grateful Dead: 1968-01-20 Eureka CA (CDR)
*Grateful Dead: 1968-02-03 Portland OR (CDR)
*Grateful Dead: Road Trips Vol. 2 No. 2 (1968) (disc 1)
*Grateful Dead: 1968-03-29 San Francisco (CDR)
*Grateful Dead: 1968-08-22 San Francisco (CDR) "Dark Star > Cryptical Envelopment/The Other One"
*Grateful Dead: 1968-08-23 San Francisco (CDR) "Dark Star > St. Stephen > The Eleven"
*Grateful Dead: Dick's Jams (CDR) (disc 2)

*Grateful Dead: Road Trips Vol. 4 No. 3 (1973-12-06 Cleveland) (bonus disc) "Eyes of the World"
*Layers of Memory: 2019-12-07 RVA (wav)"Improvisation No. 4"
*Allen Lowe and the Constant Sorrow Orchestra: Louis Armstrong's America, Vol. 1 (disc 2)
*Charles Mingus: The Complete Debut Recordings (disc 4)
*Roscoe Mitchell: Songs in the Wind
*Roscoe Mitchell: 2012-03-10 London (CDR)
*New Ting: 2025-01-20 "Swipe the Not Enough of Too Much" (wav)
*New Ting: 2025-02-03 "Sound Immersion Plan" (wav)
*Ivo Perelman Quartet: Water Music
*Dudu Pukwana: Diamond Express (side 1)
*Soft Machine: Seven
*Tyshawn Sorey: Alloy "Movement"
*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)
*Henry Threadgill: X-75 Vol. 1 (Expanded Version)
*Henry Threadgill's Zooid: Pop Start the Tape, StoP
*Henry Threadgill's Zooid: This Brings Us To, Volumes I & II (side 2)
*Lennie Tristano: The Complete Atlantic Recordings of Lennie Tristano, Lee Konitz, & Warne Marsh (discs 3, 4)
*UYA: 1993-02-23 G, J, and Q (wav)
*Various artists: Turn Me Loose White Man (disc 3)
*John Zorn/Brian Marsella Trio: Ballades

Playlist, Week of 2025-01-26

It's taking me a while to absorb Giant Beauty, because I've never heard anything quite like it... I know Pat Thomas mostly from his work with Tony Oxley... this music develops with a keen sense of patience and determination... Patient listening is also rewarded with Tyshawn Sorey's The Susceptible Now... and then there's Ellington, always Ellington... I am rereading portions of Eddie Lambert's Duke Ellington: A Listener's Guide, and using it to guide some deep listening, focusing on the suites and longer compositions like "The Tattooed Bride"... The later versions of "Dark Star" from the '90s are a mixed bag, but there are definitely moments of beauty there, especially if Mickey Hart refrains from being so plodding and heavy on the bass drum... love the double drums but nothing matches the subtlety and driving excitement of Bill Kreutzmann on his own in the '70s... eventually I plan to work my way through every version of "Dark Star," just for the hell (or heaven) of it...

Playlist 2025-01-27:

*[Ahmed]: Giant Beauty (discs 1, 2)

*Zoh Amba: Bhakti

*Beatles: Abbey Road (side 2)

*Black Host: Life in the Sugar Candle Mines

*Anthony Braxton: Ninetet (Yoshi's) 1997, Vol. 3 (disc 1)

*Anthony Braxton + Duke Ellington: Concept Of Freedom (Dahinden/Kleeb/Polisoidis/Höldrich)

*Anthony Braxton Saxophone Quartet: Sax QT (Lorraine) 2022 (disc 4)

*Can: Ege Bamyasi

*Patsy Cline: The Patsy Cline Collection (disc 1)

*Miles Davis Quintet: Miles in France 1963 & 1964: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8 (disc 1)

*Miles Davis: Miles at the Fillmore: Miles Davis 1970: The Bootleg Series Vol. 3 (disc 3)

*Miles Davis: 1975-01-22 Tokyo (CDR)

*Bob Dylan/Various artists: Theme Time Radio Hour S01 E18 "Radio"

*Earth Wind and Fire: All 'n All (side 1)

*Duke Ellington: The Great Chicago Concerts (disc 1) "Deep South Suite"

*Duke Ellington: Ellington Uptown "The Liberian Suite"

*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Masterpieces by Ellington (side 3)

