AllenLowe

I am about to take a 3-6 month hiatus due to some medical problems (not life-threatening, but painful); I had some ideas and thoughts last year about how the usual professional narrative of the jazz musician - recording and touring - has lost its allure and started to come apart at the seams, particularly for players like me who have lots of musical ideas but no real fan base and few financial/professional prospects. I thought at the time that I would like to set up a jazz performance piece like an art exhibit - move it into a gallery, combine various kinds of expression - theater, dance, music - into a movable and changing feast of new music, old music, history and afro/white futurism. I never got anywhere with this, mostly because of the lame world I live in - Portland, Maine - but now, with some time on my hands I would like to start thinking about it again. What makes sense now? Repeated micro concerts? Cage-ian silence? Interactive photo exhibits, a graphic/musical retrospective of my old gallery of jazz friends from Al Haig to Bob Neloms to Percy France? I am at both gain and loss right now; I know something has to change, but I don't have the final perspective on how, definitively, to change it. I think musicians are stuck in certain patterns, and so great players begin to make mediocre music, repeat themselves, lose perspective; and then repeat those steps. So, what next?

I am ending this year in something of a deficit, so hoping to sell this baby to make some of my recording money back (well, cannot complain, still have 4 other altos) - this horn is described as follows: "New Wonder Transitional" models (s/n 235xxx to 262xxx): Conn referred to these horns with just a model number (e.g. "6M" for an alto), but during this period of manufacture, both split- and same-side bell key horns were available, and they have a variety of engraving differences from other 6M models, so this is an invented, albeit quite common, name." this is 235xxx - early-mid 1930s, I believe some pics: all I know is that the horn plays beautifully and is in very nice cosmetic shape; has been set up by the great Joe Kingston. has tuning mechanism; to me, plays like a classic 6M will ship in the USA for $1200 fully insured. My paypal is alowe5@maine.rr.com email me at allenlowe5@gmail.com (though I would not be averse to avoiding paypal fees on this one) - must be someone out there who wants to hit the big time - this is a pro model -

"Sunday night @ Ibeam in Brooklyn: 8:30: Tim Daisy solo 9:30: Michael Attias on alto with Max Johnson on bass with Daisy on drums" A sunday night at Ibeam - who's got the time? "

interesting session, but Al, post-alcoholic binges, shows the first signs of deterioration, so I have a little trouble listening; it's a continuity thing; he will start a phrase and just lose the momentum, and start all over. This was a bigger problem in the '70s when I knew him.

let's bump.

ever tell you guys about the night Patrick and Wilbur Ware doubled-teamed me to try and borrow some money? Geez, I was only 16. sorry, off topic, but this made me think of that.

not really so obscure; and Roy Evans is very interesting.

