Two Excellent Articles from Daniel Barbiero

Actually, one is an essay and one's a review. Both are well worth reading:



A review of Jack Wright's new book...

...and an intriguing essay about free improvisation. Building on notions of self-exposure, he says:

The central, medium-independent content of free improvisation is the improviser’s disclosure of him- or herself, from the first person perspective. ...

Think of how music can convey an emotion such as agitation—with rapid flurries of notes, loud dynamics, dissonant pitch combinations it can model the restlessness and unease of an agitated emotional state. ... What is being represented is the state of the improviser, the first person perspective on the performance, in the medium of organized sound. ...

The expressive part of free improvisation’s content can be described—we can say of a player that his line is agitated or her harmonies are anxious—but in itself it isn’t description. Through the agitated line or anxious harmonies the performer isn’t describing his or her state but rather is expressing it.

The only caveat I would have for that is: don't underestimate the power of acting. My playing may be agitated, but I may be pretending, not expressing....

I love thinking about playing in this way, and Daniel's writing about music always gets in deep.

Playlist, Week of 2017-05-07

Not much to say about the new 3-CD set of Sun Ra singles except that the sound is much improved over the Evidence release. That, and finally having clean, best-sounding-ever versions of the Pat Patrick-heavy single "A Blue One" and "Orbitration in Blue," only rediscovered after the Evidence set came out, make this a must-have collection... The Ingrid Laubrock recording with the Serenus Zeitblom Oktett is more than just her sitting in (I realize my use of the word "just" could be taken pejoratively, but I don't mean it that way); it's a five-part composition by her, and it is wonderful. Strange and spacey at times, the string-heavy instrumentation (two electric guitars, viola, cello, electric bass) plus vibraphone is a great setting for her saxophone work... it's definitely an ensemble piece, not a concerto for saxophone... that being said, at times, it's downright Braxtonian... excellent music... Still loving the Barry Guy New Orchestra discs... I have been working my way through Andy Partidge's Fuzzy Warbles series... many gems scattered throughout, but also many reasons to remind me why he can be so infuriating and irritating at times, with many (most?) of the demos of XTC songs not so different from the released versions as to merit much interest, and with several pieces being just abrasive and self-indulgent (like "The Laugh Track" or "Jacob's Ladder")... but then he includes masterworks like "I Defy You Gravity" and "I Don't Want to Be Here" and all is forgiven...

Playlist 2017-05-08:

*Anthony Braxton: Trillium E (disc 4)
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium J (disc 1)
*Rodger Coleman & Sam Byrd: 2007-12-29 Nashville
*Rodger Coleman/Sam Byrd: Perihelion
*Eric Dolphy: Iron Man
*Barry Guy New Orchestra: Oort-Entropy
*Barry Guy New Orchestra: Amphi • Radio Rondo
*Mary Halvorson Septet: Illusionary Sea
*Ingrid Laubrock: Serpentines
*Manfred Schoof: European Echoes
*Sun Ra: Singles: The Definitive 45s Collection 1952-1991 (disc 1)
*John Zorn/Simulacrum: 49 Acts of Unspeakable Depravity in the Abominable Life and Times of Gilles de Rais
*New Ting Ting Loft: 2017-04-17: "Unsudden Settling into Grey Emotion" (wav)
*Serenus Zeitblom Oktett with Ingrid Laubrock: 2016-09-06 Sardinia, Italy (CDR)
*Cecil Taylor Unit: 1981-11-07 Zurich (wav)
*Beach Boys: Made in California (disc 3)
*David Bowie: Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars (The Motion Picture Soundtrack) (disc 1)
*Al Bowlly: Just a Bowl of Cherries
*Deerhoof: selections
*Henry Cow: Late
*Joy Division: Closer
*Andy Partridge: The Official Fuzzy Warbles Collector's Album (disc 9)
*Prince and the Revolution: Around the World in a Day
*Todd Rundgren: Box o'Todd (disc 2)
*UYA: 1991-04-17 Metalayers (wav)
*UYA: 1991-04-21 Castle Shadows (wav)

