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 2023-12-10

More exciting large orchestra arrangements from Roscoe Mitchell, with hefty helpings of Thomas Buckner vocals... always up for that... Planning on further explorations of Muhal Richard Abrams over the next few weeks... continuing my AACM listening... Tapering off of Mingus for a while now... although I must say his melodies reverberate in my head, like, all the time... Of Abstract Dreams is an excellent example of mid-70s Sun Ra, one of the best of the discoveries to come out most recently... definitely some choice John Gilmore there... 

Playlist 2023-12-11:

*Muhal Richard Abrams: Spiral: Live at Montreux 1978 (side 2)
*Muhal Richard Abrams: Blues Forever (sides 1, 2)
*Muhal Richard Abrams: Rejoicing with the Light (side 1)
*Art Ensemble Of Chicago: 1980-07-19 Den Haag, Netherlands (CDR)
*Derek Bailey/Pat Metheny/Gregg Bendian/Paul Wertico: The Sign Of 4 (disc 3)
*Book of Three: Continuum
*Rodger Coleman and Andrew Dickson: No Why, Just Is
*John Coltrane: Live in Paris (side 3)
*John Coltrane: Live in Japan (disc 1) "Peace on Earth"
*Dr. Octagon: Dr. Octagonecologyst
*George Duke: A Brazilian Love Affair
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Featuring Paul Gonsalves (sides 1, 2)
*Ensemble Dedalus & Erikm: Fata Morgana
*Jerry Garcia/Merl Saunders: 1971-05-20 San Francisco (CDR)
*Kate Gentile: Find Letter X (discs 2, 3)
*Grateful Dead: Dave's Picks Vol. 16 (1973-03-28 Springfield, MA) (disc 1)
*Grateful Dead: 1974-10-17 Winterland, SF (CDR) (disc 2)
*Grateful Dead: 1982-09-20 NYC (CDR) (discs 2, 3)
*Ned Lagin: Seastones (discs 1, 2)
*Ingrid Laubrock/Tom Rainey/Kris Davis/Ralph Alessi: Lark "Nit Splitting"
*Charles Mingus: The Jazz Workshop Concerts 1964-65 (disc 7)
*Matt Mitchell: Phalanx Ambassadors
*Roscoe Mitchell: Roscoe Mitchell Orchestra and Space Trio at the Fault Zone Festival
*Fats Navarro and Tadd Dameron: Complete Blue Note and Capitol Sessions (disc 1)
*Django Reinhardt: The Classic Early Recordings in Chronological Order (disc 1)
*Woody Shaw: The Complete Muse Sessions (discs 3, 4)
*Horace Silver Quintet: The Cape Verdean Blues
*Soft Machine: 1971-03-14 Breda, The Netherlands (CDR) (disc 2)
*Tyshawn Sorey: The Inner Spectrum of Variables (disc 1)
*Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra: Angels and Demons at Play
*Sun Ra: Astro Black (side 2)
*Sun Ra: Of Abstract Dreams
*Art Tatum: The Art Tatum Solo Masterpieces Vol. 1
*Cecil Taylor Big Band: 1995-07-03 NYC (CDR) (disc 1)
*Henry Threadgill Ensemble: The Other One
*Birgit Ulher/Franz Hautzinger: Kleine Trompetenmusik
*Frank Zappa: Nostalgia (boot CDR)
*John Zorn/Simulacrum: The True Discoveries of Witches and Demons
*John Zorn/The Dreamers: A Dreamers Christmas
*John Zorn: Bagatelles Vol. 3: Trigger

Playlist, Week of 2021-06-20

Another brilliant Roscoe Mitchell recording... can't have enough of 'em!

