Paul Flaherty & Chris Corsano

[Late]

Flaherty and Corsano have been mentioned intermittently over on The Rat, but I thought their first duo album, The Hated Music, deserved a thread of its own. Anyone already have it and care to comment?

I'll just say that this is "fire music" with meaning, not just mindless blowing. It's one of the most absorbing saxophone/drums recordings I've ever heard — and that's including all the classic or all-star line-ups that have come before it. If, for instance, you're a fan of Interstellar Space, I'd go so far as to say that you actually need this album.

Paul Flaherty: alto and tenor saxophone

Chris Corsano: drums

[PHILLYQ]

I love it- energetic blowing by Flaherty and some verrrrry good drumming by Corsano.

[clifford_thornton]

I've gone through a lot of these records and frequently find myself preferring Randall Colbourne. That said, this is an excellent session and anyone into sax-drums duos should certainly give it a spin.

As a duo, they've released what, four albums in the past year alone?

[rostasi]

Does this mean that Funny Rat dies and we now have The Hated Music thread?

[Late]

Nah ... Tony (Chaney)'s child lives on ...

Still — The Hated Music kicks my buttocks.

[Nate Dorward]

Only have The Loved Music--a real scorcher of an album, though. Any word on the new solo Flaherty disc?

[clifford_thornton]

Does this mean that Funny Rat dies and we now have The Hated Music thread?

Well, Funny Rat can be the Euro-free thread and Hated Music can be the American-free thread!

[clifford_thornton]

Only have The Loved Music--a real scorcher of an album, though. Any word on the new solo Flaherty disc?

Seen but not heard... I suspect I know what it sounds like, though!

[Alexander Hawkins]

Does this mean that Funny Rat dies and we now have The Hated Music thread?

Well, Funny Rat can be the Euro-free thread and Hated Music can be the American-free thread!

Except that Chris Corsano lives and works over here now!

[RDK]

Is this anything like Paul Flaherty's duets with John Candy?

[Late]

Finally heard Flaherty with Colbourne. Impact. Just as good as The Hated Music.

My enthusiam for Brötzmann has waned in direct proportion to my increasing appreciation for Flaherty.

Miss this guy's saxophone playing and suffer.

[J Larsen]

I caught these guys a couple times at the soon-to-be-former Tonic. Flaherty is a real character. Once he opened for Jackie-O-Motherfucker (a combo unlikely to happen at any other club on Earth). One of the Jackie-O guitarists did a stage dive into a group of young females about halfway through his (Jackie-O's) set. Flaherty walked up to him, put his right foot on the guy's chest, and held him pinned for several minutes as he struggled to play! Good stuff.

BYW, I see the interstellar space thing, but when I hear Corsano's drumming, it sounds to me like he got recruited out of a hardcore punk group. I like it, but I imagine some people might not.

Edited April 4, 2007 by J Larsen

[Chalupa]

I caught these guys a couple times at the soon-to-be-former Tonic. Flaherty is a real character. Once he opened for Jackie-O-Motherfucker (a combo unlikely to happen at any other club on Earth). One of the Jackie-O guitarists did a stage dive into a group of young females about halfway through his (Jackie-O's) set. Flaherty walked up to him, put his right foot on the guy's chest, and held him pinned for several minutes as he struggled to play! Good stuff.

BYW, I see the interstellar space thing, but when I hear Corsano's drumming, it sounds to me like he got recruited out of a hardcore punk group. I like it, but I imagine some people might not.

That sounds like a great show. I have Jackie-O-Motherfucker's Flags of the Sacred Harp which I really like.

[ep1str0phy]

I picked up a copy of Whirl of Nothingness (one of Flaherty's recent solo disk)--and there aren't enough HTML tags for that type of exclamation (whew!). It's enough to make even a seasoned free listener fall of his/her seat. I swear I finished the first spin in a state of physical and emotional exhaustion. I don't want to lapse into too much superlative here, but something tells me that Flaherty approaches what Ayler might have sounded like in a solo context...

...as for Brotzmann v. Flaherty--the latter very much has a sense of American "spiritualism" about it, although he can hardly be considered religious. In relief with the Wuppertalian salad days (or even, for a closer comparison, Brotzmann's solo discs), Flaherty's work is marked by an air of compassion--to the level that empathy and emotional effect trump whatever revolutionary sentiments fringe the music. In his best moments, again, Flaherty approaches Ayler-caliber pathos.

Oh, and--having recently spun Cecil Taylor's Alms/Tiergarten (Spree), I'm more than ever impressed by Brotzmann's alto work. I think Brtoz's potency as a multi-reedman tends to get overshadowed by his status as minister of skronk, but I challenge anyone to argue against his very unique place in the free music cosmos.

[J Larsen]

I only found out this afternoon that he was in town last week - I hate it when that happens! I'll be sure to pick up the new disc. I'm a big Flaherty fan, and a little surprised that he doesn't get more mention.

[Late]

I'm a big Flaherty fan, and a little surprised that he doesn't get more mention.