*Duke Ellington: Liederhall Stuttgart 1967

*Kate Gentile: Find Letter X (disc 3)

*George: Letters to George (sides 1, 2)

*Tilahun Gessesse: Ethiopiques 17

*Stan Getz: The Complete Roost Recordings (disc 2)

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

*Earl Hines: Giants of Jazz (disc 2)

*Joseph Holbrooke Trio: The Moat Studio Recordings (disc 1)

*King Crimson: The Power to Believe

*Ingrid Laubrock: Sleepthief

*Allen Lowe and the Constant Sorrow Orchestra: In the Dark (disc 1)

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

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

*Jimmie Lunceford: The Complete Jimmie Lunceford Decca Sessions (disc 2)

*Brian Marsella’s iMAGiNARiUM: Mediatas (disc 2)

*Jackie McLean: Jacknife

*Matt Mitchell: Vista Accumulation (disc 2)

*Roscoe Mitchell: More Cutouts

*Roscoe Mitchell: Solo [3] (disc 1)

*Tyler Mitchell Octet: Sun Ra's Journey featuring Marshall Allen

*Jelly Roll Morton: The Saga of Mister Jelly Lord (side 11)

*Tony Oxley Quintet: The Baptised Traveller

*Zeena Parkins/Ikue Mori: Phantom Orchard

*Mario Pavone Sextet: Deez to Blues

*Tom Rainey Trio: 2013-10-19 Brooklyn NY (CDR) track 6

*Tyshawn Sorey Trio: The Susceptible Now

*Sun Ra and His Solar-Myth Arkestra: The Solar​-​Myth Approach, Vol. 1

*Sun Ra: Lights on a Satellite: Live at the Left Bank (side 2)

*Sun Ra Arkestra under the Direction of Marshall Allen: Lights on a Satellite (side 3)

*Cecil Taylor: Erzulie Maketh Scent

*Lennie Tristano: The Complete Atlantic Recordings of Lennie Tristano, Lee Konitz, & Warne Marsh (disc 1)

*Various artists: Songs from Four LPs and One CD (cassette compilation) (sides A, B)

*Webber/Morris Big Band: Both Are True

*Mary Lou Williams Trio: Free Spirits

*Neil Young: Zuma

Playlist, Week of 2023-09-03

Strange Celestial Roads is one of Sun Ra's strongest studio recordings... "I'll Wait for You" is unstoppable... I love the quiet placidity of Paul Bley's takes on the music of Annette Peacock... The other Village Gate recording of John Coltrane in 1961 features a unique live recording of "Olé"... There's "Dark Star," and then there's the other one... what is it called, the other long piece the Dead used to use to take it out, before (and during) the time "Playing in the Band" began to expand? Oh, yeah, "The Other One".... I am starting to really enjoy exploring the other "Other Ones" that really take it out there... case in point: 1972-03-28, Academy of Music... whoa... 

Playlist 2023-09-04:

*AMM: Ammmusic "Later during a Flaming Riviera Sunset"
*Paul Bley: Live in Haarlem
*Paul Bley: Annette
*Paul Bley/Evan Parker/Barre Phillips: Time Will Tell
*Anthony Braxton: Piano Quartet, Yoshi's 1994 (disc 2)
*Anthony Braxton: 4 Compositions (Ulrichsberg) 2005 Phonomanie VIII (disc 3)
*Peter Brötzmann: Fuck De Boere "Fuck De Boere"
*Peter Brötzmann/Milford Graves/William Parker: Historic Music Past Tense Future
*Dave Bryant: Night Visitors
*John Coltrane: Evenings at the Village Gate
*John Coltrane: 1961-07-23? Village Gate, NYC (CDR)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Duke Ellington Carnegie Hall Concerts, December 1944 (disc 2)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: 1963-02-05 Helsinki (CDR) (disc 1)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: 1966-04-09 Dakar, Senegal (CDR)
*Fire! Orchestra: Echoes (disc 2)
*Grateful Dead: Dick's Picks 30 (1972-03-28 Academy of Music, NYC) (discs 3, 4)
*Grateful Dead: 1973-05-26 San Francisco (CDR) (discs 1, 2, 3)
*John Medeski Trio: 2023-04-02 Big Ears Festival, Knoxville TN (CDR)
*Charles Mingus: Pre-Bird
*Charles Mingus: Changes Two
*Sonny Rollins: Saxophone Colossus
*Santana: Welcome (selections)
*Santana: 1975-06-20 Charlotte NC (CDR)
*Wadada Leo Smith: Ten Freedom Summers (disc 1)
*Sparks: The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Sound of Joy
*Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra: Visits Planet Earth
*Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra: Secrets of the Sun
*Sun Ra: Solo Keyboards, Minnesota 1978
*Sun Ra: Strange Celestial Road
*Cecil Taylor: Looking Ahead!
*Cecil Taylor Quintet: Stereo Drive
*Robert Turman: Chapter Eleven (disc 2) 