Phil Overeem: "This segment is dedicated to the very recent work of Allen Lowe, not only one of the most ambitious, prolific, and interesting jazz composers alive but also a talented saxophonist, an essential author for anyone wanting to deeply understand this country's music, and a musicologist who can compile a 36-disc about the flexibility and mischievousness of the blues that, at this late date, is full of surprises, no matter how well-versed the listener is. Among musicians, only Swamp Dogg, Charles Mingus, and early Bob Dylan are his peers in piquantly and entertainingly writing one's own liner notes. He toils away in the state of Maine, pursuing the "everlasting beauty of monotony" (Benjamin Britten) and--successfully, I would argue--pushing his work to speak in new ways about who we are. If that sounds complicated, it is, a little, but it doesn't violate the law of diminishing returns, I assure you. He has recently released five new records that deserve praise; since, according to Roger Price's Law, "if everyone doesn't want it, nobody gets it," the best way to grab 'em is to contact Allen directly at allenlowe5@gmail.com about the ones you're interested in. Explore his previous work at http://www.allenlowe.com/ Keep your eyes peeled for his upcoming Mary Lou Williams Suite, portions of which appear herein. Now, to the reviews... *MATTHEW SHIPP PLAYS THE MUSIC OF ALLEN LOWE - 8.8 - Shipp, who's made his pianistic bones in more abstract settings (notably with David S. Ware), is movingly earthbound here, often striking veins of dark, complicated romanticism that are, I think, at the heart of Lowe's work. The composer's alto will remind you of Dolphy's angularity and Parker's headlong expressionism--a pleasinngly drier-toned version--and bassist Kevin Ray, who plays on most of these recordings, is a wonder: I seemed to learned more about Lowe's writing following Ray on my third and fourth listen than from focusing on any other musician. __________________________________________________________ From the IN THE DIASPORA OF THE DIASPORA series (Allen considers all of his work as fitting under this umbrella, which refers to the diaspora cascading out from the original music of the African diaspora--where, in Lowe's own words (words, I suspect, that have gotten him in Dutch), "tradition becomes both a means of respectful worship and a matter of subversion..."--but these four records are specifically designated as such): *WE WILL GATHER WHEN WE GATHER - 10 - One of the very best jazz albums of the year, with the baritone of Master Hamiet Bluiett shooting worship and subversion through Lowe's blues- and gospel-colored compositions. Ava Mendoza's guitar-skronks, Matt Lavelle's skittery trumpet (makes me miss Don Cherry even more--and you should mos def try his Monk record!), and Jake Millet's turntable scrubs and scratches combine with Bluiett's inventions to do the most justice to Lowe's vision of any in the series. Pick to click: the first serious composition--to my knowledge--to honor and mourn the murdered Charleston churchgoers, "Theme for the Nine," maybe my favorite and definitely my most-played track so far. I wish I could share a track with the #CharlestonSyllabus project. There is a way.... *MAN WITH THE GUITAR: WHERE'S ROBERT JOHNSON? - 9.3 - Electronics and turntables are frequent voices in Lowe's work, and here DJ Logic and Millett answer the title question: Johnson's ghost haunts the spaces in our best music, as it certainly does on this record (though you won't hear Robert sampled, you'll be excitingly jolted out of your contemplation by flickers of Charley Patton's rasp). Lowe plays tenor and operates electronics on this recording along with playing alto, and Gary Bartz sounds more alive than he has in years, alto-testifying on "Slave Rebellion," "Delta Sunset," and "Blues Forever After." *WHEN A CIGARETTE IS SMOKED BY TEN MEN - 9 - A showcase for an exciting young clarinetist, Zoe Christiansen, with a nod to Pee Wee Russell, a wry jab at Howard Hunt, and two joyful tracks with desolate titles. *BALLAD FOR ALBERT - 8.5 - This is essentially a trio record, with Millet's almost-subliminal murmurings of current providing some disruptive texture. I am not sure which Albert the record's named for (could be Ayler, but, being a longtime fan, I don't quite hear it), but I am sure that the ballads are lovely and deep--in fact, Lowe's ballad playing is a shining thread that runs through all five records. Special shout-out to "Maui Shuffle," which, like many of Allen's compositions, can make you think the record's advanced a track if you leave the room, which I adamantly advise you not to do on these records. Hit the WC ahead of time, grab a drink, get comfortable, and lock in--you will be rewarded. If you get into Lowe, advanced directly to his masterpiece, MULATTO RADIO: FIELD RECORDINGS 1-4, one of my very favorite records of 2014--so good I couldn't write about it, if that makes sense. And explore his earlier work, which, unsurprisingly--ranges across the diaspora of the diaspora. This entry is dedicated to my fellow Facebook jazz fans who might feel there's no one left to explore (there are surely more players than Allen, but none with a deeper well), and to Allen himself--may you wander out of Maine and into Missouri one day."

cds: Jimmie Lunceford 1935-1937 Classics $6 Eric Dolphy In Europe V. 3 OJC $6 Patty Waters Patty Waters ESP $ 6 Barry Harris Trio Complete Live in Tokyo 1976 Jazz Lips $6 Mary Lou Williams London Sessions Vogue $6 Charade Soundtrack (Universal 100th Anniversary) comp and cond. Mancini Intrada $12 add $4 shipping 1st class CONUS my paypal is alowe5@maine.rr.com

"waffle"

thanks for posting that; those Wellstood notes to the Lambert are some of my favorite musical writing.

by the way, reading the notes; his distinction between stride and ragtime is....embarrassingly uninformed and poorly written.

eve of destruction -

cannot find the samples. Worried because of how they screwed up the Dial stuff....

missed this earlier, sorry - what I've bought is the new Sun Blues Box issued by Bear Family. as for filler....sure, there is run-of-the-mill stuff here, but also MUCH more that is revelatory. Just intense, in-your-face, and beautifully recorded at the right place and time; the epitome of 'real' sound; you do feel like you are in the same room as these blues players.

