Funny Rat

[Д.Д.]

You make that solo Watts disc sound good, David. Added to the list.

I can hardly imagine you being disappointed. Edited April 30, 2006 by Д.Д.

[Guest akanalog]

FMRCD119 INNOVATION Amalgam

Already paid for the order so it's too late for me to make changes. Still, any thoughts on these discs?

i really like that amalgam disc. it might be too prosaic for a funny ratt-er? it is weird. i don't know too much tippett, but i would imagine this is one of his most straight performances. but it is isn't a straight set. just sort of rhythmically um plodding?

on FMR by amalgam i would also recommend samanna (more fusion-ey in a prime time sort of way) and prayer for peace (the most out and the earliest of the bunch thought not really out at all-just looser as it is a sax trio). not so much on another time, where i find the longest track sort of repetitive. this album is also in the prime time vein.

for more straighter sort of british jazz on FM you could also check out john taylor's pause and think again with surman, wheeler, levin, slutsman, etc... which if you enjoyed the recent taylor MPS reissue, you will definitely enjoy.

and john surman's morning glory is also a great one with rypdal, marshall, griffiths, etc.

[Д.Д.]

I think I also need more Tilbury. Amazon.de has this little thingy:

Feldman. Tilbury. That's a 4-CD set, mind you. Any thoughts?

that Feldman Tilbury box is among the most essential items in my collection, the last two CDs are as good as music gets. I doubt Amazon.de actually has one, they're hard to find these days, although I believe you can still get them from Matchless directly.

Don't have the reputation to be the best interpretation of MORTON FEDMAN piano music mostly because the quality of the piano.

Got the set from amazon.de (amazon.de rules - marked difference to more than a bit ureliable amazon.fr and truly fuck-up of a service amazon.co.uk. In my 3-year history of purchasing from amazon.de (= many, many CDs), there was only one CD that they did not manage to deliver - and I got a €5 credit!; decided this was my Eldorado and ordered the same CD again - only to receive it one week later).

Looking forward to listening to it. But so far, gonna finish this one:

[Д.Д.]

FMRCD119 INNOVATION Amalgam

Already paid for the order so it's too late for me to make changes. Still, any thoughts on these discs?

i really like that amalgam disc. it might be too prosaic for a funny ratt-er? it is weird. i don't know too much tippett, but i would imagine this is one of his most straight performances. but it is isn't a straight set. just sort of rhythmically um plodding?

on FMR by amalgam i would also recommend samanna (more fusion-ey in a prime time sort of way) and prayer for peace (the most out and the earliest of the bunch thought not really out at all-just looser as it is a sax trio). not so much on another time, where i find the longest track sort of repetitive. this album is also in the prime time vein.

for more straighter sort of british jazz on FM you could also check out john taylor's pause and think again with surman, wheeler, levin, slutsman, etc... which if you enjoyed the recent taylor MPS reissue, you will definitely enjoy.

and john surman's morning glory is also a great one with rypdal, marshall, griffiths, etc.

I have one of the FMR Amalgam reissues: "Another Time" - need to get to finally listen to it (particualrly after being so impressed by Watts' solo disc).

[.:.impossible]

I walked into a new store today here in town and grabbed a few things as an early birthday present to myself! Is anyone familiar with Environment for Sextet? I know pretty much nothing about it, and haven't heard much of the Ictus label at all, but it sort of stuck out so I picked it up. It is the Italian CD re-issue from the nineties, though I just read that the catalog is not being reissued again? Any thoughts on this recording, or the label itself?

I have it, but have never listened to it. Will check listen to it soon and report here.

I gave it a listen today in the car. The recording is not very dynamic, in that there doesn't seem to be any separation between the instruments. I'm not sure about audiophile terminology, so you'll have to bear with me. I will say this, when the music is cluttered, its cluttered, when its sparse, its sparse. I probably won't be listening to this too much. It was running a little long into the third track and lost my attention.

[Guest akanalog]

i.