Playlist 2021-06-21:

*Tim Berne’s Snakeoil: Shadow Man "OC/DC"
*Booker T. & the MGs: Time Is Tight (disc 2)
*Marion Brown: Sweet Earth Flying
*Paul Chambers Sextet: Whims of Chambers
*Paul Chambers Quintet: Paul Chambers Quintet
*Chicago Trio: Velvet Songs (disc 2)
*Ornette Coleman Trio: At the "Golden Circle," Stockholm, Vol. 2
*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2009-07-23 Nashville (wav) track 3 (moon landing)
*Connie Crothers/David Arner: Spontaneous Suite for Two Pianos (disc 4)
*Kris Davis: Rye Eclipse
*Duke Ellington: His Piano and His Orchestra at the Bal Masque
*Gong: Acid Motherhood
*Guided By Voices: The Grand Hour (EP)
*Guided By Voices: I Am a Scientist (EP)
*Guided By Voices: The Official Ironmen Rally Song (CD single)
*Guided By Voices: The Pipe Dreams of Instant Prince Whippet (EP)
*Guided By Voices: Half Smiles of the Decomposed
*Joe Henderson: Black Narcissus
*Hypercolor: Hypercolor
*Susie Ibarra Trio: Songbird Suite
*Susie Ibarra: Folkloriko
*Jefferson Pilot: The Hopeless News
*Elvin Jones: The Complete Blue Note Elvin Jones Sessions (disc 3)
*Jackie McLean: Right Now!
*Charles Mingus Sextet: Concertgebuow Amsterdam April 10th, 1964 (sides 2, 4)
*Roscoe Mitchell & the Note Factory: Song for My Sister
*Muffins: Secret Signals 3
*Andrew Oliver/David Horniblow: The Complete Morton Project
*Didier Petit/Alexandre Pierrepont: Passages: A Road Record - Woodstock - New-York - Chicago - Los Angeles)
*Sun Ra: Outer Reach Intensity-Energy "Stars that Shine Darkly… (pt. 2)"
*Cecil Taylor: Looking Ahead! (side 1)
*Weather Report: Recordings of Wayne Shorter 2
*Yardbirds: Roger the Engineer

Playlist, Week of 2021-01-17

A new year, and the listening's good... Roscoe Mitchell's Splatter is a companion piece to Distant Radio Transmission, with two works featuring the Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bolagno, one being an alternate version of the composition "Distant Radio Transmission" featuring Thomas Buckner on mindblowing vocals... but the core of Splatter is devoted to "Breath and Pipes," a 45-minute improvisational duet from Mitchell and Francesco Filidei on this huge church organ... really moving, deeply beautiful simpatico playing...  In the universe of Miles Davis, standouts for me this week included Wynton Kelly's solo on "Pfrancing"... what the hell... Miles Ahead has always been my favorite of the Gil Evans collaborations... sublime orchestrations and gorgeous soloing... For whatever reason, the late Duke Ellington suites are tapping directly into where my brain is right now... I can't get enough of these... I do listen to other things, but it'd be super-easy to crank through nothing but 1960s Duke for the next few weeks... and not just because of Paul Gonsalves, who is consistently brilliant... and also in spite of Cat Anderson, who can be quite irritating (I have a limit on how many super-high-register screechy high trumpet notes I can tolerate, and it's way lower, evidently, than Duke's was)... 

Playlist 2021-01-18:

