Д.Д.

Nice interviews.

1. Pretty generic opening, I would say. There is a lot of music like this played (mostly in Europe): folk-based (Breton – tango – Balkan –Romanian - Hungarian - whatever), tricky time signature, overly composed and always a bit sterile (and IMO always lose to the “roots” they are derived from – folk music). OK, pretty banal violin solo. The best moment – nice drum sounds during the solo. I would guess this is something from France. Did not inspire me too much. 2. Not bad. Classical training. A bit of Rachmaninov mannerisms, he-he. I assume this is the man who played with Mingus, RRK and others, but for me he is at his best playing solo. If this is him, then this is not one of his most interesting recordings. Otherwise, it could be the guy who hired Ornette, Cherry & Co as his band in late-50s – but then this must be some of his earlier recordings – he’s mellowed a bit. Naaaaaah, does not sound like him too much – I haven’t noticved these up-up-up patterns in his playing and he is not as “smooth”. Most likely my first guess. I like it. Covers a lot of ground in such a short period of time. Oh, could this be the guy whose trio recordings will be reissued soon on Mosaic Select? Yeah, his one is the most likely probably. Does not have too many of characteristic licks (and no blues feeling), though. Yes, yes. And the other guess, that I have to check since I haven’t heard any of his recordings for a very long time – one of the founding AACM guys. Still active as far as I know. Curious to learn about this one. 3. Oh, very “classically” sounding saxophone - very “straight”. Or is it clarinet? IN any case, very ball-less sound. Don’t like it too much –not too interesting compositionally, and improvisations are pretty awkward and without particularly strong ideas, IMO. 4. Hey, here is a saxophone sound I like more! Tenor solo is OK, interesting writing. Altoist I should know – is this the guy who recorded for Columbia a bit and recently recorded on Pi? Not too familiar with his work, but this does not sound experimental enough for him. Good alto solo. Nice baritone. Good. I’ll be most ashamed about not identifying this one. 5. Oh, I like opening like this. Unexpected drums with this steady rhythm. Oh, now I don’t like it too much – cinematic stuff, also French most likely (not that I don’t like French music)… too pretty. Bass and trumpet solos are OK, but nothing outstanding or too original. Nice bass sound – could this be a bassist’s date? 6. Nice. I think this is the guy who’s been there with Tristano and is still going strong. Pianist is interesting, but I don’t know him. My favorite track so far. 7. Live. Good tenor! Well-played, but I am not too fond of this sort of post-bop mainstream material (and I don’t have much of it in my collection). If I am getting it correctly, the tenorist and pianist are already dead, and some of their OOP material will be released soon as Mosaic Select. Bit of course, I am not sure – the tenor is more generic and less passionate, and piano player is less fluid (although good – my favorite musician here). And most importantly the drummer definitely does not sound like this quartet’s drummer - more like Billy Higgins. Hey, could it be Higgins quartet with Bob Berg and David Kikosky (sp?) on piano. I have their disc on Red somewhere – I don’t remember it, but I do remember that I was impressed by this Kikoski guy. Yeah, this is more like it. 8. Bass is too obtrusive and hmm.. direct –tum-tum-tum. I think a piano player like this would benefit from more flexible accompaniment. Bass solo is not elegant at all. The piano is OK. Would have preferred to hear piano solo. 9. Oh, such an improvement in sound qulity. Here we go – a much more interesting bass. I like it a lot. Together with track 6 this is my favorite one so far. Nice ideas from saxophonist! – not too many notes played but all good –and beautiful sound! Awkward arco, but I like it. Looking forward to hearing who it is! I’ll buy this CD (if I don’t have it already, he-he) 10. Bass bass bass!!! Good! Hey, this must be the wild Argentinean man, when he was still wild. Although not too much of Latin American influence. He-he, here we go – a Latin American influence. Unless this is some catch, this is him…although…although the sound is not as wild as The Argentinean produced (not that much of the altissimo scream). In general, gorgeous tenor sound, but otherwise nothing particularly outstanding (improvisations are pretty basic, but this is always the case with The Argentenian). 11. Good contrast to previous tune. Is it two pianists, or I have hearing hallucinations?!?! Nothing much I can say about this one, but I like it! Some Bach-ian feel in it. Good ideas. Tasteful support from bass and drums. 12. Very good. Excellent theme. Quite aggressive piano playing – nice contrast to previous track. Good bass-drummer team. Drummer sounds like Joe Betsch to me, btw. Saxophone solo is OK. Trumpet is nice. Pianist is the most interesting, IMO. And again, a very nice theme – I would be interested to know who the composer is. 13. I like the drummer! DeJohnette? Sounds like musicians have been playing a lot together. Nice bass – Gary Peacock? I would assume this is the famous ECM trio. “Assume” because I don’t think I’ve heard any of these trio’s recordings. Overall OK, but very very safe. 14. He-he, ABBA. I hate ABBA. But this is charming, if not particularly noteworthy otherwise. Nate, thanks for an interesting BFT, that will elad to at least one purchase (track 9).