I have one of the FMR Amalgam reissues: "Another Time" - need to get to finally listen to it (particualrly after being so impressed by Watts' solo disc).

well i found that amalgam to be my least favorite, DD, but i think you have a more regal ear than i do. see what you think. one of the longer songs is just so annoying with it's repetitive bassline.

[Guest Chaney]

Updated for May, PARIS Transatlantic Magazine and the What's New section of the European Free Improvisation Pages.

[king ubu]

Am I allowed in here for a second? You've all been too far out for me, of late... having spent quite some money and time on much more conventional, jazz-leaning stuff, there haven't been many occasions for me to join in here.

Here's a disc I just got from the 5$ sales at CDbaby's:

grand mal

Kyle Bruckmann (oboe, english horn, suana)

Ernesto Diaz-Infante (acoustic guitar)

John Shiurba (electric guitar)

Karen Stackpole (percussion)

barely auditable records 1234 / pax recordings

I'm halfway into this, and it's quite good so far. Here's the AMG review:

This album (which bears no filiation with the Amsterdam improv trio Grand Mal) is a beautiful meeting between East Coast and West Coast free improvisers. Technically a first meeting, it is backed by a complex network of previous experiences between all four musicians. The music sounds fresh, exciting, and genre-pushing, and has been beautifully captured by engineer Myles Boisen. The defining personality of the session is Chicagoan Kyle Bruckmann. His double-reed instruments (oboe, English horn, and suona) unfold unusual sounds and he twists them around the other players, drawing a path through the maze of the music. Using circular breathing, he produces long shimmering drones. He occasionally takes a lot of space, eclipsing the other players (in "Shaking Palsy" in particular), but not to the point of disturbing the force. Ernesto Diaz-Infante and John Shiurba entangle their strings (acoustic and electric, respectively). Diaz-Infante provides mostly textures, his quiet playing involving guitar preparations and the use of a small fan at some point. Shiurba is more lively, throwing muffled chords like bumps on the ride or strident cries. Percussionist Karen Stackpole (a member of the Left Coast Improv Group, with Diaz-Infante) plays a delicate role. Sticking to hand-held instruments and cymbals, she flutters around the others, shaking, rubbing, rarely striking something loudly. Her sense of time and place is mostly impeccable — Grand Mal could be her best session yet. The music sits comfortably on a tension line between maximalist and minimalist improv. Recommended.

by François Couturier

Just had to google what a "suona" is, seems to be a traditional Chinese double-reed instrument (prob. similar to the shenai and the nagaswaram in India):

The suona is one of the most wide-spread wind instruments, found in all ethnic groups in China. A "shawm" of Central Asia (a region was formerly known as Persia and Arabia) origin, its name was originally a transliteration of a foreign term, surna. It was introduced into China in the Jin and Yuan period, at first to inspire the soldiery. Later it came to be commonly used by the people for all entertainment and social functions. It was recorded in Sancai tuhui by Wong Qi of the Ming Dynasty that "the suona has the shape of a trumpet as for when it came about, it was unknown. Presumably it was for the soldiery, but now it is used by the common people."

Three types of suona now exist: the bass suona is solemn and deep, the alto suona is vigorous and sonorous, and the soprano suona, strident to the point of piercing.

It is used in festive celebrations, on happy occasions, weddings, funerals, and for religious functions. In the context of the Chinese orchestra, it has been constantly reformed and improved, and today, there are keyed soprano, keyed alto, keyed tenor and keyed bass versions. The variety adds to the versatility of the instrument and expand their range of expressiveness.

source: http://www.hkjycco.org.hk/English/inst_info/eng_wind.html

[Guest Chaney]

$5 for Grand Mal? Nice. That's a date I'm very fond of.

[king ubu]

$5 for Grand Mal? Nice. That's a date I'm very fond of.

I got another Diaz-Infante disc, (as is stated...before known) from CDbaby's 5$ sales, haven't played it yet. That one's a duo with Chris Forsyth.