*Beatles: With the Beatles (2009 stereo remaster) (sides 1, 2)
*Beatles: Beatles for Sale (2009 stereo remaster) (sides 1, 2)
*Beatles: Rubber Soul (2009 stereo remaster) (side 1)
*Booker T. & the MGs: Soul Selections (CDR compilation)
*Anthony Braxton: Echo Echo Mirror House
*Daniel Carter/Matthew Shipp/William Parker/Gerald Cleaver: Welcome Adventure! Vol. 1
*Miles Davis: Chronicle: The Complete Prestige Recordings 1951-1956 (discs 4, 5)
*Miles Davis: Ascenseur pour l'Echafaud
*Miles Davis: Someday My Prince Will Come (side 1)
*Miles Davis/Gil Evans: The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings (disc 1)
*Miles Davis: The Complete On The Corner Sessions (disc 1) "On the Corner (Unedited Master)"
*Duke Ellington: The Complete Duke Ellington, Vol. 4: 1932 (side 2)
*Duke Ellington: 1940 "Fargo Encores" (side 2)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Duke Ellington Carnegie Hall Concerts, December, 1947 (disc 1)
*Duke Ellington: The Complete Capitol Recordings of Duke Ellington (disc 3)
*Duke Ellington: Ellington Uptown
*Duke Ellington: Soul Call
*Duke Ellington: New Orleans Suite
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Latin American Suite
*Duke Ellington: Togo Brava Suite
*Explorers Club: Together
*Grateful Dead: 1969-02-29 Fillmore West (CDR) "That's It for the Other One"
*Mary Halvorson's Code Girl: Artlessly Falling
*Herbie Hancock: The Prisoner (sides 1, 2)
*Jimi Hendrix Experience: Live in Maui (disc 1)
*Junk Magic: Compass Confusion
*Ingrid Laubrock: Dreamt Twice, Twice Dreamt (disc 1)
*Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin (2014 remaster) (disc 1)
*Roscoe Mitchell: Splatter
*Mario Pavone: Arc Trio
*Sun Ra & His Solar-Myth Arkestra: The Solar-Myth Approach Vols. 1 and 2 (disc 2)
*Sun Ra & His Arkestra: The Cymbals​/​Symbols Sessions (New York, 1973) (side 3)
*Sun Ra: The Other Side of the Sun
*Sun Ra: A Fireside Chat with Lucifer (side 1)
*Sun Ra Arkestra: Swirling
*Cecil Taylor/The Ensemble: The Light of Corona "One"
*Lennie Tristano: Lennie Tristano
*Various artists: 1000 Volts of Stax
*Various artists: 2000 Volts of Stax
*Various artists: 3000 Volts of Stax

On Roscoe Mitchell

Roscoe Mitchell (By Oliver Abels / CC BY-SA 4.0)

Watching Roscoe is fascinating. He’s two people. Before, between, and after a set, he sinks into the shadows, humbly trying to take up as little room as possible. It’s easy to forget he’s there. Onstage he’s one of the fiercest consuming presences I’ve ever seen. He fills the room and makes allowances for nothing. You’re smashed against the walls. Roscoe’s playing is nothing short of profound. His skill, technique and individuality is second to none, but that’s no mystery – he was regarded as one of the best sax players of the 60’s and 70’s and he’s never backed down. What makes him special comes from another place – the thing Coltrane and Ayler possessed. Something skill can’t achieve. Call it spirit, emotion, or whatever else. It’s beyond words. Roscoe’s music is mystical and ecstatic. It’s drawn from other worlds, taking you to the outer realms with every breath. Seeing Roscoe live has never ceased to be a revelation, and he gets better with every passing year. I own dozens of his records and even more that feature him. Nothing compares to what he places into a room. --Bradford Bailey, "The Ark of Oto (Okoroku)," 2016-01-24

Playlist, Week of 2018-06-10

Craig Taborn's Avenging Angel is rapidly becoming one of my favorite solo piano recordings... In my ongoing exploration of wonderful piano players, I really need to hear more Agustí Fernández... I know him mostly from his fantastic playing on several Barry Guy large ensemble recordings... I also love that trio recording with Joe Morris and Nate Wooley... Just for the hell of it, these are the pianists that are currently on my mind: Cecil Taylor (always and forever!), Craig Taborn, Agustí Fernández, Kris Davis, Marilyn Crispell, Muhal Richard Abrams, Bud Powell, Paul Bley, Matt Mitchell, Teddy Wilson, and of course Sun Ra (always and forever!)... Wonderful to hear the Braxton Zim Sextet fresh out of London... The new Roscoe Mitchell/Montreal-Toronto Art Orchestra CD is absolutely great... like Discussions before it, it has re-arrangements and re-imaginings for large ensemble of several of the trio improvisations featured on the two Conversations discs (with Craig Taborn and Kikanju Baku)... this approach is proving to be quite fruitful for Mitchell... I hope he continues to mine his improvs in this way...