I won't ask which was which....

I have two of these, use them as field recorders; at 24/96, even with built in mics and pre-amp, they sound astoundingly clear; also do well at lower sampling rates. Great for live stuff, field work, etc etc. The one I am selling is new and in the box; $120 plus shipping ($8, I would say, CONUS) - paypal is alowe5@maine.rr.com email me at allenlowe5@gmail.com

from the blog Stash Dauber: "Musicologist-author-muso Allen Lowe always gives you More, and when you're time-and-attention challenged the way I am, it can take a minute to get through everything. His current release, In the Diaspora of the Diaspora, is a set of five CDs, all but one recorded this year, which you can purchase individually (a new thing in his discography), and I've been listening to them in my car, which is where I do my "deep" listening these days. The absence in all but one case of Lowe's usual voluminous liner notes is indicative, perhaps, of a degree of explicatory exhaustion similar to that which befell FZ midway through his multi-volume You Can't Do That Onstage Anymore project. I Alone: The Everlasting Beauty of Monotony features the estimable pianist Matthew Shipp, half solo and half in group contexts, but is most notable to guitar freaks like your humble chronicler o' events for the presence of Michael Gregory Jackson on three tracks. There's more bop in his style than I remember from his '70s sides, and he does innaresting things with sustain and a whammy bar to boot. To these feedback-scorched ears, Shipp is heard to better advantage on Ballad for Albert, recorded a couple of months later, with a smaller ensemble. Where A Cigarette is Smoked by Ten Men has Lowe playing vibrato-laden tenor as well as alto alongside clarinetist Zoe Christiansen, a player who combines modern ideas with a sound steeped in the history of her instrument. The spirit of Eric Dolphy is audibly present, both in the solos and in Lowe's writing. On We Will Gather When We Gather, featured guest Hamiet Bluiett fulminates with suppressed rage on baritone -- appropriate for a set that includes a dedication to the victims of the Charleston church shooting -- and coaxes fire from Lowe and tenorist Ras Moshe Burnett, but the big surprises are a trumpeter (Matt Lavelle) and guitarist (Ava Mendoza) who splatter and splinter their sounds in ways I respond to. Lowe's compositions here echo Mingus, with plenty of blues and blood in the mix. The most forward-looking item in this series is also the oldest. Man With Guitar: Where's Robert Johnson? was recorded in 2013 and features Lowe alternating tracks on alto with ex-Miles sideman Gary Bartz in an ensemble that also includes both DJ Logic and Lowe mainstay Jake Millett on turntables and electronics, and Brian Simontacchi on trombone. Lowe always has a lot to say, and wants to share all of it. The net effect of this impulse is to reduce the likelihood that a lot of people will hear this music. A pity, as all of it is worth hearing. And We Will Gather When We Gather is essential."

I would be interested in the Coker if Pepper wasn't into his Fake-Trane thing. I don't remember, however, what he sounds like on this.

sounds like my ideal, though sadly I will never be able to live there.

here's what's left: 1) Black Music Originals V. 1 $10 2) Black Music Originals V. 3 $8 3) Lets Drink Some Juice and all Get loose $12 (THIS ONE IS AMAZING) 4) Deep Harmony (Sun Gospel) $12 7) Sun Records 25 More Blues Classics (Varese Vintage) $6 8) The Sun Blues Years $5

actually, "complete" translates from the French as "whatever...."

hmmmmm......actually, the prices will start to go up, probably. Though I have no doubt that you, a man of discerning taste, own most of this, I have a sense that few here realize the significance of this music (which is why I just spent $200 on the box and now need to sell these to get some cash back).

ah, taste has indeed deteriorated here on Organissimmo.

last chance; in a few years these will disappear commercially -