Leeway

I've had this a week or two. I was very impressed, good writing & playing . I like the Moondoc too. Enjoyed their version of "Ptah the El Daoud." I have the "Illusionary Seas" double LP 45rpm, and it is clean and smooth and quiet, remarkably so really. Maybe the previous one had some noise, don't know as I don't have it, or maybe she was being facetious. But the larger point about new releases being variable in quality is well-taken. Cien Fuego has been very good, OTO, and I think Trost, also very good, just to mention a few.

Yes, that sounds a more impressive show than mine, which might be due to the tension in the band and the tension in the audience, which prevented a real immersion in the music. Also, yours was 6 years ago, and the intervening years might have taken some of the energy that comes with a fresh approach, i.e., it might be getting routine. I do agree, as I hope I made clear, that this is still music worth seeing/hearing, with certain caveats.

MJAZZG, I think there is a difference between a residency and a regular gig. A residency is a showcase for the musician and his/her music. It's a special event. It sure is priced that way. Filing the schedule with previously scheduled musicians seems, to me at least, a negation of the whole purpose of the residency. My guess is that it's just a lot easier to do that, but it doesn't make for innovative music. Leeway, I can see that point, definitely. It's funny because often I wonder whether EP suffers a 'hired gun' syndrome whereby there's many recordings where the session appears to be a one-off either from a gig or probably the day after and in these sessions I often feel that EP's musical personality can overshadow the others involved. Equally these can produce marvellous results that I wish weren't one-offs. I also agree with your analysis of "Evan Parker Music" to the point that for a number of years I just didn't get it, especially the circular breathing solos in a group setting but somehow having persevered I came to realise that the furrow could be ploughed again and again and came tolove the results. Your phrase 'more visceral than cognitive' I think hits a nail square on the head. but are those options really either/or? Association can only come from repeat opportunities, can't it. It could just be that the repeat appearance of Escreet Quartet is part of a process of greater association (I think they're playing at least one European festival) that could in a few years be one of EP's 'regular' bands. Maybe somewhere in the 60s someone was saying 'oh no, not that Lovens and Schlippenbach back with Evan again. They played last year' apologies if this doesn't make sense, I've one eye on Algeria trying to beat Germany.... Those are all good points, and believe me, I have considered them and rationalized them in my own mind, to attempt to make this residency seem better than it was, but my gut feeling of disappointment would not be surmounted. Having been to both previous residencies, the reasons just don't accord with my prior experiences of the music. I think you hit it with "hired guns." Even if something were to emerge from this event, I don't think it would justify the safe and predictable programming. Frankly, the bar has been set low. I think I'm following your path concerning EPs music, but in reverse order, moving from earlier adulation to a now rather troubling skepticism. I suppose this also underlays my reaction to the residency. Well, it will sell out, so no matter.

Samuel Foote Allen Edmonds The Old Lady Who Lived in a Shoe

I agree with you. I'd prefer Parker-Guy-Lytton and/or Schlippenbach Trio for the week to what is on offer this time around. I'm not sure that trying to get deeper performances from groups one is not really associated with is a useful aim. "In the moment" would be a better guide.

Let's not forget his association with Roscoe Mitchell: And other Sound Machine discs.

MJAZZG, I think there is a difference between a residency and a regular gig. A residency is a showcase for the musician and his/her music. It's a special event. It sure is priced that way. Filing the schedule with previously scheduled musicians seems, to me at least, a negation of the whole purpose of the residency. My guess is that it's just a lot easier to do that, but it doesn't make for innovative music.