Playlist 2018-06-11:

*Lotte Anker/Craig Taborn/Gerald Cleaver: Floating Islands
*Anthony Braxton: Sextet (Parker) 1993 (discs 9, 10, 11) (streaming)
*Anthony Braxton: Composition No. 146 (Moogie and Stetson) (streaming)
*Anthony Braxton Zim Sextet: 2018-05-28 London (CDR)
*Anthony Braxton Zim Sextet: 2018-05-29 London (CDR)
*Anthony Braxton Zim Sextet: 2018-05-30 London (CDR)
*Brötzmann/Noble: I Am Here Where Are You
*Bruford: Gradually Going Tornado
*Agustí Fernández: River Tiger Fire (disc 3)
*Annette Hanshaw: Volume 7, 1929-30
*Joseph Jarman: As If It Were the Seasons
*Masters of Disorientation: 1990-02-25 Birmingham, Eng. (CDR) (disc 1)
*Roscoe Mitchell Quartet: Celebrating Fred Anderson
*Roscoe Mitchell/Montreal-Toronto Art Orchestra: Ride the Wind
*New Ting Ting Loft: 2018-06-04 "Baby Stick Head Ambush Probe" (mp3)
*Evan Parker: 50th Birthday Concert (disc 1)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Jazz in Silhouette
*Sun Ra: The Shadows Took Shape (disc 1)
*Sun Ra: Of Abstract Dreams
*Sun Ra: Sun Ra Radio Premier, Part 2 (streaming)
*Craig Taborn: Junk Magic
*Craig Taborn: Avenging Angel
*Cecil Taylor: Silent Tongues
*Lily Allen: No Shame
*Dark Carpet: 2018-04-27 Brooklyn, NY (CDR)
*Dr. Dog: Critical Equation
*Mike Elder/Harry Forrest/Greg Jordan/Sam Byrd: 2018-04-07 (wav)
*Firesign Theatre: The Tale of the Giant Rat of Sumatra
*Lee Hazlewood: Requiem for an Almost Lady
*Jefferson Pilot: The Optimist Field
*Bruce Springsteen: The Ties That Bind: The River Collection (disc 3)
*Various artists: History of Electronic/Electroacoustic Music (CDR compilation) (disc 12)
*Various artists: Music for Merce (1952-2009) (disc 4)
*Various artists: Technicolor Paradise: Rhum Rhapsodies & Other Exotic Delights (disc 2)
*Various artists: Eccentric Soul: The Outskirts of Deep City
*Various artists: Eccentric Soul: The Prix Label
*Mike Watt: The Secondman's Middle Stand
*Brian Wilson: Brian Wilson
*Yes: 1976-06-17 Jersey City, NJ (CDR) (disc 1)

Playlist, Week of 2018-04-01

I am on a Roscoe Mitchell roll after having seen him at Big Ears last week... It's been an awful lot of music to absorb, but I think I've been up to the task, heh heh.... I love his orchestration of "Nonaah" as played by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra... why doesn't that kind of thing happen regularly in the States?... oh, yeah, right, forget I asked...

Playlist 2018-04-02:

*Anthony Braxton: Sextet (Parker) 1993 (disc 7) (streaming)
*Anthony Braxton: 4 Compositions (Ulrichsberg) 2005 Phonomanie VIII (disc 4)
*Anthony Braxton/Milford Graves/William Parker: Beyond Quantum
*Decoy with Joe McPhee: Spontaneous Combustion (disc 1)
*Kate Gentile: Mannequins
*Vijay Iyer Sextet: Far from Over
*Mephista: Entomological Reflections
*Roscoe Mitchell Quartet: Live at “A Space” 1975
*Roscoe Mitchell and the Sound Ensemble: Snurdy McGurdy and Her Dancin’ Shoes
*Roscoe Mitchell: Duets with Tyshawn Sorey and Special Guest Hugh Ragin
*Roscoe Mitchell/Fred Frith/George Lewis/BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra: 2014-02-22 Glasgow (CDR)
*Roscoe Mitchell Trio: No Side Effects (disc 1)
*Roscoe Mitchell Trio: Angel City
*Roscoe Mitchell Discussions Orchestra: Discussions
*New Ting Ting Loft: 2018-03-19 "Cornering the Market" (wav)
*New Ting Ting Loft: 2018-03-26 "Bowser Intake Ratio" (wav)
*Evan Parker: Monoceros
*Ernesto Rodrigues/Guilherme Rodrigues/Daniel Barbiero: {the} nature {of things} likes to hide
*Henry Threadgill Zooid: 2010-06-24 NYC (CDR) (disc 2)
*Henry Threadgill Zooid: 2011-11-25 Poznan, Poland (CDR)
*James Blood Ulmer with The Thing: Baby Talk
*Ben Webster with Strings: Music for Loving (disc 1)
*John Barry: Thunderball (Definitive Soundtrack Collection)
*Clash: Sandinista! (disc 1)
*Firesign Theatre: Dear Friends
*Tim Gane & Sean O'Hagan: La Vie d'Artiste (disc 1)
*Sonic Youth: Murray Street
*Various artists: Anthology of Noise and Electronic Music #7: Seventh and Last a-Chronology 1930-2012 (disc 2)
*Various artists: Eccentric Soul: The Bandit Label
*Yardbirds: Live Yardbirds! Featuring Jimmy Page