ubu, have you had a chance to hear this one by chance? I am very curious. I think Wertmueller is a perfect drummer for Broetzmann, and having an added distorted GUITARRRRRRRRRRR in the mix... what could be better?

Let us know your opinion about all these CDs.

8th Harmonic Breakdown label is reissuing 2CD Billy Bang set called Sweet Spece / Untitled Gift. With DOn Cherry, Butch Morris, WIlber Morris, Frank Lowe, Denis Charles, Steve McCall and others. Recorded in '79 and '82.

There we go.

The guitar playing is the most "traditional" you can possibly imagine, no distortion, feedback or whatever. In general, the whole disc is not particularly out. It is pretty raw and I suspect quite under-rehearsed; the solos are good but not outstanding, except for Moondoc's, Swell's (the second trombonist is pretty awkward, IMO), and tenorist's; the arrangements are also a bit sloppy - but it is all more than compensated by a nearly palpable feeling of excitement and energy. Good stuff. For Moondoc on Eremite, I woud highly, HIGHLY recommend (more like insist) Revolt of Negro Lawn Jockeys - for a long time it was one of my favorite "jazz" discs of recent years.

Don't care about "art" too much. Good feedback I like. I'll check it out.

Very true. Dixon is a great musical thinker. Live in Italy discs are phenomenal. The one I didn't like too much though was Papirus Vol. 1 - Dixon's duo with Tony Oxley. DIxon's playing here consists mostly of minimalistic low farting sounds, and it is enjoyable only to an extent. From the reviewes I've read, he is doing the same thing on the recent Cecil Taylor-Oxley-DIxon trio performance on Victo.

Seriously, I'm beginning to wonder what balloon and sine wave "playing" has got to do with music and musicianship. I don't get it, so please explain, David - or is it just some kind of feeling? You guys are note ready for the music of the future. You'd better train your ears now, before you start hearing balloon and sine wave music in every shopping mole, dentist's waiting room, elevator and presedential campaign advertising. I already commited to doing a wirte-up on Judy Dunaway's "Baloon Music", and seeing such an interest from your side I will try to do it asap. But I can alredy tell you that this is suprisingly musical stuff. I haven't heard the other balloon guy - as far as I understand, he is more extreme.

Back to electro-acoustic improv. Aa couple of days ago I tried to listen to Sachiko M & Sean Meehan untitled duo CD (don't know what the label is). Sachiko M "plays" sine waves and Meehan - various percussion. Approximately 3 minutes into the first track (which was just a high-pitch drone) I started feeling quite a presure in my ears (as if inner ear was resonating) and had to turn the music off. This is the first time I am reacting this way to any music. Now if Swiss police decides to pay me a visit, I know what music I will greet them with.

Time to stock up on those Jemeel Moondoc CDs. ------------------------------------------------- I will get Brötzmann's "No Nothing", you masters of confusion. ------------------------------------------------- And yeah, this Anderson on Nessa as well. I, as David Ayers, also tend to prefer older Fred Anderson recordings, so this one can't be too bad. I think TOny also recommended it way back when...

Hmm.... I am looking forward to hearing comeback Henry Grimes, but so far I am given a choice of hearing him either with Sabir Mateen ( ) or with David Murray (not exactly , but pretty close in my book). I mean, of course I will check it out (and saxophone-bass-drums trio is a nice format), but man I would have loved to see somebody else playing saxophone (Kidd Jordan, for example).

