John B

Jandek will be going the avant-jazz route in NYC. The (rumored) backing band will be Chris Corsano on drums and Matt Heyner (Test, No Neck Blues Band) on bass. Funny Rat meets Jandek!

Six and Six is my choice for today's Jandekian whimsy. I've read a good deal of commentary questioning if Jandek is releasing his albums chronologically, as they are recorded, or if many of them were recorded around the same time and are being released at later dates. Listening to Six and Six, which was released three years after Ready for the House, puts me firmly into the first camp. This disc is similar to RFTH, but is also deeper, darker, and more confident than the first album. It is also not as interesting, as the album does come across as somewhat formulaic. Jandek has found a "formula" and doesn't stray too far afield. However, anyone who labels Six and Six as "more of the same" from Ready for the House, is only listening at the most superficial level and is not making any attempt to hear these albums for what they are, rather than focusing on their "quirkiness" or "mythology." Just like Ready for the House, this is a disc you really should pick up if you are interested in listening to Jandek. Perhaps not as much fun as some other discs, I'd call this one formative and an essential stepping stone in Jandek's development. It also has the benefit of the quintessential Jandek album cover.

Allegro Music is having a 25% off sale on AUM Fidelity titles through 8/2. http://www.allegro-music.com/label_search.asp?label=AUM The new Vision Festival live cd/dvd is only $16.46. At that price, I am tempted.

Available now on Eremite: "recorded 12 december, 2004, dibden center for the arts, johnson, vt blue winter is a milestone achievement in the great career of one of the stalwarts of the tenor saxophone, fred anderson. an exponent of the illustrious chicago heavyweight tenor tradition that includes his contemporaries gene ammons, johnny griffin, john gilmore & von freeman, anderson spent decades as a family man & bar owner before starting to seriously tour & record in the nineties. born 1929 in monroe, louisiana, anderson migrated to chicago in 1940, where he devoted many years of study to the music of lester young, coleman hawkins, & charlie parker. in 1964 anderson co-founded the seminal chicago musicians' organization the association for the advancement of creative musicians (AACM). the strength & individuality of his playing in early AACM ensembles with muhal richard abrams, joseph jarman, & henry threadgill earned anderson the nickname "the lone prophet of the prairie." on blue winter, anderson is joined by one of the premier rhythm sections in any music genre, william parker & hamid drake. the two-cd set features an impeccably recorded complete concert performance from the trio's 2004 northeast tour."

John (and other nice people), you aware of this little sucker: Oluyemi Thomas / Gino Robair "Unity in Multiplicity" (Rastascan). I haven't listened to it yet, but judging form a couple of tracks of this duo on Gino Robair's Buddy Systems (Meniscus), this can be something mindblowing. ← No, never heard of that one. I'll have to get it. Oluyemi with no vocalist is close to becoming a "must order" for me.

Correct. Blue Winter is the complete concert I attended in December. I loved the show and am looking forward to hearing how it translates to cd. I'll be ordering this one today. I'm also going to order PERLES NOIRES volume II, if only to hear Oluyemi Thomas' contributions. I'll decide if I need volume I after hearing volume II.

Road trip!

Get the live album I, Eye, Aye next. That version of "Volunteered Slavery" blows the studio version out of the water. There is also a video release of this same show, which goes by a different name. I think it is called "The One Man Twins."

I was hoping you would post your thoughts soon. Based on what I've seen you list in the What are You Listening To? thread I thought you might dig this one. I'm glad you found some tracks you enjoyed!

Have you tried emailing Chuck Nessa? He distributes some Okka titles and might have a copy left in stock.

once this image "clicked" it was difficult to go back to seeing it the original way. ← I hope you're not joking. I keep looking at this and nothing happens. I take off my reading glasses and it just looks blurry. The Sun rises and sets a few times and still nothing. I have to do laundry.... ← No, not joking. The image switches to 3D, with several individual candies floating at different depths over a 2D background image.

once this image "clicked" it was difficult to go back to seeing it the original way. Monoceros is fantastic, but OOP. I would also recommend Dark Rags w/ Keith Rowe, The Snake Decides, for more solo goodness and Cecil Taylor's Nailed, for all out mayhem.

