Henry Threadgill on John Gilmore

Henry Threadgill writes about John Gilmore:

He was playing some very advanced harmonic and rhythmic information on the saxophone. His rhythmic approach was amazing. John used to tell me about practicing out of drum books, working on rhythmic patterns. ... It gives you a grounding in rhythmic patterns that you wouldn't ordinarily have, playing a melodic instrument. Gilmore's playing was very rhythmic playing. I don't meant that it was necessarily always busy, even if at times it was. It's more that there were very unusual rhythmic patterns in his playing. A lot of people knew about his musical thinking; Coltrane used to come and listen to him play. Gilmore was a highly sophisticated player, and totally original. (Threadgill, Easily Slip into Another World, Knopf 2023, p. 37)
 

Playlist, Week of 2018-01-07

In my Henry Threadgill listening thread, it's good to be getting into the Zooid years... Liberty Ellman's guitar tone is softer than previous guitarists Threadgill used, and suits the compositional structure better... and Zooid is all about composition, I think, with not so much clear "soloing" going on, especially from Threadgill, who almost seems to recede into the compositional fabric of the music even as he, and the rest of the band, are continually soloing... it may be more harmolodic than not... I realize I don't have a clear grasp on this music yet, or have a way to write about it... whatever it is, it's always very melodic, and the pulse is always steady and propulsive...

Playlist 2018-01-08:

*Daniel Barbiero/Sam Byrd/Jimmy Ghaphery: 2017-12-02 Rhizome, Washington DC (wav)
*Anthony Braxton: GTM (Outpost) 2003 (disc 1)
*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2017-12-27 Nashville (wav)
*Duke Ellington: The Complete 1932-1940 Brunswick, Columbia and Master Recordings of Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra (disc 5)
*Billie Holiday: Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia 1933–1944 (disc 5)
*Ingrid Laubrock with Liam Noble & Tom Rainey: Sleepthief
*Lounge Lizards: No Pain for Cakes
*New Ting Ting Loft: 2017-02-27 "Several Round Things" (wav)
*New Ting Ting Loft: 2017-10-09 "Fight Back in the Kitchen" (wav)
*New Ting Ting Loft: 2017-11-27: "All That Remains" (wav)
*Paradoxical Frog: Paradoxical Frog
*Tyshawn Sorey: The Inner Spectrum of Variables (disc 1)
*Henry Threadgill Zooid: 2007-05-17 NYC (CDR) (disc 2)
*Fall of Troy: Manipulator
*Tito Puente: The Complete 78s: Vol. 2
*Sonic Youth: Bad Moon Rising
*This Heat: This Heat
*Various artists: Space Age Cocktail Lounge (disc 2)
*Yes: 1972-12-15 London (CDR)

Playlist, Week of 2017-12-10

I used to think Henry Threadgill's Too Much Sugar for a Dime was overproduced.... Bill Laswell's productions of the '90s sometimes rubs me the wrong way... too bright... but today this sounds fine to me... except for "Better Wrapped/Better Unwrapped," which tries too hard to integrate the (African?) chants for my taste, the album is a fine vehicle for Threadgill's super-charged compositions... Very Very Circus is the band for all but two cuts, and I hear noted improvement over the previous LP... still (and this has held true for subsequent Very Very Circus recordings), I am not as fond of Brandon Ross's guitar tone as Threadgill seems to be... it's just me, it's just me... My favorite track on Threadgill's Song Out of My Trees is the title cut, featuring Amina Claudine Myers smoking on organ... Dave Burrell's Echo is a wonderful slab of fiery free jazz, with the stellar rhythm section of Alan Silva and Sunny Murray... bread 'n' butter...

Playlist 2017-12-11:

*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1976-03-12 Philadelphia (CDR) (disc 3)
*Daniel Barbiero/Sam Byrd/Jimmy Ghaphery: 2017-12-02 Rhizome, Washington DC (wav)
*Anthony Braxton: 4 Compositions (Ulrichsberg) 2005/Phonomanie VIII (disc 2)
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium J (disc 3)
*Anthony Braxton: Creative Music Orchestra (NYC) 2011
*Dave Burrell: Echo
*Steve Coleman and the Council of Balance: Genesis
*Duke Ellington: The Complete 1932-1940 Brunswick, Columbia and Master Recordings of Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra (disc 8)
*Billie Holiday: Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia 1933–1944 (disc 2)
*Matt Mitchell: A Pouting Grimace
*Tom Rainey Trio: 2017-09-09 Jazz Gallery, NYC (CDR) (disc 1)
*Ernesto Rodrigues/Guilherme Rodrigues/Daniel Barbiero: {The} Nature {of Things} Likes to Hide
*Tyshawn Sorey: The Inner Spectrum of Variables
*Henry Threadgill's Very Very Circus: 1990-08-30 Willisau, Switzerland (CDR)
*Henry Threadgill's Very Very Circus: 1992-01-30 London (CDR)
*Henry Threadgill: Too Much Sugar For A Dime
*Henry Threadgill: Song Out of My Trees
*John Zorn: Film Works VIII: 2002 Volume Three: Invitation to a Suicide
*John Zorn: The Gift
*Beatles: Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band (Super Deluxe Ed.) (disc 1)
*Scott Brookman: Smellicopter Two
*Bob Dylan: The 1966 Live Recordings (discs 18, 19, 20)
*Ozric Tentacles: Strangeitude (disc 2)
*Tito Puente: Tambó
*Tito Puente: Top Percussion
*Various artists: Anthology of Noise and Electronic Music vol. 3: Third a-chronology 1952-2004 (disc 2)
*Various artists: Ethiopiques 8: Swinging Addis 1969-1974
*Various artists: Ethiopiques 13: Ethiopian Groove: The Golden Seventies
*Yes: 1972-01-21 Amsterdam (CDR)
*Yes: 1972-03-17 San Bernardino, CA (CDR)
*Yes: 1972-08-13 Columbia MD (CDR)

Playlist, Week of 2017-12-03

After digging Scott Brookman's new EP Smellicopter 2 so much, I went to his Bandcamp page and discovered For Those Who Like POP, an older album of his that had somehow eluded me... it's brilliant, and while I love all the vocal tracks, what especially struck me were the wonderful instrumentals... Back in Henry Threadgill land, Flute Force 4 was a flute quartet... Flutistry has a couple of interesting Threadgill compositions... I was never quite as taken with Very Very Circus as I was with the Sextett, and Spirit of Nuff...Nuff reminded me of why: the guitars sound abrasive and misfitting, there may be just too much tuba (I like tuba as well as the next person, but...), and the compositions aren't as strong... I'm hoping to be disabused by my opinions with the next few Very Very Circus recordings coming up... In the meanwhile, have also been going the nostalgia route with some scattered Yes live recordings... I was quite the Yeshead "back in the day," as the kidz used to say...

Playlist 2017-12-04:

*Pepper Adams: Pepper Adams Plays Charlie Mingus
*Louis Armstrong: From the Original Okehs Vol. 5 1931/32
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1976-03-12 Philadelphia (CDR) (disc 2)
*Daniel Barbiero/Sam Byrd/Jimmy Ghaphery: 2017-12-02 Rhizome, Washington DC (wav)
*Paul Chambers: Bass on Top
*Flute Force 4: Flutistry
*Roy Haynes/Phineas Newborn/Paul Chambers: We Three
*Steve Lehman Octet: Travail, Transformation, and Flow
*Roscoe Mitchell Trio: No Side Effects (disc 2)
*Oliver Nelson: Blues and the Abstract Truth
*New Ting Ting Loft: 2017-11-06 "Affordable Alternatives" (wav)
*New Ting Ting Loft: 2017-11-20 "Fluid Dispersal" (wav)
*Henry Threadgill Sextett: Rag, Bush and All
*Henry Threadgill Very Very Circus: Spirit of Nuff...Nuff
*Dave Slusser: Delight at the End of the Tunnel
*Tyshawn Sorey: The Inner Spectrum of Variables
*Tyshawn Sorey: Verisimilitude
*Various artists: Anthology of Noise and Electronic Music vol. 3: Third a-chronology 1952-2004 (disc 1)
*Iannis Xenakis: Electronic Music
*Mahmoud Ahmed & Imperial Bodyguard Band: Ethiopiques 26 1972-74
*Beatles: Rubber Soul (2009 mono remaster)
*Scott Brookman: For Those Who Like POP
*Scott Brookman: Smellicopter Two
*Clash: Sandinista! (disc 2)
*Cramps: Songs the Lord Taught Us
*Bob Dylan: The 1966 Live Recordings (discs 15, 16, 17)
*Alèmayèhu Eshèté: Ethiopiques 22: More Vintage!
*Jackie Mittoo: Last Train to Skaville
*Todd Rundgren: White Knight
*Edgar Winter: Entrance
*Wire: Chairs Missing
*Yes: 1971-05-09 Rome (CDR)
*Yes: 1971-07-24 Yale, New Haven CT (CDR)
*Yes: 1973-11-18 Bristol, UK (CDR)
*Yes: 1975-05-10 London (CDR)