Playlist, Week of 2023-08-27

In addition to my Duke-Dead-Braxton-Cecil-Ra-Mingus listening spree, I have also been fitting in lots of Sparks... they've been on a major roll since 1994's Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins... the new album, The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte,  is typical only in its sharp pop brilliance... On the Dead front, I find myself mostly stuck in the early '70s these days... they were just so much better with only one drummer (the awesome, mind-blowing Bill Kreutzmann)... 

Playlist 2023-08-28:

*Art Ensemble: 1967/68 (disc 2) "Trio (Oh Susanna)"
*Beatles: 1963-04-04 Stowe School, Buckingham (CDR)
*Beatles: Abbey Road (Anniversary Edition) (disc 3)
*Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers: Roots and Herbs
*Anthony Braxton: 4 Compositions (Ulrichsberg) 2005 Phonomanie VIII (disc 2)
*Anthony Braxton/Joe Morris: Four Improvisations (Duo) 2007 (disc 1)
*Centipede: Septober Energy (disc 2)
*Miles Davis: In Person Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk, Complete (disc 1)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: 1956-04-16 Basin Street, NYC (CDR)
*Fire! Orchestra: Echoes (disc 1)
*Grateful Dead: Dave's Picks Vol. 14 (1972-03-21/27 Academy of Music, NYC) (disc 4)
*Grateful Dead: Dick's Picks 30 (1972-03-25/27/28 Academy of Music, NYC) (discs 1, 2)
*Grateful Dead: 1973-11-11 Winterland (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1974-10-18 Winterland (streaming) "Seastones>Jam>Dark Star>Morning Dew"
*Lionel Hampton: The Complete Lionel Hampton Victor Sessions 1937-1941 (disc 5)
*Charles Mingus: The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady
*Charles Mingus: Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus
*Charles Mingus: Changes One
*Tyler Mitchell Octet: Sun Ra's Journey Featuring Marshall Allen
*Santana: 1973-09-30 Panama City, Panama (CDR) (disc 2)
*Sparks: No. 1 in Heaven (40th Anniversary Ed.) (sides 1, 2, 3,4)
*Sparks: Exotic Creatures of the Deep (sides 1, 2, 3, 4)
*Sparks: A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip (sides 1, 2, 3, 4)
*Sparks: The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte
*Sun Ra: Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow (side 1)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Live at Montreux (side 3)
*Sun Ra: Lanquidity (45rpm version) (sides 1, 2)
*Craig Taborn/Vadim Neselovskyi: Da'at
*Cecil Taylor Unit/Diane McIntyre Sound in Motion Dance Co.: The Eye of the Crocodile (1983-03-19 Camden, England) (CDR)
*Cecil Taylor: 1995-12-08 Ulrichsberg (CDR)
*Henry Threadgill Ensemble Double Up: Old Locks and Irregular Verbs "Part One"
*Charles Tolliver: Mosaic Select (disc 3)
*Various artists: Mozart at Midnight
*John Zorn/Jamie Saft Trio: Astaroth: Book of Angels, Vol. 1 

Playlist, Week of 2023-06-18

Dave's Picks vol. 6 is a strong entry in this series, espeically the 1970 show... the Pigpen tracks are particualrly strong, with the versions of "Hard to Handle" and "Good Lovin'" ranking with their best... Getting psyched for seeing Sparks at the end of the month in DC... the new album is really strong... I have become quite enamored of Anthony Braxton's piano playing... on the surface, at first, he may sound a little ham-fisted, but damn if he isn't an imaginative and interesting pianist... his playing on Quintet (Tristano) 2014 is consistently inventive and inspiring... I need to go back and check out the standard sessions he plays piano on again... I didn't give them a fair shake when I first heard them... 