No, I went with Verge. The discs are slightly cheaper with the current exchange rate and shipping was quite a bit less expensive.

The discs I ordered on Bleu Regard are backordered. I'll post my thoughts when I finally have a chance to listen to them. In addition to Voyage from Jericho I also ordered Live in Europe: Jazz Festival UMEA and Folly Fun Music Magic.

Done. Thanks for the recommendation and thank you for the wonderful stories. I'm very much looking forward to hearing his music.

Would you recommend one of the in-print, on cd discs over the others as a starting point? I don't believe I've ever heard his work and would like to do so. I was eyeing the disc on Silkheart but the recent comments on his Bleu Regard discs, both reissue and otherwise, have me wondering if one of them would be a better point of entry.

I like the album but this seems a bit over the top to me.

The cover image looks like Will Ferrel imitating Jandek. I like Seth Tissue's comment: "Cover photo is really blurry and appears to depict Jandek on his last pilgrimage to Mecca. " Voice and bass? I'll wait for Dave's comments before adding this one to my next order of 20.

Steve, nice review. I really enjoy this disc. Too bad it has gone out of print. Hopefully Leo will reissue it before too long.

Let me know if you want Dennis Gonzalez' email address. He could most likely put you in touch or tell you if Charles had any interest in participating.

That is a shame. I wonder if Jim would be amenable to another fundraiser, following the Eric Kloss one at the top of this Forum. I can't imagine it would take too much money to get his horns back in playing shape. Maybe Dennis would be willing to coordinate on JC and with Charles? I emailed Dennis to ask him about this, as he seems to have the best sense of what it would take to get Charles back playing again.

1968 Rhythm X (Strata East) Don Cherry, Ed Blackwell, Charlie Haden Nineteen years go by... 1987 Bannar (Silkheart) Alvin Fielder, Malachi Favors, Dennis Gonzalez Worshippers Come Nigh (Silkheart) Attainment (Silkheart) Olu Dara, Fred Hopkins, Andrew Cyrille, Dennis Gonzalez and then....nothing. Four albums, three within the space of one year, and then no other albums as a leader in the last eighteen years. These are all top-notch albums, with fantastic tunes, great sidemen, and the highest level of writing and playing by all involved. I suppose these discs would be labelled as "free jazz," but these tunes have melody and lyricism and would appeal to anyone with a taste for good music who is able to appreciate jazz with an edge. What has Brackeen been up to for the last two decades? Does he still perform? Any chance he'll ever record as a leader again? Will Rhythm X ever be issued on cd? I'm just starting to explore his work as a sideman, primarily on the Dennis Gonzalez albums on Silkheart. The album Debenge-Debenge, recorded the year after Brackeen's Silkhearts, and featuring most of the same musicians, starts off with a 22 minute track called "the Masses" that was written by Brackeen. Any recommendations for other albums featuring Brackeen that are essential listening?

For today's work-time listening pleasure I brought in Ready for the House. If I had to choose one disc to be someone's initial exposure to Jandek this would be it. No co-conspirators, no possible exposure to hype, mythology or analysis that can affect ones impression of the later albums, this is pure, unadulterated Jandek. The essence of Jandek, if you will. The playing is incompetent, yet perfect. The lyrics are non-sensical yet deep. The mood is lonely, dark and disturbing yet, at least for me, inviting, with a glimmer of hope buried in the mix. Seriously, this disc is as "accesible" as any Jandek disc. If someone can't get their head around this disc and appreciate its beauties, there would be no point in exploring the catalog any further as Jandek is not for them. Essential.

have you heard JSngry's BFT #27? If not, read some of the discussion on disc #1, track #5. That might be what got the idea of "mocking" into my head.

I'm not sure if a tune with that many obvious flubs is toying with the listener, mocking the original tune, actually being flubbed, or some combination thereof.