How does the reissue solo Brötzmann (14 Love Poems) compare to No Nothing? Not sure if you also have this one, it came out in '91 on FMP. Don't have No Nothing.

couw, I don't have your majic ability to judge the music without hearing it, so I will go for it. No trial, no fail, as you know. I was not mocking the music but the way over the top review. No majic needed. It promises us the reinvention of the wheel and I'm not much for such worshipping blahblah. I listened to some shorties online just now and I am pretty underwhelmed. Sound yes, music maybe, the future? no. at least, not for me, listening to this show now... Oh, I think the review is very much tongue-in-cheak. But I am intrigued (and I have this Judy Dunaway "Balloon Music" disc the reviewer refers to, and I like it quite bit).

couw, I don't have your majic ability to judge the music without hearing it, so I will go for it. No trial, no fail, as you know.

He-he, talkins about music for balloons (from DMG newsletter): RICARDO ARIAS -- Musica Global (NurNichtNur 102 12 02) Balloons are the future of music. Only a person in the severest grips of denial could listen to these solo balloon pieces and resist the revolution. After you hear this miraculous music, you will sell your instruments and/or record collection and begin a new life of ecstatic rubbing. About six years ago I read an article in Experimental Musical Instruments written by Ricardo Arias that gave an overview of his work with balloons. Intrigued by this idea that I hadn't previously encountered, I immediately inflated a balloon, moistened my fingers and discovered for myself what this South American prophet was so passionate about. To put the matter bluntly, balloons offer a wider range of timbres and more phrasal complexity than any other known instrument; a single, ordinary balloon is like an entire orchestra in itself. Having seen Arias perform solo and with the likes of Pascal Boudreault, Hans Tammen, Jack Wright, and Michel Doneda, I can attest to his authenticity as a real-time improvisor in tune with the aesthetic zeitgeist of experimental non-idiomatic improvisation, not just a maverick of instrumental concepts and sound. This is not a minor point, as it distinguishes his work from Judy Dunaway's comparably brilliant explorations. Dunaway is the only other artist to extensively pursue balloon music thus far, and released the seminal 1998 CD "Balloon Music" on CRI. Where Dunaway's work has been distracted by esoteric investigations of pitch relationships, ditties (think Hans Reichel), electronics, compositional strategies, and other semi-obsolete concerns, Arias offers the raw, mind-blowing sound world of balloons in its naked state and most favorable context of free improvisation, especially on the first 11 pieces of this CD, the best public recorded representation of balloon music in history so far. He also includes 5 multi-tracked compositions that pose new questions about texture, density, and the boundaries of rhythmic perception for humans, without relying on any conventional structures. The middle segment of the disc is a series of 20 very brief tracks that function as a catalog of balloon techniques in the manner of Ami Yoshida's "Tiger Thrush", ideal for "shuffle" mode on a CD player. This is a monumental exposition of balloon music by a virtuoso who's spent decades refining his art, and it even comes in a damn cool metal box just like other NurNichtNur releases (e.g. Hans Tammen's solo endangered guitar disc). This is not a CD to file away with others; it's something to create a whole new section of your shelf for, conspicuously displayed close enough to your stereo to be quickly grabbed and played with obsessive frequency. Balloon music is the future. You can get with the program now or face the future onset of debilitating regret. You've been advised. - Michael Anton Parker NurNichtNur label

Paul Desmond's "Skylark" one is beautiful. Jim Hall's Concerto is pretty phenomenal as well. One my favorite Hall discs. And Joe Farrel's "Moon Germs" is at least interesting.

Leo Records' website is updated with new releases: http://www.leorecords.com/?m=catalogue&release=2004/06 Will buy them all. Very much looking forward to Wally Shoup trio.

6 months or so, if it goes the way it does now. Did you end up ordering any of the Italian stuff? ------------------------------------------- BTW, new solo Brötzm. is phenomenal. I will elaborate later, but everybody here should do himself (or herself, he-he) a favor and get it. According to (good) Steve Lake's liner notes, this is the best of 5 (!) Brötzmann's solo CDs.

Sorry Matthew, but we can't count that post toward your total. Moreover, we will actually deduct a penalty point.

Another beautiful one (and also dirt-cheap from Amazon.fr; 2003 reissue):

Got Twins (for €7 or so at Amazon.fr). It is indeed a typical red-black Atlantic Masters digipak reissue made in Germany. The sound is actually quite good - much better than Atlantic Master reissue of Free Jazz, for example. The music is phenomenal. The other one I got is this one: Great stuff! Pretty adventurous playing from everybody. Say what you will, but I hear a lot of Brötzmann in Hawkins' playing.

No, not yet. I'm guessing you would recommend this disc? Yes John, you are guessing correctly Absolutely.

Welcome dangme!