Playlist, Week of 2017-11-19

It's a pleasure to hear more sixties-pop-infused (with a touch o' Todd) pop rock from RVA's own Scott Brookman... brilliant, catchy melodies, beautifully produced and just plain charming... check out Smellicopter 2 on Bandcamp... Playing catch-up... have been enjoying Animal Collective's Painting With... maybe not as strong compositionally as Centipede Hz (which I prefer to Merriweather Post Pavilion), but really nice nonetheless... better than most critics would have you believe... One of the best indications of  Henry Threadgill's strength as a composer is just how little difference it made when the personnel of the Sextett changed over the years... from Olu Dara and Craig Harris to Rasul Siddik and Frank Lacy just didn't make that much difference in the overall sound... unlike some other groups, where individual members can really make their mark on how the music develops, with Threadgill I think his compositional focus overrides individual contributions... compare this to Air and New Air, where the difference of the drummer in fact made all the difference in the world... Air was more of an improvisational vehicle for Threadgill than a compositional one... although maybe it's a mistake on my part to think that Threadgill was even the nominal leader of Air...

Playlist 2017-11-20:

*Art Ensemble of Chicago with Muhal Richard Abrams: 1974-08-07 Laren, The Netherlands (CDR)
*Tim Berne's Snakeoil: Incidentals
*Paul Chambers: 1st Bassman
*Alex Cline's Flower Garland Orchestra: Oceans of Vows (disc 1)
*Decoy with Joe McPhee: Spontaneous Combustion (disc 2)
*Barry Guy/London Jazz Composers Orchestra: Study II, Stringer
*Roscoe Mitchell Trio: No Side Effects (disc 1)
*Roscoe Mitchell: Bells for the South Side (disc 2)
*New Air: Live at Montreal International Jazz Festival
*New Air: Air Show No. 1
*Charlie Parker: Unheard Bird: The Unissued Takes (disc 2)
*Tom Rainey Trio: 2017-09-09 Jazz Gallery, NYC (wav) (disc 2)
*Tyshawn Sorey: Verisimilitude
*Sun Ra: The Antique Blacks
*Henry Threadgill Sextett: 1985-09-27 Amsterdam (CDR)
*Henry Threadgill Sextett: You Know the Number
*Henry Threadgill: Easily Slip Into Another World
*Various artists: Anthology of Noise and Electronic Music vol. 2: Second a-chronology 1936-2003 (disc 1)
*Tony Williams Lifetime: Emergency! (selections)
*John Zorn/Simulacrum: 49 Acts of Unspeakable Depravity in the Abominable Life and Times of Gilles de Rais (selections)
*Animal Collective: Painting With
*Jose "Chepito" Areas: Jose "Chepito" Areas
*Scott Brookman: Smellicopter Two
*David Crosby: If I Could Only Remember My Name
*Bob Dylan: The 1966 Live Recordings (discs 11, 12)
*Foo Fighters: Concrete and Gold
*Grant Hart: The Argument
*Steve Miller/Lol Coxhill: "The Story So Far​.​.​." ".​.​.​Oh Really?" (disc 2)
*Ozric Tentacles: Strangeitude (disc 1)
*Rascals: Freedom Suite (side 4)
*Kelley Stoltz: Circular Sounds
*Various artists: Space Age Cocktail Lounge (discs 2, 3)
*Various artists: "The Sound of Wonder!": The First Wave of Plugged-In Pop at the Pakistani Picture House
*Yes: The Yes Album
*Yes: Progeny: Highlights From Seventy-Two

Playlist, Week of 2017-11-12

The Henry Threadgill sweep continues, this week with a large chunk of early Sextet records, all of which are brilliant... in many ways, these early LPs on the About Time label are my favorite Threadgill recordings (especially Subject to Change)... they share a lot sonically and organizationally with the early David Murray Octet records (which Threadgill played on)... Finally checked out the new remix of the Beatles Live at the Hollywood Bowl album... I guess it's an improvement... at least the crowd sounds are reduced somewhat... and of course it's great to have "You Can't Do That" as a bonus track!... so: why not just release all of the 1964 and 1965 Hollywood Bowl recordings, instead of just recreating an album that George Martin didn't care much for putting together in the first place?