Ernesto Diaz-Infante & Chris Forsyth - "As Is Stated... Before Known" (Pax Recordings/Evolving Ear 2004, PR90263/EE07)

Uploaded to Aural Innovations: June 2004

As Is Stated... Before Known is Ernesto and Chris' fourth duo recording, and once again features Ernesto on acoustic and Chris on electric guitar. This may be their most subtle, and consequently most demanding album yet. It's always amazes me how adept these guys are at pure sound creation. The opening track features the acoustic guitar laying down a rolling, droning ambient drift, while Chris colors the music with rumbles and groans. "Tomorrow" is a highlight on which Ernesto's strumming creates a sort of avant-garde Shoegazer feel. The tension builds as Chris uses the strumming groove as the canvas to paint little sonic nuggets of electric guitar manipulation. And the boys get a bit into space on "Six Years", with it's dark atmospherics and head throbbing pulsations.

But it's the quiet, understated melodic-dissonance of the album that grabbed me on most of these tracks. My favorites consist of Ernesto doing his textural acoustic magic as a foundation for Chris' string scratchings and various other techniques. Just dig that fluttering sensation he creates during "On A Morning Five Years Ago". "Some Years Since" is a bit different, if only because Chris decides to take off for a while and do some nimble dancing about the fretboard. As usual, these guys excel at exploring sound and the possibilities of what can be communicated through their stringed instruments.

For more information you can visit the Pax Recordings web site at: http://www.paxrecordings.com.

Email at: info@paxrecordings.com.

Visit the Evolving Ear web site at: http://www.evolvingear.com.

Email at: info@evolvingear.com.

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

source: http://aural-innovations.com/2004/june/pax04.html

[Guest Chaney]

Just noticed that Hauts Plateaux (Potlatch) w/ Daunik Lazro (alto & baritone saxophones) and Carlos Alves “Zingaro” (violin & electronics) is now out of print.

Anyone interested better round up one of the remaining copies now.

[Д.Д.]

Here's a disc I just got from the 5$ sales at CDbaby's:

grand mal

Kyle Bruckmann (oboe, english horn, suana)

Ernesto Diaz-Infante (acoustic guitar)

John Shiurba (electric guitar)

Karen Stackpole (percussion)

barely auditable records 1234 / pax recordings

I'm halfway into this, and it's quite good so far. Here's the AMG review:

I hated this one - tried it 2-3 times, but never managed to finish. I thought Bruckmann sounded extremely ugly and monotonous (and in general I just love oboe sound!), and the whole disc had a rumbling, midless feel to it. I have Bruckmann's solo Entymology, also on bar, and I while I appareciated the instrumental virtuosity, it also didn't sound too interesting to me.

Liked Stackpole's percussion work on Grand Mal, though.

I have several Diaz-Infante discs, including a couple of solo piano ones as well as duos with Forsyth, and I thought they were all very interesting. Solo paino stuff is quirky pseudo-Feldmanesque minimalism, and guitar duos I need to revisit. A lot of Pax releases are a part of CDbaby $5-sale - and they are definitely worth checking out.

[Д.Д.]

Just noticed that Hauts Plateaux (Potlatch) w/ Daunik Lazro (alto & baritone saxophones) and Carlos Alves “Zingaro” (violin & electronics) is now out of print.

Anyone interested better round up one of the remaining copies now.

Grab this one asap!

[Д.Д.]

I walked into a new store today here in town and grabbed a few things as an early birthday present to myself! Is anyone familiar with Environment for Sextet? I know pretty much nothing about it, and haven't heard much of the Ictus label at all, but it sort of stuck out so I picked it up. It is the Italian CD re-issue from the nineties, though I just read that the catalog is not being reissued again? Any thoughts on this recording, or the label itself?

I have it, but have never listened to it. Will check listen to it soon and report here.

I gave it a listen today in the car. The recording is not very dynamic, in that there doesn't seem to be any separation between the instruments. I'm not sure about audiophile terminology, so you'll have to bear with me. I will say this, when the music is cluttered, its cluttered, when its sparse, its sparse. I probably won't be listening to this too much. It was running a little long into the third track and lost my attention.

Well, I tried this one, and it didn't work for me either. I agree about extremely narrow dynamic range. There is this fairly monotonous peep emanating form unidentified instruments with muddily-recorded clumsy drumming on the top of it. Turned it off after 20 minutes.

i.