Playlist 2023-06-19:

*Anthony Braxton: Quintet (Basel) 1977 "Composition 69 N/G"
*Anthony Braxton: 9 Compositions (Iridium) 2006 (selections)
*Anthony Braxton: 12 Duets (DCWM) 2012 (disc 8)
*Anthony Braxton: Quintet (Tristano) 2014 (discs 3, 4)
*Cornelius Cardew: Treatise (Ensemble 303)
*John Coltrane: Transition (side 1)
*Marilyn Crispell: For Coltrane
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Treasury Shows, Vol. 3 (disc 1)
*Duke Ellington: An Intimate Piano Session
*Exploding Star Orchestra: Stars Have Shapes
*Grateful Dead: Dave's Picks vol. 10 (1969-12-12 LA) (discs 2, 3)
*Grateful Dead: Dave's Picks vol. 6 (1969-12-20/1970-02-02) (discs 1, 2, 3)
*Lionel Hampton: The Complete Lionel Hampton Victor Sessions 1937-1941 (disc 1)
*Jimi Hendrix: Jimmy Before Jimi 64/65/66 (disc 3)
*Buddy Holly: The New Complete Buddy Holly v2.0 (disc 2)
*Freddie Hubbard: The Artistry of Freddie Hubbard
*Freddie Hubbard: Here to Stay
*Bobby Hutcherson: Components
*Fela Kuti: Ikoyi Blindness
*Parliament: The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein
*Prince/New Power Generation: The War
*Queens of the Stone Age: In Times New Roman
*Santana: Welcome
*Jimmy Smith: Groovin' at Small's Paradise (disc 1)
*Sparks: The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte
*Sun Ra: Ellingtonia, Vol. 2
*Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra: Angels and Demons at Play
*Sun Ra: ESP Radio Tribute Highlights (CDR compilation) (disc 3)
*Sun Ra and His Astro Ihnfinity Arkestra: The Intergalactic Thing (side 2)
*Sun Ra and His Intergalactic Solar Arkestra: Space Is the Place (previously unreleased tracks) (streaming)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Prophet (side 1)
*Cecil Taylor: 1969-11-09 Rotterdam (CDR)
*Keith Tippett's Ark: Frames (Music for an Imaginary Film) (disc 2)
*Charles Tolliver Big Band: Mosaic Select (disc 2)
*Lennie Tristano: Personal Recordings 1946-1970 (disc 1)
*UYA: Improvisations 5 (1992) (CDR compilation) "Pixie Styx"
*Jack White: Fear of the Dawn
*John Zorn: Multiplicities II

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 2023-02-12

Interesting to how much the 1968 music of AMM, particularly "Like A Cloud Hanging In The Sky?" on The Crypt, sounds like the Grateful Dead's various "Feedback" pieces from 1968 to 1970... heavy distortion, controlled feedback, slabs of near-industrial sound... Love Bird's playing on the informal Apartment Jam Sessions... Charles Mingus's Black Saint and the Sinner Lady is considered his masterpiece, but I'll take Mingus Dynasty over that any day... of course, it's nice to have both... Don't listen to it as much because it's on DVD, but Anthony Braxton's Nine Compositions (DVD) 2003 is really special, especially the large ensemble pieces (with Dan Plonsey of Manufacturing of Humidifiers)... Keeping it going with Sun Ra and Cecil Taylor...

Playlist 2023-02-13:

*AMM: The Crypt - 12th June 1968 (disc 1)

*Beach Boys: California Girls (sides 1, 2)

*Beach Boys: Pet Sounds (mono 50th anniversary) (side 1)

*Alban Berg: Streichquartett Opus 3/Lyrische Suite (Alban Berg Quartet)

*Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers: 'S Make It

*Anthony Braxton: Nine Compositions (DVD) 2003 "Comp. 190 (13tet)"

*Sylvie Courvoisier Trio: D'Agala

*Duke Ellington: The Duke at Fargo, 1940: Special 60th Anniversary Edition (disc 2)

*Duke Ellington: The Piano Player

*Firesign Theatre: How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All (side 2)

*Firesign Theatre: Not Insane (side 1)

*Marvin Gaye: What's Going On (50th Anniversary) (side 4)

*Gentle Giant: Playing the Fool (side 2)

*Grateful Dead: 1974-06-18 Louisville (disc 2)

*Annette Hanshaw: The Twenties Sweetheart

*Joe Henderson: The Complete Joe Henderson Blue Note Sessions (disc 4)

