Steve Reynolds

Rasmussen on the fairly recent Ken Vandermark 7 CD box Unexpected Alchemy on Not Two records

Tomeka Reid - maybe my favorite cellist along with Fred Lonberg-Holm Sara Schoenbeck - never heard bassoon played so great live Mette Rasmussen - blustering alto saxophone player Lotte Anker - extraordinary reed player - soprano & tenor Huge fan of Lady Joelle - as great a bassist as exists in this world long time fan of Mary Halvorson & Ingrid Laubrock - I’ve seen them live many many times and Mary is especially awesome live. Kate Gentile - wonderful drummer who plays with Matt Mitchell big thumbs up to the great duo recording with Tyshawn & Marilyn - nothing else remotely like it.

As great as Ab Baars & Michael Moore are on various reeds, Toby was usually the bigger impact player when seeing ICP live. He’s got the old school swing with avant-garde sensibilities ingrained in his vibrant improvising. Try Astro Notes from Joost Buis. On a couple of tracks Delius explodes out of the speakers. I’m a long time listener to all of these musicians listened to a quartet with Delius this AM - Hook, Line & Sinker with Axel Dorner, Antonio Borghini & Tristan Honsinger. Drummerless magic music on Relative Pitch records

The 2 Michael Formanek records were ignored back in the day - both are marvelous

ETA Sunday for me as well. I’ve streamed the 12/10/71 show and as always with late 71 Dead I’m underwhelmed. Fired up for the 10/17, 10/18 (!), 10/19/72 and most especially the 10/29 & 10/30/73 shows.

Combination of McPhee & Lonberg-Holm is magic

And I still have a dream of getting over there in a few years as besides and along with the NYC core (and the Chicago core) the London musicians are my favorites. in 2006 on his last visit that I know of to The States, Paul Rogers was playing a couple/three nights at The Stone with Paul Dunmall & Tony Levin (RIP) using a rented bass and he was thrilled to be there / “playing for peace and love” as he told me. So one if the greatest 4-5 bassists on the planet (and he has to know how great he is no matter how humble he might be) and we was happy at least in that moment in time. Fwiw he had the same attitude back in 2000 or so when I saw him at the Knitting Factory in front of about 25 people. With Dunmall & Kevin Norton. 2 sets, btw, that are still among the best 10-15 nights of music I’ve ever experienced.

I’ve attended avant-garde free music on a regular basis in NYC on a fairly regular basis for the past 20 years - especially more often from ~2009 up until the shutdown. I’ve seen up close the vast majority of the working musicians in this scene often. Most of them do not have anywhere near the visibility that even people like the above have had or have. I’ve never encountered any thing except a sense of gratitude that the 100 or 50 or 10 people attending the shows were there. No victim mentality that I’ve run across. They are thrilled to be playing the music they choose to play.

RIP, Sir

Very happy you are able to hear live music again in person, Peter there is really nothing like it

I was MUCH less experienced as a listener 25 years ago and I don’t remember if he took a second solo on the tune. It did all seem spontaneous and I think the pianist was John Young who was also great. Another aside. I’m SO grateful for my 3 trips to Chicago in the late 90’s (work trips) when I was also able to see Gary Bartz at the Green Mill, 8 Bold Souls at Hot House - the best of the best in my memory) and 2 visits to Velvet Lounge at 2128 1/2 South Indiana Ave where I met Fred Anderson & on my second visit attended as a guest with the late *great* Ulrich and so Fred play the tenor saxophone for the first time.

That was it. Plus he must have soloed for 15 plus minutes and it kept getting better. No paucity of ideas. And what a sound especially so up close.

An aside - I saw Von Freeman twice in Chicago probably 1997 & 1999 I think. first time first tune - medium tempo thing - still the best tenor playing over changes I’ve ever witnessed plus I was less than 10 feet away. Was it at The Apartment? It was his weekly gig at the time.

Not a huge Golia listener but I happened to be listening to Vinny when I saw this post. I’ll be getting the physical product if it comes out on CD. I love his comments. Yes 15 months of isolation up until post vaccination. Very tough especially on these great creative musicians who hardly have an audience anyway. Wish more of the small rooms would be opening sooner. I’ve seen only one show this summer and very little of interest scheduled in NYC.