Brief Report: 2018 Big Ears Festival

I was lucky enough to be able to attend two days of the 2018 Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, and it was a deeply overwhelming experience, full of positivity, good vibes, and unbelievably challenging and inspiring music. Here's a brief report on what I saw. I took all these pictures; yes, they suck but there are plenty of places where you can see better ones.

Friday started of with a major implosion of space and time in my mind, with Roscoe Mitchell Trio Five: Vincent Davis on drums and Junius Paul on bass. I could quibble a little with the standard inclusion of bass and drum solos--they seemed to be there mainly to give Roscoe a chance to rest--but when he was playing, all three were on fire: high, high free energy in the finest, classic sense of that music. I was not familiar with Junius Paul, but Vincent Davis I knew from the excellent trio album No Side Effects. Much of this set was similar to that record: fiery, out, intense explosions of energy from one of the masters.

Well, that set alone would have been enough to last me a year, but there was much more to come. After catching most of a solo set from Ikue Mori (loud and intriguing), we had to split to catch Rocket Science.

A quartet organized by trumpeter Peter Allen, the main draw for me was sax giant Evan Parker. They played a brilliant hour-long improvisation, and I loved how Parker and Allen played off each other. Rarely subtle, the electronics punctuation and sound manipulation of Sam Pluta added a layer of noise to the proceedings that worked most of the time, but I felt he ran out of ideas halfway through. Not true for Craig Taborn, whose brilliant command of the piano varied between quiet, subtle ruminations to aggressive counter-attentions to the electronics. This was my first time seeing all these folks, and they just blew me away, Taborn especially.

From one giant to another: the majestic Milford Graves doing a solo set in a big theatre setting at the Bijou. Anything I say about this set will sound hokey, but it was truly transcendent and life-affirming. Graves expostulated about life, his approach to the drums, his approach to life, in a thoroughly engaging and sometime hilarious manner. He talked about applying martial arts movements and actions to his drumming, and he demonstrated on the drums. He vocalized in... Japanese? American Indian? gibberish? ( I heard "big ears" in there somewhere.) And he did things on and with the drums that I've never seen or imagined before. It was truly amazing.

The evening ended with an Evan Parker solo performance in a church with gorgeous acoustics. Another mind-blowing stunner of a set! This was my favorite of the three contexts I saw Parker participate in--amazing dexterity, breath control, multiphonics, throat singing, interstellar space-out virtuosity. Check out this sample.

The next day got jump started with a high-energy duo from skronk-samba guitarist Arto Lindsay and powerhouse Thing drummer Paal Nilssen-Love (this was to make up for my wimping out and missing The Thing's show late Friday night!). Wake up!

After that, it was back over to another church with great acoustics for a stellar set from the Evan Parker Electro-Acoustic Ensemble. Hard to see, since all the band member were on the same level as the audience (here you can just see Craig Taborn at the piano and Ikue Mori on laptop), but wonderful to listen to. This was a beautiful, wide-ranging improvisation, with excellent contributions from all involved, especially Taborn on piano and Ned Rothenberg on bass clarinet and flute.