I have one of the FMR Amalgam reissues: "Another Time" - need to get to finally listen to it (particualrly after being so impressed by Watts' solo disc).

well i found that amalgam to be my least favorite, DD, but i think you have a more regal ear than i do. see what you think. one of the longer songs is just so annoying with it's repetitive bassline.

Regal ear? Meaning I am more likely to enjoy crap?

I've actually initiated a mercyless "jazz" CD purge with more than 50 CDs going into get-rid-of bin already. David Murray and Ran Blake have been practically eliminated. Roland Kirk eliminated completely. Of old favorities, a lot (but not all) of Braxton, Mingus, Pullen, Booker Ervin, Roscoe Mitchell and later-perioud Sun Ra will follow soon. Coltrane Atlantic box will go (will buy some individula discs from it, though), and some of Ornette too. Most CIMPs as well.

Haven't listened to much improv these days - mostly have been going through excellent ethnic music releaes on Network, particualrly enjoying really groovy Pakistan/Sindh stuff:

Edited May 4, 2006 by Д.Д.

[B. Clugston]

Bill Shoemaker reviews the Ictus box in the latest Point of Departure:

Imagine you have lost your main source of income, a bad shoulder prevents you from finding new work, and an earthquake has destroyed your home. In the face of all this, starting a record label devoted to improvised music would be, to put it mildly, counter intuitive. However, Italian percussionist Andrea Centazzo did just that in 1976, creating Ictus, “the creative label for creative music.” Within a half dozen years, Ictus became one of the bolder artist-operated labels in a halcyon era for such enterprises. Early Ictus LPs found Centazzo performing in Italy with established figures like Derek Bailey, Alvin Curran, Steve Lacy and Evan Parker. Centazzo also ventured to the US as early as ‘78, showing remarkable prescience by recording with a wide swath of emerging artists including Eugene Chadbourne, Rova Saxophone Quartet and John Zorn....

http://www.pointofdeparture.org/PoD5MoreMoments2.html

[Guest Chaney]

Thanks B. for the link.

Sets sounds pretty darned impressive. I'm very nearly pleased that I ordered it!

[jon abbey]

those Shoemaker reviews are so superficial, I'm not sure how anyone could take much out of them. "A Moment's Notice" seems pretty accurate, I passed on sending him review copies of Ersts.

[John B]

I just heard that Ayler has a new album ready for pre-order:

Charles Gayle Trio - Live at Glenn Miller Café (aylCD-015)

Charles Gayle, as - Gerald Benson, b - Michael Wimberly, dr

Recorded at Glenn Miller Café, Stockholm on February 12, 2006

Based on Jan's brief comments it sounds like they are playing standards for this set.

Ayler is also offering free shipping on Silkheart titles now.

Edited May 5, 2006 by John B

[Д.Д.]

Vel-Net Records.

[Guest Chaney]

Vel-Net Records.

Listening to the sound samples right now.

Pippo 'Ark' D'Ambrosio: Arte senza volto

Some very pretty playing but sounds too much like some of those acts trotted out by PBS during their all too frequent pledge drives. I'll give Pippo points as he's a paisan but still...

Eugenio Colombo: Racconto Flautato

:gasp: I.... can't....breathe... :gasp:

That circular breathing can sometimes make me very uncomfortable.

Sounds interesting.

Gianni Lenoci: Agenda

Soffused and dilated recompositions for piano of music by Steve Lacy

Hmmm... Can't tell about this one. Lots of ringing piano. Not one I'd care to take a chance on. Doesn't sound bad, though.

Ahhh... Track six, Retreat. I'm being won over.

Enrico Cosimi: Infinite works

Vangelis, anyone?

I don't listen to this type of electronic music much anymore but I still retain a soft spot for this stuff.

Knock knock.

Who's there?

PBS.

PBS who?

No, really. It's PBS. We're looking for someone to score Nature and thought you'd be ideal.

What's it pay?

Well...

Nico Girasole: Et Nico

Is it Cold in here? Anyone else feeling Blue?