Playlist 2017-11-13:

*Air: 80° Below 82'
*Daniel Barbiero/Cristiano Bocci: Non-Places
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium J (disc 2)
*Roscoe Mitchell Trio: Angel City
*RAIC: 2017-10-14 Etching Tin Recording Studio, RVA "Balance of the Three" (wav)
*Henry Threadgill Sextet: When Was That?
*Henry Threadgill Sextett: 1982-06-29 Kool Jazz Festival, NYC (CDR)
*Henry Threadgill Sextet: Just the Facts and Pass the Bucket
*Henry Threadgill Sextet: Subject to Change
*Iannis Xenakis: Orchestral Works & Chamber Music
*Amon Duul II: Yeti
*Les Baxter: Ports of Pleasure
*Beatles: Live at the Hollywood Bowl (2016 remix)
*Bob Dylan: The 1966 Live Recordings (disc 10)
*Russ Garcia: Fantasica: Music from Outer Space
*Hotel X: 2017-10-18 WRIR Studios, RVA (mp3)
*Steve Miller/Lol Coxhill: "The Story So Far​.​.​." ".​.​.​Oh Really?" (disc 1)
*Various artists: Space Age Cocktail Lounge (disc 1)

Playlist, Week of 2017-10-22

The Henry Threadgill sweep continues, with more Air and also Threadgill's early masterpiece X-75 Volume 1, one of my favorite jazz albums of the late '70s... with its unusual instrumentation of four woodwinds (mostly flutes), four basses, and the wonderful Amina Claudine Myers on vocals, the album casts a wonderful spell unique to Threadgill's discography... the Mosaic box set devoted to his complete Novus and Columbia recordings adds a full album's worth of unreleased material to constitute a Volume 2... the only difference being the lack of Myers... still, great stuff... and Threadgill's alto sax solo on "Fe Fi Fo Fum" is a showstopper... I recently dug out Apogee again and reminded myself of what a masterpiece it is... definitely one of the greatest tenor sax albums out there... the pairing of Pete Christlieb and Warne Marsh is sublime... Christlieb's playing is soulful and satisfying in a "Deacon Blues" kind of way, while Marsh is more abstract and angular, demonstrating conclusively how massive an influence on Anthony Braxton he has been... together, their playing sparks so much I swear I can see flames coming off the turntable... Always a pleasure to hear new Tom Rainey and Ingrid Laubrock... I love Rainey's approach to standards that he uses with his Obbligato group...

Playlist 2017-10-23:

*Air: Montreux Suisse Air
*Air: Air Lore
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: People in Sorrow
*Pete Christlieb/Warne Marsh Quintet: Apogee
*Ornette Coleman: Prime Design/Time Design
*Decoy with Joe McPhee: Spontaneous Combustion (disc 1)
*Dave Holland Quartet: 1972-12-01 Studio Rivbea, NYC (CDR) (disc 1)
*Roland Kirk Quartet: Rip, Rig, and Panic
*Steve Miller/Lol Coxhill: "The Story So Far​.​.​." ".​.​.​Oh Really?" (disc 2)
*Roscoe Mitchell: Bells for the South Side
*New Ting Ting Loft: 2017-10-09 "Fight Back in the Kitchen" (wav)
*Charlie Parker: Unheard Bird: The Unissued Takes (disc 1)
*Evan Parker/Derek Bailey/Han Bennink: The Topography of the Lungs
*Evan Parker: Monoceros
*Evan Parker & AMM: Title Goes Here
*RAIC: 2017-10-14 Etching Tin Recording Studio, RVA "Balance of the Three" (wav)
*Tom Rainey Obbligato: Float Upstream
*Tom Rainey Trio: 2017-09-09 Jazz Gallery, NYC (wav)
*Return to Forever: Where Have I Known You Before
*Matana Roberts: Coin Coin Chapter One: Les Gens de Couleur Libres
*Henry Threadgill: X-75 Volume 1
*Henry Threadgill: X-75 Volume 2
*Charles Tyler: Saga of the Outlaws
*Animal Collective: Painting With
*Tommy Bolin & Friends: Live at Ebbets Field June 3 & 4, 1974
*Bob Dylan: The 1966 Live Recordings (discs 6, 7, 8)
*Funkadelic: Music for Your Mother: Funkadelic 45s  (disc 2)
*Elvis Presley: A Boy From Tupelo: The Complete 1953-55 Recordings (disc 1)
*Space Debris: Behind the Gate (disc 1)
*Steely Dan: Gaucho Outtakes and Demos (1979-80)
*Various artists: Ethiopiques Vol. 24: Golden Years of Modern Ethiopian Music (1969-1975)

