Stefan Wood

The 2nd will lift the fog away.

OK, a bit of hyperbole, but I really enjoy his music! The Arditti version is supposed to be excellent. I originally heard the Composers Quartet play it on Nonesuch, and then the Julliard, on Sony. I have recently ordered the Pacifica/Naxos, an award winning set, and equal in quality to the Arditti. The first, considered a landmark in American music, is breathtaking in its complexity and innovative use of counterpoint. Quoting from Carter's notes from the Nonesuch recording, he states: Like the desert horizons I saw daily while it was being written, the First Quartet presents a continuous unfolding and changing of expressive characters -- one woven into the other or entering from it - on a large scale. The general plan was suggested by Jean Cocteau's Fil Le Sang d'un Poete, in which the entire dreamlike action is framed by an interrupted slow-motion shot of a tall brick chimney in an empty lot being dynamited. Just as the chimney begins to fall apart, the shot is broken off and the entire movie follows, after which the shot of the chimney is resumed at the point it left off, showing in its disintegration in mid-air, and closing the film with its collapse on the ground. A similar interrupted continuity is employed in this quartet's starting with a cadenza for cello alone that is continued by the first violin alone at the very end. On one level, I interpret Cocteau's idea (and my own) as establishing the difference between external time (measured by the falling chimney,or the cadenza) and internal dream time (the main body of the work) - the dream time lasting but a moment of external time but, from the dreamer's point of view, a long stretch. In the first Quartet, the opening cadenza also acts as an introduction to the rest, and when it reappears at the end, it forms the last variation in a set of variations. As a visual artist, listening to this music for the first time was a revelation. I heard forms fragmenting and reforming, harmonizing and reacting against one another. I was used to the Bartok quartets, but these were something different. A different form of sonic storytelling, so to speak.

Best string quartet music of the late 20th century. Period.

Or any disc from this outstanding series from Bridge records. Gorgeous music, this disc contains his well known piece, "Voice of the Whale." Fabulous playing by the group ICE.

Was Aretha "assimilated" when she signed on to Atlantic? Did the Atlantic people involved recognize that she had a talent that could (and should) not have followed her predecessors (like Dinah Washington that Columbia was trying to groom for her? Was it simply that Atlantic had the right writers and musicians for Aretha to become "the Queen of Soul"? How truly free can one assimilated artist be when the end goal was to have a top 10 hit? I'm with you to a point.

I don't know if she didn't understand what she was getting into, but rather she came of age during a time where soul music had shed its roots and was becoming more produced or synthetic, washed down or removed of everything that made it what it was.

Up, added personnel listings for those who asked.

This is hypnotic: Another afro funk rarity: This one is flat out furious afro funk!:

PM sent

Picked it up today at a local cd store. Did not know this is a 2 cd set! Malcolm Addey does the remasters. Listened to the first disc last night, and the bonus tracks are excellent, in some ways better than what had been originally issued. "Bea's Flat" is outstanding (written by Russ Freeman). The breakdown: No Exercise - Jimmy Owens, Tyrone Washington, Garnett Brown, Heiner Stadler, Reggie Workman, Brian Blake Three Problems/Heidi/U.C.S./All Tones - Tyrone Washington, Heiner Stadler, Reggie Workman, Reggie White Bea's Flat - NDR Big Band w/ Manfred Schoof, Albert Mangelsdorff, Wolfgang Daumer, Lucas Lindholm, Tony Inzalaco Love in the Middle of the Air - Dee Dee Bridgwater, Reggie Workman The Fugue #2 - Jimmy Owens, Joe Farrell, Garnett Brown, Don Freidman, Barre Phillips, Joe Chambers

I think she had a great voice that was horribly mangled by the popular music scene of the 80s and 90s. It was used as a special effect, not a musical instrument, and this has become the template for a lot of vocalists that have followed.

SOLD!

Selling a 9 cd box set of the Polish jazz group Laboratorium. 24 bit remastered, contains the albums Bialy Kruk Czarnego Krazka, Modern Pentathlon, Aquarium Live, Diver, Quasimodo, Nogero, The Blue Light Pilot, No 8, Anatomy Lesson, Zdrowie Na Budowie. Cds are in mini lp sleeves. With booklet. Limited edition of #758 of 1000. Cds are in excellent condition, no scratches or marks. $85 inc shipping in the US, to be determined for overseas. I accept paypal.

I agree that they should release more Yusef Lateef Impulses. 1984 in particular. Also, more Chico Hamiltons!!!!!!

Ordered these from DG:

A nice addition to the library: Reminds me of Althea and Donna, a female reggae duo in Jamaica with a killer backup band. This is similar, but Afrobeat style instead. Ordered this from da bastids, can't wait to hear the music!

This is exceptional:

Halleli N'Dakarou is the album title Titles listed from DG: Titles include "Yaye Ramoutoulaye", "Bala Jigi", "Tara", "Sanehmentereng", "Ouvaryea", "Halleli N'Dakarou N'Diaye", "Cilss", "President Jawara-Abdou Diouf", "Cheddo" and "Werr Tullali Barr".

When was that album you've posted recorded? MG 1982

This is excellent:

I think at this point most if not all drivers can do the job very well. It all comes down to build quality. Lite-On, LG, Sony, etc. have made good machines.

A couple of years ago WKCR did a marathon broadcast of Sam Rivers's music, culminating in a live concert with Dave Holland & (I think) Barry Altschul. So they do pay attention to the living, though they should do more.

Alright! Gil Kane on a Penguin book!!! Reading:

Up, all new listings for this week.