Kind of an interesting irony in that. I read an interview (Cadence, Sept. 1999) with Dave Liebman, where he says this about Evan Parker: "He's an interesting player, he's a one-dimensional player. And because of that one-dimension, he's very deep into it. He does one thing, and he does it tune after tune. There are musicians like that, who hear one way. They have a kind of uni-direction that is remarkable, and I have to have a lot of respect for them, for having shut out everything else...A guy like Evan has been playing this way since the '60s, and he's the master of it....I like something a little bit wider, that includes more moods, more color." I agree with this to a great extent and probably why I listen to more Evan Parker than any other saxophonist . What I don't agree with is that he had not been playing this way since the 60's. His playing took a huge step forward from the 70's through the early 90's. Same approach and focus, for sure but by the 1991 set "The Ayes Have It" Parker is playing with a facility on the tenor that is of a different level exponentially from his rough, gritty playing of the days of Pakistani Pomade or Hunting the Snake. Now some much prefer the earlier playing (and sometimes I can be in that camp depending on my mood) but the later playing is of a brilliance that some refer to casual it is so assured and accomplished. I believe his playing is do great due to the single minded focus of his playing The early playing with Derek Bailey, John Stevens, et al is some great playing, and some true improvisation. It's always been my view that Derek Bailey devised the grammar, ethic and logos of improvisation (with John Stevens operating in a parallel mode), and that Evan Parker imbibed it like mother's milk. Once Evan really mastered circular breathing, the game changed. It became "Evan Parker music" (I think Lytton called it that). (Is this what contributed to the break with Bailey?) It's incredibly virtuosic but rather predictable. I think this is what Liebman is aiming at too. In solo performance, "single-minded focus" is great, but in group performance, it can bend the music to that previously dug canal, it can make anything "Evan Parker music" and that is troublesome. Yes, I am thrilled when Evan uncorks one of his patented solos, but it is more visceral than cognitive. Well, Evan is a pantheonic figure, but it doesn't mean we can't be candid either.

Parts of me thinks the same, parts of me thinks different. You are taking the Derek Bailey tact, I think - new combinations with new possibilities. Maybe Parker wants to play again with some of the same musicians to delve further into what they played together before. I sure got the impression he loved the trio he played with last year that is repeating this year - Escreet, Hebert and Sorey. I, for one person, am thrilled to be able to hear the "encore"! Of the musicians you mention, I think Halvorsen might be an interesting partner as would Max Johnson. For me I like mostly to hear Evan Parker with drummers - and Sorey and Corsano are great choices for my ears. The one local drummer I would love to hear him with is Randy Peterson. Steve, I get that, and it's fine with one or two groups, but when the entire schedule with just a couple of exceptions, are "reruns" I get a bit miffed. I don't come to this music because it's comfortable, I come because it's challenging. I don't like partners chosen on a comfort level, like some old lounge act. The best people in the field have an obligation to move the ball forward. A lot of people on the scene in NYC feel this way, that the schedule is a disappointment, but nobody wants to say anything. It pains me to say it too, since I like Evan, and have been to not only the residencies but other concerts in the NE, but I'm baffled by this residency. For the first time, I'm considering not going, something I would not even have thought possible before.

Jane Austen John Austin John Astin

Kind of an interesting irony in that. I read an interview (Cadence, Sept. 1999) with Dave Liebman, where he says this about Evan Parker: "He's an interesting player, he's a one-dimensional player. And because of that one-dimension, he's very deep into it. He does one thing, and he does it tune after tune. There are musicians like that, who hear one way. They have a kind of uni-direction that is remarkable, and I have to have a lot of respect for them, for having shut out everything else...A guy like Evan has been playing this way since the '60s, and he's the master of it....I like something a little bit wider, that includes more moods, more color."

I'm going to admit to being a little disappointed with this residency. If one has not been to one of the previous residencies, this is a good opportunity. But if one has, though, it seems needlessly redundant. I've been to the two previous residencies, and have seen all the announced sets except for the Cymerman and Davis sets (the latter seems interesting). I only wish Evan had brought in some new partners: Ingrid Laubrock, Keir Neuringer, Mary Halvorson, Katharine Young, Syrinx Effect, Max Johnson, Kris Davis, et al, et al, maybe even Mr. Malaby. Hey, about Anthony Braxton, no longer committed to Wesleyan, and giving concerts in NYC. Maybe scheduling issues holding up some of these possible sets, otherwise I'm frankly perplexed why Evan chose to go with recycling previous shows. I know: it's going to be good anyway. And I will likely go anyway. But it's an opportunity missed in my estimation.