I didn't get in line in time to see the duet performance of Milford Graves with pianist Jason Moran, dammit. I did manage to get in for most of the encore, and what I heard was a fiery Cecil Taylor-ish maelstrom of energy. Here's a short video clip. I loved Moran's playing when I saw with Anthony Braxton at the Kennedy Center; he should take it out more often, he fits right in!

The final show I saw, and the absolute highlight of the entire festival was Roscoe Mitchell Trios back at the Bijou. Oh my gawd. Similar to the structure of Bells for the South Side, Mitchell conducted and played through a series of sub-set trios with the large band he had assembled, in differnt configurations, before finishing with a heart-stopping crescendo climax with the entire group--and what a group. Craig Taborn again--on piano and electronics--was simply outstanding, and in his short statement on electronics said more than any other single electronic artist I saw the whole festival. The Sound Ensemble rhythm section of Tani Tabbal and Jaribu Shahid, plus percussionist Ches Smith and Chicago drummer Mike Reed, plus Tyshawn Sorey on drums, percussion, piano, and toy piano, plus James Fei on reeds and electronics and Hugh Ragin on trumpet! Damn! I am not doing this music justice--I hope it was recorded. Here are a couple of video snippets to whet your appetite.

Playlist, Week of 2016-11-06

This quartet is killer: Roscoe, Jodie Christian on piano, Malachi Favors on bass, and the transcendent Steve McCall on drums. I saw a slightly different quartet play "The Flow of Things" in Boston--a show I wish had been recorded!--with Richard Davis on bass and Tani Tabbal on drums in place of Favors and McCall. My god, what a show. I was lucky enough to see Steve McCall in person--once--at the Village Vanguard with Arthur Blythe, doing standards.

Playlist 2016-11-07:

*Muhal Richard Abrams & Roscoe Mitchell: Spectrum
*Borah Bergman and Roscoe Mitchell: The Italian Concert
*Elliott Carter: CDR compilation (disc 2)
*Rodger Coleman & Andrew Dickson: 2016-11-02 Nashville (mp3)
*Elton Dean: Elton Dean
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Treasury Shows, Vol. 12 (disc 1)
*Stan Getz/Charlie Byrd: Jazz Samba
*Gianmarco Liguori: Duga-3
*Roscoe Mitchell Quartet: The Flow of Things
*Roscoe Mitchell and Muhal Richard Abrams: Duets and Solos
*Music Revelation Ensemble: Knights of Power
*Herbie Nichols: The Complete Blue Note Recordings
*Tom Rainey Trio: 2016-07-01 NYC (CDR) (disc 1)
*Sun Ra: Strange Celestial Road
*Sun Ra: Omniverse
*Sun Ra: 1979-08-14 Squat Theatre, NYC (CDR) (disc 1)
*Sun Ra and His Cosmo Jetset Arkestra: 1979-09-28 Ann Arbor (CDR)
*Cecil Taylor Trio: 1975-06-09 Village Gate, NYC (wav)
*Cecil Taylor Unit: 1975-07-25 Antibes (wav)
*Cecil Taylor: 2016-04-14 Whitney Museum, NYC (CDR)
*Third Rail: South Delta Space Age
*David Torn: Prezens
*UMO Jazz Orchestra: UMO Plays The Music Of Muhal Richard Abrams
*John Zorn's Cobra: Live at the Knitting Factory
*John Zorn: Valentine's Day
*Ahleuchatistas: What You Will
*David Bowie: Aladdin Sane
*Carmen Electra: On Top (boot CDR)
*Leslie Garcia: Humming (soundcloud)
*Guided By Voices: Suitcase: Failed Experiments And Trashed Aircraft (discs 1, 2, 3)
*Osanna: Palepoli
*UYA: 1990-02-01 Big Balls (wav)
*UYA: 1990-02-11 Income Evasion (wav)
*UYA: 1990-02-12 Living the Classix (wav)
*UYA: 1990-02-22 (wav)