Mary Halvorson is exceptionally nice and friendly same for Brandon Seabrook then again for most/vast majority of the musicians I’ve encountered in and around the “downtown” NYC scene over the past 25 years fit this description. how they are once one would get to know them is probably another story but it’s nice to know that when I go to a show and say hello to someone in the band it’s been a nice experience 99% of the time over the years

In my Bandcamp cart (along with another 8-9 CD’s) - I love the most recent releases / and I enjoy the concise times of the pieces and the recordings yet there is plenty of improvisation.

But there are numerous configurations including Brandon Seabrook, Mat Maneri & Ben Gerstein. So at least it isn’t 6 hours of the same group. Plus from what I remember the hour set was all kinds of different throughout and very unpredictable. I had no idea what they were doing as far as the compositional elements. Omg - very surprised the Americans have traveled during the ongoing nightmare of the Covid 19 pandemic. Dream line-ups in normal times - I’m just waiting for a good 1 or 2 set night with some of the great NYC improvising masters!!!

I also think Clockwise is too rigid. I’m a sucker for avant-garde large ensembles. Let’s hope it’s not too composed/worked out.

I’m very interested in the new 2 CD set from Anna Webber (plus her trio & large ensemble that is featured on this recording is playing on September 23rd at Roulette in Brooklyn) plus a 6 CD set from Snark Horse (co-led by Matt Mitchell & Kate Gentile). I saw a version of that group pre-pandemic at The Stone and it was pretty amazing and very unique. Both on Pi recordings which is usually a very good sign. I liked Webber’s Clockwise but I’ve been up & down on Mitchell’s recent releases although they are very unique and he puts a whole lot of thought and work into his music. His music is almost sui generis. Off topic a bit - but here’s hoping that the covid numbers peak soon and then decline by the concert date in September. I e seen one live concert (Kris Davis’ Capricorn Climber 6 weeks ago or so) but I’m less comfortable with what’s happening now. The Stone has now tentatively set mid-October as a start date with Kris Davis playing in various groups the week of October 19th and Mary Halvorson playing the week of October 26th.

All in - very excited to hear these 7 shows - the legendary 10/18/72 show is one I’ve avoided listening to as I’ve expected an official release for a while. The 10/29 & 10/30/73 shows are from the sweetest of sweet spots in Dead history - maybe only late November & December 73 are more melty. Keith’s peak is summer through winter 73. Plus look at those set lists on the 72 & 73 shows?!? 3 Bird Songs on the 3 Fox Theatre 72 shows plus the amazing jam sequences on all 5 of the 72 & 73 shows. I’m less enamored with late 71 as Keith was finding his way but word is that 12/10/71 is a very hot show.

Yes they get them into a studio but the live recordings released by these and other labels over the past 15-20 years often sound incredible. Think of the Brotzmann 3 nights in Oslo box set and of course the 4 Barry Guy box sets on Not Two. They make a mockery of what Clean Feed puts out.

Btw the Selva trio from 2019 Canicula Rose is quite good

I’m not sure. I read the last 2 day’s comments. I’ll stream a couple of them but it seems they hear greatness that I just don’t hear. I still think the sound quality (lack of openness and dynamics) isn’t up to snuff. Inferior to Astral Sprits, Not Two, Intakt, Firehouse 12, No Business and various other specialty labels. I’m listening to the Fog Horn releases from 10 to 20 years ago from Tony Bevan and they ALL sound better than any Clean Feed recording I’ve ever heard. sometimes I think they could even ruin the sound of John Edwards & Sunny Murray

Vaccination rates are high here in the northeast near and around NYC and COVID cases are very low - for a double vaccinated person like myself it isn’t risky at all. I’m wondering why more local venues are not opening. I’m pretty sure by September the vast majority will be hopefully including the Village Vanguard and The Stone @ The New School. Major sporting events and concerts have been held at Madison Square Garden and other arenas at full capacity for almost 2 months and no increase in COVID cases have occurred. In fact COVID cases since 5/25 have decreased by a factor of 4 - no doubt due to the vaccine. I’m thrilled to be back fully integrated into society. It’s even more sweet knowing my wife and I were extremely cautious following all protocols. Living in Wayne, NJ (on the border of Bergen County, NY), we lived in the highest COVID infected region in the world last Spring.

Hopefully the rest of the venues will start re-opening soon. Right now it seems most are targeting September. I don’t see any additional wave of COVID here as the numbers are low and the vaccination rates are high and still adding to the % of population albeit slowly.