Crouching Tiger Stanley Crouch Groucho Marx

Tarus Mateen's West Afro East & Matana Roberts' COIN COIN @ The Fridge, Washington DC, June 28, 2014. IIRC, I saw Tarus Mateen with Jason Moran quite some time ago. I last saw Matana Roberts at the old Roulette in lower Manhattan in pre-COIN COIN days (I think; she may have been working on some parts of it at the time). I thought it might be interesting to see them live, especially COIN COIN. I didn't have high hopes for the Mateen set and I wasn't disappointed. A problem that plagued the entire evening was slipshod production by the concert sponsors. For example, neither the names of Mateen's musicians nor Roberts' were listed on the advance material or the program hand-out. The stage announcement by one of the organizers omitted the names, and Mateen's announcement during the set was not intelligible (and I was sitting in the first row). Maybe it was an effort to protect the guilty. Anyway, Mateen's group consisted of Mateen on electric bass, an unknown guitarist, an unknown drummer, a djembe player whom I spoke with later, Amadu, and a balafon player, whom I also spoke with, Uasuf Gueye. The last two are natives of Senegal; could not meet two nicer guys. The music was essentially heavy riff-driven beat music, which was fine, but got tiresome after a while. It was one-dimensional. Perhaps if the guitarist or drummer had contributed more, the music was have gained that needed additional dimension. As it was, I started wondering what the gig would have sounded like if Mateen, Amadu, who was killing on the djembe, and Uasaf, with some fine balafon playing, played as a trio. I soon found out, when Mateen, accompanied by the two Senegalese only, began to play together, but then Mateen started to sing, and, I can say, as a singer Mateen is a good electric bass player. The set was capped by some mild religious sermonizing and spiritual singing by Mateen. Something might be made out of all this, but it wasn't that night. One of the annoyances during the first set was photographers (I think connected with the organizers) crawling all around the stage and the legs of patrons, taking endless numbers of pictures. That should have been stopped by the organizers (misnomer). It was left to Matana Roberts to stop it. She and her group took the stage without any announcement, and simply started playing. I believe the group was the same as that appearing on the COINCOIN2 album. Matana Roberts: alto saxophone, vocals, conduction, wordspeak Shoko Nagai: piano, vocals Jason Palmer: trumpet, vocals Jeremiah Abiah: operatic tenor vocals Thomson Kneeland: double bass, vocals Tomas Fujiwara: drums, vocals When some hapless guy (not a pro) started to take a picture, Matana, using her favorite gesture of the evening, a sideways tomahawk chop, started chopping at the violator and actually stopped the band, chewed the guy out a bit, said they had a rough day, and wanted to put on the very best show (she later mentioned they had a four hour train ride). I was totally on-board about the photography, but it was done in a graceless and rather severe way (think Keith Jarrett) and I think she lost some of the audience as a result. I also thought it was bad form for her to talk her bad day, or about her train ride, when customers come to a concert with their own problems, and expect the musicians to get on with the show despite the expected travails of traveling musicians. This could have been avoided if the "organizers" had introduced the band properly and made it clear photos and video were not permitted. Instead, one of the photographers from the first set tried to take some pictures from the middle of the aisle further back, and Matana karate chopped him furiously, whereupon he retreated quickly. Someone yelled out, "No photos!" Not a great vibe. So, on to the music. I was a huge fan of the original COIN COIN, not as much for the second installment, although I respect it quite a bit. Matana does quite a bit of conduction, using the sideways karate motion a lot, also with a baton, and through her alto sax. I'm really enamored of Matana's alto playing; burnished, soulful, strongly characteristic. She also played a clarinet, which surprised me, but she did so for only about a minute. Palmer on trumpet carried quite large part of the musical weight of the program and he was fine. Shoko Nagai was on electric piano; not sure if that sound really fit, but I enjoyed it anyway. Tomas Fujiwara was excellent on drums. Jeremiah Abiah has a fine operatic voice. Matana read from her scripts and sang as well. She got the audience into a sing-hum routine at one point; it felt a little forced, as it went on a little too long perhaps, and one maybe feared the karate chop. I thought of Charles Ives as I was listening to this performance, which occasionally teetered on the precipice of pastiche. I still will give it high marks for its ambition, its moments of heart-felt belief, and its strong sense of social justice.