Reading List, Week of 2017-05-07

Reading List 2017-05-08:

*Corey, James S. A. Caliban's War (finished)
*Jackson, Holbrook. Anatomy of Bibliomania (in progress)
*Shakespeare and the Digital World (ed. Christie Carson and Peter Kirwan) (in progress)
*Silliman, Ron. The Alphabet (in progress)

Playlist, Week of 2017-04-30

Really enjoying Ingrid Laubrock's contribution to Music for a Film That Never Was, an anthology of invited musical contributions to imagined films. I love the concept, and her "Mississippi" is a mysterious, undulating evocation of a watery realm, scenes taking place on sunken ships... The Tony Williams Lifetime is a group I wish I'd really gotten into when they were active. I didn't discover them until the '80s. I prefer Turn It Over because of the addition of Jack Bruce. I can hear a definite influence of Tony Williams on the drumming of Bill Bruford with King Crimson. In many ways Lifetime is like an alternative Crimson with more organ and less posturing... I need to go back to Yamataka Eye and John Zorn's first duo recording to compare, but it's hard to see how it could be any better than Naninani II... there's so much going on, it's wonderfully varied in both texture and mood, and it feels like there's less screaming (not that I mind Eye's screaming, but less of it leaves room for the subtle keyboard and percussion work that's going on)... I always listen a bit every week to stuff I've played on; not only does it help my analyze (and try to improve) my own playing, but I always find that there's so much going on that I've missed, whether because of being so much in the moment, or paying attention to one part over another, or due to placement in the room and differing sound levels... I particularly find this to be the case with New Ting Ting Loft improvisations, and last week's piece "Unsudden Settling into Grey Emotion" is no exception. For this one we tended to stay quiet for a good 20 minutes before breaking out the volume, which doesn't always happen... it makes for interesting textures and tensions...

Playlist 2017-05-01:

*Bloodcount: Saturation Point
*Anthony Braxton/Evan Parker: Duo (London) 1993
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium E (discs 2, 3)
*Stephan Crump/Ingrid Laubrock/Cory Smythe: Planktonic Finales
*Yamataka Eye and John Zorn: Naninani II
*Barry Guy New Orchestra: Oort-Entropy
*New Ting Ting Loft: 2017-04-10 "Swipe Out" (m4a)
*New Ting Ting Loft: 2017-04-17: "Unsudden Settling into Grey Emotion" (wav)
*Herbie Nichols: The Complete Blue Note Recordings (disc 3)
*Paradoxical Frog: 2011-06-10 Vision Festival, NYC (CDR)
*Various artists: Music for a Film That Never Was (streaming)
*Tony Williams: Spring
*Tony Williams Lifetime: Turn It Over
*Ahleuchatistas: Of the Body Prone
*Deerhoof: La Isla Bonita
*Steve Hackett: Voyage of the Acolyte
*Henry Cow: Cow Cabinet of Curiosities
*Andy Partridge: Fuzzy Warbles 5
*Andy Partridge: Fuzzy Warbles 6
*Various artists: Hot Women: Women Singers from the Torrid Regions of the World
*Various artists: Rum Punch
*Frank Zappa/Mothers of Invention: Road Tapes, Venue #2 (1973) (disc 1)

Reading List, Week of 2017-04-30

Reading List 2017-05-01:

*Corey, James S. A. Caliban's War (started)
*Shakespeare and the Digital World (ed. Christie Carson and Peter Kirwan) (started)
*Kirkman, Robert, et al. The Walking Dead (issues 64-67) (started/finished)
*Corey, James S. A. Leviathan Wakes (finished)
*Jackson, Holbrook. Anatomy of Bibliomania (in progress)
*Silliman, Ron. The Alphabet (in progress)

