John B

Great timing, as I just saw Fred live on Sunday night with William Parker and Hamid Drake. It was a fantastic show. Michael Ehlers was on tour with them and has been recording the shows, so, hopefully, one of them will be released eventually. I have yet to hear a Fred Anderson disc that I did not enjoy. My most recent purchase - Live at the Velvet Lounge, with Peter Kowald and Hamid Drake, is extremely good. As a reminder, Chuck Nessa is having a sale on his supply of Okka disks through tomorrow. Many great Fred Anderson discs there, including the one I posted above.

for those of you willing to explore the electro-acoustic waters I have some new and some revised recommendations: The first two ErstLive discs are both fantastic. The first (Rowe/Beins) is more accesible, at least to my ears. The second (Rowe/Lehn/Schmickler/Nakamura) took me longer to get into, but might be the more rewarding of the two, over time. Either way, EL001 is a hell of a lot of fun. I've also started listening to the new 3cd set by MIMEO (basically every European musician who has appeared on Erstwhile, with a few exceptions) called Lifting Concrete Lightly. My expectations weren't very high, as the music was part of an installation piece, with crowds wandering the gallery and musicians inhabiting various areas o the building. I was wrong. Based on the first disc and a half this will easily make my top 10 list for the year. I would not recommend this one to someone just dipping their toes into the eai waters but, for someone aleady interested in exploring this genre, it is a fascinating and reasonably priced set.

I saw this group: Fred Anderson, Kidd Jordan, Hamiet Bluiett, Jeff Parker, Harrison Bankhead, Hamid Drake a few months back at the Chicago Jazz Festival. Kidd, Fred, Hamiet and Hamid were all fantastic. I think Kidd and Fred really work well together. I think Fred really listens and responds well to Kidd, he just does so in his own way. He converses with Kidd, rather than being led by where Kidd has gone. I couldn't hear a note Jeff Parker played the whole set.

Michael Ehlers was in attendance at the fantastic Fred Anderson, William Parker, Hamid Drake show last night, so, hopefully, some of this music will end up being released. He mentioned a previous show in Montreal, so this seems to be an Eremite tour, which I hadn't realized. If you have a chance to see these guys I highly recommend doing so. Fred has more stamina than most people half his age and it is a joy to listen to Hamid and William listen to each other and interact.

I had this problem with a few Miles Davis discs from one of the box sets. The glue was significant enough to affect play. Nothing I tried was able to remove the glue without damaging the cd, so I called Sony customer service, reported the problem, and theys ent me two replacement discs. Why not try calling Verve and have them replace the discs rather than take the chance of damaging them?

After listening for the first time I found it very hard to believe these recordings were not electronically manipulated in the studio after being recorded. A very interesting release. I have only recently begun exploring releases by Charalambides, picking up Unknown Spin earlier this year.

Lil? I just checked, and she wasn't from Tennessee. Since Bessie was, I'll change my guess to Bessie Smith.

I've got their album In Our Times up on deck to listen to tomorrow for the first time.

How old were you when that was taken?

Have any of you heard the Territory Band 2 album Atlas? The band on this album is: Jim Baker - piano Jeb Bishop - trombone Axel Doerner - trumpet Kevin Drumm - electronics Per-Ake Holmlander - tuba Fredrik Ljungkvist - reeds Fred Londberg-Holm - cello Paul Lytton - drums Tim Mulvenna - percussion Dave Rempis - saxophones Ken Vandermark - reeds Ken wrote all of the tunes. I think there are many similarities between this disc and the excellent Atomic / School days double album, although this one is a lot more abstract and less "in the pocket." Kevin Drumm, in particular, stands out from the ensemble. Every time I thought the music was moving along comfortably I'd do a double-take when Drumm's electronics jolted my brain out of its groove. The music on this disc is nowhere near the electro-acoustic improvisations one would find on an Erstwhile disc. It is, however, a very interesting experiment using a limited palette of some of the same concepts and musicians (Drumm, Doerner) that inhabit that other sound world. This one is going to take a little bit longer for me to get my head around than Nuclear Assembly Hall, but I think it will most definitely be worth it.

Chuck, do you still have an active account over at Jazz Corner? This sale would probably get a good deal of interest over there. I'd be willing to post the info if your account is no longer active.