Laraaji: My Orangeness

Cripes! No wonder you're so popular with the ladies!

Paolo Giaro: I Vu Di

I don't think so.

~~~~~~~~~~

The Ictus box set has once again been delayed.

New release date: May 20th

[Д.Д.]

Vel-Net Records.

Listening to the sound samples right now.

Pippo 'Ark' D'Ambrosio: Arte senza volto

Some very pretty playing but sounds too much like some of those acts trotted out by PBS during their all too frequent pledge drives. I'll give Pippo points as he's a paisan but still...

Eugenio Colombo: Racconto Flautato

:gasp: I.... can't....breathe... :gasp:

That circular breathing can sometimes make me very uncomfortable.

Sounds interesting.

Gianni Lenoci: Agenda

Soffused and dilated recompositions for piano of music by Steve Lacy

Hmmm... Can't tell about this one. Lots of ringing piano. Not one I'd care to take a chance on. Doesn't sound bad, though.

Ahhh... Track six, Retreat. I'm being won over.

Enrico Cosimi: Infinite works

Vangelis, anyone?

I don't listen to this type of electronic music much anymore but I still retain a soft spot for this stuff.

Knock knock.

Who's there?

PBS.

PBS who?

No, really. It's PBS. We're looking for someone to score Nature and thought you'd be ideal.

What's it pay?

Well...

Nico Girasole: Et Nico

Is it Cold in here? Anyone else feeling Blue?

Laraaji: My Orangeness

Cripes! No wonder you're so popular with the ladies!

Paolo Giaro: I Vu Di

I don't think so.

~~~~~~~~~~

The Ictus box set has once again been delayed.

New release date: May 20th

Of the Vel-Net major artists I know only Colombo who's a monster player and has some very interesting recordings - with Italian Instabile Orchestra and under his leadership (there is a good one on Leo with opera singers, and a couple of solid free-boppish ones on Splasc(H)).

Lenoci I know from his duo with Joëlle Léandre on Ambiances Magnétiques label that I listened to for the first time earlier today. It's OK. Lenoci is fine, but not particularly original. Reminds me of classicized Bley. Ms. Léandre shines, as (nearly) always.

I liked some (does one CD qualify as some?) of the Cold Blue titles, I really did.

Ictus box will be your Cold Blue, Tony

Edited May 6, 2006 by Д.Д.

[Guest Chaney]

Ictus box will be your Cold Blue, Tony

That could turn out to be very true.

[7/4]

I mentioned these guys a while back. It seems like nobody had heard of them.

Another, older interview.

[Д.Д.]

I mentioned these guys a while back. It seems like nobody had heard of them.

Another, older interview.

I actually bought one Borbetomagus CD ("Barbed Wire Maggots") last time I was in NYC (in DMG; I asked whether they had more - they didn't (to their own confusion), but Bruce said something along the lines of "it's all the same stuff.. and it's a bit intense"). The disc is at the very top of "to listen to" pile, but for now I just cannot stop listening to this one:

...and given that this is a 5-CD box, and I will most likely want to listen to it all, I doubt I'll get to Borbetomagus too soon.

This set is available for close-to-nothing from amazon.co.uk. Although I see they already raised price a bit (I got it for £15) - but still, this is a steal....

Edited May 7, 2006 by Д.Д.

[ep1str0phy]

I just heard that Ayler has a new album ready for pre-order:

Charles Gayle Trio - Live at Glenn Miller Café (aylCD-015)

Charles Gayle, as - Gerald Benson, b - Michael Wimberly, dr

Recorded at Glenn Miller Café, Stockholm on February 12, 2006

Based on Jan's brief comments it sounds like they are playing standards for this set.

Ayler is also offering free shipping on Silkheart titles now.

I've always enjoyed Gayle's playing on 'straighter' material, although he flourishes in more 'outside' environs. His acid-soaked Coltranisms on Touchin' on Trane are some of the most consistently inventive solos of his recorded career. I may check out the above, although Wimberly can be a little heavy handed sometimes (sometimes it's a simple as weird bass drum miking.