Playlist, Week of 2017-04-23

More free-form thoughts:  Planktonic Finales is more evidence of the deep wondrousness of Ingrid Laubrock's playing... I am just starting to learn more about Keiji Haino, and am perhaps starting bass-ackwards since I am checking out his recent DJ works instead of going back to early solo works or Fushitsusha, but what the hell. This is cool stuff, Plunderphonically fascinating... When I need a kick in my drumming rear, Tony Williams' hard-driving work with Lifetime always does the trick. I'm not crazy about his vocals, but when the grooves kick in, watch out! ... The Barry Guy large ensemble albums are simply gorgeous, and I am especially enjoying Agusti Fernandez's piano work in this context... he is someone whose playing I have enjoyed exploring over the past couple of years (same with Alexander Hawkins)... Over the past few months I have been working my way through the UYA archives, and that continues to be a fascinating process (more on that way later).... I have been stretching out my jaunt through the first 20 volumes of the Duke Ellington Treasury Shows, a treasure trove of Ellingtonia airshots from the mid-1940s. It's been good to listen a little at a time since there is a fair amount of repetition, but there are gems throughout... Tony Oxley is continually inspiring. On Digger's Harvest his playing is typically brilliant, with his command and deployment of clattering textures and dynamic levels, qualities I strive for in my playing...

Playlist 2017-04-24:

*Terry Adams & Marshall Allen: Ten by Two
*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (Santa Cruz) 1993 (disc 2)
*Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet: Asphalt Flowers Forking Paths
*Stephan Crump/Ingrid Laubrock/Cory Smythe: Planktonic Finales
*George Duke: I Love the Blues, She Heard My Cry
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Treasury Shows, Vol. 20 (disc 1)
*Duke Ellington: Masterpieces by Ellington
*Yamataka Eye and John Zorn: Naninani II
*Michael Formanek/Tim Berne/Jeff Hirshfield: Loose Cannon
*Barry Guy New Orchestra: Oort-Entropy
*Barry Guy New Orchestra: Amphi • Radio Rondo
*Booker Little: Out Front
*John McLaughlin/Jaco Pastorius/Tony Williams: Trio Of Doom
*Evan Parker/Walter Prati: Hall of  Mirrors
*Annette Peacock & Paul Bley: Dual Unity
*Ivo Perelman: Soul
*Alexander von Schlippenbach & Tony Oxley: Digger's Harvest
*Tony Williams: Life Time
*Tony Williams Lifetime: Emergency
*Ahleuchatistas: Even in the Midst…
*David Bowie: Re:Call 1 (disc 2)
*Car Seat Headrest: Teens of Style
*Emerson Lake & Palmer: Brain Salad Surgery
*Grateful Dead: 1969-02-22 Vallejo, CA (CDR)
*Keiji Haino: Experimental Mixture- In the World (disc 1)
*Henry Cow: Beginnings
*King Crimson: THRaKaTTaK
*NRBQ: All Hopped Up
*OOIOO: Shock City Shockers, Vol. 2: OOIOO Remix
*Primus: Pork Soda (selections)
*UYA: 1991-03-06/10 Halfway Up (wav)
*UYA: 1991-04-03/07 Tempohole (wav)
*UYA: 1991-04-14 Salutes and Lost Love (wav)
*Zevious: Passing Through the Wall

Reading List week of 2017-04-23

Reading List 2017-04-24:

*Corey, James S. A. Leviathan Wakes (started)
*Burnet, Graeme Macrae. His Bloody Project (started/finished)
*Kirkman, Robert, et al. The Walking Dead (issues 45-63) (started/finished)
*Moody, Rick. Hotels of North America (finished)
*Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice (Arden 3rd series, ed. John Drakakis) (reread/finished)
*Jackson, Holbrook. Anatomy of Bibliomania (in progress)
*Silliman, Ron. The Alphabet (in progress)