There is a nice article by Phil Freeman posted over at Bagatellen now: http://www.bagatellen.com/archives/frontpa...00719.html#more

The Ganelin Trio - Catalogue: Live in East Germany I believe this is the recording that started Leo Records. Smuggled out of the USSR, released in 1980 with the disclaimer, "musicians do not bear any responsibility for publishing this tape." If he had never done another jazz release we should still be thanking Leo Fagin for making this music available. This just might be the best Ganelin / Ganelin-related album I have heard. Anyone who is a fan of the Art Ensemble, Henry Threadgill, Sun Ra, or just of good, creative, imaginative improvised music owes it to themselves to give the Ganelin Trio a listen. This disc is, so far, the best album I have heard from them. Very highly recommended.

Another extremely high recommendation for all of my friends at Funny Rat: The Ganelin Trio - Catalogue: Live in East Germany I believe this is the recording that started Leo Records. Smuggled out of the USSR, released in 1980 with the disclaimer, "musicians do not bear any responsibility for publishing this tape." If he had never done another jazz release we should still be thanking Leo Fagin for making this music available. This just might be the best Ganelin / Ganelin-related album I have heard.

I found a copy on half.com for $3 and ordered it. I'll let you know what I think.

I have had a chance to listen to this one twice now. D.D. is quite correct. This is a great disc, and I am very impressed by Oluyemi Thomas' playing. Too bad his discography is as small as it is. I highly recommend buying this disc while Drimala is still having their $5 sale. Some of the worst cover art I've seen in a long time, however. Too bad they didn't use a shot of the duo playing live, instead.

Raphe, If you do a search on the board, primarily in the "Funny Rat" thread in the Recommendations forum, you will find many positive comments on and reviews of your albums as well as some not so positive. Many of us here have greatly enjoyed your discs that we have heard, but we are also not afraid to be critical. It would be great if you stayed around to discuss your work. I know that many of us would love to hear about upcoming albums / shows and also be able to discuss some of the sessions you have been a part of through the years. Welcome!

I'm now listening to Atomic / School Days - Nuclear Assembly Hall (Okka), which came in my recent order from Chuck. The band is: Magnus Broo - trumpet Jeb Bishop - trombone Fredrik Liungkvist - reeds Ken Vandermark - reeds Havard Wiik - piano Kjell Nordeson - vibraphone Ingebrigt Haker Flaten - bass Paal Nilssen-Love - drums This double album is fantastic! I would even recommend this one to people who arean't overly fond of Vandermark led discs, as he really blends into the ensemble. Nothing too far out, yet the tunes are all very interesting and have a nice fire and energy to them. So far this will easily make my best of 2004 list.

I listened to Butcher's Cavern With Nightlife again last night at a higher volume and was quite impressed. This disc is better than I had thought after my initial at work listens. Squidco is a lot more reasonable when you take the free shipping into consideration. That being said, Erst distribution generally has the best prices on the discs they carry and, in my experience, fantastic customer service.

For some reason, I think this reunion is a bad idea but I would most definitely go see them live. Spiderland is still one of my desert island discs.

They are running this promotion again. CDs must be on your wishlist by the end of the day Wed. 12/8.

Yes, Weight of Wax. I bought my copy through Erstwhile for $14.

glad you enjoyed it! another fairly recent purchase of mine was John Butcher & Toshimaru Nakamura's Cavern with Nightlife. This disc is mostly solo sax from Butcher, with one live duo track tacked on at the end. From DMGs newsletter: "The four pieces for solo sax were recorded in the Oya Stone Museum in Japan, formerly a huge mining space hollowed out by 70 years of quarrying. The space adds an immense resonance to John's breathtaking sax explorations. John often repeats a phrase over and over, slowly accentuating certain notes and twisting them into odd shapes, often circular breathing to keep the flow." I don't know about "immense" resonance, but the sound is very nice. This is my first exposure to Butcher on solo sax and it is very impressive. I'm still not sure how much I would recommend this disc to others who weren't already fans of Butcher's, that will take a few more listens, but, for my own enjoyment, I'm really very glad I got this disc.

another disc I bought during Chuck's Okka sale: Fred Anderson Trio - Live at the Velvet Lounge This is a fantastic disc! It is nice to hear Kowald with Fred and Hamid. Very highly recommended.

Weather permitting I'll try to make this show. I'm not so sure I can convince my wife to go with me, although she will be going to Fred Anderson / Hamid Drake / William Parker with me. I'll keep an eye open for that disc. I don't own any Sonny Simmons right now, although I just ordered Firebirds, with the artist formerly known as Prince Lasha.