*Andrew Hill: Mosaic Select (disc 2)

*Johnny Hodges: Triple Play

*Jefferson Pilot: The Return of Troubled Youth Orchestra

*Ingrid Laubrock + Aki Takase: Kasumi

*Steve Lehman Trio + Craig Taborn: The People I Love

*Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 10 (Wigglesworth, BBC National Orchestra of Wales)

*Charles Mingus: The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady (sides 1, 2)

*Charles Mingus Sextet: Cornell 1964 (disc 2)

*Charles Mingus: The Jazz Workshop Concerts 1964-65 (disc 2)

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

*Paal Nilssen-Love: New Brazilian Funk

*Charlie Parker: Apartment Jam Sessions (side 1)

*Omar Rodriguez-López: Se Dice Bisonte, No Búfalo

*Omar Rodriguez-López: Calibration (Is Pushing Luck and Key Too Far)

*Arnold Schoenberg: Suite, Op. 29/Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4/3 Pieces for Chamber Orchestra (Pierre Boulez/Ensemble InterContemporain)

*Igor Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring (SWR Sinfonieorchester/Sylvain Cambreling) (CDR)

*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: In the Orbit of Ra (discs 1, 2)

*Sun Ra: Hiroshima (side 2)

*Sun Ra and His Ethnic Structural Cosmo Arkestra: 1986-08-10 Liverpool, NY (CDR) (discs 1, 2)

*Sun Ra and His Alter-Destiny Omniversal Arkestra: 1987-01-22 Philadelphia (CDR)

*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Prophet (sides 1, 2)

*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Arkestra: 1988-09-01 Detroit (CDR) (discs 1, 2)

*Cecil Taylor: Live in the Black Forest

*Cecil Taylor/Han Bennink: Spots, Circles, and Fantasy

*Cecil Taylor: Complicité (disc 3)

*Various artists: Bollywood Bliss (CDR compilation)

*John Zorn: In the Hall of Mirrors

*John Zorn's Cobra: Live at the Knitting Factory

Playlist, Week of 2017-09-10

Double Dose of Daniel! Daniel Barbiero and Cristiano Bocci's new album Non-Places is brilliant, with its imaginative use of field recordings... they are used not just as background but as active participants, often looped to supply hypnotic voicings to add to the compelling sounds of the basses... easily one of Dan's best recordings... Plus he has a great new album of prepared solo bass pieces... stream it here... Early Tony Williams Lifetime stuff continues to amaze me... what the hell is Tony Williams doing on the drums??!... what taste and dexterity--in such power... and Larry Young: whew... (yes, nothing but astute criticism here on this blog, folks)... The first two Syreeta Wright albums (from 1972 and 1974)  need to be considered in full light of the five-album run of Stevie Wonder masterpieces in the '70s... in many ways they are both Stevie Wonder albums with a different lead vocalist... he produced and did most of the arrangements, wrote (or co-wrote with her) most of the songs, plays keyboards, and sings background (and, in some cases, lead)... both albums hold their own when set next to his hallmark albums... Happy to see that NPR is streaming the first disc of the new Hüsker Dü compilation of early demos, live tracks, and singles... rough, raw, 'n' ready!... Now that I finished the 1972 "Dark Star" compilation, I am exploring selected ones from 1973, and they are wild... in particular, both the 1973-03-16 and 1973-03-21 versions have significant passages where the Dead are more aggressively "out" than usual, playing pretty much flat-out aggressive free jazz, driven largely not by Garcia but by Bill Kreutzmann... his drumming in these passages is sharp, muscular, (again) aggressive, arrhythmic, and totally beautiful, and he guides the band into territories they rarely, if ever, explored with Mickey Hart... yet another reason why I think the single-drummer Kreutzmann-only years of the Dead are far superior to the later (post-1974) ones with Hart... I'm looking forward to revisiting more '73 Dark Stars...