Sting Arnold Stang Stagger Lee

Very strong 2nd half for the Dutch and they get the win. They are looking very good indeed.

MANZANAR VOICES - Glenn Horiuchi - Asian Improv Records. Horiuchi (p), Leon Alexander (d), M'Chaka Uba (b, on "Manzanar Voices" and "Stockton Calling"), Taiji Miyagawa (b, on "Bass Blues" and "Seeds of Resistance"). Traces of Don Pullen and of course a bit of Cecil, but Horiuchi made his own alloy on this album, combining free and avant playing with Japanese traditional music and modern composition.

Lil' Jojo Lil' Kim Kim Jong Un

BALLAD ROUND THE LEFT CORNER - Pierre Dorge Quartet: PD (g), John Tchicai (as, ss), NHOP (b), Billy Hart (d). SteepleChase LP. Rec. 1979. Quite nice.

Ghost Rider C.C. Rider Cee Cee Winans

Happy birthday neighbor (sort of but close enough)

KEIR NEURINGER - Red Room, Baltimore, MD, June 27, 2014 Despite horrendous traffic (again) to Baltimore (my normal 50-60 min has been taking 2-2:30 hours), I went back to Baltimore for Keir Neuringer's solo show at the Red Room, Baltimore. You may recall that I wrote about Neuringer's performance as part of a quartet appearance at I-Beam, Brooklyn, a couple of weeks ago. I was gobsmacked. I went to Baltimore to see to check my initial reactions to his playing, and to see him in a solo context. The performance consisted of Keir reading a section from the booklet he wrote that accompanied his "Ceremonies Out Of The Air" album, in commemoration of the life and death of his mother (and of our mortality generally), then playing alto saxophone. The writing was of literary quality and the playing was---phenomenal. I was as bowled over as I was the first time I hear Keir. You think you might get used to it, but I haven't yet. The playing seems to be a compound of wild despair, anger, aggression, love, fear and whatever other wild emotions might send you running for solace. The alto was played high above his head, or low to the hardwood floor, body twisted and turned, in an effort to extract every nuance and angle of the music. Absolutely gripping. I mentioned in my previous post that would love to see a duo with Keir and Evan Parker. I talked to Keir briefly after the set (first time I've spoken with him), and he told me that he spent some time with Evan and performed with him a couple of years ago in London. I would like to see a repeat of that performance a little closer to home.

WRIGHT/DRURY/CROSSLAND - Red Room, Baltimore, June 26, 2014 Went out to Baltimore last night to see Jack Wright (as, ss), Andrew Drury (perc) and Patrick Crossland (tb), at the Red Room. If you like free improvisation, you should check out saxophonist Jack Wright, who follows the free improvisation ethic in about as pure and unadulterated a form as possible, and has been doing so for many years. Wright seems to exist for the purely improvisation moment. What's more, he has a fine sound, honed in the course of innumerable gigs and sessions. Drury is a percussionist who utilizes mostly advanced techniques; hardly ever uses a drumstick. Last night his kit consisted of a tom drum, a large sheet of something or other, small objects, bows, etc. Amazing soundscapes. Drury has played often with Wright. I believe this was Crossland's first gig with Wright and Drury. I really liked the interaction amongst the three; Crossland fit right in. Just when you think all approaches to the trombone have been covered, along comes someone who brings a new insight. For the most part low-key (although punctuated by some surprising pops and blasts), Crossland was yet highly articulate. It was a completely in-the-moment performance by the trio. Next time Wright performs, it is likely to be completely different.

Roscoe Mitchell !!!

Jo Dee Messina Messalina Lina Wertmuller