clifford_thornton

I haven't listened to Topography in a long, long time. It's incredible though. Hard to forget the first time with records like this, Machine Gun, Nipples, Karyobin...

Bough and Niblock, what a pair. Bough shot a ton of photos of Robert Wilson, the theater director, and his troupe. I also know there were some activities at Niblock's loft back then, which may or may not have been photographed by Phill (they're uncredited in the archives). In retrospect I should have gone to his birthday parties; it felt weird to attend something where you don't personally know the celebrated individual, but I suppose that's how one meets other folks! At any rate, fascinating artist, and it's doubly cool to have walked the earth at the same time as someone of this stature.

Yup.

I've seen those corrections -- yeah, the Drake bio must be really something to read.

that VAT of 28 percent is a bit 🤑

Those krazy kids...

Public Records has a very different crowd from that of Roulette or BAM. Roulette also might've been booked. It's a Gilles Peterson event so I assume that's got a fair amount of pull and helped it sell out.

Oh yikes, more weather to deal with... gabby (they/them) is awesome. gabby played duo with Ava Mendoza as part of the Queer Trash performances at Tubby's in December 2022.

Planning to be there.

Ah, I remember that handle -- he posted here somewhat as well, I think. RIP.

The Kehinde Wiley show in Houston and the Jaune Quick-To-See Smith show in Fort Worth are both very much worth seeing right now. I was not expecting to be as blown away by the Wiley as I was. Quick-To-See Smith is incredible.

That's too bad. RIP.

incredible film. Never heard the soundtrack on its own.

Was Nasheet ever in M'Boom? Of course his father was a founding member...

Yeah, agreed, pretty wild to think about. A friend of mine saw them with Hendrix on that tour in Ohio during his college days.

Probe was Command/ABC. Softs were touring with Hendrix around the time the first one came out. I assume they linked up with him either in London or in France. EMI released those albums overseas but only in tiny amounts, and they were mostly done for the US/Canada market, and in quick succession. Things changed by the time Third came around, when they were signed to CBS UK. I put the first two Softs in a similar bucket to the one holding Silver Apples. FWIW, the Daevid Allen version of the band did have a single on Polydor (France?) but the full album was shelved. BYG put that material out when they had Gong in their stable.

me too. Figured it was "buy now, cry later."

yeah, I stopped after Arise Therefore.

Used to have that Palace LP -- wonderful. Would like to re-buy it someday. I still have a few of his/their 45s.

People left and others joined. I think after Hopper came on (SM 2nd LP) and then Elton Dean, everything changed. There was also a fair amount of crossover between the Softs and the Keith Tippett Group of the same period.

I wonder if it's just the simple fact of available recordings... Middle Earth Masters is one of the few live gigs I've returned to from the early Softs. I do like everything up to Seven and can work with either vocals or not. But like you I have not seen too many concert CDs of pre-Elton Dean material.

Sun Ra, Amina Claudine Myers (though both played the instrument frequently enough that I'm not sure which would be primary). Call Cobbs Fred Van Hove

That's too bad. Alvin Fielder told me he was a real fan of Frank's playing, and that perked my ears up.

I should try that one again -- didn't hit me years ago, but that's probably me rather than the record.

I suppose Arthur Edgehill is one of a few in that generation of drummers (aside from Roy) still alive. Last I heard (pre-pandemic) he was chilling out in an assisted living facility in Florida. He too was born in 1926.