Playlist 2017-09-11:

*Pepper Adams: Pepper Adams Plays Charlie Mingus
*Susan Alcorn/Ingrid Laubrock/Leila Bordreuil: 2017-08-18 Brooklyn NY (CDR)
*AMM III: It Had Been an Ordinary Enough Day in Pueblo, Colorado
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: People in Sorrow
*Art Ensemble of Chicago (trio): 1979-03-31 Verona, Italy (CDR)
*Daniel Barbiero: Fifteen Miniatures for Prepared Double Bass (streaming)
*Daniel Barbiero/Cristiano Bocci: Non-Places
*Anthony Braxton: The Complete Arista Recordings of Anthony Braxton (discs 7, 8)
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium J (disc 2)
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium J: 2014-04-19 Roulette, NYC, Act Two (DVD)
*Nels Cline Singers: 2015-03-19 Barcelona (CDR) (disc 1)
*Rodger Coleman: Guitar Experiments (2014) (wav)
*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2015-05-14 Nashville (wav) (selections)
*Rodger Coleman & Andrew Dickson: 2016-11-02 Nashville (mp3)
*Chick Corea: The Musician (disc 3)
*Sylvie Courvoisier/Mary Halvorson/Ikue Mori: 2010-07-24 Whitney Museum of Modern Art (CDR)
*Marilyn Crispell/Gary Peacock/Paul Motian: Nothing Ever Was, Anyway (disc 1)
*Marilyn Crispell/Gary Peacock/Paul Motian: Amaryllis
*Decoy: Vol 1: Spirit
*Michael Formanek: Small Places
*Drew Gress: 7 Black Butterflies
*Barry Guy: The Blue Shroud
*Kip Hanrahan: Coup de Tête
*Ingrid Laubrock: 2009-08-01 The Stone, NYC (CDR)
*Roscoe Mitchell Trio: Angel City
*Louis Moholo-Moholo Octet: Spirits Rejoice!
*Ikue Mori: 2009-01-25 NYC (CDR)
*Max Roach And Cecil Taylor: Historic Concerts
*Schlippenbach Trio: Features
*Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra: The Magic City (Evidence)
*Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra: The Magic City (Full Stereo Version)
*Sun Ra and His Astro Infinity Arkestra: My Brother the Wind Vol. 1 (Remastered and Expanded Edition)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: In the Orbit of Ra
*Sun Ra: Gilles Peterson Presents Sun Ra and His Arkestra: To Those of Earth...and Other Worlds
*Tony Williams Lifetime: Emergency! (selections)
*Tony Williams Lifetime: Turn It Over (selections)
*John Zorn/Simulacrum: The Painted Bird
*John Zorn/Simulacrum: 49 Acts of Unspeakable Depravity in the Abominable Life and Times of Gilles de Rais (selections)
*Beach Boys: 1967: Sunshine Tomorrow (disc 1)
*Booker T. & the MGs: Time Is Tight (disc 2) (selections)
*Cornelius: Mellow Waves
*Betty Davis: The Columbia Years 1968-1969
*Deerhoof: Mountain Moves
*Mike Elder/Harry Forrest/Greg Jordan/Sam Byrd: New CDR Compilation (discs 1, 2, 3)
*Grateful Dead: 1973-02-22 Champaign-Urbana IL (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: Dick's Picks 28 (1973) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1973-03-16 Uniondale, NY (CDR) “Dark Star”
*Grateful Dead: 1973-03-21 Utica NY (CDR) “Dark Star”
*Grateful Dead: 1973-12-01 Boston (CDR)
*Grateful Dead: 1974-05-14 Missoula MT (CDR)
*Hüsker Dü: Savage Young Dü (disc 1) (streaming)
*Henry Kaiser: Everything Forever
*Neu!: Neu!
*Olivia Tremor Control: Music From the Unrealized Film Script, Dusk at Cubist Castle
*Prince and the Revolution: Purple Rain (Deluxe Expanded Edition) (disc 4)
*Steely Dan: Countdown to Ecstasy
*Steely Dan: Katy Lied
*Steely Dan: The Royal Scam
*Tower of Power: The East Bay Archive vol. 1 (1973-04-23 Boston) (selections)
*Various artists: More from the Other Side of the Trax
*Various artists: Bollywood Steel Guitar
*Various artists: "Life Is Dance!": Plugged-In Sounds of Wonder at the Pakistani Picture House
*Various artists: Bokoor Beats: Vintage Afro-Beat, Afro-Rock, & Electric Highlife From Ghana
*Various artists: Eccentric Soul: Mighty Mike Lenaburg
*Syreeta Wright: Syreeta
*Syreeta Wright: Stevie Wonder Presents Syreeta
*Yes: Relayer (Alternate Album) (2016 remaster) (disc 2)
*Frank Zappa: Sleep Dirt (Deluxe Ed.)