I think it's just a matter of time — and probably a lot of time, but fans of this type of music will spread the word. I like what Epistro says above about Flaherty's sense of compassion. I just don't hear it in Brötzmann, or at least very rarely, and after a while I begin to tire of his playing. Brötzmann's reputation is solidified and justified, there's no questioning that (at least in my mind), but sometimes I feel that he's over-recorded.

Flaherty often seems more "careful" than Brötzmann, if that makes any sense — and I like that about him. We're not talking about a beautifully crafted chain of swinging eighth notes, of course, but Flaherty sometimes plays as if that much precision and care were part of the equation.

My thoughts/claims aren't yet fully formed at this point, I have to admit. I'm still learning about this guy's music, but I'm OK with that ... .

[clifford_thornton]

I'm gonna have to disagree with any claims to the effect that Brotz lacks compassion.

I'm also gonna have to disagree with putting Brotz and Flaherty in the same barrel.

Flaherty's popularity seems to be less among free-jazz heads and more among the "New Weird America" folk/skronk set, for some reason. That has a lot to do with the Yod catch-all business.

Corsano's great. My friend Rachel used to date him back when they were teenagers.

[John B]

Flaherty's popularity seems to be less among free-jazz heads and more among the "New Weird America" folk/skronk set, for some reason. That has a lot to do with the Yod catch-all business.

I think it also has a lot to do with Corsano's involvement with Sunburned Hand of the Man.

One of the things that really impresses me about Corsano is the range of projects he participates in succesfully. Everything from the sax / drums duos described above to SHOTM to the electronics / guitars / drums assault of Death Unit. The only disc of his that really hasn't worked for me so far is "The Young Cricketer," which was a tour only solo cd.

I just got Beloved Music as well as a Flaherty / Corsano / C. Spencer Yeh (Burning Star Core) disc called "A Rock in the Snow." I'm looking forward to finally hearing Flaherty for the first time.

Edited April 5, 2007 by John B

[ejp626]

I guess I'll find out pretty soon what I think about this CD (Hated Music). I was inspired to dig around and found a on-line record store (weirdorecords.com) that seems to carry a fair number of the Funny Rat artists. They had a used copy of Hated Music for a very decent price, so I picked it up. By the way, a few of Flaherty & Corsano's newer releases are on emusic.

[clifford_thornton]

Flaherty's popularity seems to be less among free-jazz heads and more among the "New Weird America" folk/skronk set, for some reason. That has a lot to do with the Yod catch-all business.

I think it also has a lot to do with Corsano's involvement with Sunburned Hand of the Man.

I avoid that band like the plague, ever since seeing them a couple of - no, wait, three!?! - times in the past several years. I did not know Corsano ever played with them.

[John B]

He has recorded and toured with SHOTM.

He is also slated to appear on the forthcoming Bjork cd and tour. The other drummer on the album is from Lightning Bolt. Should be interesting.

Edited April 5, 2007 by John B

[ep1str0phy]

Bjork's done quite a bit of work with the various modern improv crowds. Oliver Lake and Threadgill are on a few of her sessions, right?

Re: Flaherty v. Brotzmann. This isn't to say that Brotzmann lacks compassion--although a lot of his music veers toward the theatrical and, in its most farcical moments, sounds a little detached (there's emotional resonance, no doubt, but I don't think I've ever heard Brotz sound pitiful)--only that I get an emphatic sense from Flaherty that isn't really a piece with many of his hard-blowing counterparts. But yeah, although the comparison might be valid, they're best not in the same boat.

For that matter, although Brotzmann's programmatic material and instrumentation has often suggested Ayler--and he certainly sounds the part in sparser, "lower energy" situations--some of his best work sounds much more like early Pharoah to me. There's the same sort of committed passion in both cases, although I'm not sure that either musician invites the sort of emotional understanding I hear in Ayler or Flaherty.

[clifford_thornton]

I think Brotzmann is in a class by himself.

Hell, Stone/Water has some very Ellingtonian arrangements, and the Brotz/Miller/Moholo trio (as the Brotz/Parker/Drake) have sure taken a path far from the Ayler tree. When you get Bennink and Van Hove in the mix, it's yet another story altogether - theatrical, sure, but more on the neo-dada trip, with a little Roland Kirk or Jaki Byard thrown in for good measure.

Yeah, Flaherty too is in a class by himself. I would like to hear that Orange LP, which is very rare and supposedly his first appearance on wax.

Edited April 5, 2007 by clifford_thornton

[J Larsen]

I've always had trouble getting into Brotzmann. I find it very difficult to "feel" what he is playing - I get the sense that he is almost trying to push the listener away. But then I have only a few records and haven't listened to them in a long time. I'm going to check him out at Tonic next week - maybe it will finally click.

[alocispepraluger102]

brotzmann's feeling for the long traditions of jazz is very gratifying. hearing him speak about the beautiful work of art pepper and coleman hawkins and rollins, among others, and hearing him observe that he doesnt listen to his own music, but to more or less traditional music meant a great deal to me. his generations long passion for jazz and music can be heard, if one listens.

that being said, the astounding flaherty is an artist most deserving of far greater recognition. what his feeling is for the traditions of jazz, i do not know, but i might suggest that if an artist is powerful enough, this is not essential.