Playlist, Week of 2017-10-15

Beginning to delve into this massive Dylan box... I'm familiar with many of the shows from bootlegs, but of course this is far better sound and way more comprehensive... I am starting to warm up to the new Deerhoof CD... it's taking a while, but there are definitely interesting moments scattered throughout... Greg Saunier's drumming is a bit more subdued, and there aren't as many hooks, and I'm not as fond of the guests' appearances... but hey, I'm cranky... and I take it back: Matana Robert's short contribution is wonderful... For my Threadgill sweep, I am restricting it to groups he led or was a co-member of, so it's Air to start off with, and then the various Sextettes, Zooids, etc. but not recordings on which he was a guest... and working through the Air recordings I am once again reminded how amazing a drummer Steve McCall was... as I've mentioned before, I was fortunate to see him play with Arthur Blythe at the Village Vanguard (along with Fred Hopkins)... never got to see Air, though... Great solid hard bop from Paul Chambers, especially the sessions with Coltrane... I used to despise (well, that's a strong word; maybe scorn would be better) "jazz guitar"... it just all sounded so weak to me compared to Hendrix... well, I'm older now... my tastes have not mellowed, but I do enjoy Kenny Burrell's work on Whims of Chambers... I may not be ready for Joe Pass, but I am not adverse to checking out Wes Montgomery or Grant Green... what does that say about me?

Playlist 2017-10-16:

*Air: Air Song
*Air: Live Air
*Air: Air Raid
*Air: Air Time
*Air: Open Air Suit
*Susan Alcorn/Ingrid Laubrock/Leila Bordreuil: 2017-08-18 Brooklyn NY (CDR)
*Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet & 7-tette: Navigation (The Complete Firehouse 12 Recordings) (disc 2)
*Paul Chambers: Chambers' Music
*Paul Chambers Sextet: Whims of Chambers
*Paul Chambers Quintet: Paul Chambers Quintet
*Pete Christlieb/Warne Marsh Quintet: Apogee
*Noah Howard: Patterns/Message to South Africa
*Ingrid Laubrock: 2017-06-05 Moers (CDR)
*Allen Lowe: Jews in Hell: Radical Jewish Acculturation (disc 2)
*Mahavishnu Orchestra: Birds of Fire
*Steve Miller/Lol Coxhill: "The Story So Far​.​.​." ".​.​.​Oh Really?" (disc 1)
*New Ting Ting Loft: 2017-10-09 "Fight Back in the Kitchen" (wav)
*Sun Ra and His Mythic Science Arkestra: The Paris Tapes: Live at le Theatre du Chatelet 1971 (disc 1)
*Various artists: Jazzmen: Detroit
*Various artists: Wildflowers: The New York Jazz Loft Sessions, Complete (disc 1)
*John Zorn/Rashanim: Masada Rock
*Can: Soundtracks
*Deerhoof: Mountain Moves
*Bob Dylan: The 1966 Live Recordings (discs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
*Funkadelic: Music for Your Mother: Funkadelic 45s  (disc 1)
*Guided By Voices: August by Cake
*Devadip Carlos Santana: Oneness: Silver Dreams - Golden Reality
*Soul Brothers Six: Some Kind of Wonderful (CDR compilation) (disc 1)
*Steely Dan: Gaucho Outtakes and Demos (1979-80)
*Various artists: Best of the British Dance Bands
*Various artists: Eccentric Soul: The Forte Label
*Various artists: Bombay Disco 2