Playlist, Week of 2017-08-13

A short list, but action-packed. I put the 10-hour compilation of all the 1972 "Dark Star" improvs from the Grateful Dead on my phone. It was a travel week, so it was great to have it going while in the hotel room. I understand there's a Version 2 out there now--I need to snag that. Guess I'll finish getting through Version 1 first--this will be the second time through. It's great stuff.

Playlist 2017-08-14:

*Beach Boys: Today/Summer Days and Summer Nights (two-fer)
*Beach Boys: 50 Big Ones (disc 1)
*Beatles: With the Beatles (2009 mono remaster)
*Beatles: Hard Day's Night (2009 mono remaster)
*Beatles: Help! (2009 mono remaster)
*Grateful Dead: Dark Star 1972 version 1 (in progress, 01:10:00-05:07:00)

Playlist, Week of 2015-08-16

www.45cat.com

You may have noticed a curious entry in my playlist below: "(started, 00:00:00 - 05:42:00)" --that's because I have begun listening through this 10-hour mix of all the Dark Star jams from 1972.

As of Sunday I have gotten through 5 hours and 42 minutes of it, and of course, it's glorious.

For the last few years I have been trying to collect every version of "Dark Star" from the Dead that I could get my hands on, and pound for pound, the ones from 1972 (especially from the European tour and, of course, the majestic Veneta version)  are by far my favorites (with 1973 a close second). That's when they took it the farthest out; they really experimented with it, with its form and with what it could contain. And of course, also, for 1972-73, there was only one drummer...Bill Kreutzmann rules! Mickey Hart is a fine drummer but I so much prefer Bill's looseness and vitality without him.

I am also a huge fan of John Oswald's Grayfolded, which of course is after something different than this, but which achieves a sort of Ur-"Dark Star" that manages to encompass everything they did with it, from all across the time spectrum, while also opening new doors to perception and pointing the way to a future of timeless Dark Stars, always existing in floating and never-ending space.

This mix, on the other hand, just lays it all out there, one jam at a time, extending into its own kind of ten-hour infinity. Yes, I could listen to this forever. At the very least I'll be streaming it whenever I can until I get through it at least twice, and of course I won't give it the attention it deserves....but it'll be on, a lot!

Playlist 2015-08-17:

*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Duke Ellington Carnegie Hall Concerts January 1943 “Black, Brown, and Beige”
*Duke Ellington: The Complete Duke Ellington 1947-1953 Volume 2 (selections)
*Duke Ellington: The Great Paris Concert (disc 1)
*Mary Halvorson Quintet: 2012-08-25 Saalfelden, Austria (CDR)
*Julius Hemphill: Coon Bidness
*LARK: 2013-06-16 Brooklyn, NY (CDR)
*Living By Lanterns: 2013-08-25 Sant’Anna Arresi (CDR)
*New Ting Ting Loft: 2015-06-22 “Chops for Chomsky” (wav)
*New Ting Ting Loft: 2015-08-10 “Counterweight” (wav)
*Tom Rainey: Obbligato
*Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra: Secrets of the Sun
*Cecil Taylor Quartet: Nailed
*Cecil Taylor Quartet featuring Anthony Braxton: 2007-06-08 London (CDR)
*Cecil Taylor/Anthony Braxton/William Parker: 2007-10-12 Bologna (CDR)
*Cecil Taylor Quartet featuring Anthony Braxton: 2007-10-13 Reggio Emilia, Italy (CDR)
*D’Angelo and the Vanguard: Black Messiah
*D’Angelo and the Vanguard: 2015-06-14 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, Manchester, TN (CDR) (disc 1)
*Area: Arbeit Macht Frei (Il Lavore Rende Liberi)
*Area: Caution Radiation Area
*Area: Crac!
*Blind Faith: Blind Faith (Deluxe Edition) (disc 2)
*Bob Dylan: Bringing It All Back Home
*Bob Dylan: 1965-07-25 Newport Folk Festival (CDR)
*Grateful Dead: Dark Star 1972 (streaming) (started, 00:00:00 - 05:42:00)
*Jimi Hendrix: 1970-09-06 Isle of Fehmarn, Germany (boot CDR)
*13th Floor Elevators: Live in Texas
*13th Floor Elevators: Easter Everywhere
*Various artists: The Wild and Wacky World of Bollywood (CDR compilation)
*Wig Drop: 2015 selections (CDR)
*Wondermints: Bali